[Guiness187055]

I have been on restoril for a few months now. I sleep pretty good on it but I don't want to continue taking two benzo's. I have never taken ambien before. Does it work well? Is it as powerful as restoril?

[TicTacGo]

Ambien- my experiences with it.
Ambien is a non-benzodiazepine that works similar to benzos. It is more specifically for the falling asleep type of issue as opposed to staying asleep. Restoril is indicated for both falling and staying asleep.
Within 15 minutes is usually when you will experience the effect of Ambien, so I do suggest you take it right before going to bed.

Now, something I experienced (in my experience specifically, not generalizing every other experience out there) which was quite bizarre; one the first night I used it I accidentally took the whole 10 mg pill instead of half. While lying in bed, I started hearing my father's voice around the room. It was something I heard of, but did not expect. In some cases, hallucinations may be experienced. Apparently I was pretty young when I first used it and an underdeveloped brain is more susceptible to this.

In general, I would say it worked well for me, and I would recommend it, though it really depends on what your specific needs are- if you have trouble staying asleep for the full night, you may need something else with a more extended effect such as Lunesta. (Eszopiclone)

[ofthevalley]

I have never taken restoril so I can't compare.
I take 10 Mgs of ambien every night. What I have found is that it doesn't make me drowsy but within 20 minutes I'm out. I have to take it right before bed otherwise I'll stay awake through it's effects. I don't know if that makes sense? It's weird.
I think it's a good sleep aid for falling asleep. If I happen to wake up I'm screwed.

[still_crazy]

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.

[Guiness187055]

My doctor doesn't mind me on two benzo's and the restoril is working well so I guess I better let sleeping dogs lie.

[childofchaos831]

I experienced sleep walking on Ambien, which is something that is somewhat common. I've heard of people sleep eating, sleep driving, and sleep walking halfway down the street while on it. I was put on it in the hospital, and the doc took me off once they saw that I was sleep walking. That side effect usually gets worse over time, so if I had stayed on it, I could have done the other things. They took me off it while I was still in the hospital.

[catnip123]

I've taken both Ambien and Restoril and Restoril works better for me. Sometimes on Ambien I would get up in the middle of the night and not realize that I had done so until i found myself awake and on the computer with a snack!

[Guiness187055]

Thanks for all the replies.