"i have suffered from insomnia for 4  years. i tried ambien: 10 mg wouldn&#039;t keep me asleep for more than 3-4 hours.  i&#039;m rather paranoid about new medications, since i fear weird side effects. so with trepidation i tried trazodone (after having it on my night stand for almost two weeks until i got the courage!).  i&#039;m so thankful that i did.  it put me gently into a nice sleep, i slept the first time for 7 1/2 hours straight and had only a couple tolerable side effects; my nose gets a little stuffy and a few times i&#039;ve woken with slight dry cough. i don&#039;t know if it&#039;s a coincidence, but i&#039;ve lost 14 lbs since taking it! (2 months) an added bonus is that it helps keep my mind from racing so i can fall asleep.  hooray, trazodone!"