Insomnia Forum Posting

Posted by Lori on November 28, 1998 at 20:33:25:

In Reply to: Sleeping habits posted by Roger on November 28, 1998 at 11:17:46:

Roger,
I share your frustration, and ask myself the same questions. Does insomnia go into remission like cancer or some other disease, only to resurface at another time? Once we have it, will it ever go away? How much is habit? Is there some entity in our bodies that pre-disposes us to this condition?
In the early stages of any research project, there are no definite answers. Many of the dramatic discoveries in medicine were accidental. Look at penicillin. We are at a disadvantage in having insomnia. It's not "life-threatening", at least not like cancer or heart disease, therefore, the urgency isn't there. If people started dropping dead from actual sleep deprivation (and not from nodding off at the wheel), the medical community would probably perk up and look for answers. To date, the only answers we get are found in a medicine bottle.

As far as your use of medication, you're in a curious spot. I've taken both medications you listed at one time or another. I gave up Ambien several months ago, and it's the best thing I could have done for myself. I have slept better without it, and better than I have in years. But giving it up can be difficult. We get programmed to believe that medicine makes us well, but my personal experience with Ambien leads me to conclude that it was a contributor to my problems with sleep loss. I'm not here to blow smoke, though. I'm not "cured". On the nights when sleep doesn't come, I worry that the insomnia will come back full force, and I'll get stuck in the same rut. I'm scared to death that all of the efforts I've made to help myself will be for nothing. I do remain optimistic, though, and am even more determined to continue what I'm doing to get to the bottom of this.

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