Insomnia

Welcome to the Decision Guide for Insomnia!

This guide was not designed to substitute for office-based care. Rather, the purpose of this advice guide is to assist you in getting the most out of a medical evaluation from your doctor.

Persistent insomnia can arise from a variety of causes, including some serious medical conditions. If you have insomnia that persists for longer than a few weeks, insomnia that is accompanied by physical symptoms during the night, or insomnia that interferes with your daytime wakefulness and function, you should be evaluated by a doctor. If this is your situation and you have not already done so, please take the time today to arrange a medical evaluation.

Most of the time, insomnia does not require treatment with medication as long as you can identify and eliminate the problem that is interfering with normal sleep. By completing our advice program before your evaluation, you may be able to more clearly identify symptoms or features about your insomnia that are clues to its cause. Our goal is to help you proceed more quickly with your doctor toward the tests or procedures that can correctly identify the cause. This guide can not adequately consider significant previous medical history that you may have. With a more full understanding of your past health, your own physician may choose a different path to evaluate your symptoms.

You will encounter a number of questions about your symptoms as you proceed through this program. Your answers to these questions will help us to personalize our recommendations for you.

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Online Medical Reviewer: Faculty of Harvard Medical School Date Last Reviewed: 8/18/2006 Date Last Modified: 8/7/2006 Source: from Harvard Health Decision Guides, Harvard Health Publications, Copyright © 2007 by President and Fellows of Harvard College. All rights reserved. Used with permission of StayWell.

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