Suggest Treatment For Depression With Anxiety Leading To Lack Of Sleep

Posted on Thu, 16 Jan 2014

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Thu, 16 Jan 2014 Answered on

Sat, 1 Feb 2014 Last reviewed on

Question : One of my friend is not able to sleep even for sometime over the last 4 to 5 days. She is wide awake. This has happened in teh past also on various occasions due to family issues, stress, and other issues. She is not able to eat also properly, has a small meal a day. She does not feel weak or hungry at all. There are some issues related to family due to which she is restless. She tries to sleep but does not fall asleep and is awake whole night and during the day also she does not feel sleepy. She does not feel tired or other issues. I am indeed surprized that how can someone be normal without sleeping for almost 4 to 5 days. How is the body able to manage without sleep. Can you please suggest if this is some konwn medical issue or something related to small duration only and not of any concern. I am very worried about this condition. Can you please suggest what should be done to avoid this in future and resolve it as soon as possible so that my friend can recover.

Answered by Dr. Sudhir Kumar (31 minutes later)

Brief Answer: My reply is below. Detailed Answer: Hi, Thank you for posting your query. I have noted your friend's complaints and I appreciate your concern for her. Based on the symptoms, she seems to be suffering from depression with anxiety, which is causing restlessness, lack of sleep, less activity, and loss of appetite. She would benefit from counseling, as well as antidepressants (escitalopram tablets) and anti-anxiety medications (clonazepam). She would get better soon with treatment. I hope my reply has helped you. I would be pleased to answer, if you have any follow up queries or if you require any further information. Best wishes, Dr Sudhir Kumar MD (Internal Medicine), DM (Neurology) XXXXXXX Consultant Neurologist Apollo Hospitals, Hyderabad, For DIRECT QUERY to me: http://bit.ly/Dr-Sudhir-kumar My blog: http://bestneurodoctor.blogspot.com/

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar