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Psychological Issue

Good morning,
I have been a very level headed, optimistic and fairly intelligent 40 year old family guy who has been suffering from insomnia for the past 10 years.  I will sleep 3 hours on a very good night and much of the time much less.  I have been tested and diagnosed with a minor case of sleep apnea and RLS.  I have been prescribed many medications which I rarely take to avoid addiction; such as Ambien, Ambien CR, Lunesta, Temazapan and these are only a temporary aid that eventually no longer work.  Initially stress was a main factor to my sleep disorder, however these days I don't feel it is.  Over the past year I have noticed that I have become very forgetful, and have alot of difficulty comprehending.  I have a professional career for many years and that I have done well with and am finding it very difficult to perform as of late.  My mind seems to drift away from focus at times when I am in meetings and when trying to work and sometimes feel very overwhelmed by very minor situations which is completely out of character for me.  I also have been having some kind of panic attacks and seem to all of a sudden not know things that I once did such as directions.  I am beginning to wonder if I have some kind of mental illness that may be setting in at age 40.  My family does have a history of this type and my Mom was schizophrenic.  My thought is to seek therapy to be proactive and determine what is going on here.  Any feedback would be well appreciated.

Best Regards,
RNJ
3 Responses
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915277 tn?1252573113
I know what you mean, my body has a tendency to do that as well...plus, I have a high tolerance to meds...last time I had a colonoscopy they had to give me lots of fentanyl and versid (sp) so much so that the nurses could not believe that I was still talking and awake!!
Have you tried mirtazapine??  It is the generic for Remeron...I started out with the lowest dosage of 15 mg...didn't even yawn...30 mg...nope...finally at 45 mgs...ahhhhhhh beautiful all night sleep!! If you haven't tried it, you should...keep us posted...:) joyce
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Avatar universal
Thank you for your reply Joyce,
I have been down this road before with trying every over the counter and prescription sleep aid on the market and most don't work after taking them a few times.  The benedryl has been helpful for the past few weeks while taking for allergies and now I guess my body became immuned and they no longer work.

Thanks
Helpful - 0
915277 tn?1252573113
Hi Rob, welcome...first, let's address your lack of sleep...we need sleep for our bodies to function properly...sleep is like recharging your battery and has magical restorative powers...lack of sleep affects the workings of every part of the body, including the brain!
The "brain fog" you speak of can be a symptom of not enough sleep...and it can also be indicative of many other things...when was your last thorough physical exam??  I would start there and make sure that you tell the doctor everything...he will probably run blood tests too and then you can go from there.  I've had trouble sleeping for many years...when it first started, I started taking 2 benedryls about 30-40 minutes before bedtime, they are not habit forming and are the main ingredient in OTC sleep aids...worked like a charm for awhile and then my body got used to them and they no longer worked...my doctor then gave me a script for mirtazapine, which is a generic medication and they have been working wonderfully for about 3 years!!  Great sleep and no hangover feeling the next morning...see your doc and discuss before taking any new medications even OTC's...Hope this was of some help to you...sweet dreams!!
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