Sleep driving and other unusual practices during sleep
Most people have talked or walked during sleep at some time in our lives. However, some people exhibit more unusual complex behaviors while asleep, including eating and driving. These types of behaviors, called parasomnias, come about when parts of our brain are asleep and other parts awake at the same time. Parasomnias, while generally considered normal in a healthy child, can be a cause for concern when they develop in adults. Earlier this year the FDA issued a “black box” warning for the sleep medications eszopiclone, zaleplon, and zolpidem, given reports of sleep behaviors that resulted in injuries from falls, car ...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - September 16, 2019 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Suzanne Bertisch, MD, MPH Tags: Fatigue Sleep Source Type: blogs
MKSAP: 52-year-old man with severe obstructive sleep apnea
Test your medicine knowledge with the MKSAP challenge, in partnership with the American College of Physicians.
A 52-year-old man is evaluated in follow-up after being diagnosed with severe obstructive sleep apnea 8 weeks ago. Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) was prescribed based on a titration during in-laboratory polysomnography. He notes some improvement in his sleep with CPAP, but he still feels drowsy during the day. He does not have problems with nasal congestion. Medical history is otherwise negative and he takes no medications.
On physical examination, temperature is 37.2 °C (99.0 °F), blood pressure i...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - September 15, 2018 Category: General Medicine Authors: < a href="https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/post-author/mksap" rel="tag" > mksap < /a > Tags: Conditions Pulmonology Source Type: blogs
Here ’ s Why Your ’ s & Elon Musk ’ s Lack of Sleep is Bad
If you wonder what lack of sleep looks like, look no further than Elon Musk’s erratic behavior over the past few months. From believing that he alone had the time and unique resources to save the Thai boys trapped in a cave to prematurely tweeting that he had “funding secured” (when he didn’t) for a private buyout of Tesla, his embattled electric car company, Musk has shown a troubling pattern of ignoring his own self-care.
So what does lack of sleep look like, and why is it so bad? Let’s take a look.
Sleep is vital to our body’s functioning, our mental and cognitive abilities, and our ...
Source: World of Psychology - August 24, 2018 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: John M. Grohol, Psy.D. Tags: General Industrial and Workplace Psychology Research Sleep Stress ambien use Elon Musk Good Sleep Sleep Habits tesla Source Type: blogs
Sleep Medications for Alzheimer's and Dementia Patients
I often have family caregivers request medications to help people living with Alzheimer's and related dementia to sleep.By Rita JablonskiAlzheimer's Reading RoomMedications have their place in Alzheimer's care, but only AFTER all of the suggestions listed below have been followed.It may seem exhausting to the caregiver to have to engage in all of these activities; but, the resultscould lessen exhaustion, frustration, and stress in a manner of days.Subscribe to the Alzheimer's Reading - This is a Free Service - Join NowRule Out Physical Problems FirstThere are many medical conditions that contribute to problems sleeping.Som...
Source: Alzheimer's Reading Room, The - February 19, 2018 Category: Neurology Tags: alzheimers dementia connect alzheimers sleep alzheimers symptoms alzheimers treatment care of dementia patients dementia sleep not sleeping sleep medication Source Type: blogs
What can you do? 6 Ways to Solve Problems with Sleep
Statistics indicate as many as 24 percent of Alzheimer's patients wake up caregivers at night and have trouble sleeping.By Bob DeMarcoAlzheimer's Reading RoomRecently I received several emails about sleeping problems.Specifically, about Alzheimer's patients staying up at night, or Alzheimer's patients waking up the caregiver at night.Some doctors recommend antipsychotic medications for this problem.This is completely inappropriate and should be avoided. See -Antipsychotic Medications Linked to Increased Risk of Pneumonia in Alzheimer ’s Patients.Sleep Medications for Alzheimer's and Dementia PatientsStatistics indicate a...
