Anyone try U-Dream for sleep?

A friend told me about this Canadian herbal sleep aid-U-dream (two strengths -lite 4-5 hrs - which works for me all night- and full 8 hours). Tried it and it miraculously worked 5 days in a row!  Full night sleep- no wake-ups!  Directions say do not use every night and not more than 3 weeks but most non prescriptions have the same disclaimer. Now here’s the rub. Have been in LA from Boston for a week. Last night I had an upset stomach- took U-dream to sleep and had a whopper of what I would say was a panic attack. Couldn’t stop shaking for 2 hours. I don’t get panic attacks. I’m a bit over a month off klonopin  don’t know if it was the WD or was it sleep med?

Anyone else have experience with U-dream?  It’s seems too good to be true. Not many reviews (although most very positive) on internet (Amazon etc).

In my life I have tried every possible thing, sleep hygiene etc to sleep( in fact that’s the sad reason for WD) . This was a miracle- am hoping others have had positive outcomes.

I find the ingredients interesting. Says "all herbal formula", but tryptophan isn't an herb last time I checked. Passionflower is a sedative, and most of the rest of the stuff is used in Chinese herbal tonics. The only items that I see in it that have anything to do with sleep are the tryptophan and the passionflower. The rest of that stuff has a tendency to keep me awake. Not sure why they added hesperidin (a flavonoid).

 

*shrug* Given the ingredients, it's not something I'd try, but it might work better for others. If it caused a wave, I'd say it was probably the Chinese herbs. Those are definitely not sleeping herbs (to my knowledge anyway).

I know that things were pretty OK for me the first two weeks after I jumped off Ativan, and then BAM!, I got hit with really bad insomnia for a few weeks - like worse than ever before or during my taper. I suspect your panic attack may have been WD.

 

As for U-dream, while I'm glad you found relief for a few days, I'm not a big fan of supplements or homeopathic solutions. There is no magic potion in my opinion. Improving primary chronic insomnia requires a whole series of cognitive and behavioral changes that can take a long time to take hold, but are ultimately proven to be THE most effective treatments.

Be careful. U-Dream lists Passion Flower as an ingredient which is supposed to stimulated GABA receptors. Could be like poking a healing wound with a stick. I would not take it.

It sure did poke a healing wound if that’s what my 24 hour panic attack is from. Am totally freaking out-having thoughts of taking a bit of klonopin but resisting-  nothing I can do. Don’t want to read, walk, watch tv -can’t sleep. Have to keep thinking this will pass but I’m 1 1/2 months since I stopped after long taper -brain keeps questioning is this withdrawal or something else?😱😱😱

I have never heard of this until your post. I will google it now.

The Amazon reviews are positive but there are not many Amazon reviews. IOW, I do not think it is a big seller and not many ppl are buying it.

 

I am sticking with just one mg of melatonin 30 minutes bf bed and that seems to help me a little.

It's only been out a year- Just talked to the company in Canada- they are sold out again- They've sold 30,000 units and I'm the first problem-  The company has other products that seem very reliable- The guy who answered the phone tried to reach the pharmacologist who made it but he's traveling in Europe- He said he would follow up- I believe him - They seem like a solid Canadian company- this has been approved by Canada's equivalent of FDA-  It truly was a miraculous sleep but now I'm really suffering-

Now I don't know what to do- My interior body is so revved up- I need to sleep- I've been meditating, deep breathing etc all day- no help-  Worst wd day in the 9 months since I started the taper-UGH!

 

Just an update- tried taking the U-Dream again and it has helped me so much - I am feeling much better- amazing what a good night's sleep will do- I still have some inner shaking (pretty sure it's not related to the sleep aid) but waves that happen infrequently-  Not sure I can say I'm out of the woods but am certainly on the right path!

 

(also I have at least 6 friends who have tried it and they also rave about the effects- need to clear all the herbs etc with your doctor first though)

 

Good luck to all-

 

 

I am glad that you are getting good results with the product, but I urge others to be wary of the passion flower ingredient. Most of us were pretty satisfied with the sleep that benzos and z-drugs gave us in the beginning. Just something to think about.

