Belsomra for Insomnia User Reviews (Page 2)

• pil...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• September 21, 2015

"I was afraid to try this due to some bad reviews. I was getting so depressed staying awake all night and sleeping when the world was living. I tried 10mg with no effect but 20 mg is such a blessing. I fell asleep within an hour and had a restful sleep with no peculiar dreaming. I awoke with no grogginess and all perky and ready to go! I got 10 tabs of 10mg with a voucher and am getting 20 mg with a voucher. After that, I hope my doctor can work with Humana to get the medication at a decent cost. I am 72 and don't have to get up for work - I am sad for all you insomniacs who have to rise and shine for all your obligations. I am praying for you."

• Can...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• May 6, 2021

"I was prescribed Belsomra for insomnia, and it does not work for me. I took a 20 mg tablet on an empty stomach, and it's now 3 hours later, and I'm still wide awake. I was taking Ambien, but my Dr. no longer will prescribe it. Ambien would put me to sleep right away. Why do Drs change your medicine when what you are taking, which was Ambien, worked perfectly fine? It's so frustrating."

• Lib...
• July 23, 2015

"I have just experienced the worst night of my life due to 10 mg Belsomra. I read reviews, thought they had to be exaggerated... this medicine should not have been approved. Horrific hallucinations/nightmares... Didn't know if I was awake or asleep. Terrifying. If you are contemplating using this drug, do not do it!"

• Bil...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• May 3, 2015

"I've had severe insomnia since I was 15. I'm 64 now. I've tried everything in the book. Lunesta did nothing. Trazodone turned me into a zombie the next morning, though I slept. Regular Ambien helped, but within a year I was on Ambien CR. It worked 'most' nights for about five years, but has lost its effectiveness. My doctor gave me a sample of Belsomra, and he didn't really expect it to work. But it DID!!! It's amazing. It's the only thing I've ever tried that gave me these results. The drawback is going to be the price. I have to get it pre-authorized in order for Blue Cross to pay for it. Crossing my fingers. I don't understand the talk about it giving you nightmares. I have had some of the funniest dreams I've ever had on this stuff."

• Evi...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 6, 2015

"This medication has its uses. I normally take my favorite sleep aid Ambien XR, but do use Belsomra to take breaks off of it. It only works at max dose (20mg), and the side effects are being absolutely dead with energy the next day, and the worst is when you wake up. I would recommend trying the sample then see how it goes. It's a hit or miss."

• col...
• November 23, 2019

"I've had chronic insomnia for about 3 years, related to getting up 4-5 times per night to urinate. Tried multiple long-acting sedatives so that I can not just fall asleep but also stay asleep: benzodiazepines (clonazepam), barbiturates (phenobarbital), antihistamines (mirtazapine and doxepin at very low doses), GABA agonist (tiagabine). These mostly work, but there is a lot of next-day sedation, and I build a tolerance to them all. I rotate them. I am not sure whether Belsomra has the same tolerance problem. 1) Do NOT take more than the maximum of 20 mg. Desperate for sleep, I took 40 for a few days, and I had suicidal reactions over the next week. With that said, 10 mg does nothing for me, so 2) I would try 15 mg. 3) The drug seems to work best at keeping me asleep when I take it in combination with another sedative, like clonazepam. 4) There are some bad next-day effects: anxiety, fatigue, depression. For me, these are the tradeoffs for getting a good night of sleep."

• Pai...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 3, 2015

"After taking Amitriptyline, Ambien, trazodone, gabapentin, and several others over the years for insomnia, my doctor gave me a sample pack of Belsomra. It didn't help at all. It was like I didn't take anything. Hopefully they will come out with something that actually works."

• Ins...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 22, 2015

"I have been on Lunesta for approximately 10 years. Lunesta has its ups and downs, but my doctor suggested trying something that was not a hypnotic. So, I stopped Lunesta for one month and went on 15 and then 20 mg of Belsomra. As best I can describe it, the Belsomra was interesting. Interesting, in that when I could fall asleep, it did feel much more natural. I would also wake up in the morning feeling tired and just wanting to lay in bed and relax. That is not a bad thing. However, it simply would not put me to sleep on most nights. Moreover, the tiredness feeling I experienced tended to linger all day. It was not a drugged feeling, but just a tiredness I could not shake. So, I went back to Lunesta. Not perfect, but does its job well!"

• Ano...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 6, 2020

"Belsomra is FDA approved, my doctor kept telling me. I didn't care. I just wanted something that would work. She said there were no samples. You take it on an empty stomach. It caused nightmares and gave me insomnia. I was on 10mg."

• Zac...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 25, 2015

"I tried this one night, and it didn't do much. I have struggled with insomnia off and on for 30 years. I then took a 20 mg dose, and it really helped. I woke up refreshed. If it continues to work like this, I will be very satisfied."

