I take 5 diff. drugs and am trying to figure out which side effec...

Both Ativan and Ambien cause serious memory problems. Drug companies claim that when the drug wears off, so does the memory problem, but that is not true for everyone. I had serious memory problems on Ativan, and both drugs caused really bad aggression when I was withdrawing (I mean, on a daily basis, not that I was hooked and 2 years later I tried to get off. Every morning after taking a pill the night before, I was really angry. It took years to figure this out. Docs said it was the bipolar disorder).

A person going into surgery is given amnesia drugs so that if they do wake up during surgery, they won't remember (and sue the hospital. Also, they won't get PTSD, so everyone wins) These drugs are benzo's, just like the Ativan. Ambien is a very similar drug, although not technically a benzo (at least, that is how a doc explained it to me).