When To Seek Medical Care: First Step In Insomnia Treatment

Seeking medical care is always important for insomnia. You need to do this before seeking the best insomnia treatment. Find out when you should seek help.

Consulting a health care professional for your condition should not be neglected. It is always better to seek medical help before self medicating since some medications may have adverse side effects. Other than that, your doctor knows the best treatment for your case since each individual needs different approaches in treating insomnia.

When to call your doctor and go to the hospital

The following are some questions you have to ask yourself before consulting your doctor.

• Is your sleeplessness or insomnia bothering you for more than three weeks?

• Have you been having problems in doing your daily activities?

• Are you taking new medications that could’ve been affecting your sleep?

• Do you have a history of psychological disorder in your family?

• Lately, have you been on a depressive stage which interrupts with your sleep?

• Had there been worsening pain, difficulty in breathing or episodes of irritability because of your lack of sleep?

If you answer is “Yes” to two or more of the above questions then it is an indication that it is time to schedule a consultation with your doctor immediately. However, some doctors will ask to make a sleep diary. A sleep diary is a journal of your sleep pattern. In this journal, you will take note of your bedtime, hours of sleep, number of awakenings and your wake up time.

Procedures to help diagnose insomnia

After a consultation is scheduled, the doctor will perform an evaluation on the following in order to diagnose insomnia and determine what could’ve been causing it.

• A comprehensive medical history will be done. The doctor will ask you for a history of psychological disorders in the family, current medical condition and the medications you are taking. The doctor will also ask about major stresses you went into like divorce, loss of a family or loved one, a major exam or job loss.

• Aside from medical history, a sleep history will also be assessed. This time he will ask for you sleep diary if he requested for one or ask the questions stated from the previous paragraphs.

• The doctor will perform a physical assessment to determine signs of insomnia.

• Blood tests are also done to rule out other medical conditions such as thyroid problems that could be causing your insomnia.

• You will also be asked to answer a questionnaire that will determine your level of daytime sleepiness and your wake-sleep pattern. Epworth Sleepiness scale is an example.

• Polysomnogram or overnight sleep test is requested for patients with obstructive sleep apnea or restless leg syndrome. These are done in a sleep lab by doctors who specialize in sleep medicine.

• In some patients, actigraphy is used. This technique is used to assess sleep-wake patterns. An actigraph is a small device worn on the wrist. It has a microprocessor and on-board memory that measures movement and provides objective data on the patient’s daily activities.

The procedures above are important in order to diagnose insomnia and rule out other medical conditions such as depression and other sleep disorders. Once your doctors has diagnosed you and determined what causes your insomnia, different treatment options will be presented to you. Some doctors will always go for non-pharmacological treatments first before jumping into medications. Insomnia is always treatable.

Tags: actigraphy, insomnia, insomnia treatment, medical history, sleep diary

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