I completely hear you. When I first started on Effexor years ago, it was like I was living an entirely new life inside my head while dreaming. Dreams would go on for what felt like hours and I would wake up feeling like I'd pulled an all-nighter.

Sometimes I'd even dream that I hit my alarm clock, brush my teeth and go on with the day in bizarro world, until my alarm clock really sounds off. Oy. That's my least favorite one.

I've had two sleep tests. They woke me up around 6a for both, so they missed something important. My sleep used to break at around 6:30a, and when I went back to sleep again, I'd go deep into bizarro world and wake up mentally exhausted.

You know what helped a lot? It wasn't the sleeping pills, Valerian root, herbal teas, CPAP, mouth guard, closed curtains, lavender sprays, etc. A guy named "Coma" has tried a few things for more efficient sleep. What worked was quitting a job where I passionately hated my boss.

What I'm trying to say is to keep an open mind that a solution might be "so far out in left field" that you're not even playing the same game anymore.