Q:

I was recently prescribed Ambian to help with difficulty sleeping. My dr. mentioned I shouldn't take it every night because over time it will lose it's effectiveness. How often can/should I take it to continue getting a good night's sleep without it's effectiveness wearing off?
Thank you for the help.

 

A:

Ambien is approved only for short term use because of the potential of tolerance (as your physician described) and also dependency (mild withdrawal symptoms if stopped after taking it regularly for more than two weeks).

We recommend not using it more than 2 x a week maximum. If you are needing to have sleep assistance more often, then there are safe medications without the dependency potential that we can prescribe from the Health Center. There are a variety of reasons for sleep disturbance, so it is important to evaluate for those rather than simply medicating the insomnia.

~The Doc