Prescriptions listed as controlled subtances

[Marthe48]

Namely, Ambien

I have had restless legs since the mid 1980s. I tried every remedy I heard about to get to sleep. They are horrible. In the 1990s, RLS was finally listed as a sleep disorder. I went to my dr. and got a prescription for Ambien, and I've been taking it ever since, probably since 1995 or 96.

There have been reports that Ambien can cause erratic behavior, especially in older people. When I turned 65, 7 years ago, my doctor started warning me about those dangers. I assured her then, and since that I take the pill, wait for about 1/2 hour, till it kicks in, and go to bed. I don't drive, drink, eat, climb steps, go outside. I don't have hallucinations, although I know I'm close to falling asleep if I think I hear a radio in the distance. I know that sensation is also related to my head position and if I move my head, the sensation stops. In a way, it's relaxing to try to hear what the pretend radio is playing. I had the same dr. and n.p. this whole time, and they both retired earlier this year. The n.p. recommended a n.p. in the office, which is fine by me. I made an appt. for a well-check in Oct. when I called to get my other meds renewed.

I recently had to get a new prescription of Ambien, so I called the dr. office and asked for a renewal. Since it is a controlled substance, they will fill a prescription for 90 days, then you have to renew it. The office called back and said they'd fill it for 30 days, but I had to go see the new n.p. I made an appt. and went today. She kind of smiled when I told her I'd been taking it since the 90s. She said that Ambien is not recommended for people over 65. I explained my bedtime routine and that I've had no trouble. I still have a lot of trouble sleeping and staying asleep, but at least I get 2-4 hours of better quality sleep if I take the Ambien. I've been taking Pramipexole for about 2 years and it really helps with the RLS, but the condition isn't cured, just controlled. I had a bout last week and it was just as miserable as always.

Anyway, since Ambien is a controlled substance, she wants to see me every 3 months. I had to initial and sign 2 pages of conditions regarding using a controlled substance. The way things are, I feel like it'll be a meet-up with my drug dealer.

I have a beef about the frequency of seeing the dr. every 3 months instead of annually. I have a co-pay, so that will increase. The cost to Medicare will increase because of those visits. It's inconvenient to me. It's going to increase my anxiety (yeah, I have that, too) There should be some flexibility in the controlled substance checklist. But, I imagine that the Ohio overlords (rwnj) think we are all lying about how we use our drugs and how they affect us, so we all have to sign a paper promising not to sell our drugs, or get the prescription filled in several places, and agree to a psych evaluation if the drs. think I need it. I felt pissy about signing it, because in the last paragraph, it says 'pain medication' and Ambien isn't for pain. I waited till the nurse came back to sign it, because the signature page required a witness. She was a little taken aback, but by golly that was one way to let them know I took the damn thing seriously, even if I think it's a massive crock.

I treasure those few hours of decent sleep, because they are one of the last pleasures I can indulge in without gaining weight, killing my liver, or my lungs, or getting an allergy attack. Oh, these golden years!

[SARose]

1. I feel ya

I have osteoarthritis in my hands and knees. Can’t take anything but Tylenol because I have kidney disease.

Sooo I use CBD. Doesn’t make me sleepy, eases my pain and no upset tummy.

My husband has diabetic neuropathy and CBD is the one thing that always eases his pain, too.

Ole Dan Patrick can go jump in the lake if he thinks we’re giving it up.

Too many people don’t understand how RSL and chronic pain affect our lives. Doc says walk more - Rose sez “got any new knees?” 🤣

[Marthe48]

2. A lot of people use CBD

I think that we are unique. Some things will work for one person, and not for another. If we find something that eases our pain or stress, we should use it.
I have cinnamon every morning to help with bp and blood sugar. I have an avocado every evening for potassium and a long-term beneficial effect on cholesterol. Plus 1 avocado is 2 or 3 servings of fresh veg.

[SARose]

3. I'm gonna try the avocado, thanks!

Yummy! My hubs take cinnamon, too.

[Marthe48]

4. I cut one in half and season it

salt, pepper, garlic and onion powder, cayenne. Scoop it out with a spoon. My cholesterol is a little high, but stable

[mopinko]

5. the rec about seniors and ambien, as far as i can tell,

comes from a single study in japan of frail elderly in nursing homes, over 80. it caused falls and broken bones.
if your bone density is still good, they’re not talking about u. it’s ridiculous that this is over a single study when there r so many dangerous drugs still on the market.

i took it for a long time and loved it. i will say, tho, u shd go straight to bed. the 1 time i did stu-id stuff was when i stayed up ‘waiting for it to kick in.’
i get twitchy legs at bed time and started taking magnesium. helps a lot.

[Marthe48]

6. I listen to audio books and when they stop making sense, time for bed

I didn't know what the warnings were based on. I'll have to read about it. Thanks.

