Coping With Celiac

[maggie123]

I read of people having insomnia with celiac. Could you please tell me more.

Maggie 123

[Guest j_mommy]

For the first month of being gluten-free I had a really hard time sleeping....I was soooo tired and exhausted all teh time when I was eating gluten. Then I went gluten-free and had all this energy. I got better for me..I cut caffine ect which helped alot.

[Kaycee]

I suffered insomnia through coeliac.

Over the last twenty years my sleeping got worse and worse. It was like I woke up on the hour every hour, and if unlucky I couldn't get back to sleep. It felt like I couldn't get into a deep sleep, always half awake. Then I gave up gluten due to being diagnosed with coeliac. True my sleeping over those first few months got worse. It was more stress that was keeping me awake at that stage. But now, two years on, it is a rare night when I can't sleep. It is wonderful.

If I find I can't sleep I have to ask myself what have I eaten?

Cathy

[GFinDC]

I have trouble with insomnia and tend to wake up after about 4 hours of sleep, regardless of when I go to bed. I don't have an answer for how to deal with it. Still trying to figure it out myself. I also have Hashimoto's thyroidits and tend to think it may be related to that. Don't know for sure though.

[GFinDC]

I have trouble with insomnia and tend to wake up after about 4 hours of sleep, regardless of when I go to bed. I don't have an answer for how to deal with it. Still trying to figure it out myself. I also have Hashimoto's thyroidits and tend to think it may be related to that. Don't know for sure though.

Well, I may have my answer. I had started eating dairy again after years of not. My digestion was so much better after getting off gluten for a few months I figured why not? But ended up not being able to sleep too. Now that I am off dairy again I have been able to sleep fine. I can't think of anything else that would have caused it so I am going with the dairy as the cause for now.

[sydneysmommy]

I have had horrible insomnia since i was a child. age 7 or 8. im now 27 [diagnosed with celiac when i was 21].

the insomnia got better during pregnancy but that is the ONLY time i remember being able to sleep. but i think its just because pregnancy mAKES you tired.

even as a kid, i recall that the slightest noises kept me up or awakened me. when i was 10, i even moved my mattress into my closet so i wouldnt hear my sister talking on the phone through the walls. my own breathing kept me up!

its still bad.

but drs finally put me on lunesta which really helped me out. the only problem is that your body sort of becomes immune and i then began waking up after 4-5 hours of sleep again. so instead of upping the dose, my dr added muscle relaxers to KEEP me asleep.

now that im planning to get pg again, i NEED to get off the medications.

so the insomnia is a bit of a nerve-wracking issue.

~~~~

i have read good things about herbal and vitamin remedies for this however. and that alot of celiacs are also intolerant to other things such as dairy, mint, corn... etc.

so modifying your diet even more can help.

i am working on this myself!

good luck!

[Beagle]

I have had horrible insomnia since i was a child. age 7 or 8. im now 27 [diagnosed with celiac when i was 21].

the insomnia got better during pregnancy but that is the ONLY time i remember being able to sleep. but i think its just because pregnancy mAKES you tired.

even as a kid, i recall that the slightest noises kept me up or awakened me. when i was 10, i even moved my mattress into my closet so i wouldnt hear my sister talking on the phone through the walls. my own breathing kept me up!

its still bad.

but drs finally put me on lunesta which really helped me out. the only problem is that your body sort of becomes immune and i then began waking up after 4-5 hours of sleep again. so instead of upping the dose, my dr added muscle relaxers to KEEP me asleep.

now that im planning to get pg again, i NEED to get off the medications.

so the insomnia is a bit of a nerve-wracking issue.

~~~~

i have read good things about herbal and vitamin remedies for this however. and that alot of celiacs are also intolerant to other things such as dairy, mint, corn... etc.

so modifying your diet even more can help.

i am working on this myself!

good luck!

I have celiac disease and had a problem waking up 2-3 times a night, but I have found a fabulous solution - melatonin. I take 2-3 mg before I go to bed and get wonderful sleep! My husband takes the same amount, but his daughter takes 6mg, so everyone is different. It is a natural hormone & anti-oxtidant (no other hormone in a persons body is both) produced in the pineal gland, located in your brain. The fact that it is also an anti-oxident means it helps build the immune system, not just aid in sleeping. Some people produce less of this hormone than others, therefore getting less sleep. I don't know if this low production is caused by celiac/gluten intolerance problems, but I do know it helps me sleep.

My husband went without melatonin for two nights in a row and realized it was because he had forgotten to take melatonin. He hasn't forgotten since. I buy it at my local health food store, but it is available at grocery stores as well. I buy 1mg tablets (it also comes in 3mg & 5mg) and for 120 it costs me just under $7.00. I believe it would be well worth the money, considering how much time and effort it takes to narrow down what it causing it. It may just be a low melatonin production due to our problem and not any food item at all, but I am not ruling out the food option either.

Please read the book, "Your Body's Natural Wonder Drug - Melatonin" by Russell J. Reiter Ph.D. and Jo Robinson. It retails for about $23. A friend of mine, who is a fellow celiac, suggested it to me and I will be forever grateful.

Consider these options & you will notice a difference the very first night, I did. Some people require more than others, so exiperiment on what works for you. Oh yeah, there is no toxic amount of melatonin, so don't worry about how much you have to take.

Good luck & sweet dreams!