Suvorexant and Anxiety: What Users Say

• col...
• November 23, 2019

For Insomnia "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."

• eco...
• June 24, 2017

For Insomnia "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...
• March 31, 2016

For Insomnia "This was the worst insomnia drug I have ever tried. It seemed to wake me every one to two hours in a semi-awake, paralytic state while still living the nightmare. I also have bad anxiety, which it seems to make worse. I recently called my doctor and unloaded on them. Thank God I only took samples and will not be paying for the prescription."

• Kap...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 13, 2019

For Insomnia "Took a long time for Belsomra to kick in on an empty stomach for starters. Everything took a horrific turn after that, I had side effects of body numbness and tingling, numb mind, moderate hallucinations in the dark, feeling excitable, which was very uncomfortable, which resulted in little sleep. Mind was numb of thoughts, but I had lots of anxiety. Morning: terrible. All the feelings came back, and mental numbness is slightly still there. I'm genuinely afraid for people wanting to try this stuff, especially if they work a job in the morning."

• sle...
• March 4, 2016

For Insomnia "I tried this medication for insomnia. I had been taking Restoril 30 mg to help me sleep, but it had stopped working as well. My doctor gave me samples of Belsomra to try and said I needed to start at 10 mg, but it probably wouldn't work until I titrated up to 20 mg. I had the worst night I've had in a long time after taking this. I became confused and upset. I began crying, became dizzy, and felt as though I couldn't breathe. I was terrified to go to sleep. I apparently did fall asleep at some point after lying awake trying to keep from going to sleep due to fear. I had horrible dreams. Never taking this again. Worst night I can remember in a long, long time. I've felt horrible all day, groggy, and nervous."

• Can...
• March 12, 2016

For Insomnia "Took Ambien for years but noticed increased short-term memory problems, so I switched to Belsomra. Not the same kind of sleep you experience with Ambien. Took about 10 days for me to get used to this one because of the difference. It more mimics how you used to feel when you naturally got sleepy, not a dopey kind of sleep. Also, if you don't sleep because you're an extremely anxious person, you will not find this one as effective. I don't sleep as sound on this one if I have a lot on my mind, worrisome things, versus I just can't sleep because I'm wondering if, for example, Tesla's ideas really will work :)"

• 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."

• Nic...
• July 17, 2017

For Insomnia "I was taking Belsomra (20 mg) for almost a year, and initially, it worked great. I was falling asleep in a natural way without feeling I had taken a sleeping pill. After three or four months, things started to change. I started feeling a bit depressed with some anxiety. What was really strange is that I would get lots of work-related anxiety -- things started bugging me at work that normally would not. It's like small things at work bugged me far more than usual. I could not understand what changed. In addition, I was accumulating some depression, and everything took more energy to do. Finally, I started suspecting Belsomra was the cause, so as soon as I stopped, all these symptoms simply evaporated! OMG, I finally can feel the sunshine!"

• win...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 5, 2015

For Insomnia "I've taken zolpidem for 4 years. I took Belsomra only one time. I had horrible nightmares and would fall asleep only to wake up shortly after. I became agitated and anxious. It was a terrible night's sleep, and I definitely will not be taking it again."

• Kro...
• May 24, 2017

For Insomnia "I never take any meds and don't have any conditions. I was faced with a 13-hour flight overnight to Korea. I have always had a hard time sleeping on planes, so I tried a 20 mg dose. Holy crap, it was bad! Within 30 minutes, I had the worst case of hot sweats, upset stomach, and feeling very anxious! Got sick in the restroom and 1/2 an hour later was back to normal. Flushed my samples and just turfed it out."

• Sle...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• May 20, 2017

For Insomnia "I was hoping this would be a better long-term sleep therapy than Ambien (Belsomra studies reported that was the case), so I gave it a try. I took 15 mg at the same time I would have taken my Ambien. It certainly didn't work as well as Ambien when it came to falling asleep... it took 30-40 minutes before becoming sleepy enough to fall asleep. Though I slept pretty well for about 8 hrs, and would have otherwise rated this medication an overall '5', I awoke with the worst anxiety that I have ever experienced. I felt like climbing the walls! It was so physically uncomfortable that I had to just get up and bag the idea of sleeping in on a Saturday morning. Three hrs after waking, the anxiety subsided enough that I was able to sit and relax."

• San...
• March 10, 2017

For Insomnia "I had terrible nightmares on this drug. Strange sensations. Felt anxious and afraid. Would never take this drug again. Kept waking and then falling into deep, anxious sleep. I normally take Ambien and feel sleepy but normal."

• Clo...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• April 28, 2019

For Insomnia "Night 3 of Belsomra 15 mg and it isn’t working. First night fell asleep fast but was up numerous times during the night. Woke up feeling hung over. I do not drink, so this is a negative for me. Second night fell asleep but was up numerous times during the night. I felt anxious all day and felt horrible. Third night took at 9 pm and haven’t slept at all! I’m exhausted! Not impressed with this medication at all."

