Struggling with insomnia since 2018 but coping well enough until a few months ago.

One Fri morning I woke up the freaky-est, most intense vertigo I'd ever had (had lots). It was so intense I couldn't raise my head. Freaky because there was no nausea; I didn't feel it with my eyes closed. Truly spooky. 24h later it abated.

That night no sleep. Makes sense, slept previous 24h. Next night, same until 5am. Next night until 6am and I'm fretting because there's nothing there. Next, nothing until 7am. Sleep is completely broken and I'm panicking.

This kind of mirrors the author's story. Mine was more pronounced but I'm 20y older and that counts.

Where me and the author differ is that I'm a Better Living Thru Chemistry guy and they're way not. But I read their Dr went right to Ambien which is kind of nuts.

There are a number of more sustainable (and non scheduled) meds which are much better first line options. This is besides the usual OTC and supplements like melatonin, benadryl, valerian, etc.

     Mirtazapine (antidepressant) Smallest dose daily. A wonder drug for me.
     Hydroxyzine (antihistamine) Secondary med. Part of my stack and rotate.
     Tizanadine (muscle relaxer) Good for some, awful for others.
     
     Phenibut (soviet era tranq) Not recommending. Only informing. 
     A good fit for me 1x week max. A poor fit for many/most because insanely 
     bad withdrawal and immediate tolerance. Why bother?
     1) Full night of good strong REM. 
     2) I need to rotate my meds to keep them effective.