I Couldn’t Sleep and it Turned into Something Bigger than I Expected

Hey there!

For about a month and a half, I couldn’t sleep.

Not the “I woke up once or twice” kind of sleep issue.
I’m talking wide awake at 2am… staring at the ceiling… exhausted but completely wire…not being able to fall back to sleep!

Night after night!

And if you’ve ever been there, you know, it starts to mess with everything.

Your mood.
Your patience.
Your ability to think clearly.
Your nervous system.

At first, I did what most of us do.
I tried to push through it.

Told myself it would pass.
Blamed stress.
Adjusted a few habits.

But eventually, it got to a point where I knew something deeper was off.

So I did something I don’t always rush to do…

I got a full workup with a naturopath.

And what came back wasn’t just a “sleep issue.”

It was a full picture.

• significant food sensitivities driving inflammation
• gut dysfunction that needed attention
• thyroid antibodies over 6000
• estrogen levels significantly elevated
• progesterone and testosterone still strong (which meant…not perimenopause)

Translation?

My body wasn’t shutting down.
It was overstimulated, inflamed, and completely out of rhythm.

And that lack of sleep?
It wasn’t random.

It was a signal.

From there, we built a plan. Not a quick fix, but what my doctor calls the “Bentley version” of support.

Not the bare minimum.
The high-level, targeted, actually-address-the-root version.

Step one was sleep.

Because without sleep, nothing else stabilizes.

We added more therapeutic support at night (specifically magnesium and cortisol support) and within about a week…

My body started sleeping again.

That alone changed everything.

From there, we moved into supporting my thyroid and calming the immune response behind what’s known as Hashimoto’s.

This is where I want to share something important…but responsibly.

There are two prescriptions I was guided to use:

• Tirosint — a very clean, highly absorbable form of thyroid hormone (levothyroxine)
• Low Dose Naltrexone (LDN) — a low-dose medication used to help regulate the immune system and reduce inflammation

Let me break these down in a way that actually makes sense.

Tirosint is used to support the thyroid when it’s underperforming.
In conditions like hypothyroidism or Hashimoto’s, the thyroid isn’t producing or utilizing hormones efficiently. Tirosint essentially provides the body with the hormone it’s struggling to maintain on its own.

What makes it different from other thyroid medications is that it’s extremely “clean”. It doesn’t contain a lot of fillers or additives, which can matter for women dealing with gut issues, sensitivities, or absorption problems.

For someone like me, whose system was already inflamed and sensitive, that matters.

When thyroid levels are supported properly, women often notice improvements in:
• energy
• mood stability
• metabolism
• mental clarity
• and yes…sleep!

Now, LDN (Low Dose Naltrexone) is a little less commonly talked about, but incredibly interesting.

At low doses, it works very differently than its original use. Instead of blocking receptors long-term, it briefly interacts with them in a way that encourages the body to increase its own endorphin production and helps regulate immune activity.

In simple terms:

It helps “calm down” an overactive immune system.

For women with autoimmune conditions like Hashimoto’s (where the body is essentially attacking its own thyroid) this can be incredibly helpful.

LDN has been used to support:
• autoimmune conditions
• chronic inflammation
• nervous system regulation
• and even mood stability in some cases

Again: this is not something to self-prescribe or experiment with. It requires guidance and proper dosing from a practitioner.

But it’s an example of how supporting the body at a deeper level can create real shifts (especially when lifestyle changes alone aren’t enough).

What I found most interesting through this process is how connected everything is.

Thyroid dysfunction doesn’t just affect metabolism.
It affects mood.
Sleep.
Hormones.
Emotional stability.

Estrogen dominance doesn’t just show up in cycles.
It shows up in anxiety, sleep disruption, and how your body handles stress.

Gut health doesn’t just affect digestion.
It influences inflammation, immunity, and hormone signaling.

None of this was happening in isolation.

It was all connected.

And it all showed up first as something that seemed simple:

“I can’t sleep.”

That’s why I’m sharing this.

Not to tell you what to take.
Not to diagnose anything.

But to remind you:

Your symptoms are worth investigating.

If something feels off (especially something as foundational as sleep) it’s worth looking deeper.

It’s also why I strongly encourage women to get comprehensive lab work done at least once a year.

Not just basic panels, but a full look at:
• thyroid function (including antibodies)
• hormone levels
• inflammation markers
• gut health if needed

Because guessing is exhausting.

Clarity changes everything.

I’m still in this process.
Still learning.
Still adjusting.

But I can already tell you this:

Feeling better didn’t come from pushing harder.

It came from understanding what my body was actually asking for.

And supporting it accordingly.

If your body has been trying to get your attention lately…
this is your sign to listen.

💜Regina