I’d been on Ambien (Stilnox locally) uninterruptedly from 2002 until a few months ago, April 2018. My main aim was to just shut down after days of work at a family business job that I loathed and most of my side-effects were binge eating and little else (to the point that I always ensured my home was entirely devoid of food). I was capable of taking ten, 12 doses a night.

In April I quit cold turkey and sought psychiatric help. I also had major depression going. Fifteen days of rehab on Italy’s national health service served wonders. I still have trouble falling asleep, but fuck it.

It turns out I have a genetic mutation that makes me fairly immune to withdrawal effects from benzodiazepines and pseudonenzodiazepines such as zolpidem but seriously people don’t go down this route.