i think it really depends...psych drugs aren't always predictable.

when i needed sleeping pills, i did better on tempazepam than on ambien. sonata didn't do a whole lot for me, either. honestly, the best "sleeping pill" for me--back when i still needed such things--was Librium. Sadly, I don't think many doctors prescribe Librium very often these days. Not so great for anxiety, but its great to relax the body and lull you to sleep.

i think there's cross-tolerance w/ ambien and the benzodiazepines. that's been my own experience and also what i've observed in others, anyway. i did find ambien easier to taper than a "real" benzodiazepine, so that was a definite plus.

there are other benzodiazepine sleeping pills, of course. dalmane, pro-som, and...halcion. halcion is like the sleepy time version of xanax. high potency, fast acting, doesn't have a long half life, etc. some people swear by it. some "experts" regard it as dangerous.

i hope you can find a good solution.