Dude, I don't want to be a total dick here, but you are a mental health worker and you are saying that Ambien withdrawal is as bad as benzo withdrawal.
That is incorrect. Also, Ambien is not a narcotic.
DEA, Drug Scheduling
Just because a drug is psychoactive and habit forming, doesn't mean a drug is a narcotic. Just because it is scheduled, doesn't make it a narcotic.
Caffeine is psychoactive, is not scheduled, is non addictive, and is not a narcotic.
LSD is psychoactive, is schedule I, is non addictive, and is not a narcotic.
Alcohol is not scheduled, is psychoactive, is habit forming, and is not a narcotic.
I took Ambien for over 5 years and the only withdrawal affects I had was the fact that I stopped sleeping when I ran out. Taking into consideration that the entire purpose of the drug was to sleep, I hardly consider that a withdrawal affect.
I have taken probably 40 or 50 different substances over the years to assist with sleep. The only one that consistently worked for long periods of time is Seroquel. That shit is a fucking wonder drug. I have been on Seroquel for four years and have slept 8 full hours every night since. Then again, Seroquel is a powerful anti-psycotic, so it is possible that it is treating two things at once. Seroquel kicks cycle insomnia out the 4th floor window. Ambien barely bents a dent on it.
Years ago when I was running tren, Ambien was just good enough to get me to sleep for a few hours, then I would pop up out of the bed like a jack-in-the-box from hell ready to tear the walls down with a rock solid boner and horny enough to fuck Rosie O'Donnell. Seroquel knocked me out for 8 hours.