Getting rest and using drugs?

This is a very unqualified statememt, but is my opinion. I think you would be much better off looking for a natural herb that would assist you in getting better sleep.  Try to find out why or think about what is causing you not to get the sleep you feel you should, try to address the underlying problem instead of looking for the quick fix for the symptom.

Good Luck!!!!

Capt. Dave I'm not a Doctor although I have played one on tv. I also stay at Holiday Inn Express. I've not had any ill effects from Ambien. Just follow the Dr. advice. Don't take it for more than 2-3 nights consecutively. Ambien works best at getting you back into a sleep pattern.

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Ambien is one of the 'no-go' pills the Air Force gives it's flight personnel when they need to switch their sleep patterns in a hurry (i.e. need to go to sleep at 10am so they can fly all night or something like that).  So, that means as an A.F. aviator, I've had to ground test it.

Hate the stuff.  Won't ever take it again.  It's supposed to last for 8 hours.  I got up after 8 and was then groggy and cranky for the next 8...certainly not able to fly!

They ground tested me on a different one after that that worked much better (sonata) that I'll use when I deploy...but YES, I had awful side effects from Ambien.  That stuff was EVIL!  It seriously knocked me out for an entire day AFTER sleeping all night.  I'm not a fan of artificial sleep aids...fix the problem, not mask the solution...

THere is a great book called, "The Promise of Sleep"  Check it out at yoru library, get it on tape/CD etc.  It is written by one of the men who discovered REM sleep as a medical student. 

As far as "natural aids" are concerned, everything acts inside the body as a chemical agent, vitamins, minerals, enzymes, "drugs" and "herbal medicines".  There is an active ingredient that interacts somewhere and causes an effect.  Whether or not it is "natural" or manufactured is moot in my opinion.  herbal medicines are frequently better tolerated simply because the active ingredient is very dilute compared to a manufactured version by a pharaceutical company.  The many posts ehre saying people take a half dose, or a small dose of some drug supports the idea that you use only what works and no more.  Frequently for "natural" medicines, the opposite is true, in order to get an effect, you have to use a large dose in comparison to the drug company version. 

But that's a whole topic for another threat.  The only "natural" solution is better sleep hygiene, for more on that topic, google it or read the book mentioned above, it is excellent and will only enhance your current sleep habits, even if you don't think you have any issues.

One final thought from a personal POV, I do think that sometimes a temporary sleep aid can help reestablish normal patterns and is healthier than struggling for weeks/months on your own.

I used a low dose of amitryptilene for about a week at a time during medical school to help reestablish normal patterns, and have not had to do it since. 

I guess everyone is definitely different.  Ambien has changed my life.  I have suffered from insomnia since I was a baby.  I have used everything herbal to no avail.  I have also used anti-anxiety drugs, antidepressants and all of the OTC meds with an antihistamine in them.  The herbals did nothing and everything else left me hung over in the morning.  Ambien is perfect for me.  No drowsiness at all.  I get a good 5-6 hours sleep on the stuff.

The only side effect for me is if I take 10 mg, I can get amnesia.  If I am sensible, I take the meds and then go to bed.  Sometimes I stay doing whatever it is I have been doing (ie surfing the net) and then I find out the next day that I have sent emails that I don't remember sending.  Fortunately for me, I only need 5 mg to knock me out and this dose doesn't seem to have the amnesic affect for me.

The one time I took Ambien before a triathlon, I placed second female overall :-)  My first and only overall placing.  So I am fairly confident in saying that it didn't hinder my performance too much.

If you want to give it a shot, ask your Dr. for a sample and try it on a weekend when you don't have anything important going on.