New Yorker is right
New Yorker is right
New Yorker is right
"Aren't we all?"
I've had all 3 issues since I was a teenager. From my perspective, doctors in the USA don't give a shit about any of them.
Back pain? You need to exercise more and lose weight. Great advice, of course, but ignoring the fact that it was an issue even when i was at my skinniest and most active.
Constant anxiety? You need to do breathing exercises. Oh, that didn't work for you? That's not possible, you're doing them wrong.
Sleep problems? You need to exercise and lose weight. Great advice, of course, but it ignores the fact that my sleep issues were a problem even when I was at my skinniest and most active.
All of which are pitfalls of modern living.
Lack of mobility = back pain
Anxiety = Financial security, work/life balance
Can't sleep = Looking at a screen all day.
This should not be assumed at the expense of a thorough evaluation at onset but so much of this is by design with our current way of living.
Potential remedies once more serious conditions have been ruled out is regular walks, reconnecting with nature, decreasing screen time and embedding oneself in a sense of community (which will mean different things for different folks).
Humans simply don't live a balanced lifestyle anymore (especially when it comes to caloric intake and activity). Restoring that balance should be the first step before we start throwing pharmaceuticals around.
Ehh, when it comes to sleep, it probably isn't so much the screens, as it is the aforementioned back pain and anxiety. The obligatory caffeine taken late at night to stay up and work more and the optional nicotine vape or zyn probably doesn't help either.
Back pain, anxiety, and insomnia all predate modern times by a lot. Not that it isn't worth being conscious of modern balancing efforts.
If you can't sleep well then it's worth getting a sleep study done. I did one and was diagnosed with both sleep apnea and insomnia. I was prescribed a CPAP machine for the sleep apnea and Trazodone 100mg for the insomnia and it's helped a lot. I sleep so much better now.
Edit: Trazodone isn't the best solution for everyone, and can have potential side-effects, but it works very well for me. My point is that you should get a professional diagnosis from a medical facility that specializes in sleep.
Jumping in to say that drugs affect different people in different ways.
If you're given a new drug, it's a good idea to keep a log of all your responses, even things that seem minor.
Good advice.
I also tried just the CPAP without the Trazodone for a while, to see how much it would help by itself. I generally don't like using medication unless it's absolutely needed (I'm not anti-science or anything! I just think medications are overprescribed and sometimes there's other, scientifically-proven, alternatives to taking pills for every ailment)
Jesus, I've only know trazedone as a dog tranquilizer that works half the time.
The original use case was as an antidepressant (for humans). Its usage for dogs and for treating insomnia are both use cases that came later on.
Trazodone was originally a medication for depression, but other antidepressants are more effective these days, and now it's mostly prescribed off-label as a treatment for insomnia. It doesn't work well for everyone, but it works great for me. I don't encounter any side effects, and I can fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer.
It makes you feel really drunk and dizzy do not recommend
Trazodone does wonders for me, knocks me right out
This is a tranquillizer that is used to calm down schizophrenic people in crisis!
It also gives you a priapism while making you fully unconscious.
I was prescribed it for chronic insomnia and stopped breathing in the middle of the first night.
Spent the day in the ER.
Was prescribed Ativan instead. All that did was make me very relaxed but did not do anything for insomnia.
In fact it made it worse in some ways.
"Your sleep is perfectly normal". Oh goody.
How the fuck did they get a sketch artist into my last checkup?
How’s your activity level?
I sit all day and get home and sit all night. Is that bad?
TFW you have to respect the fact we fundamentally aren't suited to comfortably sit around all day
Just wait for the psychosomatic illnesses to kick in. Back pain can be psychosomatic too btw.