Temazepam and Insomnia: What Users Say

• Anonymous
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• February 14, 2013

Temazepam for Insomnia "I take this about three times a week to help me sleep. I have had insomnia for two years. Even though I work 12-14 hours a day and jog 5 miles 4 times a week, I still could not sleep. Started taking this and it did not do much at first. But now it really works! I can sleep about 7 hours and only wake once or twice and can go back to sleep pretty quickly usually. I wish I could take it every night but doing this lessens its effect on me. I save it for 3 nights a week and struggle through the others. Side effects are constipation, I never 'go' the next day. Also, pretty bad rebound insomnia, I do not sleep well the night after I have taken it."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• May 7, 2015

Temazepam for Insomnia "Tried Ambien, but it lost its effect around 10 months. Lunesta tasted like I sucked on a roll of pennies all night. Trazodone just wasn't really effective. I take 30 mg of Restoril about 20 mins before I need to be in bed. Otherwise, I've awakened in different parts of the house. I also take 0.75 mg, give or take 0.25 mg, of Xanax as a kicker. I would have problems staying asleep. Sometimes no more sleep that night, sometimes the crappy toss-and-turn sleep till you get mad and get up. Then drag ass all day. Occasionally, I still get one of those nights, but they are once in a long while. It works for me, and I recommend (but does not for a friend). If you've tried the others, give it a try, it's cheap, nothing to lose."

• Sta...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• April 26, 2018

For Insomnia "I've been taking it for about a year with periodic breaks once a month for a week or two. I find that helps to make it work better again. I don't have any side effects when I stop other than the insomnia starts again within 3 to 4 days. I have accidentally found something that helps continue to work every night because after a couple of weeks I'm building a tolerance to it. I started the intermittent diet (I've lost 25 pounds in 3 1/2 months) and stop eating by 5 pm or 6 pm. With my stomach being empty, the temazepam works 100% every night now. So if you eat close to bedtime and have built up a tolerance, then maybe stop taking it on an empty stomach and see if that works."

• Liz...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 14, 2019

Temazepam for Insomnia "I have taken Xanax for 20 years as a sleep aid and anxiety med at night. I added melatonin and then Unisom (I've had insomnia most of my life and am 70 and need to SLEEP) and even with all those drugs, I still am awake until 1 a.m. or 2 a.m., but I slept. Put on temazepam 15 mg today. Took 15 mg at 11 p.m., and I am writing this at 4:52, WIDE AWAKE!!!!! Back to Xanax tomorrow!!!!"

• Liz...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 14, 2019

Temazepam for Insomnia "I have taken Xanax for 20 years as a sleep aid and anxiety med at night. I added melatonin and then Unisom (I've had insomnia most of my life and am 70 and need to SLEEP) and even with all those drugs, I still am awake until 1 a.m. or 2 a.m., but I slept. Put on temazepam 15 mg today. Took 15 mg at 11 p.m., and I am writing this at 4:52, WIDE AWAKE!!!!! Back to Xanax tomorrow!!!!"

• wha...
• November 2, 2016

Temazepam for Insomnia "30 milligrams worked like a charm for three months in addition to the medicine I take for depression, bipolar, and anxiety, all mixed together. I slept, however, I needed to up my dose to 60 milligrams forward to continue to work, which it also did like a charm for 3 more months. That is 6 months I'm sleeping after 2 years of extreme insomnia, which had basically destroyed my life. I am up and running, however, I had a doctor's appointment today because I have been getting restless sleep. I wanted to go to 30 milligrams Restoril and 10 milligrams of Valium, as this has worked in the past, however, my doctor was not there, and I am scared that I may not sleep so well or take extra medicine to sleep. That's my experience."

• Sho...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• August 27, 2017

For Insomnia "I have found that not all generic versions of Restoril are as effective as others. My pharmacy normally fills my Rx with a generic labeled Mylan 4010, an orange capsule. It works perfectly for my insomnia. They filled my last Rx with one labeled R 076, which is a green and white capsule. I didn't sleep at all the first night I took them. The next night, I took the orange ones again, and everything was as it should be. Last night, I took the R 076 again and didn't sleep at all-again. I will speak with my pharmacy tomorrow. This change is NOT acceptable. I expect the R 076 is cheaper for them, which is unfair to me."

• Ran...
• October 25, 2018

For Insomnia "I have suffered from situational depression about five times in my life. This past month, I again tripped into depression, getting about 2 hours of sleep with Ambien. Learned to cut the Ambien in half, I could get another two hours, but laid awake hour after hour 'til dawn. Was also taking 100 to 150 mg of Zoloft (which takes about two weeks to have any effect on me). Lost 15 pounds and looked like the walking dead for almost a month. Asked my doctor if I could switch from Ambien to temazepam after reading about it. Took 15 mg last night and slept until 2 a.m. Then drifted off to sleep until 5 a.m. It was the best night's sleep I have had in a month. I have so much empathy for people who have insomnia, it is the worst. Just keep trying different meds to find what works. I can tell you Ambien knocks you out fast, but with a half-life of 1.5 hours, it only works for a couple hours max. Temazepam has a much longer half-life. Hang in there!"

• Ser...
• September 19, 2017

For Insomnia "I was a long-term opiate addiction, and even with this had horrible insomnia, so would buy black market temazepam. I am 3 months clean but still have crippling anxiety and insomnia. This drug works wonders. Keeps my anxiety at bay, and last night I slept for 9 hours!!! Just scared they will try and change me to something else again. Works wonders."

