If you have never experienced INSOMNIA then you can't even begin to imagine the frustration of not being able to sleep. You are physically tired but just can't shut off your mind and relax. Or you get sleepy and lie down thinking at last I will now fall asleep only to be wide awake when you do lie down. GRRRRRRRRRRR!! Tossing and turning all night long. Hoping you don't wake up your sweetie. Then getting mad at them for sleeping because you can't sleep. Then feeling guilty for being mad that they are asleep. LOL!!! So then you get up and go watch some TV or read a book hoping that will make you sleepy and the next thing you know the sun is up and you have been awake ALL NIGHT LONG!! If you go to sleep now then you WON'T sleep that night. LOL!! Vicious cycle.

I have been this way most of my life. About three years ago I started taking Ambien. It was a lifesaver. I had some of the best nights sleep with that medication. Over the last year my system has become immune to the Ambien. So I was taking it and a benadryl to sleep. Then that didn't work. I was starting back on that track of being awake all night again. So, I called my doctor and asked about LUNESTA. He agreed that it might work better for me. I said what if I build up an immunity to it like I did with Ambien? He said we can alternate the two drugs and see if that will work.

So, I took my first does of LUNESTA last night. OH MY GOD!!! I thought I had been sleeping a restful sleep with Ambien. I now know what it means to wake up refreshed and rejuveniated. It works fast, like within 15 min of taking it. I did wake up to use the bathroom and immediately fell fast asleep within minutes. I never did that before. Even taking the Ambien if I woke up I would have trouble getting back to sleep. The LUNESTA can give you a hang over effect if you don't get at least 8 hours of sleep. But I can deal with that by just making sure I take it so I can get those 8 hours.

I highly recommend it if someone is suffering from INSOMNIA.

The Lunesta worked for me but I just could not stand the taste in my mouth. It didn't affect food, just liquids. I could barely stand to drink any water so had to stop taking it.

Has anyone tried tryptophan? For some people it can be amazing. It's an amino acid that is easy to get depleted in the body. It's the substrate the body uses to produce seratonin and it's used for many other things as well. People with fibromyalgia are often have low levels. I had to fly back and forth between here and England for a few years and flying against the sun gave me jet lag so bad I would lose a whole week trying to get back on track. So I would take tryptophan at bedtime over there and, even though it was an 8 hr time difference, I would go to sleep, have wonderful dreams and wake up totally refreshed.

There was a bad batch made in Japan in the late 80's that had a filler that caused health problems in the people who took that particular batch. It was unavailable for a time after that. However, it was resolved that it is safe and for several years now it's been available in health food stores and pharmacies under it's chemical name 5HTP.

My husband has dealt with insomnia off and on for years and manages to control things, most of the time, with combinations of 5HTP, melatonin and liquid coral calcium.

The liquid coral calcium can be pretty effective for some people as well.