RE: OT Insomnia advice, please help

[Guest guest]

>I know she's been suffering

>insomnia on and off for a number of years but it's getting worse

>lately. She's also started suffering heart palpitations during the

>night - as in rapidly and strongly beating heart and doesn't know if

>it's physical or stress-related. I've noticed that she often has bad

>breath - an indication that something is not quite right.

Hi! I'm still here ... congrats on the baby!

I have never had insomnia much myself, but it's been discussed

in the GFCFNN group lately in some depth. Basically some of us

get that " awake in the middle of the night, heart pounding and

anxious about something " from cortisol and/or hormone

imbalances, which *can* be from food intolerances, calcium

dysregulation, out of balance hormones, and lack of Vit D.

(and gluten/casein intolerance can cause the last 3). However,

I don't recall the details exactly, you might want to search

the archives ...

Heidi Jean

[Guest guest]

>She's 50, relatively healthy except for lifelong asthma for which I

>believe she occasionally uses an inhaler. Apart from that she's not

>on any medication and has always eaten a mostly organic, wholefoods

>diet. Personally I don't think she drinks enough water but I can't

>see that this would cause insomnia. I know she's been suffering

>insomnia on and off for a number of years but it's getting worse

>lately. She's also started suffering heart palpitations during the

>night - as in rapidly and strongly beating heart and doesn't know if

>it's physical or stress-related. I've noticed that she often has bad

>breath - an indication that something is not quite right.

What is her caffeine intake like? Some people find that heart palpitations

and other " anxiety " related symptoms disappear when they cut caffeine, if

their caffeine intake is too high.

I've found that taking calcium/magnesium tablets at night helps me have a

deeper sleep if I'm going through a stage of light sleep - not that I've had

insomnia as such. It seems to be something dietary, but the tablets seem

to do something that milk at bedtime doesn't. I used them for a while

after childbirth, and now find that I no longer need them, even though I

haven't made any dietary changes.

Doing slow breathing should help palpitations if they are stress-related (

breathe in, count slowly 3, breathe out, count slowly to 3, for a couple of

minutes).

[Guest guest]

>

> Hi! I'm still here ... congrats on the baby!

Thanks Heidi! So glad you're still around. This forum wouldn't be

the same without you ;-)

>

> I have never had insomnia much myself, but it's been discussed

> in the GFCFNN group lately in some depth. Basically some of us

> get that " awake in the middle of the night, heart pounding and

> anxious about something " from cortisol and/or hormone

> imbalances, which *can* be from food intolerances, calcium

> dysregulation, out of balance hormones, and lack of Vit D.

> (and gluten/casein intolerance can cause the last 3). However,

> I don't recall the details exactly, you might want to search

> the archives ...

Thank you - I'll pass that on.

Filippa

[Guest guest]

--- In , " rda " <juliarda@h...>

wrote:

>

> What is her caffeine intake like? Some people find that heart

palpitations

> and other " anxiety " related symptoms disappear when they cut

caffeine, if

> their caffeine intake is too high.

She has cut out coffee and at times has cut out tea although not at

the moment but is thinking about it. So I don't think her caffeine

intake is too high.

> I've found that taking calcium/magnesium tablets at night helps me

have a

> deeper sleep if I'm going through a stage of light sleep - not

that I've had

> insomnia as such. It seems to be something dietary, but the

tablets seem

> to do something that milk at bedtime doesn't. I used them for a

while

> after childbirth, and now find that I no longer need them, even

though I

> haven't made any dietary changes.

>

> Doing slow breathing should help palpitations if they are stress-

related (

> breathe in, count slowly 3, breathe out, count slowly to 3, for a

couple of

> minutes).

>

>

Thanks . I'll pass that on.

Filippa

[Guest guest]

There is this little box that many folks have in the house, it makes a

lot of noise and it shows fast action pictures. Sometimes turning off

that box a few hours before bed and reading a book will help.

Your friend might also benefit from some herbals. Motherwort tincture

is calming and many women find it helpful during stressful times.

