Lunesta versus ambien

I’m curious. A lot of you guys are unjustly suffering from lack of sleep. That is not a good thing. And I’m talking about what happens after you’re just tired. Sleep deprivation can lead to motor and cognitive decline. Imagine turning on a light switch when lightbulb is already on. Having a conversation with someone and nodding away but not having a clue what was said. Your muscles ache. Can’t remember where u parked ur car.
WHY LIVE LIKE THIS. Needing and using a sleep aid for sleep doesn’t make u an addict. Working with a sleep specialist u trust can get you where u need to be without the shame or stigma. I’ve taken so much stuff along the way. Ambien (the best when mixed with gabapentin), restoril/ temazepam, trazadone, lunesta, ambien cx. So many. And then otc about 500mg of those blue gel caps if I’m out of prescription strength. My sleep specialist is a god to me. I tell him if I feel embarrassed about my drug intake and he’s not worried at all. “Well find a solution that will work. Until it doesn’t. And then we’ll find a new solution”. No judgement. And very little crisis and rabbit hole moments. I’d only NOT recommend ambien if you’re depressive. Only because you’d want to stay sleeping all day and it’s guaranteed sleep. Which can become a conflict on interest! Lol.
I don’t consider myself an addict cause my only goal at the end of the night is to sleep. Since my brain can’t do that for me, I give it supplements! Don’t let sleep aids scare you. Under the right management care, sleep aids are a life savor. There’s so much more involved. So all I want to say is don’t let sleep aids or ambien scare u.

NOTE: I didn't include every single medication for insomnia, only those commonly prescribed.
In the table I will explain the purpose of each medication, its class, how addictive it is, short term or long term, and dementia risk. Addiction Category consists of 3 levels: Low, Medium, and High. Dementia Risk will be divided into: Not likely, Likely, and very likely, as there's not much studies that confirm dementia risk with anti-depressants. I've included several notes that provides general analysis and should be used for general knowledge only, THIS ISN'T MEDICAL ADVICE.
Z-Drugs

Drugs	Treatment	Duration	Addiction Risk	Dementia Risk
Ambien	Insomnia	Short-Term	Medium	Likely
Lunesta	Insomnia	Short-Term	Medium	Likely
Sonata	Insomnia	Short-Term	Low*	Likely
Imovane	Insomnia	Short-Term	Low*	Likely

* if taken accordingly
Anti-Depressants [atypical]

Drugs	Treatment	Duration	Addiction Risk	Dementia Risk
Trazodone	Depression	Long-Term	None	N/A (read below)
Mirtazapine	Depression	Long-Term	None	N/A (read below)
Doxepin	Depression	Both	None	Likely
Amitriptyline	Depression	Long-Term	None	Likely

TRAZODONE: This drug contains low to no anticholinergic properties and contains moderate antihistamine properties. It's very good it contains extremely low anticholinergic properties but the moderate antihistamine effects could be a cause of concern, albeit talk to your doctor. Generally many people take this drug for many years with no issue.
MIRTAZPINE: This drug contains low to no anticholinergic properties which is good but it contains high antihistamine activity which could be linked to Dementia, albiet the research is limited. Some doctors link antihistamine to dementia, while others don't. Use with some caution and talk to your doctor.
Anti-Psychotics

Drugs	Treatment	Duration	Addiction Risk	Dementia Risk
Seroquel	Anti-Psychotic	Both	None	N/A (read below)
Zyprexa	Anti-Psychotic	Both	None	N/A (read below)
Chlorpromazine	Anti-Psychotics	Short-Term	None	N/A (read below)

SEROQUEL: This drug if taken long term, can cause memory impairment, TD Tardive dyskenisia, muscle issues, metabolic syndrome, and related heart disease. Anticholinergic drugs are associated with causing or exacerbating memory impairments and Seroquel is one of them. USE WITH CAUTION AND WITH ADVICE FROM DOCTOR.
Zyprexa: This medication contains high anticholinergic activity which isn't good. This drug has very harsh withdrawl effects. It can cause: Parkingson's, dopaminergic syndrome, diabeties, etc. Obviously this medication isn't worth it.
Chlorpromazine: This medication worsen memory and thinking, worsen movement and increase the risk of falls, increase the risk of stroke and death. This also includes medications like: haloperidol (Haldol^®), chlorpromazine (Thorazine^®), thioridazine (Mellaril^®), perphenazine (Trilafon^®) and others.
Supplements

