Some Ambien users sleepwalk. But it's a weird sleepwalk, where you actually go through the motions of your day, out colder than a welldigger's ***. It's creepy. Folks have started driving, cooking, all kinds of serious shizz when being conked out on Ambien. So yeah, stay away from that hoodoo. It's bad news.
Doesn't worry me at all. Bad news for those of us that need it, or can't sleep like the rest of you: http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2010/may/05/sleep-study-premature-death
The people that sleepwalk/drive/eat, etc. do so because they don't follow the directions. It's not like an over the counter sleep aid, or even pain medication. It starts to work about 5 minutes after ingestion. If you're not in bed, ready to sleep, then you shouldn't take it. Otherwise, you'll wake up on the couch, with a half-eaten pizza (that you don't remember having delivered) and a bill for two OnDemand movies (not porn unfortunately) that you don't remember watching.
I've taken a combination of Melatonin and Benadryl for several years. Take it a couple of hours before you want to fall asleep. Works great for me.
I'm a shiftworker, rotating 12-hour shifts. I've used Ambien in the past and didn't like the results. I use melatonin. I don't use it every day, only when I want to ensure good, restful sleep, especially after rotating from night shift to day shift. Melatonin is the only thing that doesn't leave me hungover, and the Ambien caused me to act like a fruitloop. It had nothing to do with whether or not I was in bed when I took it. I never felt rested, even though I had slept through the night. I usually sleep-walked (slept-walked? idk...) even without having taken it on the couch or whatever else someone wants to dream up as a reason for it making them cooky. I can tell you only that having used Ambien for 7 years, I found myself relying on it in increasingly disturbing patterns. Whether or not that's because I had built up a tolerance to it or had become familiar with its effects, who knows. Melatonin is all I use now. My room is dark and cold, with white noise in the background. No phones, no tv on, no light creeping in. Combine that with the melatonin, and I can sleep through the day after having worked 12 hours and getting off at 5 am. Before a day shift (5 am to 5 pm), when I need to be in bed by 8 pm so I can wake up between 3 and 3:30 am, I take it around 6 pm or so. ****'s allsome. It works every time and doesn't make me walk around the house naked. I can definitely sleep without it, but it helps the sleep cycle begin natually and keeps my circadian rhythm as regular as it can be working the stupid hours I do. It's not for everyone, just as Ambien isn't. But in my experience, I can take it with the confidence it will work and there have been zero side-effects thus far.
Actually the "white noise" can be very helpful for those of you experiencing sleep difficulties. Dr. Swardie says "Try it" if you haven't yet.
BTW, if any of you suffer from the beetus, be VERY careful about using melatonin. Like "Talk to your doctor first" careful.
Yeah. I'm obviously not a doctor, but apparently in diabetics melatonin can interfere with insulin production. So sayeth the Mayo Clinic.
