I have been taking ambien for over 17 years. 10 mg once nightly. I first started taking it to help me sleep with my new CPAP machine the doctor started me on for sleep apnea. I became quickly addicted. In the beginnings it worked great lots of sleep. Then after about a month or two I started having those bad symptoms of getting up, fixing meals and eating everything I could find. I would have sex and not remember it the next morning. Also, I have bizarre conversations with people at home or on the phone and not remember it. I have even driven to Walmart and purchased groceries and not remember it until I found the bill and saw the time stamp. You would think this would have scared me enough to stop taking it but it hasn’t. I developed psoriasis/psoriatic arthritis so I continued to take the ambein because it is like taking a hypnotic drug. I knew I had psoriatic arthritis but when I took the pill I didn’t feel the pain. It put me in a dream/wake stage. I have had to apologize to a lot of people/friends/family the next day after taking ambien. So, I have said all this to say that I need to wean myself off of ambien because I am having severe memory loss. It almost seems like I have dementia. I am only 55 year old man and just retired from teaching elementary school for 30 years. It really feels like my mind is changing and not in a good way. I need some advice on quitting and still being able to get some sleep. Maybe someday I will blog about all the bizarre stories/talks/actions that happen when I take ambien. I am truly addicted and need help. I am very afraid of the side effects that will come with the withdrawal. Please help.