Zaleplon for Insomnia User Reviews (Page 2)

• GWano
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 3, 2019

Sonata (zaleplon) "I experienced no effects from 50mg of Sonata. My doctor switched me to Trazodone 50mg; which has had no effect, as well. I sleep for 3-5 hours a night and wake up 4-10 times during those hours. (yes, I've tried no sound, no light, no screen time, no exercise or food just before bed, etc.)"

• Anonymous
• June 15, 2008

Sonata (zaleplon) "I agree with both of the other posts. Sonata is very effective and you feel no drowsiness in the morning. Also, you are not so completely zonked out that you can't awaken if necessary. At first I took it only when I awakened at 2 or 3 am, but now I take it before bedtime and sleep (7 hours) until the next morning. "

• Jazzy
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 14, 2020

Sonata (zaleplon) "I was previously on Lunesta, didn’t work, Trazodone, made things worse, and Ambien 10mg which was the best, but my body got too used to it. I was prescribed 5mg of Sonata and instructed to take 1-2 a night as needed. I ended up taking them first night and it was basically like popping tic tacs. I didn’t even yawn. Worst medicine EVER!"

• Tired...
• July 30, 2016

Sonata (zaleplon) "This medicine doesn't last. I'm on my second night of it and it's 4 am and I'm wide awake. My legs are very restless. I have stomach cramps. I've tired Tranzodone in fact I was up to 200 mgs and still didn't feel it. Ambien made me hallucinate. I just want to sleep at night so I can have normal days with my kids."

• Auntiem
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• May 28, 2016

Sonata (zaleplon) "I am bi/polar and awaken many times around 2 or 3 am with racing thoughts. This makes it impossible for me to go back to sleep and I am exhausted because of it. My Dr. had me try the Sonata and with taking it at these times I can get another 3 to 4 hours of sleep and awaken feeling very rested. I usually fall back to sleep within 15 minutes after taking it. Love it on those rough nights."

• Apnea...
• May 8, 2008

Sonata (zaleplon) "I have Sleep Apnoea and was on rotating shift for 17 years. My doctor prescribed Ambien, which worked well, if I had 7-8 hours to devote to sleep. I do not take it every night. I do wakeup midway most nights. I was having a difficulty getting back to sleep. My doctor then prescribed Sonata for the times when I have less than 7 hours to sleep. I found it was effective and very mild. I can take with as little as an hour of sleep time available, with minimal side effects."

• Ivan...
• October 17, 2009

Sonata (zaleplon) "Falling asleep can be a bit of a challenge when my back and legs are cramping. Feels like a broom stick is constantly pushing hard on lower left side of back. This pill said take immediately before bed. It takes about 70 minutes for me to shut down after taking it. Other pills give aching shoulder and joints this one does not and no grogginess either. I can sleep through at least 6 hours after use and I appreciate the development of one medicine that works for me as I have tried many and they do not work well or have negative side effects."

• Surf...
• March 15, 2017

Sonata (zaleplon) "I was taking this medication on and off for over a year. Although it did help me go back to sleep, I found myself going to the doctor more and more for constipation, stomach pain, muscle pains, anxiety and the worst one tingling all over my body. I went through all sorts of miserable medical tests, and everything came back normal. It finally occurred to me that maybe this medication was causing all of my misery, so I looked up the side-effects and sure enough they are all listed. I am in the process of weaning myself off of this medication and feel like absolute crap. I wish I had never started this medication! My recommendation is: get a sleep study, try "natural"(less addicting) sleep aides, or trazadone and therapy for stress."

• Bella
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 20, 2019

Sonata (zaleplon) "I’ve had insomnia for around 16 years. Doctor tried me on multiple medications because nothing seemed to work. Ambien worked the most, but I began to build a tolerance too it so I was given Belsomra samples to try. Best medicine ever. Quickly fell asleep and stayed asleep and not groggy the next day. Went to fill the Belsomra prescription and insurance wouldn’t cover it because it’s a new drug without generics. Cost was approximately $500 for one month. Doctor said we could get prescription covered if we now tried two more medicines and if they didn’t work the insurance would approve the Belsomra. So we gave Sonata a go and it might as well be a placebo. Only get about 2-3 hours of restless sleep a night. Everyone has different reactions, but for me it didn’t do a thing."

