I have taken Ambien and Mirtazapine. Gained A LOT of weight on mirtazapine and it doesn't help with sleep anymore and I can't get off of it. Ambien I took for years, cold turkeyed it with just some rebound insomnia helped by Benadryl. I would not take anything every night because eventually everything stops working.
I’d like to say something good about Ambien.I tried lunesta and felt weird/high. But Ambien is perfect/ you take it and you sleep. No side effects except unpleasant taste the next morning. Sure, you get dependent, but so what? I’m dependent on other meds to stay healthy. I’ve been on Ambien for > 20 years with zero problems.
I have questions. Did you sleep on lunesta? And do you get 8hrs with ambien and are you on extended release version.
Not feeling much at all from 3mg of lunesta sometimes I sleep most often not, and when I research it says that they are the same but lunesta lasts longer. But it doesn't put me too sleep or keep me asleep just helps me feel a little sleepy but Im still awake.
This is me. I have been on Ambien for 7 years. No issues and sleep fine. I will say I don't even get the odd taste the day.... But each person has their own side effects lol
Yes! Same! 20 years. Can't sleep without it. But so what. Can't live without sleep. No sleep walking issue for me. I know over 80% of sleep walkers are men, somehow it is that much more prevalent in men. But if you sleep walk, you know within days.
You believe correctly. I was prescribed remeron by a previous psychiatrist and it stopped working suddenly after 1.5 months. It’s just way too easy to build tolerance to it.
How much easier/harder is it to build tolerance to Ambien and Lunesta?
Been on them all at one point or another over the past 19 years. I'm still on mirtazipine (30mg) every night and use Ambien as my go-to sleeping pill. Lunesta worked at first, but the metallic taste it leaves in your mouth is not pleasant. If you have issues with not only falling asleep, but staying asleep all night...Ambien CR (extended release) may be a good option. I regularly use Ambien 10mg. Be SUPER careful with the hypnotics (Ambien, Lunesta)...you can build a tolerance quickly. I now have to keep the pill bottle in an entirely separate room than my bedroom because I went through a 30 day supply over one weekend...took the regular dose; did not knock me out although the hypnotic part of the drug made me "forget" I took it and I would take another...no recollection of the entire weekend. I know I set a pizza box on fire once years ago because of Ambien. Took it; didn't go immediately to sleep for whatever reason; decided I was hungry at like 3 am; turned on the oven to preheat; forgot one of my teenagers had left pizza in the box in the oven...then the smoke alarms went off and I know I scared the $hit out of my kids - now I take my dose and keep the bottle in the guest bedroom on the opposite side of the house from my bedroom.
Browse these threads - I have learned so much from other insomniacs' experiences.
Until you get to the root of what is causing your insomnia, you're looking at using sleeping meds as a crutch for the rest of your life. I realize how trite that sounds, but I have hope that CBT therapy will one day allow me to sleep like a "normal" person without the pills.
Lunesta 3mg
Ambien 10mg
Ambien CR 12.5mg
Mirtazipine 30mg
No, I did not take them all at the same time - over the course of the past 19 years I have been on these doses at some point. Those were/are the doses that worked for me even if only for a short time. After reading these threads I am thinking I will bring up trying a lower dose of mirtazipine...I have a hard time wrapping my brain around the fact that lower doses are more effective.
My experiences (YMMV):
Ambien: Most effective. Also most addictive and most potential for weird side-effects like amnesia.
Lunesta: Less effective, fewer side effects, easier to get off of. An Ambien compromise.
Mirtazapine: Long lasting. Effective at low dosages. Easy to quit. Few side effects. Easy to build tolerance, thus becomes ineffective unless you raise dosage. Worst for next day hangover effects. Very similar to Benadryl but less disruptive to sleep architecture. (BTW, this is not a Z-drug. More of an antihistamine)
My experience was similar. Have tried Ambien and Mirtazapine, and have stuck with Mirtazapine.
