Post by Coral!
For the last few months I have been having trouble sleeping. This past week was particularly rough because work required me to stay in the office later than usual. I would get home around 9pm, eat something for dinner, say a quick ‘what up’ to my roommates (if they were around) and then head to my bedroom.
Once I got to my room, the frustration ensued. I would toss and turn for hours unable to fall asleep even though I was beyond exhausted. I try to avoid taking sleeping pills because those always cause that awful hung-over feeling the next morning that doesn’t go away for hours. Sleepy-time tea no longer worked no matter how much I drank. Sometimes I would resort to watching episodes of my favorite shows that I missed from that week or the week before. The problem with watching TV is that it makes it even harder to fall asleep.
Monday night was particularly horrible. I was ready for bed by 10:30pm (that is a record!). I was excited because I wanted to go for a run the next morning. I hadn’t gone for a run in central park in a very long time because I was either traveling or it was raining or I didn’t get enough sleep the night before. I climbed into bed and immediately fell asleep… until 1:30am… at 1:30am I woke up in a panic because I felt like I was having a low blood sugar. I was experiencing all of the symptoms except I wasn’t sweating and I wasn’t shaking. I heart was beating faster than usual and I was weak. So I got up and tested… 166! What? So I’m not low, so I can’t treat, but I feel low. Ugh! I tried to go back to bed, but couldn’t. I was tossing and turning until about 2:30am. I decided to test again… 132! I don’t get it!! How can this be? I feel like I’m 50 but I’m actually 132. Finally I decide to eat some yogurt and a bar to at least ease the hunger pains and hope it slows my heart down enough to allow me to get a few hours of sleep.
By Friday, I bet you could imagine I was ready to try anything to get one good night’s rest. Valerian Root. I’m not quite sure if it’s totally safe for diabetics to use, but people I work with swear by it. You can either take it in pill form or make tea. I chose the pill form because it smelled horrible. 11pm Friday night, I took two pills and had the best night’s sleep ever! However, I did sleep straight through my 8:00am alarm and didn’t wait up until 11:15am and I had to be at NYU law school to with my mentee by 11:30am… oops! But it was well worth the sleep.
Has anyone else tried taking Valerian Root? What were your experiences with it like? Do you have any other strategies to help fall asleep?
I so feel for you hon. I obviously know the feeling since it’s 5:27 am as I write this and I still haven’t gone to sleep. I am afraid I have on sympathy, no answers. I have heard of valerian, but have never used it. I try to remember to use my Rozerm on nights like this, but often forget. I am glad the pills helped. I would be curious to see how tonight’s sleep is going. I am sure sleep is hard for you as you are so busy and your brain probably isn’t shutting off. Maybe yoga before bed. It used to work for me. I am so sorry you are going through this Coral. I hope it corrects itself soon
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Hi there I enjoyed your article. I feel that it’s crucial when talking about diabetes to at least mention natural therapies that have been shown to be efficient in managing high blood glucose. Various natural herbs can be including in a diabetics regimen that can help maintain a wholesome sugar level.