Supplement	Treatment	Duration	Acutally helps?	Why it helps
Vitamin D	Insomnia	Both	Yes	-Helps body produce Melatonin, low levels means low melatonin
GABA	Insomnia	Both	No	-Does not cross the blood brain barrier
L-Theanine	Insomnia	Both	Yes	-anxiolytic effects which is known to induce high quality sleep
Magnesium Glycinate	Insomnia	Both	Yes	-Helps regulate neurotransmitters related tosleep
Ashwagandha	Insomnia	Both	Yes	-Indirectly promotes relaxation
Melatonin	Insomnia	Both	Yes	-Natural hormone for sleep, so makes sense taking doses will help
5-HTTP	Insomnia	Both	Yes	-In one study, people who took 5-HTP went to sleep quicker and slept more deeply than those who took a placebo.
Chamilion Tea	Insomnia	Both	Yes	-Promotes relaxation and relieves stress
L-tryptophan	Insomnia	Both	N/A	-Limited evidence suggests it helps with uptake of seritonin
CBD-Oil	Insomnia	Both	Yes	-Induces sleep by promoting relaxation, low stress, and low anxiety. Also calms brain activity

NOTE: I didn't include every single medication for insomnia, only those commonly prescribed.
In the table I will explain the purpose of each medication, its class, how addictive it is, short term or long term, and dementia risk. Addiction Category consists of 3 levels: Low, Medium, and High. Dementia Risk will be divided into: Not likely, Likely, and very likely, as there's not much studies that confirm dementia risk with anti-depressants. I've included several notes that provides general analysis and should be used for general knowledge only, THIS ISN'T MEDICAL ADVICE.
Z-Drugs

Drugs	Treatment	Duration	Addiction Risk	Dementia Risk
Ambien	Insomnia	Short-Term	Medium	Likely
Lunesta	Insomnia	Short-Term	Medium	Likely
Sonata	Insomnia	Short-Term	Low*	Likely
Imovane	Insomnia	Short-Term	Low*	Likely

* if taken accordingly
Anti-Depressants [atypical]

Drugs	Treatment	Duration	Addiction Risk	Dementia Risk
Trazodone	Depression	Long-Term	None	N/A (read below)
Mirtazapine	Depression	Long-Term	None	N/A (read below)
Doxepin	Depression	Both	None	Likely
Amitriptyline	Depression	Long-Term	None	Likely

TRAZODONE: This drug contains low to no anticholinergic properties and contains moderate antihistamine properties. It's very good it contains extremely low anticholinergic properties but the moderate antihistamine effects could be a cause of concern, albeit talk to your doctor. Generally many people take this drug for many years with no issue.
MIRTAZPINE: This drug contains low to no anticholinergic properties which is good but it contains high antihistamine activity which could be linked to Dementia, albiet the research is limited. Some doctors link antihistamine to dementia, while others don't. Use with some caution and talk to your doctor.
Anti-Psychotics

Drugs	Treatment	Duration	Addiction Risk	Dementia Risk
Seroquel	Anti-Psychotic	Both	None	N/A (read below)
Zyprexa	Anti-Psychotic	Both	None	N/A (read below)
Chlorpromazine	Anti-Psychotics	Short-Term	None	N/A (read below)

SEROQUEL: This drug if taken long term, can cause memory impairment, TD Tardive dyskenisia, muscle issues, metabolic syndrome, and related heart disease. Anticholinergic drugs are associated with causing or exacerbating memory impairments and Seroquel is one of them. USE WITH CAUTION AND WITH ADVICE FROM DOCTOR.
Zyprexa: This medication contains high anticholinergic activity which isn't good. This drug has very harsh withdrawl effects. It can cause: Parkingson's, dopaminergic syndrome, diabeties, etc. Obviously this medication isn't worth it.
Chlorpromazine: This medication worsen memory and thinking, worsen movement and increase the risk of falls, increase the risk of stroke and death. This also includes medications like: haloperidol (Haldol^®), chlorpromazine (Thorazine^®), thioridazine (Mellaril^®), perphenazine (Trilafon^®) and others.
Supplements

