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Sleep-and-Pills

Today is Day 2 of my birth control pill and also the second time I have taken my prenatal vitamins.

So far the experience I have had with my prenatal vitamins has not been the most favorable. I took it Wednesday evening, per the advice of my sister-in-law. She told me she used to take hers in the evenings before bed because they made her sick if she took it in the daytime. Apparently, I didn't take into account that everyone's bodies react differently to everything. While Melissa had no problems with sleep due to prenatal vitamins, my experience was quite the opposite. That entire night, while my husband quietly slumbered next to me, I tossed and turned like an out-of-sync washing machine. To surmise, I felt like I was on speed! I fought the sleeplessness with all my might, trying to stay in one position, laying on my side, on my stomach . . . all to no avail. Throughout all this, I kept on telling myself that if I was not asleep by 4 a.m., I would call in sick. I know the nightmare I become with lack of sleep. The minutes and hours ticked by. My body was so tired, but could not find itself any sleep. To make matters worse, I felt gassy all night -- I felt the bubbles going up and down my throat, not helping with my cause of finding some much needed sleep. At 5:30 a.m., I went downstairs to watch some news. I started to lightly fall asleep but got woken up by my gas bubbles. At 7 a.m., I sent a text to my boss to let her know I wasn't coming in. By the time my husband got up at 8 a.m., I was in the middle of watching movies on TV. There was no sleep in the near future.

That entire day, I was hungry, but the vitamins suppressed my appetite. So not only was I beyond sleep deprived, I was also starving. Crabby would not begin to describe it. I was an emotional wreck. My poor husband had to put up with me the entire day, until I finally took an Ativan (an anti-anxiety medication) at 7 p.m. I slept for 12 hours that night.

Needless to say, I have been afraid to retake the prenatal vitamins. My sleeping pattern is incredibly sensitive to any changes (be it caffeine too late in the day, an extended nap, and in this case, too much vitamins).

Yesterday, I began taking birth control pills. I need to take this for three weeks to help regulate my ovulation. I never really took birth control pills -- maybe for only a month or two at a time in my earlier twenties. The effect of these pills, so far, has been unforgiving headaches and fatigue. Yesterday, I suffered with a headache for the better part of my day, and was afraid to take any ibuprofen because I just don't want to be taking too many pills. I got out of work at 2:45 p.m., ran some work errands, did some shopping, and then went home for a while to freshen up. I had all the plans of going out again to run some more errands, or at least to go to dinner with my husband and stepson when they got home, but ended up getting so drowsy that I napped for 3 1/2 hours! One would think that this would solve my headache issue but I woke up, had dinner, and took a shower with a ginormous headache. Much to my own dismay, I went to bed with the aid of two Advil PMs.

Today was the first day I mixed both BCP and prenatal vitamins. I took the prenatals in the morning with breakfast, and the BCP at 9 a.m. as I had set my alarm to. I looked forward to seeing the effect of the prenatals because we were scheduled to go up to Big Bear to help my mother-in-law pack up the cabin, as she is selling it. I was anxious to see the energy I would have, but was surprised that not 20 minutes into our drive, I felt drowsy and slept for a good hour and a half of it! We got to the cabin and I didn't pack much, as I ended up laying down with another headache. On the way home, I fell asleep for about 10 minutes and fought sleepiness for a large part of the trek home.

So, I tell myself, three weeks of birth control. This is a preview of what is to come. Thanks a lot, hormones. Thanks a lot.

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