"i have been taking ambien for about 6 or 7 years. i have been an insomniac since i was a teen. at first i would take my 10 mg and fall asleep in about 25 minutes. i would sleep through most of night but when it was time for alarm to go off to wake up kids and take them to school i would still wake up before the alarm went off, wide awake no groggy feeling at all. after taking it for a year it would take 1 1/2 hours to kick in which i would not remember anything. then 4 yrs ago our 10yr old daughter died in an accident and ambien became a god send. i have been able to sleep the last 4yrs away and ambien has graciously taken my memories during that time so i can make it day by day. i can honestly say without ambien i would not still be here."