Supplement	Treatment	Duration	Acutally helps?	Why it helps
Vitamin D	Insomnia	Both	Yes	-Helps body produce Melatonin, low levels means low melatonin
GABA	Insomnia	Both	No	-Does not cross the blood brain barrier
L-Theanine	Insomnia	Both	Yes	-anxiolytic effects which is known to induce high quality sleep
Magnesium Glycinate	Insomnia	Both	Yes	-Helps regulate neurotransmitters related tosleep
Ashwagandha	Insomnia	Both	Yes	-Indirectly promotes relaxation
Melatonin	Insomnia	Both	Yes	-Natural hormone for sleep, so makes sense taking doses will help
5-HTTP	Insomnia	Both	Yes	-In one study, people who took 5-HTP went to sleep quicker and slept more deeply than those who took a placebo.
Chamilion Tea	Insomnia	Both	Yes	-Promotes relaxation and relieves stress
L-tryptophan	Insomnia	Both	N/A	-Limited evidence suggests it helps with uptake of seritonin
CBD-Oil	Insomnia	Both	Yes	-Induces sleep by promoting relaxation, low stress, and low anxiety. Also calms brain activity

Have been struggling with insomnia since I was a teenager, I’ve tried nearly every drug out there. I’d say Orexin receptor antagonists are the closest I’ve come to getting exceptionally sleepy, but the sides are wild. Recently on Belsomra, the onset effect was fine, I got extremely sleepy and for the first time in forever I felt like I could just lay down and pass out. Fast forward a few hours and I was hallucinating, the sound of someone banging on my door relentlessly for hours kept me up and was utterly terrifying. I also had hallucinations of shadow figures in my room, things like that, but the door banging didn’t stop until 6 AM, I took the drug around midnight. Anyone had this experience? I love the way ORAs give you that initial sleepiness, but I can’t take the sides. I want to try Quiviq, but can’t get it covered. Dayvigo is probably the next option, anybody here had success with the drug after negative experiences on Belsomra? I’m also more than open to other recommendations, it has been awhile since I’ve tried Ambien, but I don’t remember it working too well. Been on - Ambien, Doxepin, Seroquel, Trazodone, Lunesta, Belsomra, Ativan (works well, but… benzos lol), and of course many OTC things like Doxylamine and Diphenydramine etc.

I’ve been on Trazedone for several years and it always does well but my Dr wanted to see if I’d have better luck staying asleep longer on Sonata.
I CANNOT SLEEP AT ALL ON SONATA.
I toss and turn and have severe anxiety but don’t sleep. I’m ok on ambien but sonata and lunesta literally keep me wide awake.

eszopiclone vs zolpidem (actual med names)
I have noticed that eszopiclose is basically useless. I’m took it one day, felt sleepy and went to sleep with easy.
Day two, the sleepiness effect was mild.
Day three, no sleepiness.
Day four, no sleepiness
Day five, took 2- some sleepiness
Day six, took - mild sleelkmsss
Day 7, took 2- no sleepiness
I am typically an Ambien user but wanted to try something different. My mom said, she’s taken 10 3mg just to get to sleep and it just mildly helped (she of course has a higher tolerance than me)
I was told that Lunesta would last longer through the night so I would wake up which is why I asked my Dr instead of my usual Ambien.
Does anyone like Ambien ER 12.5?? I am not looking for a high btw. Just a good night sleep.

I always enjoy the personality in here. And I lot of it is legit real talk. Thanks. We need it.
Anywho….for people with insomnia and med feedback.
2mg Lunesta was a miracle drug for me. 15 years now. You take it and within 45 minutes all anxiety, stress, anger, and wired feel that keeps you up goes away. And it keeps you asleep. Then you wake up with no hangover or drag.
I just got zopilon/sonata 5mg to switch it up. I’m long covid so my medication list for brain and organs is long. So doc and decided to switch just to see if we could shake some new side effect interactions. I will keep you posted. I also heard ambien is great. Lunesta has been literally unreal great for sleep.

