I have been taking Ambien for several years - and it gives me about four hours of halfway decent sleep - I suffer from a long standing sleep disorder that started in childhood. I have not noticed any of the side effects you mentioned - and I think they are one of the safer meds to take - there are others - but they do not do as well for me.

One side effect I know of is that you do not remember what happens after you take them at night - like if you watch a show on TV - most likely you won't remember it at all the next day - so it does cause some memory loss - and all meds have some side effect -

There are two kinds of Ambien now - the regular 10 mg and the 12.5 which are really different - not just stronger.

If they affect someone that bad I certainly would advise them to discusss it with their Doctor - I have tried others without success - we all act differently to certain medications -

I just have not ever had hallucinations - and I do get some sleep which I normally would not.