AMBIEN! I had terrible experiences while taking this drug. I almost burnt my house down. Gained a lot of weight during sleepwalking/eating. I have a friend who’s a cop. He’s told me stories about pulling over sleep walkin’ drivers! Always AMBIEN! DO NOT TAKE THIS DRUG!
I’ve used Sonata without any problems at all, and haven’t heard reports of Ambien-type problems with it, though I’ve also read that at least theoretically all hypnotic type sleep aids could have the same side effect. I haven’t read the details of dosage effect on the incidence of bizarre side effects. Since drug makers and doctors often routinely recommend a high dosage, i.e. one virtually guaranteed to deal with the problem it’s supposed to be addressing, but not necessarily balancing that with the risk of side effects. I usually only take half the smallest available capsule of Sonata, and believe me, opening up that little capsule and measuring out about half the powder inside is a big nuisance.
As for your Ambien experiences, look on the bright side: You didn’t end up on the side of a road, letting this scuzzy-looking career criminal have his way with you :-)