Sweet Dreams

As some of you may know I have struggled with sleep issues for over 10 years.  It most notably started when I was pregnant with Andrew and got Restless Leg Syndrome.  Some people think that is just a silly "made-up" illness but I am living proof that it is not.  For those of you who do not know what RLS is let me give you a brief description.

Restless legs syndrome (RLS) or Willis-Ekbom disease is a neurological disorder characterized by an irresistible urge to move one's body to stop uncomfortable or odd sensations.^[1] It most commonly affects the legs, but can affect the arms, torso, and even phantom limbs.^[2] Moving the affected body part modulates the sensations, providing temporary relief.  RLS sensations can most closely be compared to an itching or tickling in the muscles, like "an itch you can't scratch" or an unpleasant "tickle that won't stop." The sensations typically begin or intensify during quiet wakefulness, such as when relaxing, reading, studying, or trying to sleep.

So, 10 years ago not many Dr. in Alaska knew what RLS was so one evening on our new computer with our new Internet connection Dan found a website that described my symptoms (How did we ever function in life without the Internet??) The next day I went to my OB/GYN and explained to him what was going on. 

By this time I was about 6 months along and only slept for 2 or 3 hours which usually didn't come until 4 a.m.  By 37 weeks I was having full body convulsing when I would try to lay down and sleep and could only get a little sleep if my husband or my mom sat by my bed and massaged or tapped on my legs with something.  No Dr. was comfortable treating the RLS since I was pregnant.  No sleep for 2 months can really mess with your head.  On May 14th, 2001 I told my Dr.'s nurse that I was ready to stab steak knives in my legs because it would feel better then what I had been feeling for the last 3 months.  She quickly scheduled me to be induced and Andrew was born on May 15th and I was given medicine that relieved my RLS.

As a result of this fiasco I had an overwhelming fear of having insomnia.  Even thought my RLS was being treated I was terrified to go to bed at night for fear of not being able to sleep.  If I didn't fall asleep immediately I would begin to panic.  So as silly as it sounds I had a fear of having insomnia.  My sleep disorder physician prescribed me Ambient and I have been taking that to fall asleep every night for the past 10 years. (With the exception of the 9 months I was pregnant with Julia; but that is another story.)

What does all of this have to do with my weight loss you ask....

Over the past few weeks I have been tired enough a few nights that I have forgotten to take my Ambient and for the past week I have been brave enough to go to bed with out taking it.  I had been sleeping about 6 hours a night and I've been very happy with that.  This morning I woke up and was amazed to see that I had slept 8 whole hours with NO sleeping pills!! 

The only thing that has changed in my life is that I weigh less and I exercises.   I don't know why or how losing weight has made sleep come easier or why I can sleep through the night now.  I'm not sure why I'm crying right now has I write this. Maybe its because I don't have to depend on that drug anymore and that is creating such a huge unexplainable emotion in me that only tears can describe the feeling.

I still have the RLS and take medication for that and I'm OK with that; but to be free of the sleeping pills after 10 years is just......I can't explain it.  If you are over weight by just a few pounds or a hundred pounds and have any unexplained health issues my advice to you is to get rid of those pounds any way you can!!!  It will change you life in so many ways but the best part is that you will be healthy and that is something you can't put a value on. If you take a lot of prescription drugs for health issues and like me was feeling bad for being dependant on all of those pills then do whatever it takes to get that weight off!! Not to look better but to be HEALTHY!!

On a lighter note....I recently hit my 70 pounds lost mile stone.  Sadly I have been staled there for about a week.  This week I am going to get back on track with my runs/walk and try to get out of this rut.  My girlfriends and I went to a 1960s era costume party on Friday night and had an amazing time getting dressed up for the event.  My dress was a size 14. I have not been a 14 since I was 20 years old.  Actually my 14 jeans are getting baggy but I'm not quite ready for 12s.  It felt so nice to wear a fancy dress and not have 2 or 3 layers of spandex/lycra holding in all my fat rolls. :-)

As always I want to continue to thank all my friends and family members that support me and give me words of encouragement everyday.  I love you and couldn't do this without your love.