ABSOLUTELY try everything at home first! And don't you and your spouse try something new the same night, either
My mom has a very bad reaction to ambien and was worried I would too, but I do not - I made sure to test at home on a weekend though!
Also, for drugs that are longer lasting - you might be able to take a half dose (depends on the formulation). For instance, my Big Boss takes half an ambien for trips to Europe and a full ambien for trips to Asia. But that's the regular not extended release formulation.
(yes, apparently all we do at work is talk about what sleep meds work best for us ;-)