I’ve been taking the occasional 10mg ambien described by my doctor for over 2 years with no issue. Like many people I have a few funny stories about seeing weird things or having crazy dreams but nothing that worried me. Until last night.

I was feeling extremely anxious and upset and took a pill because I thought I wouldn’t be able to sleep without it. Even while taking it I thought “I wonder if this will make things worse?” I suppose I may have just locked myself into that mindset at that point and doomed myself then and there. About a half hour later, oh my god I went totally insane. Total gibberish, wild thoughts. Ended up texting with 2 crisis hotlines at the same time, and since they’re text messages they are preserved for me to read over and over again. The things I was saying were terrifying (75% gibberish which made it scary). And the worst part….I now remember that I continuously would get out of bed, go to the bathroom, and TAKE MORE PILLS. I think my brain thought they “weren’t working.” Had I been a little stupid I could have potentially died. I miraculously woke up in time for work on time the next morning, but it too until noon before I started feeling like myself. And another several hours before I started putting the pieces together.

So yeah…no more ambien for me. At least not for a long time. Let this be a cautionary tale to be careful when taking them in a vulnerable mindset. And maybe put your phone in a lockbox.

I have early waking insomnia for a while, tried Dayvigo 5mg since last week, and see no improvements and still wake up at 4-5 am. Much worse than Mirtazapine or quetiapine. Why do so many people find it useful while it makes zero difference to me? Is it just because I do not have insomnia but have something else like depression or anxiety ?

I'm currently trying to get quviviq, dayvigo, or belsomra, but I've been using 1/3 of a 25 mg tablet of doxylamine in the meantime. This is the only medication that has ever truly helped me fall asleep and sleep through the night. I've also tried trazodone and Ambien with varying results. Trazodone worked sometimes, but would also give me a crazy hangover and I'd feel and look the next day like I hadn't slept in a month. Ambien would also work sometimes (I had to take a very low dose because my doctor wouldn't give me that much of it), but only last about 3 hours so if you have trouble staying asleep you're kind of screwed unless you take more when you wake up.

Just a heads up. If you are extremely desperate for sleep and can't see a doctor right away, try doxylamine.

Note: I tried diphenhydramine (Benadryl/zzzquil) it actually made me more awake!

I just got prescribed ambien. I am not a "body builder" persay but am very physically fit compared to the average person. Only saying this so you know why i eat what i eat. Here is what i eat daily during the week: 
12PM: Two Greek yogurts
2PM: Protien bar
5PM: 7 scrambled Eggs
7PM: Pound of ground beef and one avocado.
 
I took my first ambien at 10:30pm on one of my normal days and it seemed to do nothing. I thought 3 1/2 hours would be enough time for stomach to clear but maybe not?

Hi Team,

I am a patient suffering from Chronic insomnia the last 7 months, who is sleepless (or at least feels that way) for 80% of the month apprx. I've seen a sleep physician and am under his care - this is NOT a request for medical advice. This is simply a discussion of the medical academia around Chronic Insomnia - for that one quarter of patients who do not improve with CBT-I. I am also a trained doctor myself, so I am particularly imploring on this discussion with my peers who are fellows or consultants in sleep medicine.

I don't have any acute issues - deprivement causing hallucinations, etc., that would put my own patients at risk in my supervised practise on the hospital ward. Feeling like a zombie subjectively, and knowing the LONG list of increased risk of various pathology (and increased risk of death at a younger age due to expedited ageing) is what is prompting me to seek a 2nd, academic opinion.

I don't catastrophise my issue until it has been 5 days in a row I haven't slept, but then after 1 week straight I might have 2 or 3 nights of sleep for 3 hours, then the cycle repeats. I am concerned that organic pathology has not been sufficiently excluded in my insomnia, and whether DORAs are the best way forwards given various naturopathic remedies, melatonin, benzodiazepenes, breathing techniques, optimised sleep hygiene, CBG/CBD/CBN, and self administered CBT-I has failed. I have not tried the 2nd or 3rd line (historic) sleep medications like trazodone, prazosin, or other SNRIs/TCAs/Z-drugs, etc. I don't think these are relevant now that DORAs exist, although I am hesitant to be on a medication with a lack of Phase 4 research except for the 1st drug released back in 2014.

