A If you have to get up early, then you need to be very strict with yourself about getting to bed early as well.
If you are to get the eight hours that most people require then you need to be in bed and ready to sleep by 9.30pm.
This means preparing to go to bed by 9pm at the latest. Many people find this incredibly difficult and end up trying to catch up on sleep at weekends or whenever they do not have to get up quite so early.
A different problem is going to bed early then being unable to sleep which I suspect is what is happening to you.
Blocking out noise and light, especially at this time of year, is important so blackout curtain linings or blinds and earplugs can be very useful.
You should also avoid drinking anything containing caffeine for at least three hours before you go to bed. Don’t eat too late either as it can be difficult to sleep with a full stomach.
Sleeping tablets can help you get to sleep but can be very habit-forming so that you are unable to get to sleep without them, which is why doctors are so reluctant to prescribe them.
Many people who have used them also say that although they sleep better, they do not wake up feeling refreshed.
However one of the issues with sleep problems is that you can get into the mindset where you go to bed expecting not to be able to sleep which then becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
I think a short course of sleeping tablets, taken for just a few days, can help to break this “not sleeping” habit and enable you to feel more relaxed when you go to bed.
Sleeping tablets are certainly not the long-term answer to this but they can be a useful short-term remedy and I think most doctors are quite sympathetic to this view.
If none of the measures above help, go back and see your doctor again.
Q Once or twice every couple of weeks I get a stinging sensation on my bottom, as if I’m sitting on a nettle.
It is on the surface of the skin although there are no sores or spots and abates after a few moments. What could be causing this?
A This is a tricky one. This type of pain is usually caused by inflammation or irritation of a nerve.
“Bottom” covers rather a large area, so it’s difficult to advise which nerve is involved but all of the nerves that supply this area come out of the spinal cord in the lower back which is a common place for nerve compression.
I suggest that you see your GP. But be warned, they may not be able to enlighten you any more than I can.
Q Is it possible to have diabetes and it not come up in test results?
I am an 83-year-old non-smoking male who is not overweight.
However I believe I have many typical symptoms of Type 2 diabetes.
My eyes are sore, I lack energy, urinate frequently and have occasional dizzy spells.
Yet my doctor says I have not got diabetes and all my recent blood tests have been clear.
What else could it be?
A The test that doctors use for diabetes is HbA1c which gives an indication of blood sugar levels over the preceding three months.
It is more accurate than testing for blood sugar which can vary a lot from hour to hour and day to day.
If your HbA1c level is normal, then it is highly unlikely that you have diabetes.
This means looking for another cause for your symptoms which may be due to several different conditions rather than just one.
Frequent urination could be due to an infection or, especially at your age, an enlarged prostate.
Lack of energy can be due to an underactive thyroid, low iron or vitamin D levels or just being unfit.
Sore eyes in later life are often caused by dryness due to lack of tear production which can often be eased very simply with lubricating eye drops.
Dizzy spells can be due to problems with your balance system or, more seriously, with your heart.
So please go back to your doctor and rather than focus on diabetes, talk about other possible reasons for your issues.
If you have a health question for Dr Rosemary please write to her in confidence at The Northern & Shell Building, 10 Lower Thames Street, London EC3R 6EN or email health@express.co.uk Dr Rosemary’s reply will appear in this column.
She regrets that she cannot enter into personal correspondence and that due to the volume of letters she cannot reply to everyone.
Find out more about Dr Rosemary at drrosemaryleonard.co.uk
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