Guaifenesin / pseudoephedrine for Cough and Nasal Congestion User Reviews

• Kag...
• January 2, 2015

"Took 1 Mucinex DM around 6 PM. My experience is like many here. It worked great on my congestion, but it is midnight and I am wide awake. I found this site searching for 'Does Mucinex DM keep you awake?' Yup, it does."

• clo...
• April 23, 2014

"I read the reviews on Mucinex and was a little concerned, but I was also desperate. For 2 months, I had a thick postnasal drip that would cause me to constantly cough, especially at night. I had to sleep sitting up in my chair in the living room. I was wheezing, had a runny nose, and was coughing up tons of mucus or clearing my throat from it. I took one tablet at 8 a.m. and another tablet at 8pm OMG, I can clearly breathe with no wheezing, congestion, or mucus getting in my way. I slept through the night, and when I woke up, my nasal passages and throat were clear."

• Bre...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 2, 2020

"I have been laying here all night after taking Mucinex D. My brain won’t shut down. I am wide awake. Mucinex D does help with nasal congestion. I do not have the jitters or the racing heart. After reading the other reviews, I know now why I can’t sleep. UGH!"

• Sol...
• February 18, 2014

"It's 2:30 am and I'm wide awake! At the suggestion of my doctor, she said to take Mucinex D ... BIG MISTAKE! I'm definitely breathing perfectly, but I'm jittery and unable to sleep! Mucinex D in the morning, Sinex at night!"

• Anonymous
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 19, 2014

"I have bronchitis, was coughing nonstop with chest congestion. I bought a package of Mucinex DM; I took one tablet around 10 pm, fell asleep at midnight, woke up at 2 am jittery, still completely wide awake at 6 am. Good news is I can breathe clearly. I haven't coughed in 8 hours; it works, that's why I give it a 9. But this stuff is really powerful; I might be awake another 24 hours."

• Ple...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• July 3, 2019

"I'm a 37-year-old male. I've taken Mucinex D at some point each winter for the last few years, typically to help with a lingering cough/mucus after a nasty head cold. Taken as directed, it works well for me, though I do get some of the racing heart/anxious feeling others have reported; it does not keep me awake at night. One surprising side effect is that every time I am on this medicine, I become like a porn star. I can make love to my wife for a solid 45 minutes to an hour before ejaculating. I don't know what particular ingredient in this medicine would cause that, but I've experienced it a handful of times."

• Ari...
• November 17, 2013

"This medicine works great. I took two pills every twelve hours, and my congestion and pressure were gone within two days. HOWEVER, DO NOT TAKE THIS AT NIGHT. I am talking little to no sleep... tossing and turning, waking up every 30 minutes, etc. So just take two pills in the morning, and it will be all good!"

• Cla...
• August 24, 2016

"Can't help but laugh reading everyone's responses here. Yes, I guess the Mucinex helped my congestion maybe 20% more than if I hadn't taken it. BUT I'm wide awake as my mind is racing like I'm on crack. Paranoid. Can't sleep a wink. Never done crack, but if I had to guess, side effects would be similar. Bummer. Just another confirmation that all natural and a few days longer is better than watching the sun come up while random paranoid thoughts race through the brain. Wish I read the fine print before I started dosing."

• Lac...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• September 16, 2014

"I took two pills at 3:00 pm, I fell asleep around 10:30 pm and woke up wide awake at 1:00 am! I'm still sneezing and coughing, but I'm feeling better than I was before, so it works. But now I'm wide awake and can't fall back asleep, and I feel funny, like my heartbeat is slower. I sure hope this feeling passes!"

• Anonymous
• May 24, 2010

"Took one pill before bed (about 8 pm) and was up, literally all night. Fell asleep the next morning at 9 am. The pill worked great on my sinuses, but I should have taken it in the morning. The packaging does not detail this side effect very well."

• Jmi...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 9, 2014

"I've been plugged up literally for years and had found no relief until now. I had tried everything from frequently rinsing my sinuses with a neti pot system to prescriptions such as Nasonex, warm/moist heating pads, other over-the-counter medicines, etc. At this moment, I feel pretty great. I took my first Mucinex D tab yesterday late afternoon and my second one this morning. My nose feels completely clear, the pressure behind my eyes is gone, my head feels normal for once... even my ears feel less plugged and are not clicking and popping nearly as much as usual. I'm surprised I have not had the insomnia and jitters that it seems most others have experienced. No unpleasant side effects so far. I highly recommend this! The relief is worth the $$."

• aol...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• April 22, 2015

"Whenever I use the 12-hour tabs, it helps almost immediately in satiating my urge to cough and/or does a good job of loosening whatever junk is in my chest. Grateful for that. However, it is now 1:46 am -- been eyes wide awake since 12 midnight. I took 1 pill around 3 pm, fell asleep nicely by 9 pm, but BOOM - now jittery and think I'm going crazy, wondering why I can't fall back asleep. Praying. I will not take this anymore, or will only try to take a.m. dose & skip the p.m. dose. Glad the mucus is lessening, but so not glad about missing sleep."

• Kma...
• February 29, 2016

"I took Mucinex D before bed because my sinuses were congested and I could feel mucus in my lungs, making it hard to breathe. Shortly after taking the medication, everything loosened up, my nose ran, but I could breathe. Unfortunately, it's now 6 am, and I haven't slept a wink and have had a rapid heart rate and anxiety. I have a headache and am too jittery to sleep. I did feel slightly nauseous after I took the pill and very dry mouth now."

