Ambien Addiction Treatment Center

Ambien Addiction Treatment

Ambien addiction is a risk for anyone who uses this powerful sleeping medication differently than prescribed. Ambien can be a safe and effective remedy for insomnia if used for a very short time, but abusing Ambien can easily lead to drug dependency. People who become dependent on Ambien will need addiction treatment, which fortunately is highly effective in most cases.

What is Ambien Addiction?


Ambien is the brand name for the drug zolpidem, a prescription medication used as a short-term remedy for insomnia.

If used for only a few weeks, Ambien can be safe and effective. However, Ambien can be highly addictive if used for an extended period of time, or if taken in larger-than-prescribed amounts.

When it is overused, Ambien’s effectiveness as a sleep remedy declines, which is an indicator of growing tolerance and a warning sign that chemical dependency may be imminent.

Some Ambien users take the drug recreationally, based on its ability to produce euphoria and a sense of deep, pleasant relaxation. The misuse of pharmaceutical medications often leads to addiction, and people who abuse Ambien in this manner are undoubtedly playing with fire.

Ambien Addiction Facts and Statistics

Ambien is the most commonly prescribed sleeping medication in the United States, and its use has grown dramatically.

  • According to a 2018 study by the National Survey on Drug Use and Health 741,000 Americans age 12 or older abused zolpidem, specifically, in 2018
  • A 2013 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) study revealed that four percent of American adults aged 20 and over had taken a prescription sleep medication in the past month.

Thankfully, most people who receive prescriptions for sleeping medications will use them responsibly, and illicit use of Ambien is still not that widespread:

  • Only about one out of every 1,000 adults are addicted to sedatives like Ambien. This translates to about 300,000 Americans aged 12 and over who suffer from sedative dependency.
  • Out of all people who misuse sedatives like Ambien, somewhere between four and five percent will eventually develop drug dependency.

Effective World-Class Treatment for Ambien Addiction at Alta Mira


Our residential Ambien addiction treatment center offers real hope to men and women struggling to overcome their substance abuse issues. Many people who develop addictions to prescription drugs also have co-occurring mental and behavioral health disorders. Our comprehensive treatment plans are effective against these complicating factors.

Our compassionate addiction treatment professionals provide the very best in psychiatric care services. If you choose our luxury Ambien rehab center, you can expect:

  • Medically-supervised detox
  • Regular individual therapy sessions
  • Group therapy
  • Family therapy
  • Educational programs
  • Holistic mind-body healing practices (meditation, yoga, biofeedback, acupuncture, etc.)
  • Experiential therapies
  • Intensive workshops
  • Fitness, recreation, and wellness programs
  • Stress management techniques and instruction
  • Relapse prevention training

Relapse prevention is a serious concern for people who’ve encountered difficulties with Ambien abuse. Stressful life circumstances, troublesome relationships, and emotional issues can leave you vulnerable to relapse after you leave treatment and enter aftercare. To keep you moving along the path to a sustainable recovery, our recovery specialists will help you identify relapse triggers. We will also help you uncover and confront any underlying factors that may have played a role in your substance abuse. Co-occurring mental health disorders put your sobriety at risk if they remain untreated.

Ambien addiction treatment at Alta Mira is intensive, comprehensive, and proactive. When you put yourself in our care, we’ll develop an integrated plan that gives you an excellent opportunity to achieve sustainable recovery.

We’re Here to Help.
Call Today.

Signs and Symptoms of Ambien Addiction


When Ambien abuse is in its earliest stages, symptoms will likely include a return of insomnia that motivated the drug use in the first place. The person will demonstrate other signs associated with the overuse of Ambien, including:

  • Persistent drowsiness
  • Mental confusion
  • Memory problems
  • Slowed reaction and thinking times
  • Unsteadiness when walking
  • Mood swings
  • Shakiness
  • Stomach pain
  • Diarrhea
  • Heartburn
  • Blurred vision
  • Muscle weakness
  • Low pulse rate
  • Slowed breathing

Ambien addiction signs will develop if the use of the drug continues to escalate, and that will be true for those taking the drug recreationally as well as those who started out with a legitimate prescription. Cravings will be experienced if the individual tries to stop using Ambien, derailing even the sincerest efforts to quit.