Source: Alzheimer's Reading Room, The - February 19, 2018 Category: Neurology Tags: alzheimer's care Alzheimer's Dementia alzheimer's sleep dementia care dementia help for caregivers family caregiving help alzheimer's help with dementia care memory care Source Type: blogs
Wellbeing: The Interdependencies of the Body, Mind & Spirit
By JIM PURCELL
In 1891, Dr. Luther Gulick proposed a red triangle as the YMCA symbol. In his words, the equal sides of the triangle stood for “man’s essential unity– body, mind and spirit– each being a necessary and eternal part of man, being neither one alone but all three.” True then, and equally true today, it highlights what is missing from most traditional approaches to wellness–the mental, emotional, and spiritual components. Hardly surprising given the remarkable resistance mental illness treatments encounter.
The term “mental illness” usually refers to recognized mental illnesses in acco...
Source: The Health Care Blog - February 27, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: John Irvine Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: blogs
10 Ways to Beat Insomnia and Get Better Sleep
Two-and-a-half years ago, I experienced a terrible case of insomnia. I took the sleeping drug Lunesta (eszopiclone), which afforded me a few wonderful nights’ sleep until I realized it substantially increased my anxiety during the day. Within a week on the drug, I became addicted, experiencing more and more withdrawal (anxiety) symptoms. Other sleep aids had the same effect — even over-the counter medications like Benadryl (diphenhydramine). So I was forced to figure out how to get my sleep back on track naturally.
I asked anyone I knew who had ever suffered from sleep problems for tips on catching some quality Z...
Source: World of Psychology - January 23, 2017 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Therese J. Borchard Tags: Alternative and Nutritional Supplements Bipolar Depression Mindfulness Sleep Spirituality Chronic Insomnia Circadian Rhythm Melatonin Mood Disorder Sleep Aid Sleep Disorder sleep supplements Source Type: blogs
Make Sleep Meds Work For You
I’ve been busier than I like, and haven’t had as much time for posting. But I spend a lot of time answering emails from my patients, and some of my responses may be useful for others. Below I’ll share my answer to a patient who has been unable to get quality sleep. Next week I’ll find another answer to share with readers.
This patient asked whether her insurance would cover Lunesta. She wrote at 2 AM that she is up most of the night tossing and turning. She now takes 10 mg of Ambien, and wrote that it ‘stopped working’. She doesn’t think 20 mg of Ambien would be covered b...
Source: Suboxone Talk Zone - November 27, 2016 Category: Addiction Authors: Jeffrey Junig MD PhD Tags: pharmacology Research ambien best sleep medication insomnia treatments lunesta sleep medication no working sleeping pills Source Type: blogs
Alzheimer's Care, 6 Ways to Solve Problems with Sleep
Statistics indicate as many as 24 percent of Alzheimer's patients wake up caregivers at night.By Bob DeMarcoAlzheimer's Reading RoomRecently I received several emails about sleeping problems.Specifically, about Alzheimer's patients staying up at night, or Alzheimer's patients waking up the caregiver at night.Some doctors recommend antipsychotic medications for this problem. This is completely inappropriate and should be avoided. See -Antipsychotic Medications Linked to Increased Risk of Pneumonia in Alzheimer ’s Patients.Coping with Alzheimer'sStatistics indicate as many as 24 percent of Alzheimer's patients wake up care...
Source: Alzheimer's Reading Room, The - September 4, 2016 Category: Neurology Tags: alzheimer's care Alzheimer's Dementia alzheimer's sleep dementia care dementia help for caregivers family caregiving help alzheimer's help with dementia care memory care Source Type: blogs
Benzodiazepine addiction is real. This physician shares his story.
Say the words, “drug addiction,” and most of us think of heroin, alcohol, cocaine, or opiates. However, lurking in the shadows is a less talked about epidemic: addiction to benzodiazepines, commonly known as “benzos.” I should know because after taking a nighttime dose of lorazepam (Ativan) for about ten years; I finally weaned myself off this and all other prescription sleep medications.