• k8f...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 10, 2015

"Started taking this a week ago because of terrible congestion in my head and chest along with RX Tessalon Perles. I'd taken something years before with the same ingredients as Mucinex that helped immensely and thought that the money was worth it. I've been on it a week, every twelve hours, and haven't been able to sleep more than five hours a night (about 4 a.m. after taking it at midnight until 9 a.m.). I still have terrible congestion with heavy thick mucus. Just finally realized about thirty minutes ago that the Mucinex is the only change. I can't rest, and with the added jitters and insomnia, I feel worse than before. I wish I hadn't taken it to begin with."

• Cee...
• December 11, 2014

"I was diagnosed with chronic bronchitis and/or COPD. When I get a cold, it usually goes straight to my chest, and I end up coughing for days. Liquid Mucinex is the only thing that kept the cold out of my chest!"

• Man...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• April 6, 2019

"Calmed that annoying every 30-second cough, but I barely slept a wink! I'm really happy to have relief from the cough, so I can't complain too much. No jitters or anxiety - but I'm up at 5 a.m. googling 'does Mucinex DM keep you awake' lol it does absolutely keep you up, it is the pseudoephedrine ingredient. I wouldn’t recommend the nightly dosage if you want to sleep at all, just in the morning. Had quite a few hot flashes as well. Kept wanting to turn the air conditioner down lower than ever?"

• Sin...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• April 14, 2013

"I have suffered from allergic rhinitis all my life: dry, swollen sinus; sinus pressure; headaches; blurry vision; dizziness; lethargy; all sorts of cognitive problems because of the lack of oxygen to my body and brain due to thickened mucus in my respiratory system; not to mention frequent bacterial infections due to accumulated mucus secretions. I had tried every other medicine under the sun. Mucinex has taken all that away, and my quality of life has improved 150%. I strongly recommend Mucinex for those with sinus problems due to allergic rhinitis, or anyone who suffers from sinus or any sort of respiratory congestion."

• kfr...
• September 17, 2013

"I have to say, I wish I had read this blog beforehand. I took a Mucinex D at 7 pm last night, and it's 9:30 am. I haven't really gone to sleep. I tried to fall asleep around 11 pm, and after 2 1/2 hours of tossing and turning and CRAZY dreams where I wasn't really asleep but wasn't completely awake either, I got up and watched some TV to get my mind to settle down. Needless to say, I was never tired after that, so I've been up since. I noticed several people saying that you should only take one pill. The back of my box says to take 2 pills every 12 hours, so I'm assuming there are two different types. Just beware... not only did it give me insomnia, but the dreams were seriously weird."

• Gal...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• May 9, 2014

"I'm having very severe nasal congestion from a cold. My normal DayQuil/NyQuil were not helping at all. Tried Sudafed, also did not help. Went to the chemist in search of powerful medication and got the highest dosage of Mucinex D at the pharmacist's recommendation. Was warned about possible insomnia, so I took 1 pill at 5 pm thinking it's still more than 5 hours to bedtime and I should be fine. Well, the congestion was gone. But I was up for the next 28 hours straight. The congestion returned after about 15 hours, which makes me think the medicine's effect must have worn off and I can take a nap. But no. After being up for 28 hours, I decided that if I'm not getting any rest, I may never get over my cold, so I took a sleeping pill."

• No...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• April 17, 2015

"I was getting really sick but had to travel for work. My lungs hurt so badly I thought I was going to land myself in the ER. I got off a flight and grabbed some Mucinex at the airport and got to my hotel. I was having such a hard time breathing and was coughing so badly I hadn't slept in nights. I took the Mucinex and slept all night long and woke up and got stuff out of my lungs and felt SO much better."

• Tir...
• January 10, 2014

"I have not slept in 2 nights. It's 4 am and I'm wide awake. I'm so glad I found this website because I thought there might be something wrong with me. Would have never thought Mucinex was the culprit! Although it has definitely cleared up all my congestion."

• Mic...
• November 21, 2008

"Twice this year, I have had a cold and used this product. Both times, I took the two pills. It cleared my head, but it left me feeling restless, and I suffered from insomnia. I will try 1 pill the next time to see how I react. Maybe 2 pills are too much medicine for me."

• Van...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 24, 2016

"Definitely helped relieve my sinus pressure and loosen up mucus. I did feel nauseous after taking Mucinex D. It's 2:18 am and I'm still up, so I decided to Google insomnia and Mucinex D. And here I am. At least my congestion improved."

• Dan...
• December 5, 2015

"Took it yesterday and cleared me right up. I got really sleepy in the afternoon. But when I tried to take a nap, I couldn't. Went to bed taking a PM med (not Mucinex) and woke up several times during the night. Didn't think anything of it until I took it today. I felt euphoric and jittery at the same time. I was majorly thirsty. I downed 3 bottles of water in a row. I had the energy to clean the house a bit. I was roasting in just a T-shirt. I took the medicine at 10 am. Now here it is 7:30 and still feeling jittery. Less than before but still jittery. I also didn't eat all day other than the food I had with the Mucinex in the morning. It seems food tastes weird. Seems the side effects were worse than having congestion alone."

• Kry...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• December 29, 2019

"I was diagnosed with the flu and told to take Tylenol, Tamiflu, Flonase, and Mucinex DM. I ended up just taking the Tamiflu and Mucinex DM around 1:00 PM. It is true that I feel a thousand times better, but I have also been very anxious, and it is now 2:56 AM, and I am not even close to feeling sleepy, despite not having napped all day."