Been on lunesta for several years and I'm at 3mg and it just isn't as effective anymore. First tried adding trazodone, it worked but triggered migraines so no go. Tried seroquel which was the biggest nightmare ever. Tried ambien, didn't work.Tried dayvigo, really didn't work. I end up trying these new ones for a few days and going right back to the lunesta. It absolutely sucks. I think it's withdrawal from the lunesta but I can't be sure. I wish I could have that sweet sleep from when I started on lunesta back. Ugh. Any recommendations would be appreciated. My psych will give me what I ask for, within reason

I have struggled getting to sleep, staying asleep, and waking rested for 15+ years. I caved a long time ago and used ambien or lunesta to get to sleep and get 5-8 hours.
I meditate before bed. I am physically healthy and fit. I am mindful of thoughts before bed. No caffeine after 12PM. No alcohol 3 hours before bed 7-10PM. I have recently cut out alcohol all together to test. 13 days wo any dinner wine, still crap sleep.
I watched a Ted talk by Matt Walker, sleep is your superpower, and now I question whether I am actually sleeping or just knocked out from sleep meds.
I know when I sleep and feel rested, I feel and look amazing. Any help appreciated.

I've had chronic insomnia for many years now, most of my life. Some things have worked temporarily in the past, but this past year has been hell and nothing is working. I've done sleep studies, practiced good sleep hygiene, sleep meditations, exercise, bath before bed, everything else that is usually recommended. I have pretty severe PTSD, and the past few years have been the most traumatic and I'm sure that's a big part of it. I recently did SGB and it the benefits only seemed to last about a week. I've tried EMDR also. Been in therapy 25+ years. It usually takes at least 5 hours for me to fall asleep, sometimes longer, and even after I've finally fallen asleep I usually wake up at least once an hour and then it takes a while to fall back asleep again. Here's some of the meds I've tried (with all of these I've tried up to the highest dose possible, even sometimes tried doubling and have also tried various combinations of many of these):
Seroquel: used to work years ago but now doesn't seem to have any effect
Benadryl (even up to 200mg): no effect
Unisom: no effect
Ambien: no effect
Lunesta: no effect
Melatonin: no effect
Ativan: no effect
Clonazepam: no effect
Vistaril: no effect
Doxepin, no effect
DSIP: no effect
Phenibut: no effect
Trazadone: no effect
Gabapentin: no effect
Promethazine: no effect
Belsomra: no effect
Remeron: no effect
Risperdal: no effect
Geodon: no effect
Sonata: no effect
Restoril: no effect
Clonidine: no effect
Propranolol: no effect
Selank: no effect
CBD and CBN: no effect
Many herbal supplements (ashwaghanda, magnesium, passionflower, 5-htp, etc.): no effect
There's probably more I just can't think of at the moment, but basically it seems like medications just don't work for me for some reason. The only combinations that have had minimal effect (I fall asleep within 2 hours instead of 5) are not sustainable because of tolerance build up or risk of addiction or things like that. Many of these aren't supposed to be taken together but when I'm super desperate for sleep I'll try anything. For example, when I take these all together it only takes about 2 hours to fall asleep instead of 5 or more: 300mg seroquel, 200mg trazadone, 12.5mg Ambien, 1mg klonopin, 250mg phenibut, 10mg melatonin and 20mg propranolol. When I take that combination I barely feel anything and it does take a while to fall asleep still, but I'll take anything I can get. I've been trying to function on an average of 2-3 hours of sleep a night, some nights I end up getting zero sleep, and I'm just not functional in the world.
I've literally gone to the emergency room a handful of times in tears begging for something that actually helps, but they usually just tell me to take melatonin or something and send me away.
oh also, cannabis, along with a few of the meds mentioned above is usually helpful, but I end up having horrible hangovers with cannabis and am barely functional the next day... although I'm barely functional as it is bc of my sleep issues.
Does anyone else suffer from insomnia to this high of a degree? Have you found anything sustainable that works for insomnia this severe?