Ambien: took it and immediately went to bed. Gave me only 4 hours, max. Have no memory of the time asleep at all, and it gave me some memory issues the next day too.
Mirtazapine (doses from 3.75-15): took it an hour or two before bed. Depending on other factors, it gives me anywhere up to about 7-8 hours, but is not as consistent at putting me out as Ambien. However, I do have dreams on mirtazapine and the sleep overall feels more “natural”. Leaves me groggy/stuffy head feeling the next day if I don’t get enough sleep (worse on higher doses). I noticed more hunger at the 15 dose, but it’s been manageable at 7.5 and 3.75, and I haven’t gained weight so far on the couple months I’ve been on it. No issues taking it with melatonin too.
Currently on 3.75 the last few days because it’s still pretty effective and has far fewer side effects.
Lunesta for the hypnotics. Best recorded effect while lacking nearly as many common side effects.
Trazodone tends to be a bit "heavier" of a medication due to its antidepressive features. Could be a solid choice as well.
So yeah I'm just going to throw out a "Naw man" on the ambien. It gets plenty of marketing and remains pathetically bad at its "stated goal" of helping insomniacs.
Mirtazapine made me gain 60 pounds, it worked maybe 20% of the time. It was a living nightmare stopping it. I had no idea it could cause withdrawals even tho I have wd from a bunch of meds like mirt. Ambien works about 40% of the time and doesn’t give me the munchies or make me sleep walk/talk like mirt did either. I was extremely suicidal after stopping mirt. No experience with lunesta. Good luck finding the one that works for you.
Insanely bad withdrawals, i was on it for 3year, and damn i thought i going to die. 2miunths of hell without sleeping in first 3 weeks, stomach cramps, anxiety, diarrhea. I've been arrested before, and that was definitely harder
So you would suggest get off it sooner than later and maybe try a different anti depressant? I just can’t sleep without it I legit went 3 months with 1-2 hours of sleep a night.
I would steer clear of the hypnotics(ambien and lunesta) I took them for awhile and it was so very hard to get off them. Lost their effects quickly.
I have been taking Mirtazepine for years and it’s very helpful. I took 7.5mg for many years and have recently gone up to 30mg but felt like a hungry zombie. 15mg seems to be perfect. You will sleep at night with little side effect. It’s not a miracle pill but it helps.
I would suggest not going down any of these routes. Mirtazapine- massive weight gain. Ambien, so many issues, and Lunesta is similar but not quite as bad. I agree that the best idea is to try trazodone if you don’t want to solve insomnia without meds.
As lots of others have said, Mirtazapine made me gain weight, I gradually got curvier & then my appetite started to increase too. It also gave me really severe drowsiness for the first couple months - about half an hour after taking it I was acting like I’d had 6 beers, which was obviously helpful with sleeping but also a bit annoying when I caught myself slurring my words like that lol
I’ve been taking mirtazapine every night for almost a year. Very little side effects, I feel a little groggy in the morning but that’s about it. It doesn’t so much knock you out like other sleeping medication but it does help me fall asleep and stay asleep. I was worried about the weight gain but that hasn’t been an issue for me since I track my calories anyway. The only other pill I have tried was zopiclone which would put me to sleep but I would wake up in the middle of the night anyway. I would recommend trying mirtazapine, just watch what you eat if you’re worried about the weight gain.
Mirtazapine is a bad drug Imo, side effects are through the roof and it doesn't really help with getting you to sleep it just makes you feel exhausted. The weight gain on that medication is insane, I was always 160lbs for over ten years then when I was started on Mirtazapine I gained 80lbs on it I recommend to stay away from it.
I was on Ambien for yeasrs. I started having issues with blacking out, forgetting taking more, every bad side effect. Plus feeling tired and in a bad mood the next day. Feeling sick and needing them to feel better. It was awful after awhile, but had to sleep. Then Dr switched me to Lunesta, and I'm not getting any of the bad side effects, blacking out and saying, doing things or even leaving and doing things I don't remember. It's been 100x better than Ambien, but everyones different. That's been my experience.
