I need to have a good sleep, I suffer a wee bit from insomnia but I am nervous about taking them. Do you take them? Is it easy enough to drift off? Any side effects?

I take some. It's called Trazadone. It works well for me, but with sleeping pills you need to keep upping the dose cause your body gets used to them. They can also be slightly addictive. Trazadone is also an anti-depressant but I just use it for sleep.

I take Valium also, and my doctor says that it can be used to cure insomnia.

Hope that helped.

I also take sometimes sleeping pills. Just to break the no-sleep-nights.

I took the ones you can buy in the chemist, Nytol and also prescription ones called zopiclone. I found the ones from the chemist had less side effects and I didn't feel hungover in the morning, with the prescription ones I was left with a really horrible taste in my mouth all day and headache.

I found that just having tablets in the house helped me, because instead of becoming stressed that I couldn't sleep and then working myself up more, I could think "Ok if I'm not asleep in an hour, I can take a tablet" and most of the time I'd be asleep within the hour.

Not all sleeping pills are addictive. I had tried AMbien in the past but i didnt liek the fact that it felt like you were hit by an immense wave of exhaustion and when i woke up i felt tired.

Lunesta worked best for me and it is non-habit forming ( not addictive). My doc had told me not to take them more than 2x a week. Not because of addiction reasons but because, as someone else said, your body would need a higher dosage after getting used to it.

I didnt feel tired on Lunesta. The thing with them is you have to lay down. If you are sitting at thr computer or keeping busy it doesnt seem to work. As long as i was in a restful position i would drift away 30-40 minutes after i took them. I would wake up completely well rested and without that tired feeling.

I took them twice a week for 15 weeks ( almost 4 months). By the 10th to 12th week i only took them once a week or everyother week. Then i didnt need them at all anymore. I had learned to sleep on my own. ( i was an insomniac for 10 years. I didnt realize how bad it was until the first time i took a Lunesta and slept like a normal, sane person for the first time in 10 yrs).

I went 3 months without needing anything. WHen i took them again it was only once a week or just every other week. I havent taken any in 6 months now.

Though if you are a true insomnica you know how certain bad sleeping patterns come back. It is not the same as insomnia but you dont sleep well or normal. I feel like i need them again. Insomnia is tied to emotional/psychological problems so unless you deal with things it is bound to rear it's ugly head again.