i don’t know what to do anymore. i feel wretched all the time, nothing seems to help, and i feel as if none of my friends or family understand what having fibro is like. i’ve tried cymbalta, lyrica, gabapentin, abilify, savella sent me into a serotonin syndrome episode, i can’t sleep (even with ambien it’s hit or miss; neither lunesta nor trazodone work), i have constant migraines, stomach pain and nausea (i’ve been tested for gastroparesis, h. pylori, and have had multiple scans and an endoscopy), nothing helps and i’m at my wits end. cannabis helps somewhat but i live in a state where it’s illegal. i’m so discouraged and sad and i just don’t know what to do anymore. does anyone know of anything that might help? the thought of living the rest of my life like this is getting to be more than i can handle, and i just don’t know how much longer i can take it.

I’ve been on a laundry list of medications and can think of few meds I haven’t been prescribed. I was on Ambien 12.5mg for 16 months and just switched to Lunesta after being off of Ambien for a month, switched from Ativan to Klonopin, and have been on Gabapentin 300mg 4x a day for also 16 months, Adderall 20mg, and 100mg Seroquel for sleep. I’m kind of concerned about seizures with being on so many gabaergic drugs, benzos, sedatives, along with Gabapentin. Can’t really ask my doctor for advice so here I am. I want to get off gabapentin but don’t know if it would be safe to stop cold turkey, god forbid a seizure while driving.

36f, basically healthy ; relevant hx: insomnia w/ PLMD on recent sleep study, MDD, GAD, BPD, C-PTSD. Father passed surprisingly April 1 (mom passed unexpected in 2017 - healthy.) I'm going to psych weekly to stay out of the behavioral hospital as well as regularly scheduled therapy. I either sleep to much without meds now or I can't sleep at all. Chronic insomnia either way since childhood. Exacerbated now.
Failed multiple sleep meds for various reasons. Ambien 10mg doesn't work near as well as CR. Mind you, not even 75-100mg benadryl will put me to sleep. Pharmacies here don't have any CR.
Any comparable meds? I did well with brand name Lunesta years ago, but the metallic taste was so bad. I'm thinking I may have to just suck it up for a while. It's obviously generic now so it may not affect me in the same way with the taste as before.
Thanks!

Having a baby girl, and me and my partner are both big fans of white noise / atmospheric sound, and wanted a calming name that didn’t feel too cliche or common. I love the word 'ambient,' but my hubby and I hated the harsh 't' sound at the end, so we came up with Ambien! My parents' first initials are C and R respectively, and I love the idea of multiple middle initials, so I fell in love with the name Ambien C.R. - it feels unique and elegant without being pretentious, I love that it reminds me of my white noise and shitty forest sound / bird chirping recordings, and I think the nickname Bee for it would be absolutely adorable. Any thoughts? If you don’t like it, any alternative suggestions with a similar theme? Thanks! :D
P.S.: My spouse suggested Lunesta Roseanne Barr [Lastname], but that felt too traditional and stuffy. Any ideas for modifications of this?

i’ve been having sleeping issues for the last year now i got diagnosed with insomnia about 8 months ago ive been on so many sleeping meds (hydroxyzine, trazodone, ambien,ambien cr, lunesta, and now doxepin) i’ve been going to a therapist for almost a year now and nothing at all has helped and due to my job they won’t prescribe me anything else i can’t get new doctors or therapists and i can’t get any new meds i feel so trapped and honestly have no idea what to do

Hi, about a week ago I took 1 pill of macrobid and within the first hour or 2 I started feeling tingles, pins and needles, and a hot feeling in my left foot/leg. I wouldn't describe it as being severe but it was definitely noticeable enough for me to immediately call my doctor and he told me stop taking it and gave me bactrim instead. I'm currently not experiencing as much tingling now but I have soreness behind and beside my knee down to my calf that has been sucky but bearable until I went for a walk today 😔
Anyway, I'm trying to search through the sub and I read the pinned post for advice and it's really difficult because macrobid isn't the same type of antibiotic that affected so many of y'all. My doctor has been supportive so far but it's only been a week. I take some medications that I'm seeing aren't good for floxies (ativan .5. Mg as needed a few times a week, ambien 10 mg nightly, i also have used lunesta too before this) and idk if that applies to to my situation too. I've been taking ativan to deal with the anxiety and i feel like it eases my physical symptoms too somewhat so I'm not sure if it's bad for me. Haven't taken ambien yet since it happened but I absolutely need it for my Insomnia. I know this is a question for a doctor above all but I want to hear your opinions too. I've had no worsening symptoms until walking my dog today, I think I overexerted myself.
Also looking for any general advice or people to share their experiences about macrobid even If you don't know the answer to my question about benzos and ambien.

