"been taking the 10mg until it got discontinued and now have the 5mg. i take a whole mg with a half 5mg and this works perfectly for me.  i haven&#039;t had any weird side effects and have been on this med for 12 years.  i take it on a totally empty stomach and after about 15 minutes i have a snack before bed if i happened to have missed dinner, after snack, off to bed.  ambien is my best friend. i am in my late 60&#039;s."