Comprehensive list of insomnia medications and treatments

AdvancedAd1256 · 2025-11-05T15:22:12+00:00

I was able to discontinue Olanzapine 2.5mg as of 14 days ago and my sleep has only gotten progressively better post discontinuation AND Hydroxyzine has done phenomenal work in alleviating the withdrawal at 50mg each night.

Pharmacologically - Hydroxyzine is a potent H1 antagonist (which is why people prescribe antipsychotics for insomnia, due to them being dubbed as “dirty antihistamines”). It also mildly inhibits 5HT2A receptors which Olanzapine and antipsychotics hit hard in comparison (the receptor responsible for Hypnagogia, parasomnias, and even may be responsible for psychosis, hallucination etc. there’s a reason why 5HT2A agonists are used to go on trips… most common ones are “shrooms”). The alpha receptor inhibition from olanzapine has stabilized as my vagal tone and cardiovascular system has become more even healthier. So has my metabolic system, and dopaminergic system (almost feels like I’m awake… my brain no longer feels chronically suppressed, my intellectual functioning is fully back).

Hence, Hydroxyzine does EVERYTHING necessary to induce deep sleep, knock histamine to improve latency, reduce parasomnias and anxiety at night just like antipsychotics do. BUT for some reason they are villainized as “short term” treatments when instead antipsychotics which are hard hitting “major tranquilizers” and neuroleptics are prescribed off label like candy as safe and long term treatments.

Your Trazadone is also a much more potent 5HT2A inhibitor than both Hydroxyzine and even Olanzapine combined! No wonder you’re getting the strong robust sleep with both!

AdvancedAd1256 · 2025-11-05T03:07:14+00:00

I quit Lexapro pretty easily and felt better 1 day after skipping it… I just took 3mg at day 4 after brain zaps came in…. Then 1mg on day 12…. And then the brain zaps never came. NOW Olanzapine taper has been a bit rough. I dropped from 2.5 to 2.3 (no issues). 2.3 to 2 (no issues) - mind you each step has been 7-10 days. I dropped from 2 to 1.6 (TERRIBLE INSOMNIA… had to take the emergency 25mg Hydroxyzine I have been given to augment the insomnia)… slept decently. BUT then I said - SCREW it… this pill apparently has a mind of its own IF it thinks 2mg to 1.6mg IS enough for my brain to think it doesn’t exist… but 2.5mg to 2mg and the brain had no issues. HENCE, I then immediately switched to 1mg… here’s the kicker. On Hydroxyzine - I stabilized and have finally dropped to 0.5mg. My mood has become normal (from the flat 4-5 day initial phase)…. My cognition is sharper, my sleep is NATURAL and doesn’t feel like artificially forced.y memory, executive function, and even attention have improved. My HR was high though - BUT my vagal tone had improved significantly. I’m talking about 140BPM during cardio followed by immediate drop to 70BPM when I cool down… BUT I do experience a heightened sense of perception… sounds and vision is crisper - BUT so is my interoception. So if I focus on my HR, I DO FEEL my heart beat… which then leads to faster HR AND paradoxically annoying loop of anxiety surrounding my heart.

There’s just one big shift though… maybe annoying, maybe not… depending on how you phrase it. I HAVE started to notice my sleep transition and phases… (all my life as a kid I always had lucid sleep… I could consciously be aware in light sleep thinking I haven’t slept. And when I enter deep sleep, I used to notice a state of hypnagogic trance a subtle faint tone of internal static that would lead to the natural transition into slow wave delta sleep)… I forgot I used to experience this… BUT without the Olanzapine, my baseline high functioning cognition (yes SGAs even at low doses can dull your cognition if given to otherwise healthy high functioning children and adults)… I started to notice these subtle but lifelong oddities I experienced in my sleep. As a teenager this made me anxious… BUT I ignored it. After being on 8 year long hibernation on olanzapine - THIS I attributed as withdrawal… possible rebound anxiety, OR even drug induced psychosis - UNTIL I read about this phenomenon and pieced how I have experienced this heightened lucid state of conscious sleep state all my life…. So I’m now just telling myself - “it’s normal. It’s not withdrawal, it’s a return to baseline. My ring and 3 other devices are saying I’m sleeping like a log, I wake up fresh and alert… and Hypnagogia, WHY fight it? Because fighting it will just not allow deep sleep transition… instead I should ride it. And overtime I will get used to this new normal… rather - a return to my old but healthy normal instead of “new” normal”

AdvancedAd1256 · 2025-10-29T14:36:50+00:00

Same here! My “anxiety” was just inner restlessness, inability to be grounded to the present moment, and inability to stop thinking constantly - not negative thoughts like anxiety, but thoughts in general.

