There's a big difference between not being able to fall asleep easily for a few days and chronic insomnia. An uncle of mine has chronic insomnia and from watching him suffer with it, I can tell you that it's miserable. He will only get about 2 to 3 hours of sleep each night. I think it has to do a lot of with anxiety and stress problems so it just manifests into a disease/medical condition. He'll get anxious during the day about sleep and then he won't sleep at night because it's constantly on his brain. I think it is a self-induced problem in that he doesn't think he'll sleep at night so his body won't let him. The mind is a powerful thing.
I've had some bouts with insomnia but it has never become a medical condition. There might be a night every so often where I just can't sleep because of stress or what not but that's about it. I will say that it has become more frequent recently but I think that has to do with the stress of my quarter life crisis.
I've heard horrible things about the sleep medication although I know that it can be quite helpful for some people. I've just heard that some individuals become resistant to it after a while and will have to go on heavier and heavier doses. Insomnia is usually a psychosomatic problem and the sleep medication will only "cure" the physical aspects. (ETA: I know there's many physical reasons for insomnia such as thyroid problems or sleep apnea but many insomnia sufferers have something emotional affecting their sleep) I would think the best thing to do is go to a therapist to talk about the stressor that is keeping you from getting sleep.