Sadly, I'm a newbie here :(

Hi Gary,

Yes, it's a work in progress. I think with insomnia there are so many complex things going on in the body but most doctors just want to give a pill that masks the symptom of insomnia because they know next to nothing about it. Even the so-called sleep experts. I've seen 3 now in these last 2yrs and I was usually given one approach to try and correct my poor sleep. And it usually failed. We didn't just "get" insomnia. It started for one reason or another but then the domino effect begins. Then the body changes physically and the brain makes adaptations and has learned behaviors. There is so much more than a one faceted approach to resolving it. I felt that all along. I never felt there was one thing causing my insomnia. That it was only my brain or my thoughts or a learned behavior preventing me from sleeping. I could feel it physically. Once I stopped sleeping, I knew everything in my body no longer worked properly. Hormones of all kinds get out of balance. Your thyroid is effected by poor sleep and stress (lack of sleep is a huge body stressor, physically). Cortisol and adrenaline will rise and stay that way to keep you awake when your dead tired. For women, cortisol and thyroid hormones will throw female hormones out of balance - and those are notorious for causing sleep problems. And you don't have to have thyroid disease for your thyroid to be off. Stress and illness will give hypothyroid results on bloodwork. Your digestion is inefficient with sleep deprivation causing blood sugar levels to spike and drop, which will in turn cause your body to produce more cortisol. That's why one of the risks of insomnia is diabetes or weight gain. The primitive part of the brain has stored emotions and memories about all of your bad nights of poor sleep. And that needs to be calmed and retrained to not fear sleep.

When you don't sleep, you body just doesn't function properly. Physically and mentally. And so much more needs to be implemented than just a pill or just a program of CBT. I truly think and believe that. Once I began approaching my poor sleep from several different angles, did I begin to see improvement. And it didn't really take all that long. After implementing everything, I began sleeping better within a week. Like I said, I'm not "cured". Nor do I think I ever will be. I'm glad to get a quality 6+ hours of sleep. I will work towards more, but for now I am happy with that. I feel good, I function fine and that's all I will ask for, for now. I've gotten back to living my life like before the insomnia and decided that if I continue to adapt my day time hours around my insomnia, then that only feeds it and makes it more powerful. It amazes me that with all the technology in this world, doctors are still baffled by insomnia and their only remedy is a pill or CBT. Treat the whole body, look at the whole body and then maybe people can dig their way out of this hole and have some hope.

Meadowlark,
Well said. My 16 years of fighting severe insomnia very much leaves me with exactly your vantage and conclusions. I have had the opportunity to speak to many people with sleep problems. (1/3rd of the population reports some sort of sleep problem.) I have not heard the same story twice except that the doctors gave up too fast.

There are no cures, but there are things that can help. It is a struggle to find treatments that are right for each individual. I am very pleased to hear of your progress, and I believe that your story can help others who are reading the forum have some hope.

Thank you for sharing
GaryM