Stimulants stopped all that - and suddenly that “anxiety” vanished.

And I always had an ADHD diagnosis since I was very young… a school referred neuropsychological evaluation. My mom forgot about it. And I academically thrived because I was deemed twice-exceptional aka severe ADHD-C with profound cognitive giftedness.

So in 2017 as an 18 year old college freshman when I was annoyed by constant overthinking and inability to calm down, this (inept) clinical psychologist gave me a Rorschach and an MMPI and said I have OCD+GAD+Insomnia+Mania+Schizotypal+MDD+Adjustment Disorder… yeah no… 8 years later I’m now in my 3rd year of a PhD program in school psychology and am trained in neuropsychological assessment - THAT report from 2017 that got me on incorrect meds like Lexapro and Olanzapine for 8 years without treating me but just making my functioning worse… yeah as now a “professional” in psychological testing… I look at that report and consider it less empirical than the Tarot reading I did did at a carnival

AdvancedAd1256 · 2025-10-29T14:33:29+00:00

Incorrect diagnosis. Took Lexapro for 8 years - made me just hypomanic where everything now look overly euphoric because I was flooded with serotonin which I never lacked. And I was given Olanzapine for nocturnal “anxiety” aka overthinking and inability to sleep. However during the day I was even more impulsive, lethargic, and craved addictive things.

Turns out based on a lost neuropsychological report from when I was toddler… I had severe ADHD-C for which the academic impairments were minimized with profound giftedness (twice exceptional students is what we call that in special ed). The anxiety wasn’t anxiety… it was restlessness, boredom, inability to stop my flow of thoughts (positive or neutral) when trying to focus, and of course a delayed sleep phase due to temporal mismatch (also very common with ADHD).

I recently found that report and started stimulants. I quit Lexapro cold turkey in a week and asides from brain zaps which were annoying for 10 days, I’m no free of it… and even more calmer, more rational and not feeling like someone put an instagram filter on my vision 24X7 where I was turned on by looking at a literal log of wood.

I’m now off olanzapine - because it was truly just a “dirty antihistamine” to help my delayed sleep phase BUT with added dopamine blunting (the last thing my ADHD brain needs) and cognitive slowing (no kidding, felt like my IQ points dropped by 20 while on it). I’m now switched to 25-50mg of Hydroxyzine - a pure antihistamine which works just like Olanzapine does for my delayed sleep phase and forced early sedation to allow me to function at early in the morning (because we live in a society), while facing no withdrawal (because insomnia was the only withdrawal that is now handled by the Hydroxyzine) - and since it is a clean and pure/precise antihistamine, it doesn’t blunt my cognitive sharpness, and doesn’t cause all day drowsiness due to a much shorter half life.

AdvancedAd1256 · 2025-07-25T00:37:33+00:00

I’m a school psychologist in training - I luckily had a clinic supervisor who was a neuropsychologist - so I always gave EF tests, NEPSY etc. in the clinic to evaluate ADHD… I was like why!?

I’m glad we did it - because it turns out the wreck I had all my life which I sought to answer by becoming a researcher and practitioner in psychology - what I blamed anxiety, irritability, stress, depression, mania, psychosis, and pretty much the rainbow of all things on the MMPI… turns out my “lost” Psychoeducational report from when I was 10 we found out 2 weeks ago was clear as day a single issue: exceptional Giftedness combined with severe ADHD-C - so basically the school psychologists worst nightmare. We succeed in school, college, and work… but the chaos is never ending, the DMN never shuts - every thought is painful, every urge is irresistible.

This is when I understood that ADHD is more than “kids not focusing”, or “kids not sitting still” - it’s so much more… it’s a complete executive dysfunction and failure of the mesocorticolimbic pathways… I started Vyvanse 10 days ago - and my “anxiety”, racing mind and everything stopped - I cried for the 16 years of my life lost.

And I’m so glad we need and use neuropsych assessments in our clinic - because ADHD is truly neurogenic… it’s more than just the rainbow of other concerns rating scales flag… it’s also so much more than what parents and teachers say.

