Today, I
decided to blog about my journey with essential oils as a mom and how they
helped my chronic migraines, insomnia and anxiety. Essential oils are growing
in popularity, and with several diluted and chemical additives being included in
so many of them, it’s important to know the difference. Let me take you back to where it all began for
me. I have been a migraine sufferer for the majority of my life. It started
when I was 12 years old. Beyond the migraines, I have also struggled with
insomnia and anxiety, both of which also began at a young age. Some doctors
attributed this to a hormone imbalance, and others to stress. All I can tell
you is that any and/or all of these issues are awful, and terrible to live with.
A lot
of people describe me as an outgoing, sarcastic, and maybe even a little funny,
gal. While I can see this being true, wink, wink, I also think those are all ways
I have managed to mask my anxiety. I am definitely an extrovert. I feed off of
other people’s energy. I love to be in social situations. Perhaps this is
because it gets me out of my own head, it’s a distraction from stress. Before I
was a mom, I was always out. Whether it was going to work, yoga, happy hour, friend’s
houses, to dinner, to lunch, to breakfast, to brunch (maybe I have a food
addiction too), to clubs, to theme parks, on trips, family gatherings, whatever
it was, the last place I wanted to be was home, alone.
Fast forward
to pregnancy…I am somehow working from home. As an extrovert, this is terrible
for me, but it pays the student loan and health insurance bills so I stuck with
it. I figured it would be beneficial once the baby was born…Wrong. Throughout
my pregnancy I struggled with sleep issues, and early in my pregnancy,
migraines. Being pregnant means being EXTRA careful about what you put into
your body, and so, I couldn’t take my prescription migraine medications, which
left me with Tylenol. Tylenol? Really? My migraines laugh hysterically at
Tylenol. It does nothing for them. So I tried Tylenol with a cup of coffee to
get the Excedrin effect without the Aspirin…also, didn’t work. The only thing
that managed to give me some slight relief was rubbing IceyHot along my eyelid
and forehead accompanied by an ice pack. Hello, IcyHot, ON MY EYELID. I would
rather feel the burn of the product than the pain of the migraine. Other than
that, I suffered through the intense pain, auras, sensitivity to light and
sound, nausea and vomiting. Vomiting on top of my already horrible morning/all
day sickness. Sometimes for days. I’m not saying this to make you feel bad for
me, lots of women struggle with this, it just sucks when you’re trying to work
and you feel debilitated and there’s nothing you can do about it.
Moving
along again, my second trimester of pregnancy, around weeks 16-17, the nausea
stopped, and so did the migraines. THANK YOU JESUS! No more migraines for the
remainder of my pregnancy. The insomnia on the other hand, continued throughout
the pregnancy. I remember lying in bed with big time restless leg syndrome and
stressing about the sleep I would undoubtedly lose once the baby arrived. I
would get so upset at the reality that I wasn’t sleeping, and I was scared I
would lose my mind.
Finally,
baby is born, I won’t rehash that story…see previous blogs for that party. The
first night in the hospital I didn’t sleep a wink, even after an exhausting
day. Baby slept, not me. The next day the nurses said I had to sleep and
offered me a Unisom type medication. I took it out of desperation to sleep,
even if only for a few hours. Got home, continued to go hours, sometimes days,
with zero sleep. Again, baby was sleeping, mommy, not sleeping. I started to
feel the crazy creeping in. I was losing it. There are no words to describe the
exhaustion of zero hours of sleep for days in a row. I felt like I was hearing
things, forgetting things, I was afraid I might accidentally fall asleep
holding the baby. This accompanied by the raging hormones and crying
uncontrollably post-delivery left me feeling emotionally crippled. There were
times I told my husband to supplement with formula so I could take a Unisom and
sleep for 5 hours straight. Thank God for those times and for him being willing
to get up and do the nighttime feeds even when he had work the next day.
Then,
wouldn’t you know it, my migraines returned. A mere two weeks post-delivery I
got my first migraine. Awesome. Again, I reached for the IcyHot, Tylenol and
coffee just to try to dull the pain so I could still breastfeed and not take my
prescription meds. Well, this lasted only so long, and so I decided I needed to
take the medication so I could be able to care for my baby. Taking the meds meant
12 hours of no breastfeeding which translates to pumping and dumping. This
happened often enough to make a cow cry over my spilled breastmilk.
In a
last ditch effort to help my migraines and insomnia, I decided to try
acupuncture. I went to an outstanding practitioner, but unfortunately it did
nothing for my migraines. It did seem to help with sleep, but the day after a
treatment I would always get a migraine, so after several months of treatment, and
hundreds of dollars, I stopped. Well, this is when I found the oils…Thank you
Rachel, for introducing me to these oils! I received a sample of M-grain. A
Young Living essential oil blend made specifically for migraine sufferers not
accident related. I started getting a migraine one day and tried the oil. I was
skeptical, but guess what? It worked. I started getting another a few days
later. Used the oils again, and it worked again. This happened several more
times and that was it. I was sold. I contacted her and she told me about the
Premium Starter Kit with diffuser. She mentioned I may find it helps with my
insomnia and anxiety as well. Knowing how the M-grain worked for me, I was all
over this. I made the investment, I bought the kit, and I bought a bottle of
M-grain.
Here I
am, a mere seven months later, I am an avid oil user and a true believer in the
power of essential oils. I went from taking my prescription medication 5-10
times a month, to needing it only 1-3 times a month. I’m sleeping better at
night thanks to a diffuser blend of Lavender, Patchouli, Cedarwood, and
Frankincense, along with the occasional Sleep Essence supplement containing a
blend of essential oils said to improve sleep along with melatonin. Not only
are these oils blowing my mind and helping me with my issues, but they are a
lifesaver for my husband, dog and my one year old son. Got the sniffles? There’s
an oil for that. Diaper rash? There’s an oil for that. Colds, viruses, bug
bites, sun burn, restless baby, stinky diaper pail, stinky dog? Whatever it is,
THERE IS AN OIL FOR THAT.
For
months now, I have been ecstatically spreading the word about these oils since
I started discovering their many benefits, and I plan to continue. I have
replaced just about every OTC medication and toxic cleaning product in my house
with essential oils and essential oil products. I even use it as part of my
daily skin care routine! My son, who goes to daycare three days a week, has
benefited tremendously from the diffusing of essential oils. There has not ever
been a time where I have needed to go into his room in the middle of the night
to comfort or calm him when he has been sick so long as I put him to bed with
the diffuser running. That in and of itself is amazing, and it is no exaggeration
for me. Am I saying I will never need to comfort him? No, I am just saying what
has happened thus far, and regardless, I believe whole heartedly that the use
of essential oils has helped speed his recovery from illnesses much faster than
if I had done nothing at all, or just used infant Tylenol.
If you’re
interested in learning more, please do not hesitate to reach out to me. I would
love to talk to you about Young Living’s essential oils and how they might be
able to help you and your family. Keep in mind, not all oils are created
equally. There is truly a difference between what you can buy in the store, and
what Young Living offers. Young Living offers a full seed to seal guarantee on
all of their products. They are 100% pure, therapeutic grade, harvested at the
peak of their growth. "Only 2% of essential oils sold in North America are
suitable for medicinal purposes, and Young Living makes 98% of them!" www.Distillery9.com
Please send any and all questions to: Lola2680@gmail.com
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