hormonal insomnia

Dear Doc,

When I turned 50, (I'm 55 right now), insomnia set in.  I'm not sure how it started,
as we were in process of building a house ourselves, pastoring a church, and trying to
work at the same time.  I've tried HRT, and it worked for about a year, and I went off of
it because of "the scare".  I've tried natural sleep aids, overcounter sleep aids, 5htp,
ambien, ambien cr 12mg, amytriptyline, cymbalta-(hideous), Hydroxyz HCL 50MG,
tried HRT again with no results, and am now still taking ativan 1-2MG at night only.
I hate taking the ativan, and have gone off of it for a few days seemingly no effects
except lack of sleep.  I need to also let you know that my insomnia is not just a
few days without sleep, (last year it was around 15 days in a row-absolutely no
sleep)  I have tried to cut the pill back a little, and it worked a few times, but psychologically
I feel I'm hooked.  I work, but have worthless insurance, and cannot afford, a huge
doctor bill?  Do you have any ideas.?  The lack of sleep does make me depressed, but
I've always seemed to have a fairly decent attitude, and do not have any mood swings.
I feel like I'm at the prime of my life with much to offer, but this is a real drag.

Thank you for any suggestions.

Sincerely, Nancy

[Gregg D Jacobs, Ph.D.]

You are a good candidate for Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) which is now the recommended first line treatment for insomnia. It is effective in helping 90% of patients reduce or eliminate sleep meds. See my website or blogs for information on CBT.

Dr. Jacobs
cbtforinsomnia.com