Another update-  You're right- I think the passionflower has now created a major set back- Although I sleep- I am now getting severe stomach indigestion/nausea etc when I get into bed and then when I wake up (although it does knock me out most of the night) I'm exhausted, shaky etc.-  Should've known it was too good to be true-

 

Thanks for the alert-

You may want to give Belsomra a try. I recently posted in the " other medications" section of my success with this drug.

Thank you- will check it out!

 

You may want to give Belsomra a try. I recently posted in the " other medications" section of my success with this drug.

 

Rupert, you are the first person that I remember posting success with Belsomra. I tried it and found it to be totally useless and rather unpleasant. The pharma company that created it must know that they did not have a winner on their hands because you never see any ads for it. Just don't read the thing about sleep paralysis on the listed side-effects warning if you want any hope of sleep from the drug. Sounds pretty creepy.

aloha,

 

As mentioned, I tried and failed several times on Belsomra. I am by no means promoting this drug but trying to share my recent success. After 10+ years on ambien and all the associated issues, I have been off it for 3 years. Unfortunately, I am one of the 10% of all insomnia patients who can only get sleep via medication. It is a genetic disorder. Believe me, I have tried everything out there including CBTI, EBB, Fisher Wallace devices etc etc etc.

 

I followed the Belsomra development from the time it went into clinical trials until it was cleared by the FDA. I was very anxious to give this new "novel" drug a try. The first trial was a disaster. Deep in the throws of ambien addiction, Belsomra was useless. Also during my crossover from ambien to a benzo and cutting I tried it again. Still no positive results. But, recently, I am having what I feel is very good success. Granted the reviews on Belsomra are mostly negative but I believe most of them are submitted by folks who just substitute it for a Z drug or benzo and have no success due to the sudden withdrawal of such GABAa up regulating drugs. It was not until I was well past the withdrawal cycle that Belsomra became effective for me.

 

I really appreciate the fact Belsomra works on an entirely different set of receptors versus the benzo and Z drugs. It means I can sleep and my GABAa receptor still continues to heal from the years of Z drugs.

 

I do find, if I am anxious, stressed or not in a calm and relaxed mood, the Belsomra will have only marginal success that night. It works best, for me, if I am able to "wind down" the days activities by reading for an hour or so prior to trying to sleep. Some nights I get 5-6 sleep without awakening. Usually, I am able to return to sleep once I do wake up ( for a bathroom break)

 

BTW- there is another drug with the same mechanism of action as Belsomra ( ie OX1 & OX2 receptors)  that has been accepted by the FDA for review. It may be our as soon as December. This indicates to me Big Pharma has confidence in the future of DORA's - dual orexin receptor antagonists!

 

Just trying to share my opinions. As we all know, all drugs have different effects on folks.

 

Rupert,

I'm glad that you found some success using Belsomra. I just have not heard too many positive reviews. You are probably right in saying that results would be less desirable while in the middle of a z-drug or benzo withdrawal (which is the case for most folks on this forum). That was where I was at when I tried it. I read that human trials started in Japan and were at a much higher dosage than recommended by the FDA here in the U.S. I opted for a fairly low dose, but still felt a very heavy drugged feeling a long time after taking it, while remaining wide awake due to the withdrawal. That tended to amp up my anxiety level.

aloha,

 

Merck actually filed their NDA ( New Drug Application) with the FDA asking for 20, 30 and 40mg dose availability. In other words the lowest dose they thought would be effective was the maximum the FDA cleared. They did allow the lesser doses of 5, 10 & 15 in addition to the 20.

 

I found that nothing less than 20mg dose was at all effective, for me. Today, I am utilizing 20mg with none of the drugged next day feeling. I do experience some sleepiness next day and sometimes resort to a brief nap around noon, if my schedule permits.