Friday, January 25, 2008

Sleep? What Sleep?

Many of you know that I've become the girl that never sleeps! I can't get to sleep, and when I do I sometimes wake up at 2am... then I'm up for the day. It was really starting to wear on me and it also drags my immune system down and I keep getting sick. So, I decided to go to my doctor and beg for pills. I thought that I would share this with everyone because what I learned is very interesting. And, I'm sure that I'm not the only one out of my friends that it experiencing this.

My doctor said that my serotonin levels are low (odd to me because I'm always so upbeat and happy) and my brain needs to produce more serotonin. She would not prescribe the typical sleeping pill because she said that it is a serotonin level with me. This would just mask a real cure and I would get addicted to sleeping pills. So, she prescribed a prescription vitamin that has the highest levels. And, I am to take tryptophan and B100 every day as well. She gave me a non-habit forming sleeping pill to take in a few weeks if I don’t notice a difference. I took the tryptophan last night and I slept through the entire night. She said that what I’m experiencing is very common with pregnancy. This started during my pregnancy. I thought that it was just because I was uncomfortable. Then, it continued after Morgan was born. I thought that it was because I was waking up all the time with a baby. My mom said that she went through the same thing after my sister was born and took tryptophan as well. I’m so relieved to know that there is a reason for this and that it is fixable. I never sleep and I’m just so tired. I’m also glad that my doctor won’t prescribe something to just take care of the problem “for now”. I’m interested in fixing this long term. She said that it would take about 2-4 weeks to build up my serotonin levels and that I will also have more energy. Woo hoo! I’ll take that any day!

So, if you can't sleep... you may want to try what my doctor has suggested. The tryptophan and B100 are over the counter things.

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