In addition to continuing physical symptoms of overuse, some of the strongest behavioral indicators of a burgeoning Ambien addiction include:

  • Ever-growing consumption of the drug, as the body’s tolerance for it continues to increase
  • Permanent loss of ability to sleep without the drug, and in higher doses than originally prescribed
  • Mixing Ambien with alcohol to increase its sedating effects
  • Doctor shopping in search of new prescriptions
  • Borrowing or stealing drugs from friends or family members, or searching for additional supplies on the black market
  • Taking the drug earlier in the day, with no intention of sleeping
  • Neglect of job, family, or personal responsibilities related to Ambien consumption and/or the search for more of the drug
  • Falling asleep randomly, repeatedly, and in inappropriate locations
  • Encounters with the law, for driving under the influence or other infractions
  • Risky, impulsive, dangerous behavior that seems out of context given the individual’s normal personality
  • Isolation from family and friends; secretiveness
  • Lying about drug use
  • Blackouts, amnesia, or gaps in memory
  • Sleepwalking

The latter is one of the more unique and frightening Ambien addiction signs.

People under the influence of Ambien sometimes enter an altered state halfway between sleeping and waking. They may be up and around performing a host of normal, everyday duties, such as driving, cleaning the house, preparing food, or walking to the store, or even holding conversations with friends, family members, or strangers. Other times, they may do or say strange or unexpected things. But they will not be fully awake while doing any of this and will have no memory of what they did or said later on.

Ambien addiction is a powerful form of drug dependency, and the control it asserts over sufferers’ lives can be extreme.

Hope is Just a Phone Call Away

866-922-1350

Causes and Risk Factors of Ambien Addiction


Ambien addiction is a stealth disorder that catches people unaware and unprepared, and anyone who abuses the drug could conceivably be at risk.

However, sedative addiction can often be predicted by the presence of certain established risk factors, such as:

  • Family history. Shared genetic factors plus environmental influences explain why drug dependency and the misuse of prescription drugs often run in families.
  • Self-medicating behavior. People who use Ambien without a prescription, or in larger quantities than recommended, for sleep disorders, are at significant risk for addiction.
  • Chronic insomnia. The longer and more severe insomnia, the more likely it will lead to sleeping pill abuse.
  • Alcoholism and other types of drug dependency. Recreational misuse of Ambien is more common among those who have a history of drug or alcohol abuse.
  • Extended use of the drug. Ambien is generally effective for two to six weeks, but if consumption continues beyond that point the risk for addiction rises rapidly.

Knowing When It's Time for Ambien Rehab


Getting help for Ambien addiction is vital. But making that first step toward this important and potentially life-transforming move can be challenging for anyone who has tried to manage addiction on their own.

Residential treatment for Ambien addiction is most effective because it allows an individual to focus on treatment for an extended period of time while learning the necessary skills for returning home and avoiding a relapse. Ambien addiction treatment is tailored to each individual and may include:

  • Detox
  • One-on-one behavioral therapy
  • Group therapy and peer support
  • Educational programs
  • Family therapy
  • Experiential and holistic therapies
  • Intensive workshops
  • Fitness/recreation
  • Relaxation strategies and stress management
  • Learning how to avoid relapses

Relapse prevention is an important part of treatment and includes learning what triggers the Ambien abuse, how to avoid triggers, lifestyle changes, and learning and using healthy coping strategies.

We understand that in order for Ambien rehab to be successful, we must listen closely and truly understand your needs, aspirations, personal history, and treatment goals. All members of our care team align closely with you so that you feel safe, respected, and ready to do your work. With this approach, Alta Mira co-creates a profound healing experience with you so you can achieve your recovery goals and reclaim your life.

How to Help a Loved One Get Treatment for Ambien Addiction

Addiction is not a choice nor a sign of weakness. It is a condition of the brain that can respond to targeted treatment. When your loved one comes to Alta Mira, they will finally have a chance to be free from the debilitating effects of addiction.

While you can have an influence on your loved one’s decision to seek treatment, an individual struggling with addiction must take ultimate responsibility for their own recovery. Your support and encouragement may be what will finally convince them to seek help for their struggles with Ambien.

If your loved one is resistant to receiving treatment for their Ambien addiction, consider intervention. Hiring a professional interventionist can help the family get organized as a team, prepare to speak to the addict in a coordinated way, to give your loved one the best possible chance of successfully arriving in treatment. Interventionists can also be helpful during and after the treatment experience, providing support and coaching to the family to ensure that the client completes treatment. If you are considering an Ambien addiction intervention, our admissions team can provide guidance.

How Our Luxury Ambien Addiction Rehab Center Transforms Lives


During your stay at Alta Mira, you’ll have an individualized treatment plan tailored to your specific needs. This will include comprehensive services for any co-occurring conditions that might be complicating or supporting your Ambien addiction.

Our Transformational Ambien Addiction Treatment Program

Your first 30 days of treatment at Alta Mira is referred to as your Detox, Stabilization, Assessment period, which begins with private, medically supervised detox. During this time, our detox specialists will keep you safe and secure, monitored 24/7, as you rest in the privacy of your own room.