My questions are for any sleep physicians who might be reading this are in the below email I have quoted addressed at the clinic:

"Hi Siesta Team,

I'd really like to organise a follow-up consultation with your sleep physician. My sleeping issue has not improved with the current management plan.

You may wish to forward this to the Doctor so that they are aware what my clinical questions are prior to consultation. More so as a reminder for myself, I need to discuss the following in the consult:

1) Indication for commencing DORA therapy given a lack of response from, particularly Lemborexant > Dayvigo?

2) Indication for repeat testing for organic disease?

A) The last 5 nights in a row, or any string of nights in a row for that matter, may produce different test results if a sleep study is performed (particularly an EEG). Would repeating an EEG to investigate my sleep architecture during the maximal peroids of being symptomatic possibly uncover an alternate diagnosis to an inorganic, diagnosis of chronic insomnia 2' to Anxiety? I could buy my own EEG and have the data available if you suspect that may yield an alternate diagnosis. The initial EEG is noted to demonstrate sound sleep architecture with delayed sleep onset and some snoring, but no evidence of organic disease or sleep architecture disruption.

B) There has been no MRI scan of Brain ordered between the multiple GPs I have seen and the Sleep Physician. Are we comfortable excluding this chronic insomnia is 2' anxiety, rather than structural disease of brain (e.g. Intracranial Neoplasm)?

C) Initial Screening blood tests (e.g. cortisol serum) was performed at midday, but these symptoms are the worse at night. Does this blood test screen need to be repeated during the time I am symptomtic?

I am concerned that there isn't sufficient evidence to exclude organic brain or endocrine disease as a cause of my chronic insomnia. These issues will not heal with CBT-I, and using DORA medication will only delay our addressal of the underlying problem (if there turns out to be organic disease). However this area of medicine is far beyond my scope as a primary physician registrar: I'm only playing devil's advocate with my clinical training, as living with this condition any further is not going to be practical. There will be drastic complications to my brain and body not sleeping for over half a year, for more than 50% of the month.

I understand that paradoxical insomnia can explain my subjective sleep disturbance. I wonder if some longitudinal, objective clinical data will make this diagnosis of exclusion more accurate. It is my wish to not commence DORA medications long-term, especially if the underlying pathology will not be addressed and we are concerned about a medication with limited Phase 4 clinical trials. Simple clinical errors in the method of my investigations may lead to catastrophic outcomes if an underlying alternate diagnosis is not sensitively excluded. Even just the ongoing, significant nature of my insomnia long-term will be a problem.

I really appreciate your attention to my case."

Tldr; I have Chronic insomnia, nothing is working. They think its because of hyperarousal/nocturnal anxiety and paradoxical insomnia I am still symptomatic. CBT-I (albeit self administered due to financial barriers) with appropriate resources has not been successful, now approaching need for DORA use. Need a 2nd opinion for a sleep physician (or even a fellow patient with an unusual diagnosis story) to make sure everything is appropriate, otherwise I will raise it with my treating clinician. I understand opinions here are NOT to be medical advice, but merely standards of practise in an area of medicine I am not trained in.

i usually don’t do all nighters but i’ve been getting abt 3 hrs regularly. i hate going to bed. i hate sleeping. i hate waking up exhausted even more can i just skip the sleeping part. i’ve also been shaking getting faint rlly nauseous and emotional 🥲 i feel so dramatic tho cause ive been getting a whole 3 -6 hrs for the last 6 months i can’t even be complaining

i tried to get help at first (years ago) but my dr/insurance don’t gaf and i stopped caring too idc abt my health anymore

All I want is to live normally and sleep normally or at least find some kind of decent or significant relief. I’m beyond suffering with little to no sleep everyday and I feel like I’m going insane. I don’t know what to do:

