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Q: Various causes of insomnia
asked by: DoctorQuestion on June 16th, 2009
I've always had trouble sleeping, my mother tells me even when I was a baby I hardly slept. I have a problem now that even when I'm sleepy I can't fall asleep because I cant stop thinking, no matter how hard I try (I try breathing techniques and all sorts of things, nothing helps). What can I do?
Also sometimes when I fall asleep in the day, sometimes voluntarily or sometimes no matter how hard I try I still fall asleep (one time in hight school I fell asleep while writing a sentence, that hasnt happened in a while though), and I have great difficulty waking myself up, it takes me a good long time to pull myself awake, plus my heartbeat is really fast when I eventually wake myself up. What is that? What can I do?


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Dr. Andrijana Shterjovska , MD
replied on June 22nd, 2009
Sleep Disorders Answer A6832


Given the data you reported (having trouble falling asleep) you might be experiencing insomnia. Insomnia is a symptom that is used for difficulty initiating or maintaining sleep, or both.

Insomnia is considered only a symptom of a sleep disorder. As there are many types of sleep disorders, you might want to visit a neurologist to check what might be causing the condition.

Many factors might contribute to insomnia, such as: psychoactive drugs or stimulants, hormone shifts, certain neurological disorders, and disturbances of the circadian rhythm. Stress and anxiety caused by everyday problems like: work problems, financial stress, and family or relationship problems might additionally affect the insomnia.


When talking to a neurologist you might want to think about various of these possible causes and present them to the doctor. A psychotherapist might be helpful in addition to prescribed medications.

In the end, please note that the medication you take (Imovane-generic name: zopiclone) is not recommended for applications longer than 7 to 10 consecutive days. You might discuss this with the neurologist, as well.




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zion
replied on July 8th, 2009
New User
insomnia
I too have insomnia and get only about 4 hours of sleep a nite,due to a lengthy illness in the family,i cannot get back on a decent schedule. Tried tylenol pm-lasts about four hours-tried xanax works for a few hours. Any suggested I would appreciate very much.
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Kumishi
replied on July 19th, 2009
New User
The first thing you can do is visit your doctor to diagnose you and prescribed you the necessary medicine to overcome your sleeping problem.

Maybe you can also drink a glass of milk so that you can have good sleep at night.
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Kumishi
replied on July 19th, 2009
New User
The first thing you can do is visit your doctor to diagnose you and prescribed you the necessary medicine to overcome your sleeping problem.

Maybe you can also drink a glass of milk so that you can have good sleep at night.
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