I have a really hard time sleeping on long haul flights (traveling in coach, as I must due to employer requirements!) so I decided to try Ambien. I made an appointment at my HMO, got shuttled between physician assistants and nurses who wanted to know why I wanted Ambien (flight to Australia) and whether I had a history of using sleeping pills (nope) and was I sure that I needed Ambien (not reallly, wanted to try it though). At last I made it through the gauntlet of med-pros and got to see my doctor. I said I wanted a prescription for four doses only--one for each of the scheduled flights to or from Australia that I had coming up. Notwithstanding all of the earlier anxiety about why I might be trying to get ahold of this powerful and dangerous drug, when I said I only wanted four doses, the response was, No way, we can't issue such a small prescription.

So, in the end, I ended up with 10 tablets. Took one each way to and from Australia to LAX, and I was the person with her light on reading the whole way over while everybody else slept. Ditched the remaining 8 pills and still looking for the right sleep aid for long haul flights.