I Can't Sleep

by Mindy
(Paradise, CA)

I am not able to just fall asleep naturally anymore. I am exhausted and I am able to sleep only with a sleeping pill (restoril) every night. I sleep only every other night when I am totally exhausted with a pill.

On those days when I sleep I scurry around to a accomplish things I can't on the days I don't sleep. In the evening my whole body is buzzing and sparking so that I just can't sleep, no matter what.

I need help. I don't need a person to tell me this is not fatal; I just need help to sleep again.

I find myself monitoring myself, and saying that is not right, try this.

Help! Do I have fatal insomnia prion? It just keeps getting worse. If you can't help me can you find someone who can. I live in Paradise near Chico. Thank you so much.

Kevin's Answer

Mindy,

Thanks for taking the time to write, and thanks for making your concern clear, as it is definitely warranted in any situation where sleep is continuously compromised, as in your current situation.

There are two things that I would wholeheartedly recommend you do in an effort to right the course of your sleeping patterns. The first and most important is to make it an absolute priority to go see a sleep specialist. Regardless of any qualms or reservations you may or may not have about doing this, finding a sleep specialist near you who you can assess your symptoms and monitor your sleep is by far the best way for you to get the help you need and live the alert and awake life that you so deserve.

Additionally, if you think there's any chance you have fatal familial insomnia, a sleep center is the one place you'll be able to check into that concern in a way that will give you answers you can rely on. If it is not such a serious disorder (and I pray it isn't), a sleep specialist can work with you to find out what the problem actually is, and give you the means to combat it.

The second thing I would recommend is, after you have your appointment with a sleep center booked, continue to learn yourself about the mechanisms and intricacies of sleep. Learn about clock-dependent alerting, the opponent processes that govern sleep and wakefulness, and the dangers of continuing to live with compromised alertness. Keep learning so that you can better understand sleep (and lack of sleep) in your own life.

So continue to seek out knowledge you can empower yourself with, and--I can't emphasize this enough--check yourself into a sleep center so that you can get the examination tests that will help provide answers to your questions.

If you have any follow-up questions or comments, or if your sleep problems are resolved at some point in the hopefully near future, please share them using the "Post Comments" link below.