The war on Ambien/Zolpidem

 There were 40 million prescriptions for Ambien in this country in 2012.   By 2020 that was down to 10 million.  The 30 million prescriptions withdrawn were for patients over 65 years old.  At the same time, 85% of patients on all sleep meds were on Ambien.
https://jabberwocking.com/health-update-21/

58 million Americans are above age 65.

My question is, if 40 million patients can get behind Ambien, why cannot -- why did not -- 30 million coalesce behind a "substitute"?  Perhaps because there is no specific substitute to satisfy their needs?!

I suspect that most prescription denial experiences include your primary physician offering a couple of, what I call "generic" alternates (eg., Trazodone) then fobbing you off to a sleep doctor -- who has no more idea of what might be a useful substitute than your primary.

Before the primary bumps you off the sleep med that has made your life livable for years, he or she should have a page of  14 questions to put to you -- to know what to switch to -- if there is any suitable alternate.  I suspect there is not a suitable substitute -- especially in the drug hang over department.  If 30 million patients had found a decent substitute, we would be hearing about it by now.

What is so unique about Ambien?  In my case I can cut a 10mg pill into three pieces: 5mg to go to sleep; two 2.5mgs to put me back to sleep when I wake up in the middle of the night.  Matches my sleep pattern exactly.  I feel no drug hangover even two hours after taking.  I call it 25-45-50 -- 25 minutes to reach max effect; 45 in deepest; 50 turning off.

I wake up next day bright eyed and bushy tailed.

The refreshing feeling I get after an Ambient sleep reminds me the feeling I got after my first sleep study for apnea.  I groaned being told I would only get 4-5 hours sleep which would be interrupted.  Instead, on the way home I felt more refreshed than I had felt for a long time -- finally had some deep refreshing sleep.

Just to make sure readers don't misunderstand "bright eyed and bushy tailed" as some kind of drug high.

Ambien makes you more likely to get into a traffic accident?  The drug makes you oblivious to driving mistakes as you are making them?  I would suggest that if you are half-way intelligent, you will recognize the mistakes after you make them and will know enough to get off that drug.

Half the elderly population may be being deprived of sleep or suffering hangover because the medical establishment is afraid we will slip in the bathtub.

I think that the manufacturers of Ambien should suggest to their former patients that they seek to get their prescriptions from DOs or psychiatrists -- who focus more on how people feel emotionally after treatment. I think they will have better luck.