Sleepwalking... changing from Ambien for insomnia. Afraid I'll leave the house, so I put wind chimes on the door. Other suggestions?

Ask your doctor if Melatonin is appropriate, given whatever health issues and other meds you might take.    My sister (nurse) took it and so did I during her last cancer stages.   We never had any side effects.

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/232138.php

Eating turkey before bed is also helpful for good sleep. 

I'm not that familiar with sleep studies to determine other factors involved, but it might be something to explore.  

Wind chimes are a good suggestion.  I put them on my doors to wake me up in the event of an unwanted entity sneaking into my house.  

Depending on the house configuration and door location, there's a handled gadget that my father used to block a back door to prevent unwanted visitors.   I've seen them sold in the miscellaneous "gadget" catalogues.  

They lengthen or shorten to block one door against a wall, or another door.   If positioned far enough from the opening edge of the exterior door, there's no way anyone could reach in.    

When we got locked out from the front door once, Dad had to have an engineer friend figure out a way to open the back door which was blocked.  

This is one:  https://www.mileskimball.com/buy-door-security-bar-310603?sourcecode=MK299SHIP19&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI-fHx_si35AIVBNvACh0_2ACzEAQYAyABEgIHr_D_BwE.

You'd have to be able to reach down and move it in order to get out the door.  But it doesn't do much for doors that don't have a blocking mechanism against which it can be pushed.

When I took Ambien, I didn’t sleepwalk. Maybe wind chimes on your bedroom door as well as the on the entrance to the house?

You said you’re changing FROM Ambien? Are you going through a tapering process?

I used to take Ambien and it gave me a great night’s sleep, but I grew dependent and was always running short before the end of the month. So it would be three weeks of sleeping, one week of insomnia, then two weeks of sleeping, two weeks of insomnia. Anyway, my doctor stopped giving it to me and now I take Trazodone.

I am amazed that an MD gave an elder ambien to sleep. I am to tell the truth surprised that this drug is still out there, notorious as it is. It is commonplace for sleepwalking and very very bizarre behaviors in the night. I think once it is out of the system this may stop. There is great info out there about sleepwalking if you google it, but for the true type of sleepwalking, not a whole lot of help. Wishing you luck. Hope this gets better.

I would call the doctor that prescribed the Ambien and advise him or her that in going off it you are experiencing severe sleepwalking to the point that you are having to put up wind chimes to deter yourself from exiting your home at night. It's easy to imagine how dangerous this situation could be. Maybe you need a sleep study, different meds or some sort of additional input from a specialist to get a handle on what's going on.

I'm a bit of a life-long sleepwalker myself (though not to the extent of leaving my bedroom, thank God) so you definitely have my sympathy. Best wishes to you that your doc will be able to provide some guidance to you in figuring this out.

Is your question about possible different medication or a plan to keep you from sleepwalking? Maybe you could pose the question with some more specifics even if you really have 2 questions. I found it hard to understand what advice you are seeking.