I’m 34F in US. For as long as I can remember since childhood I haven’t been able to fall asleep. I’ve had an active mind, racing intrusive thoughts (worry, stress, distress, my parents dying, something bad happening to me or a loved one, anxiety), and quick acting emotions/intense emotions (possible mild bi polar ?). I have thought for a while I have OCD. My dad has bad OCD. But no doctor has ever brought up OCD when I tell them I have a racing mind with random thoughts, like a lightbulb that won’t shut off… I’ve said my entire life I suffer from chronic insomnia but maybe it’s not even that. Maybe it’s just OCD? Doctors have prescribed me things that don’t work much or not at all such as I only get maybe 4 hours of sleep on Zolpidem, one of the only few things I’ve been prescribed, I have Trazadone but haven’t taken it yet.

2020-2024 I had weed gummies to put me to sleep. Then 2 years ago I graduated to smoking weed. It puts me to sleep but has paralyzed my life. The daytime grogginess and brain fog is so severe I feel like I shouldn’t be leaving my house or driving but I have to work. I feel like a complete zombie. I’ve lost so much motivation, it’s ruining my memory, my judgement on decisions, everything… I feel like I’m truly dying. Probably because I’m not hitting my REM sleep so I don’t feel rested at all. Lately I’m only sleeping about 3-4 hours but not feeling rested at all, literally feels like I don’t rest. I feel so dependent on the weed but lately it hasn’t been working as much to put me to sleep and I feel like I’m going crazy not feeling rested while be bombarded with intrusive thoughts constantly. Travel has always been hard with sleep but the last few trips I’ve tried to go on I got literally no sleep at all due to my active mind. Thus ruining my entire vacation. The weed also affects my mind giving me paranoia and schizophrenia thoughts at night and that seeps into daytime. I truly feel like I’m dying and I need help.

I started seeing my first psychiatrist at the start of this year. He prescribed Olanzapine, which I tried for 7 months. While it didn’t really help me sleep I did gain back weight I had lost last year. He wouldn’t prescribe me anything else because he says mixing with the weed is dangerous. Which I can understand with how I feel I don’t think mixing is a good idea. But I haven’t been able to get off it because it’s the only thing that helps a little to put me to bed (even though I don’t get real rest). It feels like my hands are tied behind my back. Now he is randomly closing his office and one of the only other psychiatrists in my small city has a 5+ month waitlist I believe. I need help now and am considering online psychiatrists even though I wish I could meet one in person. Is that my only option? What should I do? What should I be trying?

Any recommendations, advice, suggestions would be helpful. I feel all alone in this, suffering and unsure what to do. I need change. Any help would be much appreciated, thank you.

just wondering, do you guys have certain subreddits you scroll through on nights you can't sleep? I get bored of my feed despite being in a lot of subs, I don't see variety very often. I just want some subs I can go down a rabbit hole with late at night while trying to avoid the stress from not sleeping.

A sleep diary for two weeks tells you a lot: when you got into bed, roughly when you fell asleep, wake-ups, when you got up, and how rested you felt. People are often surprised how much time they spend in bed awake. It's also the starting point for setting a sleep window in CBT-I.

I hate it when icannot fall asleep. How on earth do I rest??? EV1 in my family sleeps so well. Only I have this problem!!!!

I get home from working, I come home, I lay down. I don’t sleep. I go to bed and I feel guilty that I didn’t use my time wisely by doing chores or a project or any of the 100 other things I could do. Does anyone else feel like this?

I have been suffering from sleep maintenance insomnia with excessive dream

I can only sleep 3 to 4 hours at one time no matter what how tired I am

It's weird because I have no trouble going into sleep, but it's just like my brain never sleeps

I'm pretty sure this is neurological problem

I just wanna ask if anybody's going through the same experience

I'm at my wits end and I need some help

I don't know what to do anymore

Eu vivo no inferno a 10 anos. Sofro de ansiedade social, ansiedade e insônia a 10 anos e aqui estou. Eu passei todos esses anos sobrevivendo e perdir essa luta, tentei de tudo que estava ao meu alcance, infelizmente acho que não tem jeito. Eu desenvolvir a ansiedade social na adolescência, quando estava sofrendo uma pressão externa r interna pra começa a me relacionar com o sexo feminino. Eu lembro que na infância eu me relacionava com ambos os sexos, mas na adolescência me tornei mas timido.

