Belsomra User Reviews & Ratings (Page 4)

• the...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• November 18, 2015

For Insomnia "Geez, people - brain chemistry is a personal thing, and so are your issues - don't tell other people 'don't waste your money' because you tried something for one night and had nightmares. As for me, it works pretty well. I've tried everything, and the only things that work are the benzos and benzo-like drugs, however, I would need to increase the dose every night to overcome tolerance, which means I can only take them for a few nights a month. The Belsomra seems to have no side effects for me whatsoever, just a gentle urge to sleep (which can be easily ignored if necessary, unlike a good dose of Ambien which is dangerous) and the ability to stay asleep or fall back asleep."

• KTJ...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 10, 2017

For Insomnia "I started Belsomra 15 mg about 3 weeks ago. It has not worked for me at all. After taking the medication earlier (7:45-8:00 pm) and spending several sleepless nights, my doctor increased my dosage to 1 and 1/2 tablets. The last few nights, I have been up past 4 am. Even when I finally doze off, I wake up at least once an hour. I will call my doctor in the morning, I'll be awake. Exhausted! But awake!"

• Ano...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• April 20, 2022

For Insomnia "Was put on 10 mg of Belsomra. Within a week, my mood swings, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts have gotten progressively worse. And it doesn’t work. Still awake hours after taking it. So I didn’t experience any weird side effects (like sleep paralysis), but it also made me feel worse overall. Treat the reason why you have insomnia first. This has just been my experience."

• Bob...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• June 9, 2017

For Insomnia "I took a 15 mg dose for about a year almost nightly. At best, it only had a mild effect at helping me fall asleep and did not allow me to sleep longer than my usual four to five hours. Two unfortunate side effects occurred. Occasionally, I would get sleep paralysis, which is being fully aware mentally while your body is frozen in a sleep state. This lasts for a few minutes. The other unfortunate side effect is intense grogginess for most of the next day. I found that I spent much of the time during that year sitting in a chair during the day because I did not have the mental or physical energy to get up and do anything. Obviously, one gets a tolerance for the drug soon, and I would say that after about a month, there was virtually no benefit."

• Jud...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• December 24, 2024

For Insomnia "I have insomnia in conjunction with taking an antidepressant. I was worried about taking this drug because of the negative reviews. Fortunately for me, it worked perfectly, with no side effects. I took a 10 mg dosage 1/2 hour before I wanted to sleep, on an empty stomach. I slept from 11:00 pm until 8:00 am. Although I was wide awake in the morning, it took a cup of coffee to make the drowsiness go away. I am very happy I ignored the negative reviews on this website and took the recommendation of my PCP."

• Not...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 6, 2015

For Insomnia "I had high hopes for Belsomra. My neuro mentioned it to me last fall, and I was first in line for a prescription when it became available in January. Ambien CR has proven effective over the years. Clonazepam is a great occasional substitute. But Belsomra? Nothing. No impact whatsoever. 20 mg, nothing. 40 mg, nothing. I'd happily pay the $100 per month if it worked."

• Eye...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 12, 2015

For Insomnia "Wanted to give a rating of 0, but that is not an option! My diagnosis is primary insomnia. Both my doctor and I thought this would be the medication that would finally help. Well, it did not. Tried 10 mg for 3 nights with no luck. Doctor upped me to 20 mg. Tried 20 mg for 3 more nights and still did not work. By the end of 6 days using this junk with so little sleep, I was fed up! Back to alternating my old standbys as they are inexpensive and effective. My old standbys are Dalmane (flurazepam) and Luminal (phenobarbital). My insurance did not cover the Belsomra, the trial voucher was only good for 10 tablets, so the rest was paid out of pocket."

• Hyp...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• April 2, 2019

For Insomnia "I exercise, eat right, avoid blue light at night, etc., but still have trouble falling asleep and usually wake up in a 'highly alert' state after 1-3 cycles, usually during or after REM sleep, with no emotional or biological trigger required. I'm not the type of person who can take a nap either, no matter how sleep deprived. Belsomra doesn't prevent me from waking up at least once during the night, but it DOES put me back to sleep in under 20 minutes as opposed to the 2-3 hours it would normally take. Also, I find it FAR LESS sedating/paralyzing than Mirtazapine (and even some benzos), even though its effects do linger somewhat into the next day as well."

