After spending so much money on everything from hypnotherapy to sleep restriction to CBD oil, Kerry was going 4-5 days without any sleep and literally shaking from exhaustion. 


In this episode, she shares how the the root causes, hormones, gut health, mold toxicity, and more, and how she finally got her life and sleep back after years of struggling by working with the Sleep Detective Martha Lewis.


Schedule a consultation to get started with the Complete Sleep Solution program so you can consistently sleep 7+ hours uninterrupted, naturally and permanently. https://p.bttr.to/3VJwvDs


Episode Transcript


[00:00:00] After spending so much money on everything from hypnotherapy to sleep restriction to CBD Oil, Kerry was going four to five days without any sleep and literally shaking from exhaustion. In this episode, she shares how we uncover the root causes, hormones, gut health, mold toxicity, and more, and how she finally got her life and sleep back after years of struggling.


This is the Sleep Detective Podcast i'm Martha Lewis. I've been a functional health coach for the past six years, helping my clients uncover the root causes of their sleep issues so they can consistently get the sleep they need without needing drugs or a ton of supplements.


Here is Kerry's story.


Martha (2): Today I have my lovely client, Kerry, with me to talk about her experience in the program over the last six or seven months. So thanks so much for being here, Kerry. 


Kerry: That's okay. Thank you, [00:01:00] Martha. 


Martha: I really appreciate it. Yeah, I'd just love to start with when, when we first started working together, how were you sleeping and what was your health like back then?


Kerry: Um, it wasn't good for a couple of years. I had really struggled with my sleep. I'd had a lot of emotional kind of issues. My mom was poorly and she passed. My husband was poorly. So I'd got a lot of things going on. Yeah. I was going through like the menopause, so, I wasn't really doing very well with that.


My diet was bad so my sleep had just deteriorated so much. And I'd gone round in circles trying to fix it. Mm-hmm. But really struggling to do that. Yeah. Yeah. What did you try? Oh, everything. I'd spent so much money. I went to the doctors and I was just given like [00:02:00] sleeping tablets and told to do like a sleeping course, which narrowed down your, sleep.


So you go to bed just for a couple of hours and before she salt. To get up. That made it worse. Uhhuh, it made me more panicky, more anxiety. I tried homeopathy. Actually I've made a list of all of the things. I tried can I get the list? Yeah, sure. Yeah, let me just go on notes and just check it out.


Yeah. Because I, I made this list the other night and I thought, gosh, I didn't realize, okay. Yeah. Other than massages, cognitive behavior therapy, I bought a book about cognitive behavior as well. I'd had a breathing and mindfulness app. Yeah. Hypnotherapy, a herbalist. The standard NHS HRT.


I did that for about [00:03:00] six months. It was awful. Chiropractor CBD oil fasting. Oh, I've tried so many things. Yeah. 


Martha: Yeah. And like, I was the same way and so many of my clients were the same way too. 'cause you read all this stuff like this will help and this will help and this will help.


And it's like none of it's getting to what's actually causing the bad sleep. Yeah. Yeah. And sleep restriction I think sounds torturous. And I've talked to a lot of people who, it made things worse 'cause you're already not getting enough sleep and then you're gonna restrict it even more. 


Kerry: Yeah. It put me into a blind panic.


'cause it, it tells you that if you're in bed for 15 minutes and you still haven't gone to sleep, you have to get up. And then go back to sleep. So it just makes you feel more anxious. I couldn't even face looking at the bedroom. It just frightened. I couldn't sleep in the bed with my husband.


I was [00:04:00] finding that it was just panicking me so much. I'd go for days without sleep, four, sometimes five days, without any I'd shake because of the lack of sleep, just. I'd be trembling, like my nervous system was just falling apart. Um, yeah, it was awful. 


Martha: Yeah. It's totally sounds horrible.


So do you remember what your test results showed at all? You can remind me. Yeah, definitely. So yeah, we did see some depleted neurotransmitters depleted sex hormones. So we worked on, helping you get the bioidentical hormone replacement therapy from a doctor where you live.


Some detox issues, some low melatonin, some mineral imbalances. And then. I suspected mold and mycotoxins from mold, and we also saw h pylori and some bacterial overgrowth. [00:05:00] So lots of different things, right? The neurotransmitters, the minerals, the gut health, hormones, liver detox, all of it. So yeah, no wonder you weren't able to sleep and then everything you were trying was actually making things worse.


'cause it was just like getting your nervous system even more. out of balance and in that stress mode. So yeah. So what changes did you make and what do you think made the biggest difference? 


