Going to sleep disorder hospital Thursday?

I am going to a sleep disorder hospital this up coming Thursday because the past few years (not exagerating) I haven't been able to sleep. I have extreme difficulties falling asleep, and when I do, I have sxtreme difficulties staying asleep. And I know I keep going hrough REM rebound because I remember my dreams and nightmares very clearly once awake.
I'm really tired all the time, and can't even fall asleep for a power nap in the afternoon.
I've been to a regular doctor to ask for pills, and all she gave me was "listen to white noise, walk around the house, and go get hypnotized." I tried the first two, couldn't find a hypnotic around my area.
Has anyone else had this problem? Gone to the hospital? Do they make you sleep overnight? Do they FINALLY give you relief and give you something to let you sleep?

Sleep disorder clinics do not prescribe sleep medication. They only test you for sleep disorders by hooking you up to electrodes (on your head), and having you spend 7-8 hours in a completely dark, sound-proof sleep lab. They also use a mini cam to see if you toss and turn, talk in your sleep, etc. A few days later you will go back to get the results of the test.

I was considered an incurable insomniac - for more than 20 years I had trouble going to sleep (couldn't get to sleep until 3 or 4 AM and was up by 7 or 8). I was always tired, no energy, etc. Even when I would stay up 24 hours hoping I could then go to sleep at a reasonable hour (10 or 11PM), it didn't help. One day I laid down about noon for a nap and didn't wake up until about 7:30PM. BINGO! All I needed to do was to change the hours I slept! For 10 years now I have been a day sleeper, and I do not need sleeping pills, tranquilizers, hypnosis, or relaxation tapes (all methods I had tried many times). All I needed was white noise (a noisy fan worked for me), and my sleep problem was solved.

You might try being a day sleeper and see if it helps you. :-)

They will keep you overnight, and will probably give you something to knock you out there. They are checking for things like sleep apnea, to make sure there isn't a physical reason for your difficulty sleeping. Just giving you sleeping pills is not the answer- physical problems need to be ruled out first. They will be able to tell you how many times you woke up, how long you were in REM sleep, etc. It's worth going- to finally get an answer.

Going to a sleep clinic and being evaluated by specialists is the best step you can take....I can't promise an automatic solution, but if anyone is going to figure out exactly what's going on, it's a sleep clinic. (And also, if this one for some reason doesn't help, try another one.) There are *a lot* of sleep disorders out there, so you're certainly not alone. Most clinics will have you stay overnight so they can monitor your brain's activity (using an EEG) and other physical signs...and this information will give the doctors a lot of clues about what precisely is going on, and help guide you to a treatment. Different sleep disorders give rise to different EEG patterns and other physical changes, and they need to identify the problem before they can prescribe you meds. So this is the best next step you can take. Good luck!

i would rather go back to YA Q&A and find the solution at others experiences.