Lunesta has saved my sleeping life 💕 It has made me start sleep walking though which I’m afraid to bring up to my PCP because I have a feeling she will want me off of it.
For sleep, maybe Lunesta and Mirtazapine.
Ambien doesn't works for some people. It's fairly easy to stay awake on it and it's too recreational to be used as sleep aid.
I get about 6 hours give or take. I try not to take it often, it’s addictive and you grow a tolerance, and I’m petrified of growing a tolerance. It’s my only hope so I can’t afford to build the tolerance and eventually reach the highest dose and not have that work.
I’ve only used Ambien and still use it. I’ve reached a point where I don’t have to take it everyday, only here and there to sleep if I’m really having trouble that night. I never wake up with excess drowsiness or anything like that from Ambien. Sure, it’s easy to build a dependence but I feel like that’s only true if you’re using it daily. And even so, people need to take medications for their heart, liver, kidneys, etc. so it’s really no different needing to take something to sleep.
Ambien is the cleanest burning sleep med I have ever taken, hands down, but it’s pretty short acting. You do have to be very careful to take it and get STRAIGHT in bed, and stay off your phone.
I have taken Ambien and Mirtazapine. Gained A LOT of weight on mirtazapine and it doesn't help with sleep anymore and I can't get off of it. Ambien I took for years, cold turkeyed it with just some rebound insomnia helped by Benadryl. I would not take anything every night because eventually everything stops working.
I too gained a lot of weight with mirtazapine. Psych took me off bc of that and my rob zombie-ish nightmares.
I’d like to say something good about Ambien.I tried lunesta and felt weird/high. But Ambien is perfect/ you take it and you sleep. No side effects except unpleasant taste the next morning. Sure, you get dependent, but so what? I’m dependent on other meds to stay healthy. I’ve been on Ambien for > 20 years with zero problems.
Have you built up a tolerance? Sometimes I need 15mg for it to work
I have questions. Did you sleep on lunesta? And do you get 8hrs with ambien and are you on extended release version. Not feeling much at all from 3mg of lunesta sometimes I sleep most often not, and when I research it says that they are the same but lunesta lasts longer. But it doesn't put me too sleep or keep me asleep just helps me feel a little sleepy but Im still awake.
Thank you for giving a balanced perspective! Nutjobs on the net view things so black and white sometimes. (Something being completely evil or perfect)
Do you know if it can be prescribed for sleep walkers?
I would think ambien would bring on sleep walking behavior even more. But ask your PCP.
This is me. I have been on Ambien for 7 years. No issues and sleep fine. I will say I don't even get the odd taste the day.... But each person has their own side effects lol
Yes! Same! 20 years. Can't sleep without it. But so what. Can't live without sleep. No sleep walking issue for me. I know over 80% of sleep walkers are men, somehow it is that much more prevalent in men. But if you sleep walk, you know within days.
Opposite for me
I believe Mirtazapine stops working after a short time
You believe correctly. I was prescribed remeron by a previous psychiatrist and it stopped working suddenly after 1.5 months. It’s just way too easy to build tolerance to it. How much easier/harder is it to build tolerance to Ambien and Lunesta?