• Gra...
• February 20, 2016

For Insomnia "Here is my problem with Belsomra. I am a 50-year-old male - 6' 2'' 190 lbs. I am currently prescribed the 20 mg dosage, and it seems to work okay some of the time. By accident, I doubled dosed one evening - 40 mg - and had the best sleep of my life. Woke up refreshed after eight hours of sleep and had great energy and alertness the entire day. I feel I need a higher dosage for it to work for me."

• Rwi...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• February 12, 2017

For Insomnia "Works great for me. I tried Seroquel, Lunesta, and Ambien with poor results. Belsomra was the key. The key I've found is following the directions of taking it on an empty stomach 30 minutes before you want to sleep. I have experienced no side effects. Fortunately, I got approval from my insurance, they pay the full amount."

• nev...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• March 25, 2015

For Insomnia "I've been on Ambien for 10 years. Although my tolerance has gone up, it still does the job. I was looking forward to Belsomra, I took 15 mg at 10:25 pm and felt nothing. I took an additional 5 mg and it made me sleep for two hours. I woke up at 12:30 am with a headache and a hangover. The rest of the night was uncomfortable torture. I felt really tired but could not fall asleep. Is this talk about Belsomra needing one or two weeks to be effective valid? Pretty disappointing, fancy package with a fancy price and a miserable sleep. Have others experienced complete misery on the first night?"

• Mat...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• October 23, 2019

For Insomnia "I am an OIF veteran, and I developed shift work syndrome from not getting much, if any, sleep on my two deployments. With SWS or narcolepsy, I don’t get much REM sleep. So they put me on Ambien, but loud noises would wake me up, make me walk around, and hallucinate without any memory of doing it. Then I was put on Lunesta, and one night I didn’t fall asleep right away, and I started to hallucinate, and they put me on antipsychotics. I gave up on sleeping pills for a while until I stopped dreaming, period. Seriously, I was getting 0% REM sleep. So my doctor gave me some 10mg and 20mg samples of Belsomra. I didn’t like them because they didn’t make me drowsy like the other sleeping pills, and you have to actually try to go to sleep. But once I got used to it, the 10mg made me have vivid, violent, bloody dreams, and the 20mg made me have sci-fi dreams about parallel universes and stuff. So... I take 20s now. Lol I’m just happy to dream again."

• JoA...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• March 14, 2024

For Insomnia "This stuff is perfect for me - it really works! It is different than Xanax or Ambien. You can take either of those drugs and they kind of knock you out. With Belsomra, it works best if I take it on an empty stomach, at least two hours after eating, and I go to bed as soon as I take it. It takes longer to go to sleep, but once I fall asleep, it is a very restful sleep, and if I wake up, I fall right back to sleep easily. It is expensive, but worth it... especially if you are older. The other drugs are known to contribute to dementia. Belsomra works on a different part of the brain so no risk of dementia."

• MHH...
• April 12, 2015

For Insomnia "Have suffered with insomnia for years. Tried many medications, with Zolpidem ER (Generic Ambien ER) 12.5 the only one that helped. Even then, still was not getting great results at times. Tried 10 mg of Belsomra, hoping for a better result. This was one of the worst nights I have ever had in my life. Was wide awake until 4:30, followed by horrible, segmented, almost hallucinogenic dreams. After my alarm woke me, I was in the strangest state of mind, where I had to make myself speak. I finally told my husband, I'm sorry, I've got plenty of conversation in my head, but I have to MAKE myself speak. I was afraid to drive after this and had my son drive me. This condition eventually got better. One dose. Never again."

• Daz...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• March 13, 2019

For Insomnia "I can tell you all that Belsomra works for me. I have been using benzos on and off for 2 years and have tapered off only to have insomnia return. Since using Belsomra, I have slept great every night. Its mechanism works for me. I sympathize with the group of people that have no success with it, but I say for the people that have not used it to give it a try."

• KAS...
• November 7, 2019

For Insomnia "Works if you have no depression, anxiety, or snoring that inflicts with normal sleep. Been on SSRI for 12 years and got major depression after discontinued medication. Now on Belsomra for 5 weeks, and it really works naturally. Still have to work on my issues that inflict with my sleep, depression from serotonin deficiency, anxiety because of unemployment, and a bit of snoring. Took some time for it to start working for me, but I'm really glad to get rid of all 'no working sleep aids'. Now I sleep more naturally and efficiently. Give it some time and work for it."