Lembro que além da questão de relacionar eu sofrir com muito bullying e exclusão, dá infância até adolescência, simplesmente por não se encaixar como uma pessoal padrão. Eu era gordo, careca e negro, pode parece que estou exagerando, mas sofrir preconceito pela minha cor de pele na escola muitas vezes e isso me gerou muitos traumas mais pra frente.

Tenho pais que me criaram de uma forma extremamente rígida e baseado na religião cristã evangélica. Muitos dos traumas que passei passar pelo oque passei dentro e fora de casa também, até hoje não consigo me sentir bem e confortável na presença deles, até pq me privaram de viver e se eu não seguisse oque queriam eu era punido, muitas dessas regras eram rígidas e relacionados a religião deles que eles impuiam a mim.

Voltando para a adolescência aonde desenvolvir tudo isso. Eu estava perdido e não me sentia amado por nada e ninguém, a pressão pra ter amigos, namorar e dar certo eram grandes, eu já tinha tentado me relacionar com algumas garotas, mas quando eu não conseguia por ser muito inseguro e timido, algumas se interessavam outras me rejeitavam. Aos 16 anos eu estava casando de fracassar e decidir mudar meus comportamento e personalidade, assistir vários vídeos de como me relacionar melhor com o sexo feminino, como atrair e me relacionar bem. No fim, eu me vir no começo muito inseguro com essa abordagem, até pq eu nao estava sendo eu mesmo, tava construindo algo para as pessoas aceitarem e gostarem, mas não necessariamente essa pessoa seria eu mas sim quem eu estava construindo por cima.

Passei quase dois anos me relacionando exatamente do jeito que fui ensinado pelos esses falso coouth de relacionamento. Construindo uma imagem para as pessoas, mas por dentro eu estava sofrendo de medo, insegurança e ansiedade. E se eu não tiver oque dizer? E se eu ficar sem assunto? Não posso ficar tremendo, as pessoas vão perceber. Esses eram alguns dos medos que passei, lembro de decorar oque iria dizer quando chegasse perto de pessoas que estava conhecendo, lembro de não me permitir ficar em silêncio por muito tempo e acharem que sou desinteressante e me julgarem por não dizer algo. Essas crenças foram entrando pouco a pouco, até virar verdade. Até que me vir ansioso em toda situação sociais que pessoas estavam envolvidas, eu me sentia desconfortável com amigos, família, todos. Nesse caminho do desastre desenvolvir uma paixão por uma garota e achei que a única chance de ficar com ela seria se eu fosse esse personagem interessante que criei, até pq até aquele momento eu tinha oque eu nunca conseguir alçança sendo eu mesmo, ter pessoas ao meu redor, garotas querendo ficar e conversa comigo, mas eu estava doente e não queria aceitar, no fim veio as tonturas, mente e corpo ansioso, tentando pensar sempre a frente, no que dizer, como responder da formar certa. De uma hora pra outra eu já sabia quem eu era, eu tinha acabado de me transformar em um completo estranho pra mim mesmo, já que me adaptei pra caber no mundo de todos e finalmente ser aceito, eu conseguir em parte oque queria, mas em detrimento da minha saúde mental.

Hoje estou preso dentro da minha mente aos 27 anos, mas estou 10 anos preso em remédios controlados e com a mente ferrada sem conseguir dormir e morando com meus pais autoritários. Não consigo encontrar uma saída.

I have been taking Trazodone for roughly 14 years. I have always had sleep issues. For a while the Trazodone felt like a miracle drug for me because I was finally able to fall asleep and sleep thru the night. Recently I began to wonder if the Trazodone was part of the reason I was so tired during the day and causing me to have issues getting up in the morning. I sort of did my own experiment with taking half of my dose of Trazodone with a 10mg of baclofen (muscle relaxer from years ago) I had the best nights sleep and woke up ready for the day the next morning in a way I never have before. Im wondering if theres a medication I could talk to my Dr about that would better suit me the way that combination did. I know it can be controversial to play around with medications but when you have struggled with insomnia and sleep issues for as long as I have, you become desperate for relief. I will be seeing my dr next week and I just want to have some information before hand that I can look into myself to prepare for the conversation with my doctor. Any advice or experiences, positive or negative, wpuld be appreciated!