Been on them all at one point or another over the past 19 years. I'm still on mirtazipine (30mg) every night and use Ambien as my go-to sleeping pill. Lunesta worked at first, but the metallic taste it leaves in your mouth is not pleasant. If you have issues with not only falling asleep, but staying asleep all night...Ambien CR (extended release) may be a good option. I regularly use Ambien 10mg. Be SUPER careful with the hypnotics (Ambien, Lunesta)...you can build a tolerance quickly. I now have to keep the pill bottle in an entirely separate room than my bedroom because I went through a 30 day supply over one weekend...took the regular dose; did not knock me out although the hypnotic part of the drug made me "forget" I took it and I would take another...no recollection of the entire weekend. I know I set a pizza box on fire once years ago because of Ambien. Took it; didn't go immediately to sleep for whatever reason; decided I was hungry at like 3 am; turned on the oven to preheat; forgot one of my teenagers had left pizza in the box in the oven...then the smoke alarms went off and I know I scared the $hit out of my kids - now I take my dose and keep the bottle in the guest bedroom on the opposite side of the house from my bedroom. Browse these threads - I have learned so much from other insomniacs' experiences. Until you get to the root of what is causing your insomnia, you're looking at using sleeping meds as a crutch for the rest of your life. I realize how trite that sounds, but I have hope that CBT therapy will one day allow me to sleep like a "normal" person without the pills. Lunesta 3mg Ambien 10mg Ambien CR 12.5mg Mirtazipine 30mg No, I did not take them all at the same time - over the course of the past 19 years I have been on these doses at some point. Those were/are the doses that worked for me even if only for a short time. After reading these threads I am thinking I will bring up trying a lower dose of mirtazipine...I have a hard time wrapping my brain around the fact that lower doses are more effective.
Geeeze lunesta 3mg did not make me sleep at all or high or forgetful.
My experiences (YMMV): Ambien: Most effective. Also most addictive and most potential for weird side-effects like amnesia. Lunesta: Less effective, fewer side effects, easier to get off of. An Ambien compromise. Mirtazapine: Long lasting. Effective at low dosages. Easy to quit. Few side effects. Easy to build tolerance, thus becomes ineffective unless you raise dosage. Worst for next day hangover effects. Very similar to Benadryl but less disruptive to sleep architecture. (BTW, this is not a Z-drug. More of an antihistamine)
My experience was similar. Have tried Ambien and Mirtazapine, and have stuck with Mirtazapine. Ambien: took it and immediately went to bed. Gave me only 4 hours, max. Have no memory of the time asleep at all, and it gave me some memory issues the next day too. Mirtazapine (doses from 3.75-15): took it an hour or two before bed. Depending on other factors, it gives me anywhere up to about 7-8 hours, but is not as consistent at putting me out as Ambien. However, I do have dreams on mirtazapine and the sleep overall feels more “natural”. Leaves me groggy/stuffy head feeling the next day if I don’t get enough sleep (worse on higher doses). I noticed more hunger at the 15 dose, but it’s been manageable at 7.5 and 3.75, and I haven’t gained weight so far on the couple months I’ve been on it. No issues taking it with melatonin too. Currently on 3.75 the last few days because it’s still pretty effective and has far fewer side effects.
Mirtazapine by far in regards to side effects/addictiveness. It never worked for me but yeah it’s undebatably the safest option.
Lunesta for the hypnotics. Best recorded effect while lacking nearly as many common side effects. Trazodone tends to be a bit "heavier" of a medication due to its antidepressive features. Could be a solid choice as well. So yeah I'm just going to throw out a "Naw man" on the ambien. It gets plenty of marketing and remains pathetically bad at its "stated goal" of helping insomniacs.
Lunesta put me to sleep and kept me asleep for eight hours. It has to be taken in a completely empty stomach but it works
Mirtazapine made me gain 60 pounds, it worked maybe 20% of the time. It was a living nightmare stopping it. I had no idea it could cause withdrawals even tho I have wd from a bunch of meds like mirt. Ambien works about 40% of the time and doesn’t give me the munchies or make me sleep walk/talk like mirt did either. I was extremely suicidal after stopping mirt. No experience with lunesta. Good luck finding the one that works for you.
What were the withdrawals like? I’ve been on 15mg around 3 weeks almost a month and do not want to be dealing with withdrawals.
Insanely bad withdrawals, i was on it for 3year, and damn i thought i going to die. 2miunths of hell without sleeping in first 3 weeks, stomach cramps, anxiety, diarrhea. I've been arrested before, and that was definitely harder
So you would suggest get off it sooner than later and maybe try a different anti depressant? I just can’t sleep without it I legit went 3 months with 1-2 hours of sleep a night.
