Hello.
Thank you for your query at DoctorSpring.com.
Let me first address your chest pain, if you do not have additional symptoms like heaviness of the chest, feeling faint and aggravation of the pain on exertion, it is unlikely to be a heart attack. However if you have any of the above symptoms or if the pain is persistent, please go to the ER without further delay. An EKG would be required. You need not read the rest of this reply.
Regarding your inability to sleep, it seems to be due to stress. You can try a strict sleep hygiene routine to beat the insomnia. Here are the measures you need to take to get good quality sleep at night.
-Try out some aerobic workouts during the day, preferably in the morning.
- Have a light dinner.
- Completely avoid coffee/tea/alcohol/energy drinks/coke/smoking.
- Have a warm shower before going to bed.
- Don't try very hard to fall asleep. If you are not sleepy, then sit on a couch somewhere other than your bed and do some reading. Go to your bed only when you are sleepy.
- Avoid watching TV or working on a laptop/computer or other bright screens at night.
- Keep the lighting of your bedroom dim. Make your bed every morning after you wake up so that you get a cozy bed to sleep in at night.
- Use your bed only for sleeping and resting and do not any work or reading in bed.
- Avoid napping in the day for any reason.
Allergy to pumpkin seeds would have manifested as a rash or itching anywhere on the body. In the absence of associated symptoms mentioned earlier, your chest pain seems to be due to gastritis. It could have resulted from skipping meals and compounded by anxiety.
In summary, my suggestions are:
- Follow the sleep hygiene measures strictly.
- You need to take an OTC like Prilosec 20 mg at least half an hour before a meal, once a day for a week.
- Please also make sure that you take regular wholesome meals irrespective of whether you have an appetite or not.
- I would also suggest that you do consult a psychiatrist or a counselor for your anxiety and get treated either with therapy and/or medication at the earliest.
Thank you.
Patient replied :
thank you for your response, i have no other symptoms with regards to the chest discomfort so that eleviates my mind with regards to the heart attack. i have been under some stress, worrying about my heath, as i have not been able to eat for a few days but i am forcing myself to eat small, light meals. Due to this, I have stayed away from all caffines, as well as gone for two walks a day for the past two days hopeing this would help and it has not. With regards to the routein you have stated, i have tried all of that and nothing seems to be working. My roommate states that I fall asleep for like 10 minutes and then i wake up feeling like i have have not slept at all and that no time has passed (she said she hears me snoring). I am concerned that the lack of sleep and the eating issues are related and that there is an underlying problem. Are there any natural sleeping aids that can help me fall asleep? Is not sleeping a cause for me for concern?
Hello.
Good to hear that your chest pain is not of cardiac origin.
All your symptoms, that is, the loss of appetite, insomnia and constant worry seem to be due to an underlying anxiety disorder with or without clinical depression.
This is the reason I suggested earlier that you seek help. Untreated anxiety and depression are deleterious to health.
There are no safe and effective natural aids for insomnia.
Your underlying condition has to be treated for your symptoms, including insomnia, to resolve completely.
You will require cognitive behavioral therapy and specific medications depending on your exact diagnosis
So please do consult a psychiatrist or a psychologist at the earliest.
Thank you.