I do not normally take pills, but Ambien is one of the few that I will. I have a random insomnia problem. I used to stay up sometimes all night just waiting to go to sleep. It was as if my body was asleep, but my mind would not stop. It actually drove me to do some pretty weird/crazy and dangerous stuff at times. My family doctor prescribed Ambien to me and I LOVE it. I only take it when I know I am going to have an insomnia episode. All I can tell you is when you take it you better be in bed. I can never remember getting sleepy, turning off the TV, or setting my alarm. I usually can be wide awake watching TV and then wake up the next morning with no memory of anything. The great thing is I do not feel groggy after 7 hours of sleep. It basically seems to knock me out, erase my memory, and then leave sometime in the middle of the night like a bad date. The pill is the size of a large mouse turd. Take it with plenty of water because it can get stuck in your throat easily.
I have never had the bad experience that Hal obviously has, but I do not doubt it for a second. I wouldn't be surprised if someone were to tell me that they were an Oompa-Loompa while on this shit. I read on the warning label that came with the prescription that it can make you do random stuff that you are unaware of. This is a well illustrated story of what I read on the warning label:
"...some people become sexually uninhibited and display extreme sexual behavior while on Ambien. Again, most do not remember acting that way or that they engaged in sexual activity when they wake up the next morning. While some may find this to be a side benefit rather than a side effect it can be dangerous. Often the person tends to not have inhibitions about WHO they have sex with. One woman reported that several people who knew she was taking Ambien used it as an opportunity to have sex with her when she normally would not have done so with them."
I did a simple Google search to find that. http://ezinearticles.com/?Ambien-Side-Effects-May-Make-You-Think-Twice-Before-Using-It&id=430781
Again, be careful.