A 1-month review of Quviviq, from someone who's tried it all

Background: I've had pretty severe insomnia for the past ten years or so. If I don't take any medication, I get 0-3 hours of sleep. I have done a sleep study, CBT and ACT therapy, and sleep restriction therapy. I have tried all of the standard sleep medications (except benzos) and some not-standard ones as well. They all either don't work at all, or stop working after a month or so.

I was super scared to try Quviviq because I read a bunch of reviews about people getting sleep paralysis. But that never happened to me. Overall, I'm glad I tried it. It definitely takes a bit to work. The first week, I hardly slept at all, week 2 I was getting 4-6 hours, and by week 3, 7-9 hours. I'm consistently getting 7-9 hours now, and I feel I could definitely sleep longer than that if I wanted. I like that it doesn't feel like I'm being knocked out when I take it. It feels like a very natural drowsiness.

The first week I had a weird side-effect where every 5-10 minutes my legs would jerk, and I would feel a swooping sensation in my stomach like I was going down a rollercoaster. It freaked me out, but it doesn't happen anymore. The only side-effect I have now is that I'm extremely drowsy in the morning. But after an hour or so it's not bad. I'm still able to get myself to the gym and to work. And I'd much rather be drowsy than exhausted.

If you decide to try it, make sure you take it on an empty stomach! It takes way longer to kick in if you eat right before. I stop eating at least three hours before taking it.

EDIT: After about nine months, Quviviq stopped working for me over the course of a few weeks. It was very nice while it lasted. I would still recommend it, as I am yet to find a medication that doesn't stop working after some period of time.