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Could Have Been a LOT Worse
Zolpidem & Diazepam
Citation:   Nevermore. "Could Have Been a LOT Worse: An Experience with Zolpidem & Diazepam (exp20783)". Erowid.org. Oct 16, 2018. erowid.org/exp/20783

 
DOSE:
30 mg oral Pharms - Zolpidem (pill / tablet)
  2.5 mg oral Pharms - Diazepam (pill / tablet)
BODY WEIGHT: 175 lb
I was eating lunch with my significant other and suddenly my eyes wouldn't focus. I was having intense double-vision, and I felt my coordination disappear. I felt like gravity was wobbling, much like I do the few times I have taken Ambien previously. I stopped, mid-sentence, and said 'My god, it feels like I've taken 5 Ambien or something! Something is NOT right.'

I couldn't think of anything that would cause such a reaction, and this was a bit frightening, only I didn't feel anxious or even nervous in the slightest. I stumbled my way up the stairs to the bathroom and went to the bathroom, telling my significant other that all was ok - I just felt really weird. This worried her quite a bit.

In the bathroom, I did the normal tripping thing - checked my pupils, did a reality check, checked my pulse, memory, and coordination (and of course went to the bathroom).

It was then that it hit me...

I am prescribed Ambien to help me sleep, and I had 2.5mg valium left from pre-surgery that I though might come in handy some day. Anyway, several months ago, I had placed 3 Ambiens and the 2.5mg of valium in a gel-cap in the bottom of one of my occasional-supplement bottles, Phenylalanine. I did this because I did not want to carry around prescription notes while transporting a tiny amount of my meds during travel.

I knew what had happened - I had taken that gelcap with 30mg Ambien and 2.5mg thinking it was a phenylalanine supplement! Woah.

I told this to my significant other, who had followed me up the stairs to make sure all was okay. From there on, it is all a blur... giving her the keys, driving home. Apparently I was pretty normal, but it looked like 'I was about to fall asleep at any minute'. At the time, it felt like a 'nap on my feet'. I even checked the mail when I entered the house (which I would later thank my significant other for bringing the mail in, because I couldn't remember I had brought it in!)

We layed down together, and it was so strange seeing her with '3 eyes' due to my intense double vision and inability to focus. Finally, my ability to focus became selective, and as she put it 'My pupils would get huge when I relaxed and reported double vision, and then shrink when I made the effort to focus'

We then did errands around the house, and my memory improved from there on out. About 2-3 hours after returning home, I was pretty much completely baseline, and just felt relaxed and mellow - ready to work, clean up, etc.

Later that night we had several amusing occurances where I forgot I had moved items or cleaned certain things up. Lesson -- Ambien causes extreme memory loss, but is relatively harmless even when taken at 30mg mixed with 2.5mg of valium!

As I learned this last weekend, it is NOT WISE to store your sleep-aids in a gel-cap in your supplement bottle for easy travel! I was lucky the medicines I had stored inside were so benign, or it could have meant a trip to the ER.

Be safe, and don't be as careless as I was!

Exp Year: 2003ExpID: 20783
Gender: Male 
Age at time of experience: Not Given
Published: Oct 16, 2018Views: 1,966
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Pharms - Zolpidem (143), Pharms - Diazepam (115) : Combinations (3), Difficult Experiences (5), Small Group (2-9) (17)

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