This week I'm going to talk about something that is a little different for most people. First, a little background. I have always hated taking artificial medication. When I was little my parents had to hide crushed up pills in ice cream or bribe me to take liquid medicines. I was diagnosed with Bi Polar disorder over a year ago and to me it was the same a death sentence. Being told I had to take a cocktail of meds, that may not even work, every day, morning and night, for the rest of my life was devastating. Now mine is an unusual case and I do not condone going of medications unless you have had a long talk with your doctors and they ok it. I went through months of different mix of pills, changing each month trying to find the right mix, and each month having to deal with a whole new batch of side effects. Some months I was a zombie, sleeping 20 hours a day then when I was awake I was barely coherent. Others, made me itch so much it felt like there were bugs under my skin. To make an already long story shorter, my doctors graciously took me off my meds and let me instead take vitamins and herbal supplements.
Lately, I have had to add a new potion to the mix and I can not stop raving about it. I know insomnia is very common 3 out of the 4 people in my house suffer from it a least a few nights a week. For me, it starting being every night, I would lay in bed starting at the ceiling until four or five in the morning, then without an alarm, I would wake up at seven, at latest seven thirty. Suffice to say I was not a happy camper, nor was I pleasant to be around. Luckily, I have a good friend that owns an amazing little apothecary not 20 minutes from me. For those who don't know, an apothecary was the first type of drug store. They date back hundreds if not thousands of years, and sadly, they are a dying breed. But thankfully, my amazing friend Melissa is keeping the tradition alive with Aurora's Apothecary in Morrison, WI. If you are anywhere in the state, it is worth the trip to see this funky little shop. And no, she isn't paying me for this I just cant stop raving about the products I bought there!
When I told her I couldn't sleep she knew exactly what to give me. When I walked into the shop she directed me right to this adorable little cobalt blue bottle of Valarian Tincture. She explained to me that she makes it from the roots of the plant and it has a calming/sedative effect depending on how much you use. To put me to sleep, she told me, just add 35 to 50 drops in my favorite tea or juice about 30 minutes before I go to bed and I'll get a lasting deep sleep.
I was very skeptical I must say. Could this weird liquid really put me to sleep and keep me asleep? I researched it and everything I found back up everything Melissa said. So I grabbed my favorite tea, which happens to be Bigclow's Sweet Dreams Herb Tea, added the Valarian Tincture and waited to see what would happen. Well I slept! I haven't had this good of sleep in years. I even stayed asleep all night, and woke up feeling amazing!Now, like I said, Melissa is not paying me for any of this! Even still I really encourage you to check the shop out. She has a Facebook group for the shop, it can be found her: https://www.facebook.com/groups/293260789675/ she has something for almost everything, all you have to do is ask. She even has classes out there.
Wow this is a very long post. I hop that makes up for missing for so long. Thank you for reading the things that fill my days.
