Im pro sleep meds for insomnia from me/cfs but thats my opinion. I dont think i would be functioning anywhere near like i do now if i didnt use sleep meds. For me i think lack of sleep would just cause more damage. I know there are different views on sleep and im not trying to convince anyone either way, some have said that once they have stopped sleep meds that their ability to sleep has gone, im just not convinced totally that its the sleep meds thats done this for everyone or neurological damage done from whatever has caused me/cfs in the first place. One reason why im not convinced is that there are quite a few me/cfsers who have never used sleep meds but still have an aweful time trying to get sleep. I also think those of us who use sleep meds can still go through bad periods of sleep, partly because of medication tolerance(this is not addiction) and partly because of exacerbation of me/cfs. I think sleep is very valuable in our ability to function to the degree we are or arent. Without sleep it wouldnt matter what treatments(antiviral, b-cell depletion, ampligen etc) we used we would still be a wreck. Some sleep meds we are told disrupt our sleep quality, all i can say to that is any sleep is better then no sleep. I think its a smart move to try all the non medication treatments but when these dont work and medications can help us to function, i say why not.
Everyone has to make their own informed decision on it and everyone has different experiences with sleep meds but i wouldnt rule it out, without looking into it. I dont think we should look at medications as being bad, used for the right purposes they are very useful, reduce suffering and life saving. Without sleep meds i would be bed bound and wouldnt be able to work. I think for many of us that insomnia is caused by some type of neurological injury from ME/cfs?? mmm sleep.
cheers!!!