• Sw33t_P
• August 13, 2017

Sonata (zaleplon) "Sonata for the most part is great. I've had insomnia for years now and nothing seemed to phase me. I'm taking two 10mg and while it does work, I have those night where it doesn't do anything. Can't even tell I took it. I usually take it around 10pm. I've noticed if I have any food in my stomach it doesn't work or doesn't work as well. If I take it on an empty stomach it works great. With my schedule I sometimes can't eat until around 8:30-9:00 pm so on those nights I usually don't even take it because I know it won't work. Also, sometimes I wake up after about 4-5 hours of sleep and can't go back to sleep. Then some nights I sleep all night. Not sure if it's just me but it seems like sonata is very finicky."

• LadyI...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• November 9, 2016

Sonata (zaleplon) "Started on 10mg for 1 week with little results. Woke up twice every night, seems like it took forever to get back to sleep. Doctor increased dose to 2 10mg per night-it's been a month now and I'm still waking up at least twice each night. I have tried taking both capsules around 9-9:30PM, or 1 at 9:30PM & the other around 11PM, same sleep interruptions. I decided to just get up at 4AM-when I'm awake the second time and stare at the TV or fix my husband's lunch. I'm still not feeling as if I'm getting a good night's sleep-find myself tired and grouchy during the day and early evening. Feeling very frustrated."

• KaraDB
• July 13, 2013

"I started taking zaleplon after finding that my previous sleeping pill (trazodone) made me sleepy well into the next day. Zaleplon has a much shorter half life than trazodone and it helps with falling asleep. The way my doctor described it was that it would ease my mind so I could fall asleep versus making me just drowsy. The first few weeks I fell asleep instantly. However, after being on zaleplon for awhile, I noticed that in the morning I had taken more pills (2 or 3) without remembering I had. I live alone, so I know I was the only one that could have taken them. I also did dishes and took trash out in my sleep. I now take a lower dose and haven't had the same issues since. Great sleeping pill but make sure you start on a low dose."

• Very...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 25, 2016

Sonata (zaleplon) "This is by far the worst pill prescribed for sleep! !! I felt anxious irritable. ..heart was racing headache and my blood pressure increased along with abdominal discomfort and muscle pain. And if I I do fall asleep it's for an hour or so and I'm up for another hour and find it very hard to fall back to sleep . Never again !! this pill is not for me!!!"

• Wizbang
• Taken for less than 1 month
• September 9, 2019

"Using the recommended dose, I awoke in the city jail, after wrapping my Jeep around a pole, totalling it. I had ZERO recollection of the events, and left the house in my boxers and no shoes. VERY fortunate to have survived, and to not have hurt anyone else. Police report said I had no clue where I was or where I was going, despite being 6 blocks from home. Jeep was totalled. Will NEVER EVER EVER take any sleeping pill of any kind, EVER. I'd rather spend my days exhausted."

• Tiques
• February 2, 2015

"After being a great sleeper I found myself looking up at the ceiling for several hours. I do not like taking medication. I got prescribed zaleplon as it is mild. Whenever I am overtired or stressed I take 1 or 2. It works perfectly and no side affects. I am 80 young."

• V SF
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• February 10, 2015

"I've only ever had problems falling asleep, zaleplon really helps my mind stop think about work and other nonsense. I've used zaleplon only when I needed to get to sleep because something was going on the next day and I would begin to worry about not being able to sleep, and it really does help with this. It also helps with jet-lag. Other times, I would just drink a lot. I've recently cut WAY back on the amount of alcohol and am relying much more on zaleplon. As my body is adjusting to less alcohol, I'm sleeping better without it. I used to wake up as soon as the zonleplon wore off, 4 hours on the dot. Now that I'm drinking so much less, I'm getting 6 to 7 hours sleep before waking, and then I'm able to go back to sleep a get a total of 8+."

• 2...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• September 30, 2017

Sonata (zaleplon) "I have no problem going to sleep (9 or 10). I'll will quite frequently wake up at 1:00am or 2:00am and cannot get back to sleep. When this happens I take 10mg and I will quickly go back to sleep until 4:30am or 5:00am which is the time I get up. If I get 6 to 7 hour of total sleep without waking up I won't take the Sonata ."

• Cool...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• June 27, 2018

Sonata (zaleplon) "I wanted to try alternate sleeping pill cause Trazodone makes me eat carbohydrates crazy and put on weight. So he gave Belsomra and I scared of those side effects I declined it. Tried sonata 10mg and I didn't go to sleep. Maybe slept 2-3 hours and have a nauseous stomach, feel jittery and tired. Hated it. Would rather have the weight gain and carb craves if it means Ill sleep and wake up feeling great."

