[Sailguy]

New to this forum but a veteran of many sleepless nights.  I am 65 years old and had my first sleepless night approximately 58 years ago.  My condition is episodic so it comes and goes. I am in the middle of a bout right now. My struggle takes on a life of its own and impacts everything I do. I am on many different sleep meds including xanax ambien seroquel trazadone restoril.  My doctor just keeps refilling the prescription so I have been taking each for so long that I am sure my body has built up a toletance. I have been afraid to try the techniques of cbt i for fear that I may stop sleeping entirely. I guess I just need some support from others who are going through the same thing.

[Martin Reed]

Welcome to the forum, Sailguy. You mentioned that your insomnia tends to come and go. Any idea what breaks the cycle and leads to periods of good sleep? Any idea what triggers a fresh bout of insomnia?

I’m sorry to hear that your doctor is only offering ongoing sleep medication — particularly since sleeping pills are not recommended as a long-term treatment option for chronic insomnia.

I completely understand your worry about CBT-I — however, it will not stop you from sleeping entirely! That’s because we never lose our ability to sleep. We can certainly make it harder for ourselves to sleep (mainly by worrying about sleep and trying to control sleep) — but we cannot stop ourselves from sleeping entirely.

With that being said, it’s important to be realistic about CBT-I. The techniques can be challenging, and it can take a few weeks to see results. Sleep may get worse before it gets better. However, what I can say is this — would a few weeks of worse sleep in return for better sleep over the long-term be preferable to your current situation? If so, you may want to discuss CBT-I with your doctor.

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