A few weeks ago, around the time that we went to a festival, I wasn’t active for a while answering emails and reading blogs. This was because I had been suffering from insomnia since a few months. It sneaks in slowly and at a certain point you think: hey, I actually sleep very badly for months now. And suddenly you begin to feel a huge tiredness. So tired that I just got sick when I wanted to read blogs or a book or reply to emails and such.
How my insomnia started
I have no idea if many of you have ever been affected by insomnia, or maybe it is bothering you now. But I can tell you, it is slowly making you desperate. If you also suffer from insomnia, check carefully what the cause might be. Of course there are countless causes, as you can read here, but you can probably delete something. This way you can properly see what is the cause of you. Here is the link to the article in English.
I think it started with me when I started dieting. Or actually it’s not a diet, it’s a different way of eating. That’s because I was losing weight, and since I do a lot of working out, that’s not a good combination for me. Because of my illness it is wise not to be under weight. Under the guidance of a dietician I had started eating differently. Much more dairy and carbohydrates, and the right combination of food. For example dairy with fruit. Very funny, by the way, how food works together.
Food and insomnia
But after a few weeks I started to sleep worse. It took about two to three hours before I fell asleep. And in the morning when the alarm came off, I wasn’t really rested. After I had addressed this to the dietician, she immediately knew what it was about. In the evening before going to bed, I still took a bowl of quark with fruit. And this causes your body to work instead of going into a rest position. So, check your food habits if you have trouble sleeping.
Problem solved I thought. Just skip the quark late at night, and instead I could take some dark chocolate after dinner with the coffee! Haha, I love my dietician! That went well for a short time, I fell asleep a little faster but again not that fast. I never had any sleep problems, by the way. I do wake up at night from a hot flash, or more then one actually, but then I sleep on.
A night of 1,5 hour of sleep
The low point for me came in the festival weekend. Friday night I went to bed at midnight and at ten past six I still looked at the alarm clock. Then I fell asleep until a quarter to eight. And really didn’t sleep from twelve to six, not even for a few minutes. I was pretty desperate. In itself, I got through Saturday well, tired, but still able to enjoy the festival. Fortunately I slept very well some nights afterwards. But I was worried. It is just so terribly important for my body, with my illness, that I get enough rest. But it is important for everyone to sleep good. The Monday after the weekend, I immediately called the doctor and said that I wanted to have a blood sample to find out the cause of poor sleep.
Get your blood checked
Nothing came out of it. Everything was alright. I was in tears. Why? Because I had hoped that my thyroid values were not good and that made me sleep poorly. Then I could adjust my medication and the problem was solved. My thyroid gland no longer works. When I was in my early twenties I had a thyroid that worked too fast and after years of struggling with medication I finally got radioactive iodine. That worked but your thyroid gland will eventually stop working. That is not a problem because with a pill this is all solved. Of course it was nice that the values were all good, but now I had no cause for the insomnia. I immediately made an appointment with the doctor to talk about this.
And see your doctor
Together we could not find a real cause for my insomnia. It is probably the menopause that causes unrest in my body. I have been given sleeping pills for two weeks. And I am not saying that that is the solution. In fact, I am a big opponent of pills. But with this you can break the circle of bad sleep and let the body get used to falling asleep again. And do you know what’s so crazy? Since I have the pills at home I sleep well again! And I have not used one!
If you also suffer from insomnia then do something about it. Do not leave it too long, because it destroys you. Get blood samples, look at your eating habits and go to your doctor to talk about it. Not many sleepless nights are needed to make you feel down.
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Thanks so much for sharing this, it sounds really severe. Hope it gets better for you.
Gemma x
http://www.jacquardflower.uk
Author
It already is! Thanks Gemma!
It’s the craziest thing!! Sometimes I feel like I have it all figured out, and then it happens again. Our bodies are a mystery at times.
OXXO
Jodie
Author
Especially as we get older!
Insomnia is just terrible! I suffered a few times with it and the more I thought about sleeping, the worse it got! I decided to take sleeping tablets, although I was reluctant! They helped! Iām glad that you can now sleep!
https://www.aproposh.com
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That’s good to hear! Thanks Yvonne!
Ik heb er ook last van. Het is woelen, opstaan, water drinken, liggen, plassen… grommmm!
Author
Vreselijk irritant eh!
Great post, you have an amazing photos!! š
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Oh how horrible you had to deal with this! i’m glad it’s better now, even if the cause was hard to find and you didn’t need the tablets in the end!
Hope that your week is off to a good start š
http://awayfromtheblue.blogspot.com.au
Author
Thanks Mica!
This is super informative dear! Love the breakdown you have here, especially about getting a blood check. Indeed, that’s a crucial factor. Thanks for sharing dear!
Jessica | notjessfashion.com
Author
Thanks Jessica! Yes it is important!
Oh Nancy – thanks for sharing your issue with sleep. I too have insomnia and it’s really bad at the moment. I have that situation where I don’t sleep well one night (sometimes not at all) and then sleep heavily the next. I have been a light sleeper ever since my daughter as a baby woke every single night several times for three years! But even though I’m well past the menopause the humid heat we’re having makes it so hard to sleep and then there’s the moving situation which is so stressful – see my blog for more details š
I hope your insomnia gets better soon. It is a bind. There’s been a couple of articles recently about this – I’ll go find them and send them to you. Have a good rest of the week. xxxxxxx
Author
It is much better now thank you Penny! But what is it with the moving issues? I’ll read about it on the blog!
So sorry to hear you’ve been suffering from insomnia, as sleeping badly night after night can be exhausting. And with your illness probably even more so. So, I’m pleased to hear that you’re sleeping better now, and didn’t even have to take one sleeping pill. Maybe the fact that you had them, just in case, put your mind at rest? I’ve had periods in my life that I wasn’t sleeping well, waking up at around 3 am and not falling back asleep until the early hours of the morning when, of course, I had to get up for work. I experimented with valerian tablets until I found some which seemed to do the trick. I presume it was all menopause related. I was talking with a friend who’s a couple of years younger and has terrible night sweats, when I suddenly realized I hadn’t had those for months, which might be why I’m sleeping better too! xxx
Author
I think so too, because those night sweats are awful and they wake you up! And Gerben as I am throwing the blankets of me very wildly!
So sorry to hear about your insomnia, Nancy, but I’m happy that you’ve got a few solutions for it. Good luck!
I have had insomnia for most of my life – could never fall asleep and when I do, I only sleep for a couple of hours. I’ve tried everything, but now I just give up. If I can’t sleep, I read for a bit, or I get up and change where I’m sleeping (sometimes I sleep on the couch, or the dining room floor!) and that can help. I have a couple of cups of strong coffee in the morning to get me going, as I have to be up and alert right away at my job.
Menopause is looming for me, so sometimes I also have night sweats now. Oh, joy.
Author
How can you keep that up! I only had it for a few months and I was exhausted and depressed! I can’t imagine how it must feel to have that for such a long period. I know about the night sweats. Never thought it would be as bad as women always said…..it is….
The insomnia is nothing easy to deal with. I found some balance now. For me, the combination of physical activity and traditional Chinese medicine is working. I hope that you find what will work for you.
Anna
http://www.glamadventure.com
Author
I have no idea what the cause was other then the menopause, but I sleep fairly good now!
Fortunate for me I don’t have this problem, but you’ve shared some important treatments. Thanks for adding to the #linkup Jacqui Mummabstylish
Author
Count yourself very lucky!