Comparing Belsomra vs Zolpidem

For Insomnia I have been on Lunesta for approximately 10 years. Lunesta has it's ups and downs, but my doctor suggested trying something that was not a hypnotic. So, I stopped Lunesta for one month and went on 15, and then 20 mg of Belsomra. As best I can describe it, the Beslomra was interesting. Interesting, in that when I could fall asleep, it did feel much more natural. I would also wake up in the morning feeling tired and just wanting to lay in bed and relax. That is not a bad thing. However, it simply would not put me to sleep on most nights. Moreover, the tiredness feeling I experienced tended to linger all day. It was not a drugged feeling, but just a tiredness I could not shake. So, I went back to Lunesta. Not perfect, but does it's job well!

For Insomnia Was really disappointed. I started at 10mg (have taken Ambien IR 10mg for 2yrs). It actually worked great - maybe the first sleep aid that made me feel genuinely, naturally sleepy, not drugged and sedated. But after I went to sleep, I had 3 hrs of horrible, vivid nightmares that woke me up every 5 minutes panting & sweating. I also experienced sleep paralysis for the first time in my life. It was absolutely terrifying. I tried to keep at it for a few nights as several people have said the side effects go away quickly, and even tried only taking 5mg, but it was intolerable. Too bad. It is maybe worth noting that I take a handful of other meds including Seroquel, Klonopin, Lamictal, etc.

For Insomnia I had been sleepless forever when a P.A. talked me into trying Ambien. I loved it! For the 1st time I was able to fall asleep and stay asleep. Then my insurance changed to Kaiser and my new Dr. said, “Ambien! We’re going to have to change that. You’ll sleep when you get tired enough.” So I went back to life without restful sleep. Having known what life was like with a good night’s sleep, I changed my Dr. and he put me on Trazadone which worked fine for a couple years. Then I started getting anxiety when I didn’t take it. My doc said to wean off of it slowly and we would try something else. It took about 6 weeks, then we tried Mirtazapine. The Mirtazapine didn’t help at all and by week two I was feeling very out of sorts. Something was not right with the Mirtazapine. Then I learned that Mirtazapine was another anti depressant! I had insomnia not depression! I am now back on Zolpidem and sleeping without side effects.

For Insomnia Works fine if I go to bed 30 min. after taking them. If I stay up much past that, my short-term memory turns off and I will have no memory at all of anything that happened after then. My only complaint is that with generics, every formulation works a bit differently. In the years I've been using it, I've had prescriptions refilled with pills from 4 different manufacturers that are SUPPOSEDLY identical to the brand name drug. But - though they're all supposed to be 12.5 mg Zolpidem, they all act differently for me. One brand knocks me out in 20 minutes, but another barely works even if I take higher-then-prescribed dosages. (NOT RECOMMENDED!) A 3rd one affects my sense of balance and makes me see double. Yet another knocks me out OK, but then I wake up 4 hours too early. Some give me hangovers, some don't. Assuming they all contain the same amount of the same medicine, the only thing I can account for the this are different inert ingredients or a different manufacturing method.