After reading up a bit on the pain killing medications I am taking it makes you wonder why you bother with all the side effects and problems they can cause. There is no way that I will be changing them but I then started looking into help through herbs and LAVENDER seems to be the most popular.

Lavender has been used as a culinary herb since Roman and Greek times. It lends a delicate flavour to casseroles, scones, roast lamb and even ice-cream. It is a tonic to the cardiovascular and digestive system, it can lower blood pressure and can help to thin the blood due to the presence of coumarins.

It's good for muscle spasm, sprains, strains, cramps, and rheumatic pains. It can work as a sedative to the central nervous system and can relieve headaches, nervous tension and insomnia, mood swings and pms and even keep the moths away (we have loads at the moment).

The list is endless - its antimicrobial, anti-infectious and antiseptic, making it effective on wounds and as a front-line defense against respiratory infections.

Looking through the Internet brought me some brilliant websites - www.yorkshirelavender.com www.penninelavender.co.uk - this was a brilliant site with lots of ideas and gifts at very reasonable prices.

Some others worth looking at are www.snowshill-lavender.co.uk which has some good products to help you sleep including slumber gel, which you apply to your temples and pulse points and at only £3.95 it's definitely worth a go. Another one www.mayfieldlavender.com had some really unusual teapot oil burners and www.thelavenderfields.co.uk was another one with unusual gifts.

I am now off to buy some of the sleeping remedies and will get back with the results after using them for a few weeks. Just to have a night without continually waking up would be amazing.