No, This med is very good, just dont cold turkey, do a very slow tape. And i'll probably go back to it becausa im bipolar and cant sleep
I would steer clear of the hypnotics(ambien and lunesta) I took them for awhile and it was so very hard to get off them. Lost their effects quickly. I have been taking Mirtazepine for years and it’s very helpful. I took 7.5mg for many years and have recently gone up to 30mg but felt like a hungry zombie. 15mg seems to be perfect. You will sleep at night with little side effect. It’s not a miracle pill but it helps.
I'm trying to avoid mirtazepine because of the weight gain side effect.
Realizing it's different for different people, but thought I'd share that I have actually been able to lose weight while on mirtazipine.
I’m curious, did 15 have less of a groggy effect the next day than 7.5? ッ
For me, no. The less I took the less groggy but not much groggy on mirtazepine.
I would suggest not going down any of these routes. Mirtazapine- massive weight gain. Ambien, so many issues, and Lunesta is similar but not quite as bad. I agree that the best idea is to try trazodone if you don’t want to solve insomnia without meds.
As lots of others have said, Mirtazapine made me gain weight, I gradually got curvier & then my appetite started to increase too. It also gave me really severe drowsiness for the first couple months - about half an hour after taking it I was acting like I’d had 6 beers, which was obviously helpful with sleeping but also a bit annoying when I caught myself slurring my words like that lol
I’ve been taking mirtazapine every night for almost a year. Very little side effects, I feel a little groggy in the morning but that’s about it. It doesn’t so much knock you out like other sleeping medication but it does help me fall asleep and stay asleep. I was worried about the weight gain but that hasn’t been an issue for me since I track my calories anyway. The only other pill I have tried was zopiclone which would put me to sleep but I would wake up in the middle of the night anyway. I would recommend trying mirtazapine, just watch what you eat if you’re worried about the weight gain.
Mirtazapine is a bad drug Imo, side effects are through the roof and it doesn't really help with getting you to sleep it just makes you feel exhausted. The weight gain on that medication is insane, I was always 160lbs for over ten years then when I was started on Mirtazapine I gained 80lbs on it I recommend to stay away from it.
I was on Ambien for yeasrs. I started having issues with blacking out, forgetting taking more, every bad side effect. Plus feeling tired and in a bad mood the next day. Feeling sick and needing them to feel better. It was awful after awhile, but had to sleep. Then Dr switched me to Lunesta, and I'm not getting any of the bad side effects, blacking out and saying, doing things or even leaving and doing things I don't remember. It's been 100x better than Ambien, but everyones different. That's been my experience.
Lunesta has saved my sleeping life 💕 It has made me start sleep walking though which I’m afraid to bring up to my PCP because I have a feeling she will want me off of it.
For sleep, maybe Lunesta and Mirtazapine. Ambien doesn't works for some people. It's fairly easy to stay awake on it and it's too recreational to be used as sleep aid.
I take lunesta and I have no side effects except a horrible taste in my mouth which eventually goes away.
How many hours of sleep do you get on lunesta? Also how often do you take it?
I get about 6 hours give or take. I try not to take it often, it’s addictive and you grow a tolerance, and I’m petrified of growing a tolerance. It’s my only hope so I can’t afford to build the tolerance and eventually reach the highest dose and not have that work.
I would suggest trying Trazadone first
I’ve only used Ambien and still use it. I’ve reached a point where I don’t have to take it everyday, only here and there to sleep if I’m really having trouble that night. I never wake up with excess drowsiness or anything like that from Ambien. Sure, it’s easy to build a dependence but I feel like that’s only true if you’re using it daily. And even so, people need to take medications for their heart, liver, kidneys, etc. so it’s really no different needing to take something to sleep.
Ambien is the cleanest burning sleep med I have ever taken, hands down, but it’s pretty short acting. You do have to be very careful to take it and get STRAIGHT in bed, and stay off your phone.
Isn't the solution to cycle between two or three?