"have bad insomnia. been on ambien for 10 years now. i decreased my dose to only 3 mg about 5 years ago. all i need is to get to sleep. anxiety prevents that. so ambien works great for me. i have never had any bad effects at all with this drug. no after effects. wake up refreshed. i have had instances where it doesn&#039;t work, if i am in a bad anxious state. but usually i take it right before bed. i don&#039;t delay at all because it is pretty fast working. hope and pray there are no long term effects like alzheimers. so far i have no memory problems. i am 74. i need sleep. it&#039;s that simple. feel awful when i don&#039;t sleep. i do try not to take it every night. go off for days in between. try and go weeks if i can. so far that&#039;s working for me."