Have you ever experienced not being able to get to sleep or waking up in the middle of night without getting back to sleep?  You are not alone, 30-50% of adults report insomnia symptoms and 10% of adults are diagnosed with chronic insomnia[1].

Insomnia includes difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, or poor sleep quality that may impact the quality of your waking life.  Insomnia can be very frustrating as Dr. Rodgers can attest from personal experience.

Not only is Insomnia annoying, but it may contribute to numerous health effects including cardiovascular disease and diabetes[2]^,[3]. 

There are many causes of insomnia including, but not limited to:

• Stress
• Blood sugar dysregulation
• Hormone insufficiency
• Genetic disposition
• Dietary choices, including use of alcohol and stimulants
• Pain
• Digestive issues
• Brain health
• Environmental influences 

Can sleep medications help?

According to the CDC, 8.4% of adults in the US took sleep aids in 2020[4].

Most sleep medications are initially helpful, but lose their efficacy after a few weeks, leading to the need to increase dosages as the brain adapts to the medication. Discontinuing the drug(s) also leads to rebound insomnia, leading to a vicious cycle of not sleeping.  There are also studies suggesting sleep medication’s contribution to cognitive decline or Alzheimer’s disease[5]^,[6].

Additionally, daytime drowsiness with the use of sleep medication increases the risk of motor vehicle accidents[7] and loss of social interactions[8].

Watch Dr. Rodgers’ interview with pharmacist Jeremy Crowfoot of Saint Alphonsus Geriatrics Clinic and Memory Center in Boise, Idaho discussing the efficacy of sleep medications.  Watch the interview HERE.

How to get to sleep without sleep medication.

The sleep foundation (https://www.sleepfoundation.org/sleep-hygiene) has a wonderful list of sleep hygiene techniques which can be tried prior to initiating sleep medication.  Techniques include:

• Go to bed at the same time daily.
• Remove all electronic devices from bedroom.
• Turn off Wi-Fi at night.
• It is ok to read or listen to calming music or mediations, but do not use screens in bedroom.
• Complete all work or discussions prior to entering bedroom.
• Dust bedroom regularly.
• Use black out curtains, to create a dark room.
• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for insomnia (CBTi) to re tune the body and brain towards healthy sleep[9].

Sleepwell (mysleepwell.ca) is a CBTi educational program of Dalhousie University of Canada.  The website is an excellent starting point to learn how to retrain your brain to achieve quality sleep. Supported by research, the Sleepwell program can be used for anyone with sleep difficulty and offers guidelines for safely weaning off sleep medications.

Although insomnia can be a challenging condition to treat, finding a physician who listens to your story may be the first step towards a good night’s sleep.  Dr. Rodgers is one such physician. She takes the time to understand each patient’s current medical condition, lifestyle, diet, supplement/medication use, and past medical history and then creates a plan for you to achieve quality sleep.

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[1] Benca RM, Bertisch SM, Ahuja A, Mandelbaum R, Krystal AD. Wake Up America: National Survey of Patients’ and Physicians’ Views and Attitudes on Insomnia Care. J Clin Med. 2023;12(7):2498. Published 2023 Mar 25. doi:10.3390/jcm12072498

[2] Fernandez-Mendoza J, Vgontzas AN. Insomnia and its impact on physical and mental health. Curr Psychiatry Rep. 2013;15(12):418. doi:10.1007/s11920-013-0418-8

[3] Miller MA, Howarth NE. Sleep and cardiovascular disease. Emerg Top Life Sci. 2023;7(5):457-466. doi:10.1042/ETLS20230111

[4] https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db462.htm

[5] Puustinen J, Nurminen J, Kukola M, Vahlberg T, Laine K, Kivelä SL. Associations between use of benzodiazepines or related drugs and health, physical abilities and cognitive function: a non-randomised clinical study in the elderly. Drugs Aging. 2007;24(12):1045-1059. doi:10.2165/00002512-200724120-00007

