Suggestion on Sleep disorder as a symptom

I suggest and I’m begging you to create a site where the symptoms can be enumerated and possible diagnoses can be given. That would be a great help to both the patient and the doctor and your site will surely increase in popularity. I'm suffering from sleep deprivation eversince my accident last 6Sep03 which left me deaf and disabled (because I'm not able to balance probably because I’m deaf). I think a brain trauma resulted in having to suffer what the neurologist in the Philippines termed as myoclonus where I couldn't control my right hand. Although I could control my left hand, I couldn't control the tips of my fingers that's why I eat like a pig. I've undergone Occupational Therapy in 2 hospitals in the Philippines but I feel it's not helping me for the Therapist just tells me to relax. I asked myself, is this how you conduct Occupational Therapy to your patients where you just tell them to relax to achieve control? I feel using Psychology to cure something Physiological is inappropriate. What is happening to me is purely Physiological. That's why my Father and I researched the internet often. There's one drug that my dad researched and the doctor heeded, it's called Piracetam (generic name Nootropil). It helped a great deal to reduce the shaking, but after a while, its effects weren't as dramatic. I think my body has developed immunity which I also read holds true. I’ve taken a drug my dad researched for Myoclonus called Sodium Valproate whose side-effect is that it makes you feel drowsy, I thought this was what I needed for I'm not getting enough sleep. There are times when I couldn't sleep at all. I’ve read in the internet that lack of sleep is not age-related (which is a common misconception) but a symptom, so that what is happening to me is most likely related to my accident. I’ve taken Clonazepam (which I read was the first drug of choice for Myoclonus) for quite a while but it doesn't seem to work.
Before when I would attempt to button my blouse my nail bled and my right fingers would hurt. But I think thru constant practice and the right medication this doesn't occur anymore.
I was prescribed an anti-depressant to deal with my sleep disorder but it didn’t work. My current neurologist doubled the dosage combined with an anti-epileptic/anti-myoclonus drug and after 2 days I took a medication for Parkinson’s she also prescribed and this caused me to fall asleep earlier (really fall asleep) although I still wake up early, I still could not control my hands, and this effect lasted only 2 days.
People think my problem is not a big deal, but it’s really bothersome for me, because even if my eyes are really sore, I still couldn’t fall asleep.

yekkimo said...
Pian,Welcome to Healing well.If you go to google,and type in sleep disorder functions you will find many forums. This site cannot at this time add any more forums nor can we diagnose diseases.I'm sorry you are going thru these problems,and many here can relate to you.I wish you the best ED

Thanks for taking the time. I did make various searches and posts to various forums so that I may be able to share my ideas and hopefully may generate the interest of a web programmer perhaps? I just find it such a pity that the power of the internet is not being maximized for the purpose of diagnosis. Since I observe that there seems to be a general fear to self-diagnosis, I thought that access to the website that will implement this suggestion be limited and make the referral field in the registration section a requirement. Financing of this suggestion can be done if they are coursed thru medical institutions. I foresee that this suggestion will benefit both the patient and the doctor. It would limit the trial and error phase and lessen the frustration of both doctor and patient. I don't see it coming soon, so it wouldn't benefit me, but maybe in the future, for setting up that kind of website will greatly enhance the field of medicine.

gtmriviera said...
Pian, if you're still with us, you may have a great idea, but I for one didn't understand it at all. It's true that you aren't going to get a diagnosis here, because we are a patient and caregiver support group which shares information and experience. Some of us have some medical background but I doubt if there is an MD among us. I could take a wild guess, but my best suggestion is to continue what you are doing which is search the net. In my experience the best way to start is with as little information as possible and gradually narrow it down. What I mean by that is try putting in something like "hand problems" or "fingers tingling". When you read results that sound something like you then go on to more technical language regarding blood flow, nerve impingement, etc. We aren't trying to run you off or waste your time either. More bad news--you are going to get different answers from different doctors. If you are looking for a doctor who agrees with what you think already I'm betting that you will find one eventually. If a neurologist tells you that you have PD ask him what symptoms he is observing to make him think that and then do your research. We can answer some of your questions simply because we can identify: blurred vision, got it, funky looking curved toes, gottum, certain meds make you very sleepy, oh yeah. When we found out that we have PD we were getting the news years after the body began reacting to it. If you don't have PD you may have something that can be treated and fixed if addressed immediately so see the doctors, just take as much knowledge with you as you can carry. Good luck.

I’m sorry if I confused you but it’s not PD I have, but I suffered as a result of a brain trauma from an accident last 6Sep03 what the neurologist in the Philippines termed as Myoclonus, or to be more specific, Lance-Adam’s syndrome. But when I read the symptoms, they do not appear to coincide with mine, so I can’t tell exactly what I’m suffering from. So I thought to make this suggestion to reduce the trial and error phase, and the frustration especially of the patient. I also suffer from lack of sleep ever since my accident, and I’ve read is symptom, not age, related. When I was prescribed a medication for PD though I’m not suffering from it, I really fell asleep much earlier (though my current neurologist didn’t expect this effect), but I still wake up early, I still couldn’t control my hands, and that effect lasted for only 2 days, so I plan to go back to my neurologist. I made this post on PD because when I took that medication for PD, I really fell asleep. I made a search on the net for a neurological forum and one of the sites I came across is this.
I want to make full use of the power of the internet (of course combined with your doctor) to get the right diagnosis. Since the brain is a complex organ, I anticipate more cases of uncertainties in the future, that’s why I want to make this suggestion now, and enhance the field of medicine by making use of the power of the internet.