Ramelteon and Drowsiness: What Users Say

• rea...
• March 2, 2008

Ramelteon for Insomnia "I have problems falling asleep, and also waking up many times during the night. I tried Ambien first and it didn't seem to help much. Now I have been using Rozerem 8 mg for about a week, and I have slept wonderfully, better than I have in years. I do seem to have a little bit of residual effect in the morning of drowsiness, but it doesn't last long. After that, I have had more energy throughout the day than I have had in a very long time. So far Rozerem is working for me."

• Jok...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 13, 2021

For Insomnia "Only been taking it for a few weeks, but it is the only non-benzodiazepine I've had that can actually get me to sleep through the night! It does take about an hour to kick in, and it does make me kind of groggy the next day, but it's a small price to pay for actually getting a full night's sleep. It gives me some bizarre and very vivid dreams too."

• Oph...
• September 22, 2016

Ramelteon for Insomnia "Drowsiness but no sleep, so much worse than the Ambien and Lunesta that at least work a little. Finally fell asleep at 6 a.m., woke three hours later, felt like death all day. Dizzy, drowsy, poor appetite, felt like my body was made of lead. I'm often low energy, but this was scary. Took for one night, would rather stay awake all night than do it again."

• OWe...
• May 14, 2021

Ramelteon for Insomnia "This medication has made me severely suicidal. It is a literal nightmare after taking it only once. I have had severe insomnia since I was a child, which has only gotten worse with age. After visiting a sleep clinic, I was prescribed this medication, but it put me in such a bad place mentally. Instead of taking my usual over-the-counter sleeping pill, I took this and began to feel drowsy about ten minutes later. Unfortunately, my heart started racing, and I have found myself in a state between severe anxiety/alertness and drowsiness/sickness since 11:00 pm. It's now 4:30 am, and I'm experiencing a severe headache and anxiety, but I also feel dizzy, drowsy, and nauseous, yet I'm too wired to sleep. This feels like something they would give people in a concentration camp to torture them. I've now taken my over-the-counter sleeping pills to try to combat the effects of this medication that I cannot believe is even on the market. It will be a miracle if I'm even alive tomorrow."

• Anonymous
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 1, 2012

Ramelteon for Insomnia "While Rozerem is effective for getting and staying asleep, I am spaced out the next day with a strange feeling that, even though my body has had a good night's rest, I still want to go take a nap at periods through the day - not a normal tiredness, but a drug-induced grogginess that comes on suddenly. Also, hard to focus my attention the next day. I went on this because Ambien gave me short-term memory loss though I had no grogginess the next day on Ambien. The best result for me is to just sleep naturally with whatever hours I can get."

• Jga...
• May 11, 2011

Ramelteon for Insomnia "Took Rozerem last night for the first time and got drowsy and fell asleep, but my body twitched all night. My sleep was not consistent, and I woke up all throughout the night. In the morning, I slept well past 11 a.m., I felt like a ton of bricks and could not get up. I am usually up and about, running around all day long. Today, I couldn't even leave the house, I was so lethargic from the medicine. I stayed home, didn't even change clothes, and lay on the couch with my eyes closed for hours. It's almost 9 p.m. the next day, and I still feel really weird and tired. My mind was in a daze all day as if I couldn't get anything done as a result."

• tho...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• April 9, 2019

Ramelteon for Insomnia "Like Ambien, Rozerem causes drowsiness and decreases mental alertness, and they both carry over these side effects into the next morning. Unlike Ambien, Rozerem does not carry the same risk of negatively affecting your GABA receptors over time. Rozerem increases, and Ambien decreases the frequency of dream states."

• ATL...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• December 28, 2024

For Insomnia "I am so happy with my decision to switch to Ramelteon! After just one night, it has worked as expected. Ramelteon lets me sleep. No morning grogginess. No weird side effects. I highly recommend. I am an Ambien refugee... Years of late-night raids on my pantry or fridge caused by Ambien, then Zolpidem. Too many nights driving in my pajamas and an overcoat to the convenience store and binging on junk food. I've had unrelenting insomnia for 15 years, since menopause. Nothing resolved it, not even HRT. I started with Ambien in 2011, not knowing that it would make me eat foods I had no intention of eating late at night and ruin my healthy eating habits. I fought against the side effects by never allowing ready-to-eat food in my house. This hurt my marriage and my self-esteem. The stress and shame from feeling out of control had taken a toll. I finally had enough. I had to advocate for myself by researching an alternate med. I'm SO FREE now! Thank you, Ramelteon!"

• sle...
• May 18, 2009

Ramelteon for Insomnia "I am a day sleeper and was only sleeping about 3 hours a day and waking several times during that 3 hours when I was just taking Ambien. I have started taking Rozerem in combination with Ambien, and I am now sleeping about 6 hours a day. The first few days I felt very drowsy, but that has gone away, and now I feel wonderful and rested."

• Anonymous
• February 12, 2022

For Insomnia "I've had insomnia for years. I was taking Trazodone to help me sleep (other sedatives in the past). I wanted to get off of that because of the side effects of long-term use, and I began to try ramelteon. I have taken it for 3 days, and it is horrible so far. I lay awake, and then after about an hour or so, I began to have extreme feelings of sleeplessness, anxiety, and became extremely fidgety. I have heard you have to give this medicine a few days to work. I will try it for 2 weeks because I can only suffer for so long. Wish me luck! I may pair it with some melatonin and see if that helps."

• Moi...
• September 24, 2013

Ramelteon for Insomnia "Made me drowsy, but could not sleep. Could hardly function the next day. Dizzy, unstable, and disoriented."

• qwe...
• August 22, 2013

Ramelteon for Insomnia "This medicine does not work for me. Each time I take it, it makes me drowsy, but I could not sleep."

• San...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 26, 2020

Ramelteon for Insomnia "I found a marginal effect for my sleep at best - and that’s it. On the upside, no grogginess."

• Sus...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• October 10, 2021

For Insomnia "It does help me sleep, which is the whole point. I do get daytime drowsiness."