One of my favorite pastimes is sleeping. I absolutely love to sleep. It just is so nice to curl up in a big comfy bed with my favorite blankets and pillows. Occasionally it’s nice to get some sweet cuddles in from either my husband or the fur babies. Either way, I always look forward to sleeping at night or even for a nap during the day time. It’s something I deeply enjoy doing.
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But, with Endometriosis, sleeping isn’t something I can achieve or if I do sleep, it isn’t restful enough to give me the energy I need. In January of 2017, after being diagnosed incorrectly with PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome), I was coming off the medication (Metformin) prescribed to me for that condition. Like an idiot, I believed the doctor knew what they were doing when they told me I had PCOS (absolutely no labs were performed to confirm this diagnosis). I ended up having the worst reaction to that medication. I was shaky, dizzy, anxious, and developed insomnia.
I decided after being on that medication for two months, I’d cold turkey, and quit. Bad mistake on my part. Because I had such a bad reaction to the medication, it surprised me that I had 6 months of withdrawal symptoms from it.
*Again, please keep in mind, I am not a medical professional, this is just my personal experience*
For the first six months of 2017, I hardly ever slept. I would get 2-4 hours of sleep every night, if I was lucky. Because I went from sleeping 8-10 hours a night to 2-4, I developed high anxiety and depression. I didn’t have any energy to do housework, walking my dog, running (I used to do 5K’s), reading or knitting. I simply ate my feelings and became a person I never wanted to be.
Now that I have been properly diagnosed and working on my healing journey through diet, exercise, and meditation, I am getting my sleep back to normal (for me). I still have nights where I am up all hours. I still have nights where I “sleep” but don’t actually rest. However, this journey of self reflect has taught me how to appreciate when I do get to sleep. It’s improved my mood greatly and has also has helped me with my depression and anxiety.
If you’re looking for tips on how to sleep better with Endometriosis, I found Jill Mueller’s blog extremely helpful.