SLEEPLESS IN ATLANTA
PHASE 1
By Diana Bragg
I am so excited to write this article about Neurotransmitter testing. Recently I was diagnosed with “chronic insomnia”. This condition has plagued me from the age of eight years old up to the present day.
Ten years ago, my primary care physician scheduled a sleep study for me. The results were sleep apnea. This meant I stopped breathing many times over the course of a nightʼs sleep. A medical supply company gave me a C-PAP machine, which forces regulated air into my nose to help me breathe, and sent me home. Many years later, and two new primary care doctors later, the condition and the insomnia still exist.
Recently I was scheduled to see a “Sleep Doctor” at one of the major hospitals in Atlanta. Another sleep study was scheduled, and the results were a little better. The apnea is still there, but is getting better. A new and improved machine was provided and off I went.
During the follow-up visit I advised the doctor that the machine works but the quality of my sleep was worse. After many years of no sleep, I told him that “my body was wired wrong”. He laughed, and remarked that may be a strong possibility. The new order was to go to sleep at 12:00am and wake-up at 6:00am each day. This should change my internal clock and give me a much better nightʼs sleep. That lasted exactly two weeks.
Dr. Franklin and I discuss my condition regularly, and she decided a new course of treatment should be Neurotransmitter testing. I took the test and got the results back. The mystery was finally solved (hallelujah!!). An entire lifetime of answers was in that one test.
Currently, I am in Phase I of treatment which began ten days ago. My big test during this process is to “feel normal”. I asked Dr. Franklin, “How do you describe normal if you donʼt know what it feels like?” We were hoping the supplements would help me to understand the difference between the “old me” vs. ”the new me”.
This is the best sleep Iʼve had since I was a child. My body is craving sleep, and I went from three hours a night sleep to six hours consecutively. Waking up refreshed and clear headed is a “good feeling”.
Our office has a complete offering of NeuroScience testing and supplements for many ailments. I highly recommend you make an appointment and start making a “new healthy life” for yourself.
I canʼt tell you how blessed I feel to work for Dr. Franklin. To benefit daily from her vast medical expertise, intuitiveness, and kindness is beyond words. Please look for my continued progress in our future newsletters.
Read the second chapter of Dianaʼs journey – Sleepless in Atlanta: Phase 2.