You know what it’s like when you wake up and you feel like you never slept? Or its 3pm and you can so go to sleep, you feel your eyes starting to close. You run to get some coffee, triple shot of espresso, please. Then its bedtime and you try to sleep, and guess what, eyes wide open. Tired but wired. You not only wake up exhausted but cranky. Anyone else feel this way? So then in order to get through the day, you self- medicate. Coffee, espresso, stimulants, thyroid medication, or you just deal and try to get through the day, mind scattered, brain fog, and so not alert.
You see your specialist and guess what , “Sorry that fatigue/exhaustion is part of your illness/autoimmune issue, and deal with it.” So you leave the office, frustrated, exhausted and on the verge of tears. You can’t bear another restless night. Ambien, Xanax, Tylenol PM, NyQuil, Benadryl, you have tried it all. And now you can’t go to sleep without it.
So in walks Functional Medicine. Let’s look at what is triggering this. Hormones levels. Melatonin levels. Cortisol levels. Blood work and saliva testing. When was the last time someone checked these levels? Let me guess….never. So then addiction from Xanax sets in. You cannot live without it. Cannot sleep without it. I see this so much. So, what can you do?
Ladies, get all your female hormones checked. Low progesterone and pregnenolone will cause restless nights. This one thing can help tremendously! But you need to find a practitioner skilled who knows how to balance hormones naturally. Once you are on a hormone, if that is what is needed, you should feel the effects in as short as 1 week and full efficacy in 1 month. Progesterone and pregnenolone results and doses vary depending on whether you are menstruating vs perimenopausal/menopausal.
If this has been helpful and you want to know more, I talk about this and so much more in my new 4 week course, Overcoming Lupus: The Foundational Course. I discuss the exact levels and doses for hormones and supplements. And so many other factors that are affecting not only your sleep but your overall exhaustion as well.
You can potentially be a few short weeks away from sleeping better. And lack of sleep does cause aging. Your body needs sleep to restore and rejuvenate, especially a body dealing with a chronic illness.
Sleep and energy are so close, you’ve been dealing with this for far too long.
What are you waiting for?
Until next week,
