For me it typically makes me tired, but I usually take the 3mg pills (I buy over the counter, and take them on rare occasion, though I used to take 9mg regularly when I had more sleep issues). It's really important to take them at the same time each night, it's the drug your brain naturally releases to sleep, and to take it at varying times will upset your circadian rhythm and can cause things like depression and other emotional issues.

For me, it causes extreme drowsiness the next day unless I sleep 12-13 hours, but if you aren't sleeping, I don't know if you'll relate to that - if it gets increased, you might hit a dose that zonks you, and you'll find yourself needing to sleep a lot. And, if you're like me, if you don't get that sleep, you'll be reallllly drowsy until you get the nap that allows you to get the full amount of time.

Good luck and I hope it works out! Have you tried breathing meditation with it?