About twelve years ago, my father died and then my dog. But that was nothing in comparison to the fight to save my marriage from alcohol addiction: not mine, but my wife’s. It occurred around the same time. S...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - July 24, 2016 Category: Journals (General) Authors: < a href="http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/post-author/david-mokotoff" rel="tag" > David Mokotoff, MD < /a > Tags: Meds Medications Source Type: blogs
Trazadone Side Effect and I HATE PRIME THERAPEUTICS
When I was rationing my klonipin because I used it faster than I could reorder, I took double trazadone thinking it would help my anxiety. It seems like it has an anti-anxiety effect on me. But I felt so very nauseous and when I finally got my klonipin and stopped doubling trazadone, the nausea went away. I attributed it to withdrawal from my daily dose of klonipin.Last night, I took Trazadone (my daily dosage is 100mg for sleep) right before I went to bed. I take it to sleep through the night and it usually works but not 100%. I woke up in the middle of the night so I took an...
Source: bipolar.and.me - August 15, 2014 Category: Mental Illness Source Type: blogs
A Quick Lesson on Medical Terminology with 1980’s Batman
Today, I’m digging back in the archive to 1994 to the Knightquest storyline in order to present a brief lesson about medical terminology.
With it’s quasi-Latin and quasi-Greek, medical terms can be confusing and don’t always mean what you expect. Case in point, Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #59. In this comic, physician Shondra Kinsolving has been kidnapped by her evil step-brother so he can use her telepathic powers to kill from a great distance. Understandably, Shondra doesn’t want to be a part of this, so he brother injects her with a drug of his own invention:
For those of you who may...
Source: Polite Dissent - February 9, 2014 Category: Family Physicians Authors: Scott Source Type: blogs
Backlash Against Walgreen’s New Painkiller Crackdown | CommonHealth
You may be in for a shock if you try to get a prescription for any controlled substance – from Ambien to opioid pain relievers – filled at Walgreens anywhere around the country.Walgreens recently announced what it calls a new "Good Faith Dispensing" policy under which the pharmacy giant – the largest in the nation – is suddenly requiring its pharmacists to take "additional steps" to verify prescriptions for controlled substances.In plain English, this means that Walgreens pharmacists are going to call your doctor, or at least your doctor's office, to see if your doctor did the right thing in giving you a prescripti...
Source: Psychology of Pain - August 14, 2013 Category: Psychiatrists and Psychologists Source Type: blogs
Top medicine articles for December 2012-January 2013
Here are my suggestions for some of the top articles in medicine for December 2012-January 2013:
Among former Olympic athletes, engagement in disciplines with high intensity exercise did not bring a survival benefit http://buff.ly/UmY9Ur
Non-benzodiazepine hypnotics (Z drugs - eszopiclone, zaleplon, zolpidem) are effective for treatment of adult insomnia http://buff.ly/UZC1g9
Bringing surgical history to life | BMJ http://buff.ly/UZCeQC -- Things change fast in surgery. Within a single generation, ways of operating that had been stable for decades have been overturned. New drugs have revolutionized what were o...
Source: Clinical Cases and Images - Blog - January 11, 2013 Category: Professors and Educators Tags: Health News of the Day Source Type: blogs
Word of the Day: Depressants
What’s the first thing you think of when you hear the word “depressants?” Maybe “depressed” or “sad?” But the drugs called depressants aren’t called that because they’re depressing in the emotional sense.
Depressants slow down (or “depress”) the normal activity that goes on in the brain. Alcohol is a depressant.
Doctors often prescribe central nervous system (CNS) depressants to patients who are anxious or can’t sleep. When used as directed, CNS depressants are safe and helpful for people who need them.
Types of CNS Depressants
CNS depressants can be divided into three main groups:
Barbiturates, wh...
Source: NIDA Drugs and Health Blog - February 1, 2011 Category: Addiction Authors: Sara Bellum Source Type: blogs