Belinda

[Guest guest]

--- In , " filikara " <filippa91@y...>

wrote:

Filippa,

Hi, I remember you from awhile back. Congrats on your pregnancy, I

think I remember you were having trouble getting pregnant?

> She's 50, relatively healthy except for lifelong asthma for which I

> believe she occasionally uses an inhaler. Apart from that she's not

> on any medication and has always eaten a mostly organic, wholefoods

> diet. Personally I don't think she drinks enough water but I can't

> see that this would cause insomnia. I know she's been suffering

> insomnia on and off for a number of years but it's getting worse

> lately. She's also started suffering heart palpitations during the

> night - as in rapidly and strongly beating heart and doesn't know

if

> it's physical or stress-related. I've noticed that she often has

bad

> breath - an indication that something is not quite right.

I had been having insomnia that had been worsening, especially in

the past few years and also had the heart palpitations and bad

breath, along with about 50 other little annoying problems. In

short I found the problems were

1) gluten intolerance

2) casein intolerance

3) bad Candida/yeast/fungal/whatever overgrowth

4) nutrient deficiencies due to the above problems

5) low estrogen and cortisol cycle out of whack due to the above

problems

Gluten intolerance being the root problem. It caused leaky gut

which caused casein intolerance and gut dysbiosis which caused

nutrient dysregulation and absorption, which eventually threw many

hormones out of whack – namely cortisol and estrogen.

Cortisol levels cycle throughout the day. Generally they are

highest first thing in the morning and decline throughout the day.

There is a little variation in this cycle, you can google for better

cortisol cycle descriptions. When cortisol is high, you are very

alert, warm, awake, hungry, and ready for the day. When cortisol is

lowest, you are sleepy, cooler, and not hungry. Certain things

cause cortisol to be too high, too low, or completely throw the

cycle off. These things are candida overgrowth (candida is very

active at night and causes the body to secrete lots of cortisol),

food intolerances, stress, hormonal peaks (ovulation, menstruation,

pregnancy, menopause etc). A cortisol spike will also cause a

rapidly beating heart. Your friend may notice that insomnia is

worse right before ovulation and menstruation. Also, she probably

feels very mentally alert during her insomnia. Oh, and high

cortisol levels (I'm not exactly sure of the mechanism but it's

explained in Schwartzbein's and Ross's books) cause some

stinky odor to be emitted I the sweat and saliva. That might be

what you're smelling on her breath.

> So do any of you have any words of wisdom and experience? Do you

> think it's menopause and there's nothing she can do? Is there

> anything she can do dietary wise? I've suggested carbs last thing

> before bed (warrior diet way right?). She has warm milk with honey

> but it doesn't seem to be helping.

Nah, it's probably not menopause because I was having these problems

beginning in my mid-twenties. Though, low estrogen (not low

progesterone, believe it or not) is a common in people with these

types of insomnia problems, which can be mistaken for menopause

sometimes. I would suggest the following, sort of in order of

importance:

- drink kefir beer every day (see files for Heidi's .pfd)

- don't eat gluten

- do what you need to get candida/overgrowth under control. Kefir

beer might be enough for some, but others might require something

more like fungal defense or reduction in carbs

- get a lot more calcium/mag, vit A and D and supplement if

necessary (watch out for cod liver oil, though, the omega-3's can

cause insomnia in a lot of GF/CF people); also watch out for

magnesium, until your gut bacteria is balanced, it can cause loose

bowels

- eat kimchi or take enzymes/HCl if needed for complete digestion of

food

- cut back on casein (no milk or cheese, maybe a little butter and

cream but eliminate if necessary to sleep)

- Join GFCFNN, we have an insomnia club going, and there seems to be

someone available at any hour of the day

Here are two of my posts describing in more detail what I think this

problem is and a recent update.

GFCFNN/message/1329

http://onibasu.com/archives/cl/11413.html?highlight=katy%20candida

GFCFNN/message/2703

Katy