I've been plagued with insomnia for about eight months. I've tried a lot of home remedies and have gone to Salem Hospital Sleep Disorders Center. While I went there because of insomnia, they are very interested in discovering and treating sleep apnea. Doing so involves spending a night in their sleep lab. I have wondered more than once if they get any kind of rebate from producers of sleep apnea CPAP devices.
Well, it turned out that I do have a little apnea, but not enough for Medicare to spring for the cost of a machine. The solution for the apnea is lose 10 per cent of body weight and sleep on an elevated bed.
"But, wait," I said. "I came here to be treated for insomnia." "Well, your best bet for that is our bio-feed back specialist. Unfortunately, she is booked solid for about two months." "What do I do in the meantime?" "Well, you can try Sonata." No luck. "How about something stronger?"
"Sure. We'll prescribe Lunesta."
If you haven't guessed by the amount of advertising their makers do, sleep aides are very expensive. Five or six bucks a pill for Lunesta, and you might end up taking three a night. Didn't work.
Biofeedback hasn't been a real help either.
Enter the light box. The prescription is to sit in front of it every morning when I wake up. So far, it has been very promising.
1 comment:
Yes, I have pretty bad Seasonal Affective Disorder, which messes with my sleep and, even if I do get a good night's sleep, I can crash pretty badly during the late afternoon. I tried taking anti-depressants the last two winters, which worked okay, but the side effects were pretty intolerable. I used a light box this winter, and it worked great. Just great. Good luck.
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