Kerry: I think like the dietary changes helped the detox. Like minerals and vitamins that I was taking and the supplements they helped very gradually.


And then the bioidentical hormone replacement, that's gradually helped as well. Mm-hmm. Together. I think starting that after I'd got like my tummy backing [00:06:00] balance helped because I think that the state I was in beforehand, it wouldn't have worked. But yeah, once I'd got that settled, I feel like I was ready to kind of accept the the hormone situation a little bit better.


Yeah. 


Martha: Yeah. That's awesome. I know a lot of times people have tried hormones before and it either didn't help or made things worse. And it could partly be because if they were synthetic and instead of bioidentical, but also a healthier body is going to tolerate hormone replacement therapy better, and the HRT is gonna be more effective as well when your body's in a more balanced place.


So, yeah, 


Kerry: I think with in the uk if you go to like your usual general practitioner for HRT, they'll just keep throwing more dominant estrogen patches or, but you, [00:07:00] and they don't really look at the other things as well. I've noticed a lot of difference with who I go to now. They do more intensive tests.


I'm on a much higher progesterone now than I was with the general practitioner and the estrogens with like other things as well to help me. So it seems to absorb a lot better and it hasn't got that same awful bloaty feeling that. So I'm pleased. 


Martha: Yeah. That's great. Awesome. So do you remember how long it took you to start seeing improvements in your sleep and how you were feeling?


Yeah, it's 


Kerry: been a bit of a roller coaster because I was. Feeling a lot better saying a month or so. And I'd be okay for a couple of weeks and then I'd have a bad couple of weeks and then I'd be okay for two or three [00:08:00] weeks and then I'd go downhill again. But I have had stressful things going on as well.


You know, with. Family issues and work. So you know, it's not perfect all the time, but everybody's life's the same, I suppose. 


Martha: Yeah. We can't just live a stress-free life, unfortunately. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And it is normal for things to be what I call kind of a rollercoaster, where they're up and down and up and down, but we want them to be trending up over time.


But yeah, there's, it's just part of the process, so I, yeah. So that was definitely your experience, but you know, it trended that it kept getting better over time, even with some ups and downs. 


Kerry: Yeah. It's much better now. I don't worry about going to sleep. I can go to bed in the same bed as my husband and most nights I'll sleep quite well.


I get the odd one or [00:09:00] two that's not brilliant, but it's, much more improved than it was, I'm really happy with it. 


Martha: Yeah. And you're not taking the sleeping tablets anymore, which is great. 


Kerry: No. That was something I had to rely on. I was really struggling before. Um, it made like working possible.


I would avoid, contact with people because of just how poorly I felt. And now I feel like I can live normally, which is great. 


Martha: Yeah. I was gonna ask what else has changed besides sleep? And we were just talking about this of kind of what you're doing now. 


Kerry: Yeah. I mean, I can go on holiday, I can go out with friends.


I can just do things and I don't worry, I don't think, or, you know, I won't sleep. What will happen if I don't sleep? Yeah, like before I used to be like riddled with anxiety [00:10:00] about it. To the point where I'd put things off, I'd put off seeing people or doing things because of it. 


Martha: Yeah. So now you're working out and able to work


sounds like feeling so much better. 


Kerry: Yes. I'm able to do my exercise and, you know, do my regular routine. And everything is so much better. Yeah. 


Martha: Yeah. I'm so glad. Was there anything else you'd like to share? 


Kerry: I'm just happy with the outcome. It's been a long journey for me.


I was in such a hole that I never thought I'd get out of it, so I'm so pleased now that everything's looking better. 


Martha: Yes, me too. I'm so glad. And yeah, like we talked about, I think you're just gonna continue to improve. So again, like you did the hard work, you made the changes, you were totally willing to, take the supplements and change your diet and those things aren't always easy.


So you did the work and now [00:11:00] it's helped, which is so great. 


Kerry: Oh, thank you. Yes. I know some of the things were hard the caffeine the alcohol as well. Yeah, 


Martha: but it makes a big difference, so hopefully it was worth it. 


Kerry: Yes, it was. 


Martha: Awesome. Thank you so much for sharing your experience.


I really appreciate it. 


Kerry: Oh, thank you, Martha.


If you want my help in getting to the root cause of your sleep issues, just like I did with Kerry, you can work with me in the Complete Sleep Solution Program. You can book a free consultation with me to talk about what's going on with your sleep and health and how the program works and how I can help you sleep better.


And if you want to learn more about the Complete Sleep Solution Program and my three step approach to overcoming sleep issues, you wanna watch the next video, the Three Step Sleep Fix for Adults over 40.

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