• Oll...
• August 6, 2015

"This drug is working. I have tried absolutely every drug in the past and have had insomnia and severe DSPS for my entire life. Everything else severely impacted restorative sleep. This drug works differently and seems to induce pretty natural restorative sleep, which is a first for me. You have to get the timing right for it to work. If you take a lower dose too early before your natural sleep time, you will not feel much, and a higher dose can cause lucid dreams and nightmares. Also, it wears off quickly, causing me to wake up too early. I'm willing to put up with the downsides because it actually is helping. I don't think people realize that this drug is not a knockout pill, but unlike everything else, it can induce real sleep."

• Tlm...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 9, 2020

"I was given samples of Belsomra when Ambien did nothing to help with my chronic insomnia. Again, this has done nothing for me. I took a 20 mg and thought I'd try another as I get very miserable and irritable when I can't sleep. Taking a second one still did nothing. I'm guessing there is really no medication for chronic insomnia."

• Cee...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 16, 2015

"For everyone who has experienced negative results from taking Belsomra, and from a well-experienced insomniac, I was advised by a very knowledgeable pharmacist that in order for Belsomra to work properly and effectively (after having taken Ambien for many years), I was to stop taking Ambien and let it completely wash out of my system for 3-4 days before starting Belsomra. She stated that this medication, unlike Ambien, is not supposed to assist you in falling asleep as much as it works to help you stay asleep, however, it won't work as it should if I don't have a break between medications. After reading all of the comments about Belsomra not working for so many people, I definitely intend on following the pharmacist's instructions to the letter."

• eco...
• June 24, 2017

"I just had my doctor give me samples of Belsomra. He recommended I take 10 mg, but basically told me it wouldn't work unless I took 20. But after reading all the paperwork that came with the samples, I decided to just take the 10 mg. I took it without food, 30 minutes before bed as recommended, and still, 2 hours later, I wasn't tired. Today, I woke up after having really weird dreams, and all day I've been unusually depressed and anxious. I never, ever had these symptoms or this much trouble falling asleep on Zolpidem. It was pretty clear from how hard my doctor was pushing them that the pharma reps are really trying to get this on the market. I would strongly recommend AGAINST taking this medication, especially if you have depression!"

• Bra...
• February 14, 2020

"I haven't taken every type of prescription/OTC sleep med and supplements, and Belsomra is near useless. I took a 15 MG dose. It takes forever to kick in. Even chewed it, and it took two hours to go to sleep. The sleep was better quality... I didn't wake up during the night. But 15 mg left me groggy the next day, and a 10 mg dose didn't work. Trazodone, which is dirt cheap and has no side effects, is much better, especially if you chew the tablets for quicker onset (20 mins VS 90!). I only tried Belsomra because I was offered samples. I thought perhaps it would give me that nice dozy feeling that Ambien did. But Belsomra is not pleasurable, and it barely works. Trazodone works much better, and it's out of patent 50 years, so it's maybe 10 bucks a bottle."

• bri...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 17, 2015

"Everyone reacts differently to medication. Dosage: 10 mg, Sex: Male, Age: 58, Diagnosis: Chronic Insomnia. I've taken Belsomra for 3 nights now with 1 to 2 hours of sleep each night. This is strange stuff, be careful. You feel tired, but it does not shut your mind off, I laid in bed for 4 hours awake. At that point, after 2 nights of not sleeping, I think I would have fallen asleep anyway from exhaustion. I did not think I was asleep but started to experience the strangest nightmares I have ever had. After another hour of this, I did fall into a dream state sleep for sure. The dreams were extremely unusual and lucid (like when taking Restoril), very strange. I fell in and out of sleep for about 2 hours, then woke at 4 am, and that was it."

• Ins...
• September 5, 2015

"Please be very careful with this medication. I've had insomnia since 1995. I've taken every sleeping pill at least once. None have worked except for Ambien CR. Earlier this year, my trusted Ambien CR stopped working. My doctor gave me a coupon for the free trial. I was excited and had high hopes for a night of sleep. I took one 10 mg dosage of Belsomra and went to bed. Nothing happened for about 3 hours. I fell into a strange wake/sleep condition. I began to have nightmares and visions. It was the worst feeling. I felt frozen and scared. This lasted for about 2 hours. I woke up and took a video of myself. I didn't think I was going to make it, and I wanted to document what I experienced. This drug is dangerous. Watch out."

