LOS ANGELES , California ( CNN ) -- Michael Jackson suffered from severe bouts of insomnia and pleaded for a powerful sedative despite knowing its harmful effects , a nutritionist who worked with the singer said Tuesday . Cherilyn Lee is a holisitic health practitioner and has been in healthcare for 23 years , her Web site states . Cherilyn Lee , a registered nurse and nurse practitioner who first met Jackson in January to treat his children for a common cold , said she rejected his requests for Diprivan and informed him of the side effects . `` I told him this medication is not safe , '' Lee said . `` He said , ' I just want to get some sleep . You do n't understand . I just want to be able to be knocked out and go to sleep . ' `` `` I told him -- and it is so painful that I actually felt it in my whole spirit -- 'If you take this you might not wake up . ' `` According to the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners , nurse practitioners `` provide high-quality healthcare services similar to those of a doctor . '' They can also prescribe medications , according to the academy 's Web site . CNN could not independently verify whether Lee worked with Jackson . When asked about Lee 's account , Jackson family attorney Londell McMillan said : . `` I wonder why someone would make a comment about drugs when they have n't seen him take the drug or anyone who administered it . '' The drug , known by its generic name Propofol , is administered intravenously as an anesthetic during surgeries . Watch nurse describe Jackson 's drug request » . An initial dose puts a person to sleep . An overdose can lead to cardiac arrest , doctors say . Jackson died June 25 at the age of 50 . Authorities are awaiting toxicology results to determine what killed him . Lee is licensed as a registered nurse , according to the California Board of Registered Nursing Web site . According to her Web site , she is a proponent of alternative medicine that uses a holistic approach . Lee said that four days before Jackson 's death , she received a call from a Jackson staff member who said the singer felt that one side of his body was cold ; the other hot . `` I could hear Mr. Jackson saying in the background , 'Please have her come see me now . Can she come now ? ' `` Lee , who was in Florida at the time , said she told Jackson 's staffers to take him to a hospital . `` I was really afraid because of the symptoms they were telling me , '' she said . `` It could have meant something going on in the nervous system or something cardiovascular . '' After his death , Lee said she did n't go to the authorities . `` When I saw it on the news , I really did n't know what to do , '' she said . `` I was saddened . I heard there was a physician there . '' Lee also could not say why Jackson would call on her , when the last time she saw him was three months ago . `` The only think I can think of is he recalled the symptoms I was telling him , '' she said . But , she added , she did n't know of any doctors who would have given him the drug . `` I asked him , 'What doctor gave you this drug ? ' `` she said , when the singer initially brought up the medicine . `` He told me , 'Oh it was a long time ago . ' `` Dr. Rakesh Marwah of the anesthesiology department at the Stanford University School of Medicine said Propofol can lead to cardiac arrest , which is suspected in Jackson 's death . `` Propofol slows down the heart rate and slows down the respiratory rate and slows down the vital functions of the body , '' he said .
NEW : Lawyer : Nurse never let Jackson take , be administered drug . Jackson said ` ` I just want to be able to be let out and go to sleep , '' Jackson said . Cherilyn Lee : I told Jackson ` ` if you take this you will not wake up '' . Jackson requested given through injection as anesthetic during surgery .