Simple insomnia to change lifestyle habits
Mr. Zhang:I am 65 years old and began to have difficulty sleeping seven or eight years ago, sleeping up to three or four hours a night. After taking Valium for several years, I was worried about addiction, and then I switched to paroxetine and amitriptyline, both quarter tablets, and I was able to sleep for five or six hours a night after taking the medication. Recently, I’m also worried about the side effects, I don’t dare to continue to eat, but when I stop taking the medicine, I can’t sleep again, I can’t concentrate during the day, I’m dizzy, I have chest congestion, and I start to worry about falling asleep at night. I don’t dare to sleep at noon, for fear that I will not be able to sleep at night. I tried the deep breathing method, but nothing worked. My parents and brothers don’t have any sleep problems, and I’m in a good mood and have a good family, but I’m a little annoyed that I can’t sleep well. Can I continue to take my medication, please? Is there a better way to treat insomnia?
Dr. Xia:If everything is normal in your life and your mood and work are not greatly affected, I think you may have simple insomnia and can try to improve your sleep by changing your habits. For example, insist on daily exercise, soak a hot foot before bed, do foot massage, go to bed early and get up early, and do not drink tea, coffee and other refreshing drinks in the afternoon. Paroxetine and amitriptyline you can continue to eat, basically will not become addicted, its side effects are mainly affect the heart blood supply, but you only take a quarter of a tablet at a time, the amount of medicine is very small, the impact on the body can be negligible. If you find any changes in your ECG, you can take some more heart protection drugs.
If you are really worried about the side effects of drugs, you can try insomnia patch, which is a topical patch applied behind the ear and is basically harmless to the body. In addition, you can also go to our Chinese and Western medicine physical therapy room to acupuncture points or use the sleep therapy device to help sleep.
Sleep is too important, but you can’t sleep
Ms. Guo:I am 46 years old and I have been having trouble sleeping for the past one or two years. I’ve been afraid since the evening that I won’t be able to sleep, and I’m afraid of what to do tonight. Often go to bed at nine or ten o’clock in the evening hoping to sleep early, but each time to toss until 11 or 12 o’clock to fall asleep, sleep for an hour or two and will wake up, the average night will be able to sleep for four hours. If you don’t sleep well, you’ll be in a bad mood and you’ll lose your temper, and then you’ll regret it and think you’re so angry. Should I take medicine for this situation? I have taken sour date and lotus seed heart, will there be any side effects? Bud
Dr. Xia:From your case, it should be simple insomnia. Both sour date palm and lotus seed heart are food source herbs that can calm the mind and help you sleep. You can take them for a long time without any problem.
Many people who have trouble sleeping go to bed as early as you do, but the more you worry, the more you can’t sleep and the more anxious you lie. “Sleep 8 hours to be considered a good sleep” is a deep-rooted ideology of the Chinese people, a day did not sleep to 8 hours of the heart will be false. In fact, sleep is good, not to see a few hours of sleep, but to see the quality of sleep. If you sleep four or five hours at night, the next day the mental state is good, and the body does not feel tired, you do not need to force 8 hours.
We found in the clinic that a lot of insomnia is frightened out. I suggest you don’t think about sleep all the time, take a walk after meals, watch TV and listen to music in the evening, and go to bed only when you feel sleepy. If you don’t think about it, sleep will come to you naturally.
Severe insomnia and depression may be depression
Mr. Wu:I am 42 years old and used to sleep very well. But in May 2010, because of the foreign trade business lost more than 1 million yuan, my sleep has become worse, often woke up at two or three in the middle of the night. Last May, I did futures and lost more than 2 million yuan, business until now there is little improvement, so sleep is getting worse and worse, often sleep all night, headaches during the day, do not want to eat, uninteresting, people are getting thinner and thinner. I have tried to adjust my mood, telling myself that everything will be fine, but looking at my wife and children, I feel very sorry for them, because the money is the house mortgage. I started seeing a doctor last May, and I was able to sleep for four or five hours after taking western medicine, because I was worried about the side effects, I started to take Chinese medicine “Shu Liver Relief” last October, and I have been boiling Chinese medicine every day until now, but my sleep problem still hasn’t improved, and sometimes I really want to die. What should I do?
Dr. Xia:What you have is not insomnia, but depression, and you should see a doctor immediately. In our country, the incidence of depression is 3-5%, and among these depressed people, 10-15% may eventually die by suicide. Depression accounts for 50-70 percent of the people who commit and attempt suicide in our country.
I suggest you leave your business to your family first, let yourself relax completely, and come to our hospital to cooperate with the psychiatrist for treatment. A multi-pronged approach of anti-depression, sleep adjustment and psychological counseling will surely improve your condition. In short, please come to the hospital as soon as possible, otherwise your disease will be very dangerous if it develops to an advanced stage.
Mr. Lin:I am 70 years old, I have not been in a good mood for many years, and I have high blood pressure. After I had a tooth extracted two or three months ago, I had a lot of dreams and frequent urination, and I could only sleep for about one hour a night. Later, I was introduced to melatonin, but it didn’t work. Should I continue to take Valium?
Dr. Xia:Listening to your narrative, I think you are not simply insomnia, but should be an emotional disorder triggered by excitation insomnia, combined with depression and anxiety. You have to check the prostate gland first to rule out frequent urination at your age, it should be because insomnia triggers anxiety and people will want to urinate when they are anxious. The actual fact is that you have to take some medication, but Valium can’t be taken for a long time, it works fast, but it’s easy to become addicted. It is recommended that you go to the hospital for a checkup first, and the doctor will take into account your specific situation for symptomatic treatment.
Sleep checkups can be done for long-term sleep problems
I’m 67 years old, I had a neurasthenia more than 20 years ago, when work pressure, sleep is not good, then took phenobarbital. 57 years old, again began to insomnia, take clonidine and triazolam, can sleep for three or four hours, without taking drugs will not be able to sleep all night. My partner also has the same problem. We are both retired state cadres, have pensions, live a carefree life, our children are fine, and don’t have too many worries, so how come we can’t sleep?
Dr. Xia:Insomnia is not only caused by a lesion in a part of the body, but also psycho-spiritual factors. If you and your loved ones have no major physical problems, you can look for psycho-spiritual reasons.
First of all, insomnia is very common in the elderly, now the workload, exercise is not too big, 4-7 hours is enough. You do not have to be too nervous, not to mention the fear, otherwise it will only make it more difficult to fall asleep, lying down with eyes closed is also rest. Secondly, the human brain will secrete a variety of neurological substances, both excitatory and inhibitory, you can come to our hospital to do a brain examination on sleep, to see which substances are secreted less or secreted more, and then the right medicine.
Sleeping pills should not be taken for a long time, the dose will become larger and larger after a long time, which is not good for health.