• aiw...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• November 29, 2016

"I have taken Belsomra for approximately 1.5 years. I have previously taken: Ambien, Seroquel, Lunesta, Remeron, all for insomnia. I now take Belsomra exclusively. This has been, by far, the best. I am able to fall asleep within 5 minutes after lying down (takes about 1 hour to take effect). There has been zero tolerance as it works just as well as when I first began taking it. It seems, from the reviews and from my doctor's opinion, that this drug either works or doesn't. I would advise that if you are considering this drug to give it a chance and don't be swayed by the negative reviews as everyone is different. Also, there are some side effects for the first few days (daytime drowsiness mostly), so try to stick with it for a week."

• 09R...
• October 11, 2015

"Belsomra is remarkable! My entire quality of life has improved immensely! I take 20 mg a night, fall asleep fairly quickly (I have a Fitbit that tracks sleep), feel well-rested the next morning, and have a better overall sleep quality than before I was on Belsomra! The first 2 nights I took it, I had nightmares, but I've been on it for 2 months now with no more nightmares! I have been on Seroquel, Ambien, Ambien CR, amitriptyline, Doxepin, Xanax, and I have tried melatonin and Benadryl! Nothing works like Belsomra does! I'm so grateful for it! It is quite expensive though, when I got on it, my family deductible had already been met, so the cost for me is $0, but I do know it is so expensive otherwise!"

• Ama...
• March 27, 2015

"I haven't slept normally since adolescence. Tried Ambien and lots of sedatives. I had horrible problems with doing things while asleep and not remembering on Ambien, but it was the only way to get anything resembling sleep. Belsomra is amazing. I actually feel sleepy. I had only felt that as a child, or if sick. Some side effects seem to be happening, I got bronchitis and have had awful dreams some nights, but I'm going to stick with it for a few weeks."

• Mar...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• April 29, 2016

"I took 15 mg samples and had success right from the beginning. Fell asleep within 30 minutes and stayed asleep all night! Woke up feeling rested and refreshed! My Fitbit clocked the most deep sleep hours than I ever have without a sleep aid. I am one of those people that does not like taking any medication, so I will use this ONLY when I think I will not be able to unwind and sleep deeply. Exercise and hard work are the best ways to exhaust your body and sleep deeply, and I prefer that before drugs. On a scale of 1-10, my insomnia is about a 7. Belsomra absolutely works with my body chemistry at least for now."

• Pan...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 31, 2015

"I was given samples of this after taking Triazolam for a while. I took it one night, it took forever to fall asleep. I slept for about 6 hours and had the most disturbing dream that kept waking me up and continuing when I fell back asleep. I'm not sure I want to try it again, and I don't recommend."

• Ste...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• February 1, 2020

"I have had occasional long-term bouts of anxiety and depression during my adult life. I had been on at least 30 mg of Mirtazapine for most of the last 8 years. Besides helping with other issues, it provided me with my best sleep in years. I never had any bad side effects from Mirtazapine. After a new period of depression, I was put on Amitriptyline, which causes some constipation. Since Mirtazapine can cause constipation, it was suggested I get off that and try Trazodone. That did nothing, so after some samples of Belsomra, I ended up with a prescription for 20 mg. For a couple of days, I slept really well. Then I was waking up more and more. By the end of the month, I woke up hourly and rarely got more than 5 hours of sleep. Two days ago, I went back on 15 mg of Mirtazapine and have slept much better. I decided I would just deal with the constipation, but I won't go back on ready for now."

• Ins...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• June 7, 2019

"I feel like the people here who hated this medicine either didn't need what it does (shuts down the 'awake' part of the brain), or were expecting an Ambien-like sledgehammer to hit right after taking it. Don't drink, take it, and lay down (I even had the TV on), and sleep will grab you in about an hour. I had crazy dreams that were both scary and cool, but Belsomra definitely worked and I don't feel any side effects at all the next day. Once I am on it for a couple of months, I will come back and report if it lost effectiveness, but as of now, in my first week, I am stoked. I have been on Ambien for years but would sleepwalk and do crazy stuff and feel sleepy the next day. I'm afraid some people might be into the trip of Ambien, so you will not like Belsomra because all it does is make you go to sleep without the high. Also, I haven't had to pay for it yet, I have a bunch of 15 mg and 20 mg samples."

• Grr...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• July 19, 2021

"I have had sleep maintenance insomnia for years that persisted after behavior modification (diet and exercise changes, screen time habits, dark bedroom, white noise while I sleep, etc.). Any medication that worked wore off after a short period of use (presumably due to drug tolerance), and many had other problems like next-day sleepiness and rebound insomnia. Then Belsomra. I've been on it well over a year now as a daily medication. Still on the lowest dose, and it's still working. It isn't magic, I still have to have good habits. But if I do my part, Belsomra does the rest. I routinely sleep 7, often 8 hours a night now. Up from 4-5 hours 2 years ago. It's a life-changing improvement."