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Trouble Falling Asleep, Increased Dosage Of Diazepam. Scared Of Developing Sporadic Fatal Insomnia
Question: im a 36yr old woman who has over the years had problems with sleeping mostly initially falling to sleep. now over the last three days i havent been able to sleep at all my GP started me on diazepam 5mg which didnt work so the dose was increased to 10mg with still no results so again the dose was increased to 15mg... im scared that i may have developed sporadic fatal insomnia any help or advice would be appreciated as im really scared i have a young son who needs me....
Hi,
Thanks for posting your query.
Diazepam is quite an old drug and it is not to be used without confirming the cause of sleeplessness.
There are a number of newer drugs in the market like SSRIs, Zolpidem, and other sleep inducers which can be tried in you after confirming the cause.
My suggestion for you would be to consult a Psychiatrist rather than the GP. A complete evaluation of your sleep pattern and sleep study would be done and the right medicine can be prescribed to you.
Sporadic fatal insomnia is treatable too; there is no need to be scared of it.
Please repeat the ECG if you develop symptoms of chest pain and also after 6 months in asymptomatic stage too.
Hope this helps. Please do write back for follow up queries that you may have.
Regards,
Thanks for posting your query.
Diazepam is quite an old drug and it is not to be used without confirming the cause of sleeplessness.
There are a number of newer drugs in the market like SSRIs, Zolpidem, and other sleep inducers which can be tried in you after confirming the cause.
My suggestion for you would be to consult a Psychiatrist rather than the GP. A complete evaluation of your sleep pattern and sleep study would be done and the right medicine can be prescribed to you.
Sporadic fatal insomnia is treatable too; there is no need to be scared of it.
Please repeat the ECG if you develop symptoms of chest pain and also after 6 months in asymptomatic stage too.
Hope this helps. Please do write back for follow up queries that you may have.
Regards,
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
research on the internet about sporadic fatal insomnia says that there is no treatment for it and that you die within a year and its a horrible slow death...
thankyou for your answer i will be sure to follow up on the advice you have given me
thankyou for your answer i will be sure to follow up on the advice you have given me
Hi,
Thanks for writing back.
Sporadic fatal insomnia is just a possibility in you. Please do not consider this at this point without an evaluation by a Psychiatrist.
The chances are more that you may not be suffering from this.
Do try the newer drugs that I mentioned. I am sure that you will improve drastically.
I wish you good health.
If you have no further queries, you may close the discussion and write a review.
Regards,
Thanks for writing back.
Sporadic fatal insomnia is just a possibility in you. Please do not consider this at this point without an evaluation by a Psychiatrist.
The chances are more that you may not be suffering from this.
Do try the newer drugs that I mentioned. I am sure that you will improve drastically.
I wish you good health.
If you have no further queries, you may close the discussion and write a review.
Regards,
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
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