You can also expect:

  • Weekly meetings with a psychiatrist
  • Weekly meetings with a medical doctor
  • Neuropsychological testing and advanced psychological testing
  • Orientation to our recovery fundamentals and self-regulation skills development
  • In-depth family engagement and the option for loved ones to attend multiple 4-day family programs
  • Introduction to therapy groups

Following 30 days of stabilization, clients move on to the next phase of their recovery process at Alta Mira, which we call our Transformational Program. Key elements of our complete 90-day transformational Ambien rehab program include:

  • Three individual intensive psychotherapy sessions per week
  • Weekly meetings with a medical doctor
  • Participation in advanced workshops to support introspection, foundational change toward recovery, and relapse prevention
  • Expanded neuropsychological assessment and continued weekly psychiatrist meetings inform tailored treatment adjustments and a refined individualized clinical approach
  • Practice and integration of recovery principles and self-regulation skills and continued family work to support improved individual outcomes
  • Intensive Workshops

The Courage to Change

Lasting change takes time. It can take six weeks to change a simple habit. Changing behavior following opiate addiction can be very challenging. Learning how to develop clean and sober behaviors, effectively deal with triggers and stressors, take medication as prescribed, and make healthy lifestyle changes to support long-term recovery can take time.

Better Ambien Addiction Treatment Outcomes

Our 90-day program provides the structure, support, and time to learn a new way of living to give clients the best possible outcome. Studies show that individuals should participate in drug treatment for at least 90 days to see the best results. However, the best indicator of success is not the duration of the program, but the mutual cooperation between the recovering addict and the treatment center, as they plan for continuing care after finishing the program.

Working Together

We understand that in order for treatment to be successful, we must listen closely and truly understand your needs, aspirations, personal history, and treatment goals. All members of our care team align closely with you so that you feel safe, respected, and ready to do your work. With this approach, Alta Mira co-creates a profound healing experience with you so you can achieve your recovery goals and reclaim your life.

Reclaim Your Life at Our Private Ambien Addiction Treatment Center Today


We believe individuals are best able to focus on their recovery when immersed in a secure, serene, healing setting. That’s why we provide comfortable surroundings while maintaining the most advanced and sophisticated Ambien rehab program in Northern California. Clients can expect compassionate care from our best-in-class Ambien addiction specialists.

Seeking a helping hand to guide you through these difficult times is not an easy decision. Our caring and experienced team at Alta Mira can help guide you through the next steps toward achieving lasting recovery.

Don’t let Ambien destroy your life. To begin your life-changing transformation, contact us today.

Ambien Addiction FAQs

Most people who overdose on Ambien have a good chance of survival, as long as emergency medical treatment is administered promptly. The symptoms of Ambien overdose include:

  • Respiratory distress caused by slowed breathing
  • Dangerously low heart rate
  • Drowsiness that won’t relent
  • Mental confusion
  • Lightheadedness
  • Muscle weakness, unsteadiness
  • Headaches
  • Nausea and vomiting
  • Hallucinations

While Ambien overdose is normally treatable, the situation is fraught with danger when Ambien is mixed with alcohol. Rapid medical intervention is absolutely essential if an Ambien and alcohol overdose is suspected since their combined effect can lead to death by respiratory failure or heart failure.

Ambien withdrawal symptoms are distressing, powerful, and possibly hazardous if they reach extreme levels.

Common Ambien withdrawal symptoms may include:

  • Anxiety and agitation
  • Rapid mood swings
  • Strong physical and psychological cravings
  • Heavy sweating
  • Shakiness, tremors
  • Extreme nausea and vomiting
  • Panic attacks
  • Sleeplessness
  • Abdominal cramping
  • Racing heart rate
  • Seizures

Medically-assisted detox is vital for people going through Ambien withdrawal, which can take seven to 10 days to complete and can be highly stressful in the first three to five days. Gradual, controlled tapering is generally a safe form of withdrawal, but medical monitoring and care should be provided throughout the Ambien withdrawal process, just in case mental or physical health complications arise.

Mental health professionals diagnose Ambien addiction based on the presence of certain telltale symptoms, as identified in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). These diagnostic markers include:

  • Taking the drug for longer than intended or recommended
  • The failure of all attempts to quit using the drug
  • Strong physical and psychological compulsions for the drug
  • Abandonment of cherished hobbies or enjoyable activities in favor of drug use
  • Continued use of the drug despite the negative social, personal, legal, or financial consequences that result

Those who’ve been mixing Ambien with other drugs (this happens most often with alcohol) may receive a diagnosis for multiple substance use disorders.