Was on Ambien from May 2004 till May 2017. Started at 5mg and at one time, was taking 70mg (yeah you read that right) a night. I was on 12.5mg er when I had just had enough. It is easy to form a dependency or even an addiction to Zolpidem and have your life or lifestyle depend on it. Currently, I take one Tylenol pm, 1 10 mg melatonin and smoke some cannabis about an hour before bed. If you are going to break a long term dependency on Ambien, cannabis is key in my opinion. It treats anxiety, depression, insomnia and has anti-inflammatory properties and the CBD’s help with memory and nerve repair and have been known to kill toxic cells like cancer. Cannabis has no “next day grogginess” and comes in raw form or edibles, drops, mist and can even be rubbed on ( transdermal ). The LD50 ( lethal dose that it takes to kill 50% populous) is 1500lbs consumed in 24 hours which is just about impossible. It’s worth a try if it’s available to you. Moderation as always is the key.