weird in the night

This is a picture of my husband, the insomniac, on our wedding day (almost exactly two and half years ago, which is nice).

Oh hey, Tim, how's it going?

The past six weeks or so, Tim hasn't been sleeping too well. He's had a hard time falling asleep, and sometimes he wakes up and can't fall back asleep. These persistent symptoms of insomnia have plagued him and disrupted his normal daytime functioning, poor kid, so much so that he visited the doctor. (On a side note, I approved this utilization of healthcare services because we've purchased insurance for two years without him using it.)

The doctor gave him some advice about sleep hygiene and (now we come to the point of the post) a prescription for Ambien.

Ambien does weird things to people, apparently. The side effects may include driving, eating, talking on the phone, having sex, etc., all without remembering anything the next morning. Mostly, though, Tim has experienced motor and movement problems. Also, I think he might be having what some would call hallucinations (another known side effect).

Here are a few examples:

Thursday: Tim takes pill when we are out using an office copier. He disappears for a while without saying anything. Upon returning, he looks at me with a dazed expression and says, "I may or may not just have turned off a lot of equipment." We left right about then. I'm really sorry to all those who were confused about why their printers weren't working today as a result.

Tuesday: Lengthy and detailed description of several dreamscapes while lying awake (?) in bed. "I'm standing on a road in a mountain . . . there are rocks . . . you're standing next to me, but your hair is black . . ."

He also kept saying, "I'm dreaming right now, but I'm awake."

Monday: Philosophical ruminations on the essence of love. "Do you think our love is still the same thing even though it's changed?"

Ambien has definitely helped Tim to sleep through the night. We'll soon see if he returns back to normal after the prescription (enough to last for a week) runs out after tonight.