[6] Wilt TJ, MacDonald R, Brasure M, et al. Pharmacologic Treatment of Insomnia Disorder: An Evidence Report for a Clinical Practice Guideline by the American College of Physicians. Ann Intern Med. 2016;165(2):103-112. doi:10.7326/M15-1781

[7] Hansen RN, Boudreau DM, Ebel BE, Grossman DC, Sullivan SD. Sedative Hypnotic Medication Use and the Risk of Motor Vehicle Crash. Am J Public Health. 2015;105(8):e64-e69. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2015.302723

[8] Fitzgerald T, Vietri J. Residual Effects of Sleep Medications Are Commonly Reported and Associated with Impaired Patient-Reported Outcomes among Insomnia Patients in the United States. Sleep Disord. 2015;2015:607148. doi:10.1155/2015/607148

[9] https://mysleepwell.ca/cbti/cbti-research/

Health Savings and Flexible Spending Accounts: Did you know that you can use your Health Saving Account (HSA) for your appointments with Dr. Rodgers, lab expenses, prescribed supplements from Fullscript, and prescribed medications?

A Health Savings Account (HSA) allows you to use untaxed income for medical expenses not covered by your medical insurance and is available for those with a high deductible health insurance plan and for those who are not enrolled in Medicare. If you think you qualify, ask your employer, financial advisor, or bank about applying for an HSA.

A Flexible Spending Account (FSA) is available from some employers. Like an HSA, health expenses can be paid with income prior to taxes. 

Check with your FSA and HSA to understand what services are covered. If eligible, consider using these pre-tax income accounts to help pay for your naturopathic and acupuncture services, Fullscript supplements, or laboratory expenses.

Insurance Billing: Submit your receipts!

Dr. Rodgers does not bill insurance and patients are responsible for the full cost of services provided at the time of visit. However, because Dr. Rodgers is a licensed physician and acupuncturist, you may be able to obtain reimbursement for your visits with Dr. Rodgers from your health insurance company or medical sharing group. 

If you do not pay for your visit with a Health Savings Account or Flexible Spending Account, (or are not using Medicare), your insurance company may reimburse your visit and/or laboratory fees, or apply the fees towards your deductible.  Dr. Rodgers provides a superbill receipt for each visit containing all the information you need to share with your insurance provider for possible reimbursement.

Contact your insurance provider or medical sharing group to determine if they recognize out of network naturopathic or acupuncture visits.

Cancer is a significant cause of death in the US. According to the CDC, 1.7 million cancers were detected in 2019. For every 100,000 people, 439 cancers were detected, and 146 people died of cancer.

There are cancer screening exams and blood tests for skin, breast, cervical, ovarian, colon, and prostate cancers. For those susceptible, lung and liver screening exams are also available. These test have proven great worth in detecting cancer, hopefully in early and treatable stages. Unfortunately, there are not screening exams for every type of cancer. Sadly, 71% of cancer deaths are from cancers not commonly screened for.

New technologies are also helping to detect more cancers. The Galleri test is a multi-cancer detection blood test that uses DNA analysis to screen for over 50 types of cancer. Although no screening test is 100% accurate, Galleri is expanding the possibilities for detecting more cancers, and in earlier stages.

How it works: healthy vs cancer DNA detection by Galleri

Watch a video HERE (see bottom of that webpage) to learn how this test works.

Galleri is not a substitute for regular cancer screening, but can add quality information to influence your health decisions. Galleri is not FDA approved and may not be covered by your insurance. If cancer is suggested by this test, confirmatory testing is suggested.

Dr. Rodgers is offering this test to patients 50 years and older.

List of research:

Klein EA, Richards D, Cohn A, et al. Clinical validation of a targeted methylation-based multi-cancer early detection test using an independent validation set. Ann Oncol. 2021;32(9):1167-1177. doi:10.1016/j.annonc.2021.05.806

Nadauld LD, McDonnell CH 3rd, Beer TM, et al. The PATHFINDER Study: Assessment of the Implementation of an Investigational Multi-Cancer Early Detection Test into Clinical Practice. Cancers (Basel). 2021;13(14):3501. Published 2021 Jul 13. doi:10.3390/cancers13143501