Ambien Dilemma

Well, I couldn't find a thread for Insomnia, so I am going to use this Anxiety one so I hope this isn't too off-course. I was prescribed Ambien last month for trouble falling asleep and to ease nighttime thought-racing and anxiety. Well, now I feel as though it's doing more than just helping me sleep. It seems to have an anti-depressant property to it that lingers throughout the day, and more noticeably a sedative property that lingers. This is a problem because when I try to go without the Ambien, I feel like I'm hitting Paxil (SSRI) withdrawals. I have experienced SSRI withdrawals, and these are very similar. The only difference is that the withdrawal is primarily anxiety rather than mood. Ambien has an incredible anxiety-relief property to it. So, I can now see my next obstacle is to find a way to get off of it. My thought processes and critical thinking are totally hindered, shrouded in a mist of confusion and inability to compute simple activities. It is a miracle pill for sleep, but I'm having way too many side-effects during the day, and I can already see I've become habituated to it. If anyone has some advice or maybe some Ambien anecdotes, please comment. Thanks and all the best to everyone.

The only way Ambien can work is if you take it on an empty stomach (And I'm talking, NO FOOD for 2 to 2.5 hours before swallowing the pill). Have you tried that? If you take it after eating or during eating, it does not absorb to maximum efficacy, and some of the pill goes through you without getting absorbed at all. Take it on an empty stomach if you haven't tried that already.
I can't imagine you saying you don't feel the sedative properties during the day! Wow! I feel them very noticeably! It's much better than having panic (It does alleviate my anxiety) but makes me very "cloudy" and easily confused. I'm very sensitive though. I weigh 150 and don't use drugs often. Maybe that's a factor. All I know is that it seems to be very strong on me. Now, when I take HALF of 10 mg, I have trouble falling asleep. But when I take the full pill, I'm definitely affected. A lot of times, I've noticed that I will wake up 3 or 4 hours after taking it FULL OF ENERGY (at like 3 in the morning), but then I revert back to sedation about an hour or so later and end up sleeping in way too late. I'm getting inconsistent results from Ambien so I think it's time I try something new. Thanks for your input, and remember, DO AMBIEN ON EMPTY STOMACH.