• Sleep...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• April 27, 2014

"I have chronic back pain that I take a pain medicine for. (Nucynta- and it's great!). I still had a problem with falling asleep so my pain doctor suggested I try this. It has changed my life. It is so amazing how it works. You really don't know it's working until you lie down and try to go to sleep. This pill doesn't give you the normal feelings of getting sleepy like the others. This is working your brain to shut down in such a cool way you hardly know it unless you stay up waiting for that feeling. I think if I didn't have the back pain I would probably sleep straight through the night but my pain meds run out after 5hrs so I have to take one again for that. No probs going back to sleep. I get a lot of memory loss on the night before though. May have bin the "

• Susana...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• January 29, 2020

Sonata (zaleplon) "A major stroke messed my sleeping patterns. I can go without sleep for a week. I can be dead tired but I will not fall asleep. The doctor first had me in Ambien, nothing then Lunesta which worked great until the government insurance refused to cover it. I have issues both falling asleep and staying asleep. To complicate matters I take Adderall too. The nurse practitioner told me to take the pill after dinner. I was taking it at 9 PM, I even opened it and put it in apple sauce so it could be easily digested, it is not working. I end up falling asleep at 2 am. Then I can't get up. It is a nightmare."

• finge...
• April 5, 2018

Sonata (zaleplon) "Works. I used to take ambien (zolpiderm) for years. It had major long-term memory effects. Now it works but if I wake I'm wide awake for hours. Sonata different. Somewhat like Valium (diazepam) but shorter acting. I generally need two. I try one first. If no sleep after TWO HOUR'S, I'll take a second (10mg). Works about 95% One only works 50%. I'll note that sometimes taken with full stomach but that doesn't seem to affect. I do feel pretty rested after this medication 1 or 2 doses. Also works well if I pop up after 2-3 hours 1 will do. I give it an 8 rating: the addiction notes here (no surprise) and my past history of memory loss make me suspicious & I can't rate for more severe needs. In fact I wouldn't recommend for either regular nor long-term use. Useful for intermittent use."

• Ditty
• September 10, 2017

Sonata (zaleplon) "It made my blood pressure spike (190/119). This was in the late morning, early afternoon after taking, so I have to assume it was when the CNS suppressive effect was wearing off. My doctor (a psychiatrist) was not interested in discussing the possible reasons for this. I had pounding in my head and pressure against my left eyeball."

• Mubs
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• August 27, 2021

Sonata (zaleplon) "this is the only med that has ever worked with my extreme insomnia and anxiety especially at night I also have ADHD, Bipolar, and suffering from racing thoughts. This med along with my bipolar med not only are the only med combo that's worked effectively long-term for me after 23 years of searching for the right med combo. I've been diagnosed with severe insomnia, bipolar, and severe anxiety since I was 10years old) but its also the least amount of number of pills I've had to take to get these positive results. As always do your own research but if your struggling with insomnia and anxiety with it being more intense at night I would 100% talk to your doctor to see if it is the right med for you. The only down side after being on sonata a number of years and my insurance covering it last year they stopped covering an I started having to pay out of pocket but it wasn't too expensive at my local privately owned pharmacy 42$ at CVS Pharmacy it was a little pricier at 78$"

• onlya...
• December 21, 2011

"I have extreme insomnia that occurs on a nightly basis for over three years now. I have tried pretty much everything thing, relaxation techniques, changes in diet and exercise, lavender bathes, new mattress etc. I have taken some sleep aids in the past that have either done the reverse or have made me groggy for days. This one, however, did not make me tired right away, I got a little bit energized for around 2 hours before I fell asleep. But I do like how there were no morning side effects! Big for that! My one side effect was that I got super thirsty and my throat got super dry, but the pharmacist said it does occur but usually the person is asleep by that time."

• Zol
• October 21, 2019

"zaleplon did not work as well as ambien/zolpidem. I take 2-3 mg zolpidem when I wake up which is 4 hours after I fall asleep initially. Sometimes I don't take it and then just stay awake for 3- 4 hours til I can fall asleep again. I stop completely for weeks at a time, it causes rebound insomnia but I always want this drug to work so I stop so my tolerance doesn't build up. It's been 8 years, it still works to put me back to sleep in about 20 min. There's a window, you have to stop reading or whatever you're doing at the first tinge of tiredness or you can miss it and then it won't work. I am worried about the dementia issue, I'm 69 yrs old, but I think lack of sleep can cause that & I have never used benzos or allergy meds and have no health probs or other meds, so while I know there's a danger, I still use it. 2.5 mgs and I'm back to sleep for another 3-4 hrs. "