Humans have a few basic needs and one of them is sleep. I have insomnia and have it bad. My general practitioner prescribed me ambien 10mg years ago and I went from only getting 2 to 4 hours of sleep a night to at least 7 hours. It was very much life changing. Over the years the ambien became a little less potent and about 4 weeks ago I went to the clinic and saw another provider (another MD) since my GP was out of town. That provider vocalized they wanted me on high dose of trazadone to replace the ambien. I disagreed as I had tried trazodone for some slight anxiety as a teenager and it did nothing for me. The provider then suggested lunesta. The lunesta was tried at 1mg and then at 2mg and it did nothing for helping with sleep and I had many of the side effects. I was switched to try the 100mg trazodone 9 days ago and I had an allergic reaction to the trazodone. So then 8 days ago I reached out to my GP on the online chat the clinic uses to ask to be put back on ambien. The provider’s nurse responded ”we submitted for several refills many months back so just call the pharmacy“. I advised the nurse this is not how this works and that the pharmacist closed out the ambien scrip once I was prescribed lunesta. I was advised by the pharmacist to toss out any remaining ambien before starting the lunesta. Which I did. I did this same thing with the lunesta when I started on the trazodone. So right now I am out of sleep meds and have gotten nearly no sleep the last 8 days.
I have called and sent chats to my provider’s office and they outright refuse to do anything. They (the nurses who work for the GP and for the other MD I saw) refuse to have me message or talk directly to my provider. I am away from town by 4 hours and need the scrip of ambien sent to the nearest pharmacy. I began throwing up a few days ago from lack of sleep and have even had somewhat bad vision. This would fall under medical malpractice and would be outright negligence since a pharmacist obviously cannot just pull any medication anyone was sent from their MD. The MD ALWAYS has to send for it If a new med it replacing it. Should I contact an attorney about this?

I don’t think Dayvigo is going to work. Both Ambien and lunesta work for me at max dose (which scares me).
Why do people abuse these drugs? Just because they build a tolerance or does it make them high?
I hear people saying sometimes they take it during the day for anxiety? I can’t even feel it. Not like a tamazapam or benzo.
Also doc says lunesta can be taken long term. I’ve heard conflicting things. I’ve read conflicting studies. It scares me
It seems everything including antidepressants cause withdrawal?
Seems like SSRIs and buspar wake me up in the middle of the night no matter when I take it.

I've basically been struggling with insomnia for years and I've tried just about everything and it's gotten to the point Im awake days until I pass out where I'm dropping my phone mid activity after 4 days. I've explained this to my psychiatrist and she is just being a complete a**hole about it blaming everything I'm taking medicine wise where I've had this issue before I've ever started taking medicine and she tries so hard to get me taking antidepressants and I explained to her that I'm not taking anything OFF LABEL or as a side effect because it's not what those are meant for. I wanted something MADE or only dedicated to sleeping because it has less side effects and doesn't risk bleeding out your eyes (joke) or gynecomastia. I've even told her I've tried 5+ antidepressants and antipsychotics and the whole 9 yards and all those medications literally made my depression worse to the point it made me suicidal when normally I wasn't. But she keeps recycling the same crap when I tell her what I have doesn't work and she makes me seem like I'm a drug addict when all I'm trying to do is find something that's gonna allow me to live a normal fucking life. I've taken melatonin, Ambien, lunesta, I've even tried trazadone which is an antidepressant. I recently after a fight with her got put on Temazepam and it still barely scratches the surface (definitely starting to notice it working better than the rest) but not enough. I mentioned and told her the only thing I've tried that's ever worked was Halcion and after wasting a lot of weeks she agrees and comes back minutes later yelling at me saying it's dangerous and all this other crap and says I'll need to find someone else. From everything I've researched online it's one of the best things to take for sleep and when I got it 1 time in my life by a dentist it worked and was the only time I was ever able to sleep. I don't even know what to say to her at this point besides staying on temazepam. Opinions?