You might have restless legs. Mine feel like something crawly right under my skin. The Pramipexole has really helped. After i started taking it, I noticed that a whole body sensation of faint thrumming was gone. That part is hard to explain. I didn't notice it till it was gone. I think it was with me a long time. I have magnesium in the cupboard. I take any supplements once in awhile, but not daily.

[mopinko]

7. i get paresthesias, too. feels like an insect biting.

itches intensely until i scratch it. those went away, too.
rsl didnt show up on a sleep study, but it comes and goes.

[Marthe48]

8. Do you think the sleep study did any good?

I try it, if I thought it'd help. I've had trouble sleeping since the 80s, who knows why Whatever the original reason, now I've got rsl, hot flashes, a bladder that is ever vigilant. Ha. But I realized those trips to the bathroom probably head off the leg and foot cramps I get if I lay too long. A sleep lab would burn down if I went. lol

[mopinko]

11. i mean, it cant hurt.

it is grueling, tho. they kick u out at the crack of dawn, and no 1 sleeps well there.
the bladder thing is likely cuz u arent sleeping well enough.

[PufPuf23]

14. Have found that Ambien is a very predictable and useful prescription.

My study indicates that much more likely to be tripped by an affectionate (and bossy) large cat.

[ShazzieB]

9. We're all individuals, that's for sure.

Last edited Wed Jul 9, 2025, 05:23 PM - Edit history (1)

I have RLS, too, and it used to be really bad. It didn't keep me from getting any sleep, but it disrupted my sleep quite a bit. When it was at its worst, I would thrash around violently, and according to my husband, I would sometimes literally hurl myself out of bed! I know he wasn't making things up, because when it would happen, I would immediately wake up to find myself lying on the floor.

I also developed a problem with long car rides. Anything longer than an hour would bring on the leg twitching, and once it started, I absolutely could not sit still. The only thing that would help was stopping, getting out of the car, and walking around a little bit. I also had trouble sitting through movies and concerts, and would have to get up halfway though to go out and walk around for a while. As time went on, the amount of time I had to spend walking around rather than stitting and watching increased more and more.

I tried to talk to my NP about it a couple of times, but I evidently didn't make it clear just how bad things were. Sharing my husband's description of me "hurling" myself out of bed was what finally got her attention. She referred me to a neurologist, and the first thing he did was send me for blood work. After the results came back, he told me to start taking an iron supplement. I was surprised, but I immediately started following his instructions, and my legs improved so much that I didn't need to do anything else!

I definitely still have RLS, but it's much milder and quite manageable now. My sleep has improved greatly, and I haven't woken up on the floor in years! And sitting through movies and concerts is no longer a problem. It's literally been life‐changing.

To this day, i am still not clear on what iron has to do with RLS or why it turned out to be a solution for me. All I know is that it works for me, and I take the stuff religiously, because I have hell to pay if I miss it for more than one night.

I'm not suggesting this as a "fix" for anyone else, but as an example of something that worked in one individual case. And as I said in the title of this post, we are all individuals. I'm glad Ambien has worked as well for you as it has, and I really hope that NP doesn't start giving you any static about refilling it. If I was going to give you or anyone any actual advice, I'd suggest seeing a neurologist, because they know more about this stuff than anyone else.

[Marthe48]

10. My daughter's dr. recently recommended iron

She's a vegetarian, and had developed twitches that woke her in the night. I'll have to ask her if they're better

[LauraInLA]

12. I'm sorry you have to go through that. I'm glad at least your scrip is for 3 months. My spouse has to get a

new scrip for his ADHD meds every month, and there have often been delays when he’s without for days to a week.

[Marthe48]

13. The office is good about sending it in

The only time I had any delays for any prescription was the early days of Covid. I didn't run out, but once they could only give me 10 pills until the shipment came in to the pharmacy.

I don't know much about ADHD treatments. Are there other drugs that could be prescribed for a longer time? Or a way of handling his renewal so there isn't a gap in refilling?

[LauraInLA]

15. No, unfortunately. A lot of ADHD meds (maybe all? they're stimulants) are "controlled substances" that

legally can only be prescribed one month at a time. And it’s amazing how my spouse is affected negatively by the minute differences between individual generic forms of Ritalin. It’s taken 20 years to find the best variant for him; a lot of the others have bad side effects for him.

[Karadeniz]

16. If i eat salt, guaranteed restless legs......

[Faux pas]

17. Have you heard or even tried ashwagandha?

I've been using it since 2019. It has helped me with stress, sleeping, reducing my arthritis pain and, found out during covid, that it's great for immunity. Here's info from the Cleveland Clinic:

https://health.clevelandclinic.org/what-is-ashwagandha

I hope you try it and that it helps

[Marthe48]

18. I haven't heard of it or tried it

I took a quick look at the link, and bookmarked it. Thanks for offering the idea. I will look into it.

[Faux pas]

19. Good for you Marthe48

I recommend it highly. I'm 76 and still truckin' on.

[Marthe48]

20. I'll be 73 next month

right on your heels

[Faux pas]

21. Yep pretty close