• goo...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• May 23, 2015

For Insomnia "I loved it the first couple of nights. Then nothing. Then worse than nothing, I wake up feeling very anxious. I need to get up and move even though I am still exhausted. Will try a few nights without it. Also, it doesn't help me fall asleep. I still need something else for that."

• Mka...
• March 26, 2017

For Insomnia "The only positive thing to say is that it made me sleep 6 1/2 hours straight, although it didn't help me get to sleep. The reason I laid down was because I became very dizzy and woke up feeling the same, which has induced anxiety. I have felt completely off balance, similar to vertigo. I have taken stronger sleep aids that didn't give me this effect. I was very hopeful. A waste of $90.00."

• sle...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• December 18, 2017

For Insomnia "Belsomra did not work for me. It made my bladder get so irritated, so I wake up numerous times at night to urinate! It also gave me an anxious feeling in the middle of the night. I was hoping this would help, but it did not."

• Sha...
• July 21, 2019

For Insomnia "Does not put you to sleep and makes you anxious. If you do happen to fall asleep, you will have horrible, HORRIBLE nightmares that will need therapy. Stay away from the drug. It put me in a dark place as well."

• Mrs...
• February 21, 2016

For Insomnia "I've taken it for 4 days so far, and I'm still not sleeping. I thought this was a 'miracle' drug and wanted to try it when it first came out. Took a year for my doctor to prescribe it. I'm very disappointed in it. I have severe insomnia and sleep 3-4 hours a night. I had built up a tolerance to my trazodone that used to work very well. All I feel are more migraines, and it's made my anxiety worse. But my doctor took me off my anxiety medication to put me on this. She says that it takes a few days for it to work, but I don't know if that's true after reading these reviews. She started me out on only 5 mg, which didn't help. So we moved it to 10 mg. I'll give it a week, then I'm done."

• gin...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 9, 2018

For Insomnia "My insurance stopped paying for Lunesta, so Belsomra was prescribed. Belsomra did nothing for me, it did not put me to sleep and did not make me sleep. I had one moment of sleep with a jarring type of dream. I would not recommend this drug for sleeping. I was using 15 mg. It did nothing. The next day, I was jittery and out of it. If you are having trouble sleeping, don't bother with this drug. I wanted it to work. Very disappointing."

• KAS...
• November 3, 2019

For Insomnia "I understand that this medication is not a super strong and addictive substance that 'knocks' you out. But really? Is that how you want to live, to live a stressed-out life that makes you dependent on strong drugs that put you into a coma? I think that Belsomra is an 'on point' effective drug that pinpoints the origin of failure and helps your brain to relax naturally. But it will not work for all you drug addicts out there, you have to work for it. Life change, rehab from sleeping pills and other substances, sorting out underlying problems like depression, snoring, anxiety, and so on. I wish you all good luck and hope you give it a 100% fair chance to work. For me, it took about 4 weeks to start working on 10 mg because of my underlying depression, anxiety, and snoring. Been on SSRIs for 12 years, and my brain probably changed the whole structure of my serotonin receptor system due to long-term medication???"

• Boo...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• March 29, 2018

For Insomnia "Went to my doctor for anxiety and depression, plus PTSD. They insisted that I just needed a good night's rest. After telling them multiple times I didn’t want something that I’d get addicted to. So they gave me a sample of Belsomra! After reading about it, I was upset to find it is a class 4 drug. They asked me to give it a try. So I did. 3 days! That was enough for me to decide I hate it! First night, it made me feel like my tongue was numb and sent me into an anxiety attack. I had to call my husband to talk me out of it. I had horrible nightmares, plus woke up periodically through the night and was exhausted the next day. The second night was the same! I had horrible nightmares and woke up. Third night: I had reoccurring night terrors! Woke up from them absolutely terrified! 3 days was enough! So, it didn’t work for me. I gave it two stars because it did get me to sleep pretty fast to be tortured by nightmares."

• Boo...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• March 29, 2018

For Insomnia "Went to my doctor for anxiety and depression, plus PTSD. They insisted that I just needed a good night's rest. After telling them multiple times I didn’t want something that I’d get addicted to. So they gave me a sample of Belsomra! After reading about it, I was upset to find it is a class 4 drug. They asked me to give it a try. So I did. 3 days! That was enough for me to decide I hate it! First night, it made me feel like my tongue was numb and sent me into an anxiety attack. I had to call my husband to talk me out of it. I had horrible nightmares, plus woke up periodically through the night and was exhausted the next day. The second night was the same! I had horrible nightmares and woke up. Third night: I had reoccurring night terrors! Woke up from them absolutely terrified! 3 days was enough! So, it didn’t work for me. I gave it two stars because it did get me to sleep pretty fast to be tortured by nightmares."

• Jac...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• June 25, 2019

For Insomnia "Had trouble falling and staying asleep. Caused anxiety."

• Dal...
• April 12, 2018

For Insomnia "Rather than help me sleep, it created anxiety and a feeling of pressure in my head. I stayed up the whole night. I would have been better off taking nothing."