I'm currently trying to get on Ambien or Lunesta since it's been studied more and I believe the positives out weigh the risks FOR ME (My psychiatrist agrees). As well as family handling my medication for me cause my family history is basically all addict.
I got put on "Dayvigo" and it is possibly the worst medication I have ever been on. Horrible sleep paralysis, audio hallucinations (talking my from closet and hallway), and visual hallucations (A monster infront of my bed & a deformed person peeking around a family corners doorway). I am talking to my psychiatrist like I said in my first text. I am not asking for medical advice but I am curious about other peoples experiences with Dayvigo or other medications.
(I'm also on 600 mg of gabapentin for anxiety but it doesn't help me sleep at all. Idk if this is important or not with my Dayvigo.)
Sorry for the ramble. I've been up for basically 2 days. I've gotten 2 hours of sleep in those 2 days and I feel like I'm losing it.

Has anyone successfully done CBT or ACT for insomnia with meds to start and then successfully weaned off the meds. If so, how long did it take for the CBT-I and- or ACT before you started weaning of meds. Was there a step you did? Is there a med you take every night that works for you?
So far, I’m not willing to sleep less than 5 hours. I’m trying to talk myself into it. I take sedative non controlled substances first and then when those don’t work I take the controlled.
Things I have been able to successfully do is fall asleep and wake up around the same time. Get out of bed if I wake up in the middle of the night but haven’t successfully gotten out of bed when I can’t sleep (my next goal) or been able to do all this without restricting my time in bed bc I’m trying to avoid ambien, lunesta, tamazapam…
Is it better to just take the med and do the techniques and then wean off the meds? Was it successful for you to add one change at a time? My therapist wants me to do all at once and I am literally already panicking thinking about it…. Like heart racing, sweating, etc… just thinking about it 😬

My favorite thing to do was play on my phone from 10-12pm, usually went to sleep right away and woke up at 7am every day for about the last 10 years. No problem with sleeping except maybe once every 6 months, when I would take a couple Benadryl and be out by 3am. Even on stimulants for 10 years, 10 years ago, I was able to sleep every night. Then I had an elective surgery and was on 100mg of gabapentin and 10mg oxy for 2 weeks followed by 2 days of being sick and sleeping all day. Next night I couldn’t sleep until noon the next day after I had a doctors appointment and was prescribed Ambien which knocked me out. Now I can’t sleep most nights without night time rituals and Ambien, lunesta, or tamazapam. I’m trying like Hell to stay away from those so my first attempts every night are something else. I’ve tried trazadone up to 225 mg (worked half the time) for about a month, then amatryptaline, worked at 150mg but slept all day (might go back to this) silanor did nothing, Indica, vapes and gummies works every now and then but usually makes me anxious. Vistaril doesn’t work by itself but helps with other things, quvivuq worked half the time only took up to 7 days and switched to Dayvigo because it’s a little stronger. I’ve added ramelteon. Also works half the time and have been on it for 7 days. For 5 days I have bit the bullet and taken the z drugs on top of the other stuff to force myself to wake up and sleep at the same time every night. Said I would try it for 2 weeks. Doesn’t feel right though. I don’t know if I just forget it and take the z drugs right away or keep trying what I’m trying, or a switch back to amatryptaline, or try Mirtz maybe when I can’t sleep (I hear it’s strong) also tried seroquil up to 300 mg which just made me feel like shit and did not put me to sleep. Over the counter is a joke, supplements don’t help including melatonin. Yeah I know all of the sleep hygiene, nothing else is wrong with me that any doctors have found. Yea I go to therapy although my only problem is insomnia and fear of not sleeping. Any suggestions and please don’t tell me not to sleep. Not an option