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Is There A Cure For Insomnia, Muscle Aches In The Body And Intermittent Breathlessness?
Question: Is there a cure for insomnia? I am 73 yrs old, and my sleep is getting worse every year. Now I wake up after only 2 hours sleep at night, often not able to go back to sleep for another 2 or 3 or 4 hours. Then I get another 2 - 3 - 4 hrs sleep. During the day I feel weakness, sometimes muscle ache, either in legs or in other parts of my body... Sometimes it's shortness of breathing. My blood pressure is normal, sugar is normal. In my childhood I got arthritis, another attack of it happened when I was 29 (after childbirth), after 50 - occasional joint pains. I also have IBSC, which comes and goes.. All these symptoms intensify during spring, and fall, and last from several weeks to couple month.
Brief Answer:
Follow good sleep hygiene, rule out sleep apnea
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Following good sleep hygiene can help you sleep better:
- Go to bed almost same time every day
- Keep your bed room dark while going to sleep
- Do not take naps in the morning
- Give at least 2 hours between dinner and bed time
- Do not use XXXXXXX phones, tablets or read books in bed
- Exercise daily
- Quit smoking of you do so
- Do not drink too much water in the evening to avoid frequent urination at night time
- If following all these measures fail, medications that help you sleep better like Zolpidem, Zaleplon etc., can be used
However, it is important to rule out other causes of insomnia like sleep apnea. I would recommend following up with your primary care provider to undergo sleep study to rule out sleep apnea. It is also important to check thyroid levels with chronic insomnia.
Hope this answers your question.
Regards,
Dr. Lekshmi Rita Venugopal
General & Family Physician
Follow good sleep hygiene, rule out sleep apnea
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Following good sleep hygiene can help you sleep better:
- Go to bed almost same time every day
- Keep your bed room dark while going to sleep
- Do not take naps in the morning
- Give at least 2 hours between dinner and bed time
- Do not use XXXXXXX phones, tablets or read books in bed
- Exercise daily
- Quit smoking of you do so
- Do not drink too much water in the evening to avoid frequent urination at night time
- If following all these measures fail, medications that help you sleep better like Zolpidem, Zaleplon etc., can be used
However, it is important to rule out other causes of insomnia like sleep apnea. I would recommend following up with your primary care provider to undergo sleep study to rule out sleep apnea. It is also important to check thyroid levels with chronic insomnia.
Hope this answers your question.
Regards,
Dr. Lekshmi Rita Venugopal
General & Family Physician
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Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Raju A.T
Answered by
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