Ambien and Melatonin for fighting jet lag

[Guest guest]

I have used ambien and melatonin together effectively to minimize jet lag on

trips to Europe

and Japan from here on the east coast. From here, most flights to Europe take

off in the

evening. I take ambien on the plane so I can get 5 or 6 hours of sleep on the

flight over.

Otherwise, I find it impossible to sleep on a plane. It works quickly, and

after about 5 hours,

I feel refreshed and not drugged. I continue with the ambien for one or two

more nights so

that I can force sleep to be synchronized with the new time zone. I also take

melatonin

because it has been reported to help reset the diurnal sleep pattern. For me,

it seems to

work well when taken before bedtime. I have never noticed any untoward effects

from either

of these drugs. I have never noticed any effect on hunger from ambien, but my

appetite

tends to be suppressed for the first day or two of such travel, anyway.

Traveling east seems

to be worst for jet lag, so I follow this regimen on return trips from Japan,

and it works

extremely well, even for a 12 or 13 hour time lag. Since most of my travel is

connected with

business, it is critical for me to be in top form, and I don't have the luxury

of traveling a few

extra days early in advance of a meeting. As I understand it, the original

indication for

ambien was for use during travel, but, apparently, it is more widely used now.

I do have to

say, though, that the recent news is a little scary. It would be useful to know

the incidence of

the side-effects.