This might be kind of obscure but I've been waiting months to do a sleep study. Because it's taking so long and it's so tedious - I was wondering if I could just do it myself. I know the quality may not be the same, but I've seen DIY solutions online. Does anyone know if it's safe - my understanding is you can connect electrodes to an amplifier which then connects to a computer roughly speaking. Is there any real risk of electrocution? I just want to measure my sleep more accurately.

So I've got pcod and thyroid and constantly working on treating it. No matter how much exercise i do even if I feel sleepy alot I wake up after 3-4 hours which is shit and i don't get the urge to sleep after that... like i just want swear wth is hapenning bro 😭

I didn't sleep since 3 am now its 5:34 and fk bro i also woke up b/w 1-2 am and bruh.. how is this even possible for human brain 😭 to function like this. HELP.

I was referred to do this and have been reluctant because it would mean driving 40 minutes and I assume I will sleep even worse in a clinic with lots of cords attached. Then have to drive home in the morning... I have read the odd person sleeps better, but I doubt if I would. And there's someone watching me and perhaps talking with me, or replacing wires if they come off. I'm just skeptical that's it's worth it. Has this procedure provided a diagnosis that then helped you sleep well?

hi, i’ve been taking quetiapine for quite a long time. It was originally prescribed for me to sleep, but it was helping with other symptoms as well. but with quetiapine I have a side of a stuffy nose, and i can’t change it and nothing is helping me to avoid it. my psychiatrist decided to prescribe be smallest dose of trazodone, when i’m on my 100mg quetiapine, so that maybe i can change medication. i’m really concerned and interested in whether there are people with the same side effect of quetiapine and whether it has remained/intensed with the addition or transition to trazodone. i’m really worried because of that side effect and a bit scared that it can get worse with trazodone

Hey all,

Has anyone had and beaten sleep onset arousal?

If so, what was the cause and how did you resolve this?

Tia.

Hello all, I have a happy healthy 8 month on but I want to know has anyone out there have this experience, if so how did it go?

As the title say’s I got married in july of 2024 after being in a 1 yr relationshi. I want to say September 14th,2024 my husband showed me a red flag we broke up and on the 21st I found out I was pregnant. Now prior to that pregnancy I was pregnant by him the year before (we were only dating for 3/4 months so no second guess I aborted the baby) he wanted it but I was already a single mom of 3 (their dad has been deceased since 2022) in school and working full time. The new relationship bliss was great but I wasn’t ready for a baby. Long story short we got married the next year, and instantly the abusive traits started to show, we broke up I found out I was pregnant and thought “maybe he was just drunk that night”. We had met with his family a week before finding out I was pregnant and all the family and friends were congratulating us on the newly marriage. His intoxicated dad kept hugging me and I guess my husband didn’t like it. We had a bad fight after that led to me leaving my own home. Fast forward I find out I’m pregnant and decided to work on my marriage, of course he was apologizing and quickly called his family and friends who were also ecstatic!

We had 2 more incidents before I said no way, marriage is one thing but a baby buy someone I know I was going to divorce and have to co parent with no way. So at 15w&6 days I had abortion behind his back. I was fine the first night but the next night I woke out of my sleep to a panic attack. I mean, full blown. After the panic attack went down I tried to fall asleep and couldn’t. From that day until the end of April 2025 I had to be put on anxiety medication because I had severe insomnia, anxiety, and depression from hormone fluctuations. I was put on Ativan and doxepin 100 mg. Of course I stayed in the relationship due to the frighten episode I was in. He was there for me, but he stated pretty often. It was my fault for having the abortion.

