I'm glad I found this thread. I had actually attempted to start a similar thread about a month and a half ago when I joined, but I never got any replies.

I'm 46, and I started having insomnia about 2 years ago. It got worse last year. My primary doctor figured it was stress, and my ob/gyn said I was perimenopausal at my age, and that insomnia is a common problem. Both doctors prescribed medication.

My primary had me on Prozac for daytime stress, which might help me sleep better at night. It did not, so I had Ativan in case it didn't work. The Ativan KNOCKS me out, but because it can be addicting, I try not to take it very much. Ob/gyn gave me Klonopin. It takes longer to work, and it also knocks me out. I've tried herbs, but they just take the edge off. They don't make me drowsy at all. I really don't want to take things that much.

In the past few years, I get overwhelmed or anxious more easily and more often than I used to. I also can get mood swings or feel depressed. In my case, I think there's various reasons for my insomnia: Hormones, worries in life, apartment with thin walls with neighbors who play their music at night, the hot weather (bedroom has no A/C), "rebound" effect from Ativan or Klonopin, etc. There's no one black and white cause for insomnia, unfortunately.

I've never been officially or medically diagnosed as "anxious" but I feel I have the nature to feel like that about things. And, this "transitional" time of my life makes it worse.