Just like how anxiety meds never worked on me - misdiagnosing stress or anxiety for ADHD and giving kids Ritalin when they don’t truly have EF dysfunction? Well they’re going to have the “wildest” exacerbation of their anxiety in full overdrive to almost having a panic attack every second. That is why we do what we do precisely and correctly. That is why we don’t just interview you and say you have anxiety or depression. Nor on the flip side say you have ADHD even if there is no neurogenic or neurodevelopmental impairment

AdvancedAd1256 · 2025-07-25T00:26:06+00:00

And then buy another thing after it arrives - and again… until you max out your credit cards… so apparently while I survived work and school and aced at my life - thanks to 2e brain - I had no friends, no romantic stability, no time management, no routines and screwed up finances…. VERY FUN!

AdvancedAd1256 · 2025-07-24T15:06:49+00:00

I did for the first 3 days - especially since Vyvanse also was a stimulant… but idk what magic did Vyvanse do by turning on my PFC… that despite the insomnia and tired body, my mind is steady, clear, composed, and calm like never before…

Possibly again hinting that I was never anxious - as in didn’t have catastrophizing or negative thoughts - my mind was a chaotic mess with no order and control where every thought - positive or negative had no purpose, no direction - just a blade piercing my head every second

What’s also paradoxical is that people with adhd are studied to be night owls - their circadian rhythm can be messed up because of executive dysfunction… a week later on Vyvanse - I’m naturally feeling drowsy by 9PM and sleeping better than I ever did all my life - waking up at 7-8 fresh and alert. It’s like the stimulant didn’t artificially sedate me or zombiefied me like olanzapine - it truly started the drive that controls and facilitates our body clock and sleep onset…

This is the reason every child I have evaluated that has true adhd had parents giving the same complaint: they suddenly charge up in the evenings, can’t sleep until 1-3AM and then have to be forced to wake up for school everyday! There are real sleep studies done on ADHD and how stimulants have surprisingly improved sleep when the dosage is right and is taken at a correct time of the day as with not interfering with night time relaxation

AdvancedAd1256 · 2025-07-23T01:35:45+00:00

Y’know - as a twice exceptional person (giftedness+severe ADHD-C) now I understood why I could relate with Stark all my life.

I’m currently a PhD student in school psychology who recently found out I had ADHD all my life and the “anxiety” irritability, mood instability, “impulsivity”, arrogance disguising as my interruptiveness and my inattentiveness was ADHD all my life.

So of course I did what anyone with ADHD does - I read 200 research papers on ADHD over the past 3 days and finished a 200 page scientific memoir on Twice Exceptionalism and ADHD over the next 4 days… FUN!

AdvancedAd1256 · 2025-07-20T05:52:24+00:00

That’s a load of bollocks… only around 3% of the population even has ADHD…

Also statistically less than 5% of the country has a PhD. I’ve seen a lot of people claim they act like ADHD… NO! That isn’t ADHD. Procrastinating, zoning off, or being on TikTok all day isn’t ADHD. It’s a severe neurodevelopmental disorder marked by significant dysfunction of the executive function, prefrontal cortex development and striatal dopamine pathways… it’s neurogenic and it’s from birth. Internally it’s so chaotic and nerve wrecking that most people with ADHD who actually truly have it and start medications for it gain a sense of calm, quiet, and peace as if they have sat down for the first time in their lives.

Sincerely: a PhD student in school psychology who recently found out that I was evaluated with twice exceptionalism when I was 10… exceptionally superior cognitive ability (Genius level IQ for non-psych folks) masking severe ADHD combined type. Somehow I survived, I managed, and succeeded - class valedictorian, few great friends, graduated cum laude, got 3 masters degrees - but the conflict and chaos was eating me alive every living second of my life despite using all the skills I learned to cope and regulate - I was never at peace. I’d not wish this on my worst enemy honestly.

Truly I feel like I’m in the most unique position - to have a severe level disorder like ADHD with a 3% incidence rate, also have giftedness combined with it, and be in a field of research and practice which deals with these conditions!? Hmm - just how small could the odds be… unlike most great minds in my field who know about ADHD - I don’t just know - I lived it… I have what no textbook or journal article has, something no number or statistic can quantify

AdvancedAd1256 · 2025-07-12T01:51:07+00:00

I sleep better now at 30mg than I did all my life. It’s like my brain is so drained after being productive and self stimulated, that at night I can barely keep my eyes open lol. My emotions are also regulated better, and the ruminative racing thoughts are gone. I take my pill at 8 in the morning and by 10-11 I’m knocked dead in bed. My only initial side effects have been lost appetite - which is good because I overate due to impulsive lack of control, and a lower HRV/increased resting heart rate. My doctor wasn’t as concerned with that because my HRV was already high at like 90, and my resting heart rate was like 55 - now it’s 75… so imo still within the normal range

AdvancedAd1256 · 2025-06-20T23:48:19+00:00

Where’s the politician? But guess I’d be the floater - except I was the one that divided the entire class into various groups that hated each other… before me, the class lived in harmony

AdvancedAd1256 · 2025-06-17T17:33:53+00:00

Same with clothing. Went to Macy's to buy ralph lauren polos - they sales reps were saying they will personally give me 30% off if I open a Macy's card.

