Ask Dr. Mom

Dear Dr. Mom

My husband, Jason, is extremely tired during the day. Doesn't work overtime. I've tried warm baths, hot cocoa, herbal tea, warm milk, etc..... He does snore, sometimes loudly. Yes, he is a tad overweight. It's hard for him to relax. He says he does have a problem shutting down his brain at night. We tried 3 mg. melatonin. It worked, but he had a hard time waking up in the morning. Jason uses caffeine, sometimes, he'll drink too much coffee during the day.

Dr Mom replies:

It sounds like he has sleep apnea. He can help a little by reducing weight. In the meantime, he needs to be seen at a sleep disorder clinic. I will check my books for natural help for that. It is imperative that you get the apnea treated. It doubles his risk for heart attack. He could also fall asleep quite unexpectedly, like when driving!!

Twin Labs makes a 400mg. magnesium capsule. One before bed will help him "turn off " his brain. If it doesn't work perfectly, we may need to add B6 because of his ADD. Besides all ADD people need extra B6. (See Superimmunity for Kids.) Melatonin comes in different strengths. Try a 1 or 2 mg. dose.

Right now, he is using the caffeine to control his ADD symptoms. No rush, but see if you can substitute energy booster vitamins for caffeine. I understand that if he is full-time in college, you probably can't afford a lot of vitamins now. So, it can wait. The highest priority is the sleep apnea. I doubt if the magnesium will cure that, but you could try it for a week before going to the sleep clinic.



Disclaimer: This is not medical advice. I am just repeating what Dr. / authors have said.   Think of me as a living book report.