Well, here are some of my thoughts. I think you should do what you want with your life. If you truly want to move down to LA, and hunt alligators and fish for crawfish, why not? I say, if that is where your heart is, go for it. Hell, even if you aren't completely sure, why not try it to help get you out of this "slump" you are going through. I see the predicament you face, though, if I am reading this right. You lack the drive/motivation to actually do anything that would change your situation, and this is a symptom which has a name in psychiatry - avolition. I do not know how opiates relate to this, but this "slump" does need fixing for better quality of life. I assumming that you are an (ex?) opiate-addict, or are currently in the throws of a troubling addiction. If you are really suffering due to problems with opiate addiction or lack of opiates after the acute wd's, I might suggest buprenorphine maintenance such as with Suboxone or Subutex. It can help heaps with opiate addiction, providing a nice opioid mood-lift (esp. at lower doses), and helping to keep satisfied with less cravings or desire for other opiates. It also has a blockade effect which make most other opioids inactive upon taking them, however at lower doses this is not always the case. I will say for opioid-maintenance therapy, I'd recommend buprenorphine in most cases before considering methadone.
Another type of drug I might suggest would be amphetamine (pharmaceutical), and in low doses daily or as needed, trying to use as little as possible, overall. Drugs like Adderall (XR), Vyvanse, and Dexedrine (Spansule) are all amphetamines, and can help with avolition and depression in general. They, in fact, can help reduce cravings for drugs while on them due to the fact that they already provide a "high" of sorts, even at lower doses, however this is not the case for everyone, and amphetamine use in people who are/have been addicted to other drugs can worsen their condition, usually causing amphetamine addiction. They are serious drugs, like most with addictive potential, but can be of use depending on individual circumstance.
Benzodiazepines, which are very much like z-drugs such as Ambien (zolpidem), may have a similar effect on you as the Ambien does, however, I am not sure I would advise the use of these unless significant anxiety or panic is present and causing these issues. They can be used daily or as needed, for these purposes. I think what you are taking from the Ambien more than anything is the disinhibtion it provides you, esp. with regard to your judgement. This effect is not always bad as benzos can help with those who worry to much over what they do, for example. With regard to using Ambien during the daytime for purposes other than sleep, I would caution you a few things. First, do NOT take the Ambien daily during the daytime everyday. Taking it in this fashion could land you in a nasty z-drug addiction which would be very like a benzo addiction, and the Ambien would lose this effect it has on you I would guess. If you want to use it during the daytime, I would suggest starting with a very low dose, perhaps even as low as 1.25 mg as needed for this temporary purpose. If you can function w/o trouble on this dose, but it is helping you, stick with it. If you are fine with the dose, but it is not helping, go up to 2.5 mg. At the maximum I would suggest 5 mg during the daytime as needed, and would not go any higher than this. Even this would be a high dose during the daytime, so like I said start low and go slow. If you really want to use these therapeutically, do not seek to get "high", only help you along a little in helping with what it seems to help with. So, do not increase the dose to a point where you are not fit for daytime functioning, just because you want to feel the recreational effects better. Also, make sure you are VERY cautious in doing anything requiring attention such as driving, for example. I would avoid such activities completely with the Ambien, even at very low doses. You may not think you are impaired while you are taking it, but this is because it can be subtle and it does impair judgement, but serious impairment in attention, motor skills etc. is very likely. I would not recommend continuing with the Ambien during the daytime, unless you only use it ocassionally when you feel you need to. I would not use it at all during the daytime, if you have no tolerance.
There are other things that can help with your troubles such as psychotherpay and different sub-varieties, as well as other therapies. Hope you get out of this slump. Do not take 10 mg Ambien 3 x daily, this is a BAD idea.
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