Does The Insomnia Get Better?

[Gfresh404]

I also just wanted to add, if you haven't already seen the topic I posted, Valerian root has worked wonders for me and is much safer than Melatonin, imo. I only say this because Melatonin is in fact a hormone and there have yet to be any long term studies on its safety.

Anyway, has anyone elses condition improved since posting? Mine seems to have gotten worse/stayed the same, but only when I don't take Valerian.

[Mitzi]

  Gfresh404 said:

I also just wanted to add, if you haven't already seen the topic I posted, Valerian root has worked wonders for me and is much safer than Melatonin, imo. I only say this because Melatonin is in fact a hormone and there have yet to be any long term studies on its safety.

Anyway, has anyone elses condition improved since posting? Mine seems to have gotten worse/stayed the same, but only when I don't take Valerian.

My daughter is now off the prescsribed sleep aid. Before that script ran out, I spoke with a nutritionist who said he thought GABA would help. (It is an amino acid.) I added that to her night time regemine. I also took some because I want to know first hand what it does to the body. It definitely relaxes you which helps when trying to fall asleep. There is no groggy feeling or fog to fight through in the AM. Her script has run out now and she's just on the GABA and 5 mg of Melatonin. Her sleep is definitely better than before but far from normal. I think I'll investigate the Valerian root -- sounds like another good option.

[BloatusMaximus]

This is exactly the thread I needed to see posted here. Insomnia has been a lifelong thing for me (see my blog).

Unfortunately, I now realize that I have been masking my gluten intolerance my whole life-- with insomnia being just one notable symptom Doctors have been treating the symptoms and not the cause. This is VERY typical. This lead me to believe I had other problems when all along it was all about the gluten.

I have a real important comment to make about this: BE VERY CAREFUL ABOUT TAKING PRESCRIPTION SLEEP AIDS. They are VERY addictive and are extremely difficult to get off of. The withdrawals from commonly prescribed drugs for sleep and anxiety such as Xanax, Klonopin, Valium, Ativan, Temazepam, etc. (all benzodiazepines) and even Ambien are severe. I have first hand knowledge of this and would not wish this kind of torture on my worst enemy.

That being said, I am just now starting to find my sleep a little better after being gluten free for 3 weeks. YAY!

Thomas

[ann72601]

  no-more-muffins said:

One of my very first symptoms when I started getting sick was insomnia. I just developed terrible insomnia, both being unable to fall asleep and waking up early in the morning. I have been using prescription sleep aids for a few months to help. At the beginning of my sickness I also developed depression and anxiety and I believe those were the underlying problems which were causing my sleep problems. (Well, the gluten intolerance was causing the mood problems which were causing the sleep problems I think.)

Anyway, my mood has improved dramatically since I went gluten-free 2 weeks ago. I haven't been depressed 1 day. I have had a little anxiety but I think it is from the gluten withdrawal. It has been getting better and better. My sleep hasn't really improved yet. Sometimes I don't have trouble falling asleep (with 1/4 ambien, probably just for placebo lol) but I still wake up really early and I have a very difficult time going back to sleep. Often I wake up at 5 and am wide awake. Last night I woke up at 2:45 and could only doze off and on a little, but felt awake the whole time. Does this get better?

[jackay]

I have suffered from insomnia along with anxiety and depression for four years. I had to quit my job and have not been able to go back to work. People tell me I just need to be busier. How can I do much of anything when I can't sleep? I have tried so many sleep aids and found nothing that helps. Some make it worse. Ambien CR gave me four hours of sleep a night but increased my anxiety and made me suicidal.

I have eliminated gluten (hopefully I'm not ingesting any that I don't kow of), soy, dairy and eggs from my diet as I tested positive to all of them. I take 3 mg. melatonin at bedtime. I hope there is no gluten in the brand I use. It states rice flour as an ingredient so I hope that isn't contaminated. I also take 15 mg. mirtazapine for depression and sleep. The pharmacist says that contains cornstarch (again, hope that isn't contaminated) but didn't find any wheat in the inactive ingredients. I take ample calcium, magnesium and vitamin d3 following surgery for hyperparathyroidism seven months ago.

My sleep is so irratic. For the past week I've been getting about 2 1/2 to 3 hours of sleep a night. Before that, about every three nights I was getting a decent amount of sleep. I keep waiting for one of those nights again. My depression and anxiety have gotten quite a bit better even without enough sleep. It could be that the mirtazapine has finally kicked in after two months. It would be a lot better if it is the avoidance of gluten, milk, soy and eggs. However, my gut hasn't seemed to improve so I am doubting it is that.

I know that my adrenal glands are stressed. Whose wouldn't be after not getting enough sleep? Does the sleep deprivation cause the adrenal stress or the adrenal stress cause the insomnia? I have tried different supplements for the adrenal glands that made my insomnia and anxiety worse. Right now I am taking a vitamin b5 b6 supplement to support the adrenal hormones. I completely crashed after taking one tablet and was wild for over 24 hours. I didn't sleep at all that night. My doctor said to cut the dose in half and build up. I waited about a week and then tried 1/8 of a tablet. My system was able to handle that. I worked up to 1/4 of a tablet and then 3/8. I feel I was doing better on 1/4 a tablet so am going to stick with that for the time being. This is another variable to consider is helping my anxiety and depression.

I sure more sleep follows now that I am not as depressed and anxious. I even wonder how I can be less depressed and anxious with the little sleep I am getting.

[jackay]

I, too, am struggling with insomnia. It seems like I am constantly posting something about it. It is ruling my life. Last night I tried a new sleep supplement and got zero sleep. Usually after a night with absolutely no sleep, I go get some sleep the following night. I sure hope I do tonight!

I read the book "I Can Make You Sleep". It has some really good ideas in it, including going to bed later and getting up earlier. Since my insomnia is different every night, it is hard to apply that. Some nights I get to sleep pretty fast and then wake up after a couple hours. Once I wake up, my sleep is over with. Some nights, it takes over three hours to get to sleep. Other nights, I don't sleep at all. I am a zombie during the day just staring into space a good share of the time.

I am hoping the longer I am gluten free that my sleep will improve. I am waiting to hear how my bloodwork turns with my malabsorption issues. Hopefully once I get the proper nutrients in my system the ZZZZZZZZ's will come. Even more hopeful that my absorption issues will turn around.

[jackay]

Two night in a row of ZZZZZZZZ's. I sure hope I am on a roll.

No longer kiss dh as most likely was getting contaminated. He doesn't understand and not willing to learn more about CC.

Now I am gluten, soy, dairy, egg, nut, citrus and tomato free. Maybe that is helping.

[ghorn]

I'm about 6 weeks into my gluten-free diet and I wake up almost EVERY morning @ 5am with varrying amounts of stomach discomfort. It's kind of uncanny how my internal clock is getting me up at the same exact time every morning. From browsing the forum I see that this isn't necessarily out of the norm. I've also seen some suggestions (i.e. vitamins, cutting dairy) which I will look into.

For those that are no longer having sleep troubles, how long did your troubles last after going gluten-free? Or, does this not go away? Jeeez, I hope that's not the case. It's really difficult living life like this! Cutting out gluten is one thing, but let me sleep!!!!!!!

[Mskedi]

So... now I've been doing this since June and the insomnia only comes back when I get glutened. It generally lasts about three days before I can get a good night's sleep again. To think solving this lifelong problem could be so easy (relatively).

Good stuff.