Yep, I'm the same way, just baths, massages, relaxation tapes, aromatherapy, breathing, meditation, reading a book, etc., cannot put me or keep me asleep, although, they help sleep aids to work even better. Even before I was on benzos none of these things helped. I tried all the natural herbs too...just like a placebo. My mind is like a pinball machine at night. It's hard not to get up and write out all my "amazing" ideas. I wish I didn't need sleep ever sometimes. We probably need an electrical implant with a switch that we can flip or a dial we can work to calm us down directly w/out drugs. Man, I have so many ideas today. Some that are already invented and others that should be.

I don't have a dependence on benzos yet as I've only been on them 2 weeks and they don't really even work to give me more than 5-6 hours of sleep, which is only slightly better than without. I'm not going to increase my dose because I want them replaced with something soon.

I think the a-typicals cause me to lose weight if anything because when I'm able to sleep, either I can't eat, or the sleep heals the digestive system and speeds up my metabolism when I do get up. Can't really explain it. I guess sleeping and depression can cause either weight gain or loss. Seroquel didn't cause any weight gain for me. I was at my lowest when on it, so I doubt Abilify will cause any gain either.

Sorry to ramble on. I'm already 2 projects from here and can't focus. Hope you get some new meds soon that will actually work, Ama.