I have no idea why Ambien was never approved for sale in Canada. It’s one of the three ‘Z’ hypnotics (zolpidem, zopiclone, zaleplon) that came along in the late 80s - early 90s. Imovane (zopiclone) and Starnoc/Sonata (zaleplon) are both available here. I’ve never tried Sonata, but Imovane does work in much the same way as Ambien, except that for a lot of people, after about 10 days, it stops working. As well, it can leave a horribly bitter taste in your mouth that starts as soon as it kicks in and lasts into the next day. I hate the stuff.
Waterloo, couldn’t sleep if I wanted to… Waterloo, now I need to urinate too…
I’ve taken Ambien for a while when I had poison ivy, just so I could sleep through the night without waking up a screaming, itching mess. I thought it was great. I’d wish I’d had or got some on my last trip to Asia, which was the only time when I was ever really jet-lagged and just could not get to sleep. I did take one to sleep on my last transatlantic flight, which put me out for a solid 7 hours which never happens for me otherwise. I’m just too light a sleeper normally.
Oh, and no side effects for me yet. I thought the funniest side effect was for the hair growth pill (I’m drawing a blank on the name, but it’s oral) that has a side effect of impotence. It’s ironic since most guys want their hair back to get the babes.