01 March 2010

by Amanda Schoenberg | Albuquerque Journal

Susan Smith still feels sleepy most of the time.
The South Valley resident naps once or twice a day. She nods off at around 7 p.m. and then wakes up several times in the night. "I still am sleepy during the day," she says. "I get really drained. I'm like an old lady by the end of the day. But I am a lot better than I was."

Since July 2008 she has used a Bi-level Positive Airway Pressure device, or BiPap, that provides a steady air supply at night to control her sleep apnea. She also gets help with nightmares that have plagued her for years.

Smith, 57, suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder following an assault as a young adult. She is one of many people fighting the debilitating symptoms of both PTSD and sleep problems like nightmares and insomnia, according to Dr. Barry Krakow, medical director of Maimonides Sleep Arts & Sciences in Albuquerque and author of "Sound Sleep, Sound Mind: 7 Keys to Sleeping Through the Night."

To help people like Smith, Krakow is now focusing part of his practice on PTSD patients with sleep issues. While sleep problems are common in PTSD patients, Krakow says they are often seen as secondary to other mental health problems linked to PTSD. Krakow sees sleep problems as separate and equally important for PTSD patients.

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