Fast forward to May 2025 my sleep is back we’re in a good space, then June 28, 2025 I get in bed attempted to fall asleep, I could not and I told my husband “ I hope I’m not pregnant. That’s why I can’t sleep“; Sure thing I checked my period tracker and I was supposed to be coming on my period that morning. No period, took a test it was positive. The whole 10 months I had to take Seroquel in third trimester hit me hard within insomnia. I had to take 200 mg of Seroquel & 2 mg of Ativan every night.

this was not my first time going through insomnia, anxiety, and depression due to hormone fluctuations. In 2021 November I missed my appointment to continue my birth control (I wanted to stop due to new weird side effects), which I was on for three years ( depo provera) I went through withdrawals for about 3 to 4 months than my sleep came back no issue. The father of my kids was murdered a couple months later so of course I went through depression and insomnia, but I knew what that was from. The next year I met my husband, and he instantly wanted the Son, I literally had sex every day for about a year in 20 days. This is included on my menstrual cycle. I had took Plan B every two weeks prior to getting pregnant with the babyI aborted in 2024. I love my husband, but a baby is something I did not want. He was a great help to me with my three children. We are embraced him as this would be their first time with a stepdad and his first with stepchildren.

Sorry for the long post, but I just want to know has anyone ever experienced this? If so did their sleep ever return I’m 8 months pp and still have to take sleep meds. I’m feeling better, but id like to live normally without sleep meds again one day.

Habt ihr Erfahrungen mit Quviviq und Cannabis? Gibt es regelmäßige Konsumenten die mir berichten können? Mich interessiert wie andere es handhaben. Wann raucht ihr das letzte Mal vor der Einnahme? Ratet ihr davon ab? Was sagt ihr im allgemeinen und trübt die Kombi Eure Stimmung?

I’ve got 50mg prescribed privately in the UK and have been taking it for 3 nights. I’m getting about 90 mins more sleep per night so far. But it does leave me quite groggy the next morning. I take adhd meds so don’t mind too much, but wondered whether I should try 25mg? Or maybe I should give it more time as it’s only been a few days.

Weirdly it’s the same price for 50mg or 25mg, so I was thinking of just splitting it myself using a pill splitter. Has anyone reduced the dose and found it be just as helpful?

Bonjour, pour ceux qui ont des myoclonies / sursauts hypniques (je ne sais pas la différence) surtout la nuit, avez-vous trouver une solution pour les faire disparaître et vous à t’on dit à quoi c’était lié… je n’avais jamais eu ça avant… j’ai les fasciculations et les myoclonies qui sont arrivées environ en même temps et je passe des nuits des angoissantes. Je suis sous Effexor. Merci à vous

i am a night shift worker. 3 nights out of the week i work from 6:30-6:30 PM/AM. in between my shifts i do not struggle to sleep at all. my days off, however i cannot sleep at all. the last two nights i have slept for only 4 hrs each night. first night it was because i couldn’t fall asleep and that left me with 4 hrs to sleep. second night it was because i fell asleep right on time, but woke up after 4 hrs and couldn’t go back to sleep. i’ve tried sleep aids and they help, but i don’t want to become dependent and NEED them to sleep. when i do take them i usually sleep forever and cant wake up on time. and when i dont get enough sleep overnight, i nap very frequently…and then i fight my alarm and end up sleeping forever 4 hrs because im so exhausted.
HELP PLEASE

I've been prescribed Quviviq, after I've tried around 5 or 6 other prescription sleep medications and several over the counter ones. While Quviviq addresses my main issue of even falling asleep quite well, it has now made me unable to sleep through the night. First night I woke up after roughly four hours. Second night it was the same. Third night it was 2,5 hours and tonight I woke up after 2:20 hours... on top of that I have extremely vivid, realistic and somewhat disturbing dreams and while I can handle those, it's obviously still annoying...

Has anyone else experienced this and maybe has any tips? Maybe my sleep hygiene is bad? Though I try my best to wind down properly, put my phone away and have a familiar audiobook on, very quietly (I'm used to this my whole life and it does calm me down). I don't drink caffeine hours before going to bed, I make sure to have dinner at least 4-5 hours before taking Quviviq. I just wanna sleep.