Paciente con trastorno del sueño

Abstract

Background Since the onset of her menopause about ten years ago, a sixty-year old patient has been suffering from hot flashes and sleep disorders causing her to become increasingly anxious and nervous. As the patient's mother had died of breast cancer, substitution of hormones was not advisable. Relaxation methods such as yoga and autogenic training could only mildly alleviate the symptoms. Objective To effectively treat the sleep disorder, improve quality of life, lessen frequency and severity of hot flashes. Methods Weekly sessions with ear- and body acupuncture for ten weeks. Results After the third acupuncture session the patient reported a decrease of nightly waking episodes but suffered from acute pain in the neck as well as shoulder region. After nine therapy sessions, the patient reported a 50 % decrease of nightly waking episodes. The hot flashes, however, remained unchanged. Discussion In this case, acupuncture significantly improved the patient's sleeping disorder. It also reduced the symptoms of anxiety and nervousness. Other menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes and dryness of mucous tissues, could not be influenced.