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insomnia or fatal insomnia

i have not slept in 6 weeks on my own at all--I have been taking sleep meds w/ benadryl to get 3-4 hours of sleep and i am scared.  On Feb 13th my mothers home burned down and I was up all night then I slept feb 14th and then on feb 15th I awoke to head tingling all over --moving around and knumbness in my left fingers and toes really bad on left side only--then on feb 16th i slept --on feb 17th the sleep just stopped and has for 6 weeks now i can not sleep on my own not even a nap?  the tingling and knumbness went away in two weeks but i was left with no sleep and it is horrible--have done a sleep test but do not have results yet and have had cat scan ok but i know that awful disease does not show up there --i am reallly worried and do not know what to do--have you ever heard of this before and how long it can last and does it mean i am dying of this awful disease> fatal insomnia?  please help in any way that you can!!!!

                      Thanks,
                          scared and panicked!!!  
3 Responses
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1549468 tn?1345468736
You will not die from lack of sleep. The underlying problem is that when you do fall asleep, you will sleep for days without waking. I have the same condition and have for many years. It is recommended that someone be with you when you go to sleep. They must wake you every 10 hours to eat and use the restroom. It is advisable that you walk around for 15-20 minutes after eating before going back to sleep. If you are not woken, the toxins that are not expelled from using the toilet can build up and poison the body's systems, which is dangerous. Lack of sleep does affect the way you function and cause you to do risky behavior, but does not actually cause death. Do your best to get even the minimal amount of sleep. Even 20 minutes is better than none. Good luck.
Helpful - 0
1355118 tn?1298564879
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Hi, your symptoms are suggestive of insomnia secondary to a stressful event. It is important to categorize the type of insomnia, which can be done after noting detailed history.  Insomnia usually constitutes impaired daytime function due to difficulty initiating sleep, difficulty maintaining sleep, chronically nonrestorative sleep, or poor quality sleep.

In your case there is presence of difficulty in maintaining sleep (due to panic reactions), impaired day time function (sleepy whole day) etc. Insomnia is also commonly associated with fatigue or malaise, poor attention or concentration, Social or vocational dysfunction, Mood disturbance and reduced motivation or energy.

It is unlikely to be fatal. Fatal insomnia is caused by virus particles known as prions. All the investigations will be negative except for Fluorodeoxyglucose PET which shows decreased glucose utilization in the thalamus. There will be dramatic reduction in total sleep time and disruption of the normal sleep architecture.


The initial steps you need to take is sleep hygiene education, stimulus control, relaxation, sleep restriction, cognitive therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, phototherapy, and chronotherapy. These therapies can be prescribed by clinicians at any level but it can be better implemented by sleep specialist.

Medical therapy apart from benzodiazepines, Nonbenzodiazepines, Melatonin agonist or Diphenhydramine against prescription for short duration.

I suggest you to consult physician/sleep specialist for further management. Take care and regards.
Helpful - 0
1139665 tn?1382710950
not sure but i'm interested on what people have to say because i'm going through something similiar....i have a 9 month old son who was sick for a week which meant 7 nights of no sleep and now no matter what i do i just can't sleep at night and if i do it's usually for only a couple of hours...it's horrible! nothing worse then not being able to sleep.  I wasn't aware insomnia can be fatal but now i'm worried also
Helpful - 0
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