• Chr...
• November 25, 2011

For Insomnia "I had insomnia for months and was put on Seroquel XR for sleep. It pretty much just drugged me, and I hated it. Popping limbs and anxiety over not being able to fall asleep was my problem. But since changing my diet to a healthier lifestyle (will be a year January 2012) and taking temazepam 30 mg since October 2011, I have felt the best sleep I have ever had. I started taking it at 10 or 11 pm so it would last through the night. I usually wake up to go to the bathroom at 4 am or 5 am and can't go back to sleep, so I will be asking my doctor if I can take 2 (30 mg per night), one before bed and one in the middle of the night. And from reading posts on here, some people have taken it for years. This is the best, most restful sleep I have ever had!"

• Anonymous
• September 7, 2010

For Insomnia "I have been taking temazepam for about 2 years now. It was originally prescribed for me for a two-week term, but I am continually prescribed it. It works very well to help me fall asleep and somewhat stay asleep. One out of three times, I will find myself waking up in the middle of the night, tossing and turning, but that's not a big deal because I still get enough sleep. I have tried taking it and going to bed right after, but that does not work for me. I usually will wait an hour or so, and then I feel it hit me, and I am sleeping within 5 minutes. You do need to be careful, though, on how long you wait after taking it (depending on the amount taken) because you WILL do things that you won't remember when you wake up. Overall, great!"

• Che...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• November 2, 2017

For Insomnia "I am a rotating shift worker (work days, then nights all within the same work week) and have been for 20 years. Talk about creating a state of insomnia. I can sleep, but only a couple of hours of being awake 40-60 hours. Finally, I got my physician to write for temazepam. Trust me, I am cautious because I beat a 5-year klonopin addiction that put me through many months of benzo withdrawal I wouldn’t wish on anyone. (Benzos are insidious to withdraw from, not like opiates, that’s a walk in the park compared to benzos, but then again, benzos damage the brain, and it’s very slow to recover). That said, I don’t have any interest in abusing temazepam, 8 pills a month for the worse of the insomnia times. Benzos are bad, but so is horrible insomnia. What to do!"

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• June 1, 2012

For Insomnia "I've started experiencing insomnia quite severely lately. I think my plate is just too full and I'm too busy that my brain hasn't been shutting off at night, and I lay there feeling relaxed, but not actually relaxed. Anyway, my doc prescribed temazepam to replace Ambien (which I was on for years) since I would lay awake for 6 or 7 hours and only get an hour or two of sleep. I really felt this medicine 'turn off' my brain. The first night or two, I fell asleep right away, but since then it's been really hit or miss. I feel so calm and not thinking about anything, but yet I'm wide awake until 2 or 3 am (I get up at 5 am). I've been on it for about a month now and still having trouble falling asleep. Out of the 5 nights this week, I had 3 sleepless nights."

• Sle...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 27, 2018

For Insomnia "I took my first temazepam at 8 pm tonight. A 30 mg tablet. It’s now 11:45 pm. Still wondering if sleep will ever come. I’ve taken other benzodiazepines, clonazepam and also diazepam. Started the clonazepam 20 years ago, was having problems sleeping. The effectiveness over time did wear off, so the dose was upped. The psychiatrist thought to try diazepam, since it had a muscle relaxant. She didn’t get the right equivalent to the clonazepam. So, no success. Went back on clonazepam. Then a few years later, with a different doctor, we tried again, she got the right dosage swap out. The diazepam still was not helping get a good sleep. Took like six weeks to wean off of that benzo after taking them for so long. Then a few weeks after, total insomnia and sweating all night long. That lasted for about two weeks, and I asked to be put back on. Quit them cold turkey last week. Asked my PCP to get me something strong to knock me out. I guess I will be calling him in the morning."

• Kar...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• November 7, 2021

For Insomnia "I have taken temazepam intermittently for years without any problems by Mylan. My pharmacy switched to this company Asend and now have terrifying nightmares, insomnia, panic attacks, along with a feeling of doom."

• Aas...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• November 9, 2021

For Insomnia "Temazepam really helped me to fall asleep. I still, from time to time, had issues waking up in the middle of the night and struggling to get back to sleep. My insomnia was really horrible after I lost my father. I was only getting 3 or 4 hours of sleep at night and barely functional. I'm now on another medication that is helping my sleep, and now I'm sleeping too much, so I'm going to start weaning off of this."

• nov...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• August 12, 2021

Temazepam for Insomnia "I started taking this nightly about 5 years ago, and I have to say I am surprised at all the positive reviews of this medication. Yes, it did help my insomnia greatly, but I feel that recently I have developed a tolerance to it and want to get off of it permanently, but am having a really hard time doing it. The sleep deprivation has been really rough. I have lost my ability to fall and stay asleep naturally, and I blame it on this medication, perhaps that's not fair, I know. My doctor doesn't seem concerned at all about my dependence, and I find very little information about withdrawing from this medication on the benzo bulletin boards. It almost seems like it's not taken seriously enough, that it's a 'mild' sleep aid and that I shouldn't be too worried about trying to get off of it. My doctor doesn't seem to think it's a big step to switch from 30 mg, my usual dose, down to the next dosage of 22.5, but it's really, really HARD. I don't want to take this anymore!!"