Ambien

[Brain Sturgeon]

I prescribe it a fair bit, and it is usually well tolerated without many side effects. However, irritability with the various prescription sleep meds out there is not unheard of. How long are you sleeping after you take it?

You could try taking 5mg at bedtime to see if that has any less of the irritability the next day while still letting you get to sleep. Otherwise, you could try Lunesta, which also has a low side effect profile, although it will be a bit more pricey. Outside of these two, benzodiazepines are the next most common class of drugs used for sleep (typically restoril, although diazepam, lorazepam, alprazolam, versed have also been used) although there tends to be more side effects with these such as oversedation and amnesia (particularly with versed).

Neither benzo's, Ambien, or Lunesta are particularly physically addictive, although they can be psychologically addictive if used/relied upon long enough.

Other than these meds, melatonin is the most common "nutritional supplement" used for a sleep aid, and there is a little science behind it as melatonin produced by the pineal is thought to be important for sleep-wake cycles in humans. But whether or not taking melatonin actually helps sleep is not clear.

Hope this helps...