• Sir...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• December 3, 2015

For Insomnia "You cannot be on Ambien and switch to this drug. It does not work on the same receptors, and you will go into Ambien withdrawal in the first night and blame it on this. I've been on Ambien for 2 years and been through withdrawal several times. Nightmares, muscle shocks, and a quick dream of getting punched in the face that puts you in a state of being afraid to fall back to sleep. 0 hours of sleep my first night. I went to work while having hallucinations. Don't blame the new drug, blame that it's being advertised as being an alternative."

• Sl3...
• January 2, 2016

For Insomnia "On rare occasions when it put me to sleep, it gave me a steady stream of mini, vivid nightmares that had me awaken to a depression. Sometimes I'd have the steady, mini-vivid dreams lucidly, always conscious and knowing what side I was lying on, and then drag through the next day exhausted. But most of the time, no sleep nor vivid dreams; nada. But the worst thing about Belsomra is its constellation of side effects: stiff muscle tone with unexpected contractions and coordination problems, crazy bad depression, irritability, confusion, and memory problems. Beware."

• Cok...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 1, 2019

For Insomnia "So strange how medications affect different people. My experience with Belsomra at 20 mg was worse than disappointing. I have followed the instructions to the letter, and after trying it for 4 nights, absolutely nothing, I cannot sleep. My large bedroom is silent, no lights, distracting sounds, perfect mattress and pillow... zero sleep. I will return to the Dr. tomorrow and request another option. Belsomra at highest strength did not work for me. (Not to mention the exorbitant price)."

• pjs...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 20, 2016

For Insomnia "Worked very well. Did have next-day drowsiness, but only the first day. Am only taking 10 mg. I had none of these bizarre side effects I've read about. The important thing for me is that this is NOT a benzodiazepine. More researching is showing that benzodiazepines and other GABA activators may be causing permanent memory loss, that includes Zolpidem. I've been able to come off my Gabapentin and Lorazepam at night."

• RPF...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• May 18, 2023

For Insomnia "Hoped this would help with chronic insomnia, took for five days, first two days 10 mg no effect, even sleeping worse, upped to 20 mg no sleep at all, and increased tinnitus, muscle weakness. Will not be taking again."

• bjd...
• June 12, 2015

For Insomnia "It's very strange at first, serious nightmares, it's almost like lucid dreaming, very 3D, and you have more ability to make decisions in the dream. It takes me at least 2 hours for it to work, and I have taken it and stayed in bed for hours with a horrible night's sleep. It works differently than Ambien, it gives me a sedative feel. Make sure you have at least 7 hours to sleep. Once you get used to it, the negative side effects I think go down. The half-life is longer than Ambien, and that's good, but it still does not have the effect of a quick-acting sleep med. More expensive too because it's new and there is no generic yet."

• Blo...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 29, 2018

For Insomnia "Thought I'd chuck a positive review on this garbage pile. After a lifetime of chronic, treatment-resistant insomnia, Belsomra is working pretty well for me. It took a week or so to start being effective (possibly because of coming off Ambien, which I'm sure is the case for a lot of people here) and will now reliably put me to sleep within an hour or so of taking it. It's not perfect, and I still wake up during the night but have no problem going back to sleep. No noticeable side effects so far. It's no Ambien, and it won't totally knock you out, but it's working well for me where everything else has failed. Worth the (very high) cost for me. It's definitely worth persisting with if it doesn't work right away, I didn't get results until the second week."

• Str...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 7, 2016

For Insomnia "I've tried Lunesta, Ambien, and trazodone for insomnia. None of these worked very well for me. Thank God I found Belsomra. I received a trial pack and experimented with different doses. The 5 mg and 10 mg seemed worthless and had no noticeable effect. I decided to go with the 20 mg, and wow, what a difference! It usually takes me over 1 hour to fall asleep, but with the 20 mg Belsomra, I've been consistently falling asleep within 20 minutes!! I understand this medicine has not performed well for a majority of other people, however, my body chemistry has responded very positively to it. So my opinion is if other insomnia medications have not worked for you, give this one a try and make sure you go with the 20 mg."

• Lyn...
• April 3, 2015

For Insomnia "My doctor (a psychopharmacologist - one who specializes in medication) started telling me about Belsomra 2 years ago. I have acute insomnia, and no drug ever worked. He explained how Belsomra works in a completely different way than any other drug for sleep. He also explained that it took 2 years to get FDA approval because Merck (the manufacturer) was NOT willing to have it classified as an addictive controlled substance, when the fact that addiction is far less than on any other drug for sleep. The FDA also had issues with the dose - studies show 15-20 mg is optimal. Merck finally 'caved' to both issues, but if you're taking 5-10 and it isn't working, ask about increasing it. Works for me!"