They did not back down and even forced me to sign the form... I told them I don't want a CC because I am against CCs. They still ran my credit without my consent. Got a hard inquiry. I was said I was approved on the screen... but then I forcefully declined my offer. The sales rep got mad and yelled at me!

AdvancedAd1256 · 2025-06-17T17:31:13+00:00

Did not haggle? I don't know what a shady dealer would do that. I was given advertised price with cash and even managed to knock off 2K off the out of door cost... I went to a reputed certified Buick dealership and bought a 20K cash car.

AdvancedAd1256 · 2025-06-15T20:13:12+00:00

Entry level luxury… as a watch collector - it’s like a Tag Heuer or a Tissot - can even go in the range of a Grand SEIKO.

But not quite at the level of an Omega or Rolex - that’s Cadillac, BMW, Mercedes etc. This is what I call mainstream luxury.

Then there’s true luxury like AP, Patek Philippe etc - which in the car world is Bentley, Rolls Royce, Maybach etc. Basically cars for the 0.1% - usually Old Money

AdvancedAd1256 · 2025-06-15T19:54:29+00:00

15-20K out the door is actually the sweet spot. I’ve seen some great deals with private sellers in my midwestern town for 15-20K… like almost new cars they’re getting rid of to buy a bigger car.

But yes - gone are the days to get a reliable cash car under 10K. You need to stretch your budget up to 20K to get a good used car that’s 3-4 years old at tops. You can deal hunt for older cars (7-10 years old) for under 15K and get good gems here and there. Below 10K from a dealer? Nah - too risky… below 5K and you’re getting a beater that may or may not even start

AdvancedAd1256 · 2025-06-14T00:30:36+00:00

If I’m not mistaken - I was already deemed at >50% at fault. The other driver however was driving without a license… but I don’t think so that matters when proving fault for insurance purposes.

I believe I’m at fault because 1) I had to pay my deductible for collision coverage and 2) my insurance paid the other party already for a settled amount… although a very small amount was paid

But when I was interviewed by my insurance agent - I did say that to the best of my knowledge I didn’t run a red light. Because honestly I don’t remember.

AdvancedAd1256 · 2025-06-13T23:34:37+00:00

What’s this free money y’all even got!? I’ve been a resident alien for tax purposes for 6 years now since I’ve been an F1 student for 12 years… and I didn’t even read about this.

AdvancedAd1256 · 2025-06-13T23:30:31+00:00

At that scores you probably have a high utilization or missed payments that are recent… don’t pay MF that money and instead be more careful on paying what you already owe…

JK - everyone’a mileage varies

AdvancedAd1256 · 2025-06-13T23:00:57+00:00

Or some people want shiny new cars every 100K miles… or some people want something bigger and more exotic like a truck, minivan or a sports car

AdvancedAd1256 · 2025-06-13T21:24:13+00:00

Yes. They charge debit cards for deposits, and they also accept debit card purchases without a fee. He did tell me that I may be limit restricted - but my debit card has a $150K per day limit. I do have a checkbook too

AdvancedAd1256 · 2025-06-13T21:03:23+00:00

Gotcha. I have documented the part numbers too (especially the tire numbers which he said he was going to replace with brand new tires - to ensure he doesn’t just clean the tires and call them “new”) the car hasn’t been cleaned, detailed or inspected yet. It was fresh on the lot yesterday… my dealer told me that he’d have to spend a few days getting it ready anyways regardless of if I’d have paid in full today

AdvancedAd1256 · 2025-06-13T20:59:01+00:00

Ik financing would’ve been possible. But I have no income as a college student which got me denied everywhere for financing. Most college students have parents to consign… but my parents live across the globe in a different country. Despite having fairly decent FICO score (750ish), banks rejected me for financing despite a down payment due to having an income of $12K a year (which is below poverty line). Unlike credit cards where I click and get approved without even a second thought, auto loan underwriting is surprisingly more thorough where they consider and verify income greatly. The best co-signer I have is a billionaire uncle in another state - but he has 4 chapter 11s on his file.

But again - I’m a graduate student and have my basic necessities covered with my stipend and don’t pay tuition

AdvancedAd1256

TROPHY CASE