Paciente con trastorno del sueño Female patient wi th sleep disorder

Background: Since the onset of her menopause about ten years ago, a sixty-year old patient has been suff ering from hot fl ashes 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 eff ectively treat the sleep disorder, improve quality of life, lessen frequency and severity of hot fl ashes. 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 fl ashes, however, remained unchanged. Discussion: In this case, acupuncture signifi cantly improved the patient‘s sleeping disorder. It also reduced the symptoms of anxiety and nervousness. Other menopausal symptoms such as hot fl ashes and dryness of mucous tissues, could not be infl uenced.