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Does Celiac Cause Lack Of Sleep?


dmeagan

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dmeagan Apprentice

My blood test said that I have celiac, but my biopsy said I did not. I was tested because I have Hashimotos and I guess a lot of time you get both if you have one of the diseases? But I have kept eating gluten for like 2 years since that test. I have never been able to sleep through the night..never. If I sleep 3 hrs in a row I am amazed and so I was just wondering if gluten could be a factor


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mushroom Proficient

Yes! I used to feel totally wired, like my head was plugged into an electrical outlet :o

Brigit Apprentice

I've been gluten free for 10 days now, and I've not slept a full 7 hours since about day two of the diet. When my husband realizes I'm awake, normally around 2 or 3pm that I start tossing and turning, he puts his arm around me and says; "come let me help you". He thinks it'll calm me to be held, but I can't lie still for longer than a few moments. It's the weirdest thing. I've never had a problem with sleeping. I love it, and normally would try get around 8 hours minimum.

Good luck to you though, hope you get it sorted out!

hnybny91 Rookie

I could never sleep - NEVER! I had no problem falling asleep but I would always be up three to four hours later. I was on the highest possible dose of Lunesta for almost a year it got so bad but that really only put me to about six hours a night. I have been gluten free since Jan 2nd and I have not taken a Lunesta since about a wweek later. I have very few problems sleeping now. There have even been nights I slept for 11 - 12 hours!

cyberprof Enthusiast

I've been gluten free for 10 days now, and I've not slept a full 7 hours since about day two of the diet. When my husband realizes I'm awake, normally around 2 or 3pm that I start tossing and turning, he puts his arm around me and says; "come let me help you". He thinks it'll calm me to be held, but I can't lie still for longer than a few moments. It's the weirdest thing. I've never had a problem with sleeping. I love it, and normally would try get around 8 hours minimum.

Good luck to you though, hope you get it sorted out!

Have you tried sublingual Vit-B supplements (especially B6) and magnesium supplements? If not, give them a try.

IrishHeart Veteran

I was a raging insomniac for years. Always felt like I was "wired for sound" tossing and turning. Since going gluten-free, I sleep a few hours and wake up still, but now, I can almost always get a few hours more. At one point, I could barely sleep 1 or 2 hours. It was horrible.Now, I manage 5-6.

I was always surprised by people who said gluten made them sleepy.... :huh:

I notice you said in your post "I tested positive for celiac, but have kept eating gluten for two years since the test"....may I ask.... WHY ON EARTH ARE YOU EATING GLUTEN IF YOU ARE A CELIAC?? :blink: !!!!!!!

shopgirl Contributor

I notice you said in your post "I tested positive for celiac, but have kept eating gluten for two years since the test"....may I ask.... WHY ON EARTH ARE YOU EATING GLUTEN IF YOU ARE A CELIAC?? :blink: !!!!!!!

Uh, second this? A false positive on a Celiac blood test is astronomically rare to the point where I've yet to actually find documentation on it. But a negative biopsy isn't uncommon at all. Celiac damage can be patchy in the intestine.

It really sounds like you should have stopped eating gluten two years ago. Either get yourself retested or drop the gluten, pronto.

(And, yes, I was an insomniac before diagnosis too. I would wake up multiple times and just couldn't go back to sleep. I usually sleep fine now.)


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  • 3 weeks later...
kellynolan82 Explorer

I find I have trouble sleeping whenever I've been glutened. Not when I'm gluten free. Though since being gluten-free, I believe my fitness levels are much lower than they once were. I used to do really well in athletics when I was young however that seemed to change as soon as I went gluten free :(

Strange... :rolleyes:

liss7217 Newbie

My blood test said that I have celiac, but my biopsy said I did not. I was tested because I have Hashimotos and I guess a lot of time you get both if you have one of the diseases? But I have kept eating gluten for like 2 years since that test. I have never been able to sleep through the night..never. If I sleep 3 hrs in a row I am amazed and so I was just wondering if gluten could be a factor

When I was diagnosed with Hashimotos my Natropaths wife who also has Hashimotos, told me it was a good idea to stop eating gluten. Some of the research I have done shows that it can increase the thyroid antibodies. It makes my normally more hypothyroid change to hyperthyroid. When I stopped eating gluten about a year ago, I started sleeping much better, I could focus better and my hot flashed became much less frequent.

About 3 months into my gluten free diet, I intentionally glutened myself to see what would happen. Sure enough I woke up that night covered in sweat, had a couple pretty restless nights, and my thyroid was swollen for over a weak. From my personal experience it really made a huge difference to stop eating gluten. Getting a good nights sleep is so important for your bodies healing.

Best of luck to you.

Marilyn R Community Regular

One of my first symptoms of being glutened is insomnia. Then I get a visit from depression. And apathy says hello.

I'm strictly gluten-free, and my sleep is so much better now. So are a number of other symptoms. I appreciate good sleep most of all. :D

Brigit Apprentice

One of my first symptoms of being glutened is insomnia. Then I get a visit from depression. And apathy says hello.

I'm strictly gluten-free, and my sleep is so much better now. So are a number of other symptoms. I appreciate good sleep most of all. :D

Ha ha. I read your post outloud to my husband, we had good laugh, as that was my pattern to. Although along with the apathy I've had a bit of denial as well. Am sleeping loads better thankfully and have found some great resources: reading Wheat-Free, Worry Free, a book about living a gluten free life, and its been super helpful and have also found a health shop that is run by a woman with Celiac Disease. Yay for these wonderful small mercies!

WinterSong Community Regular

It's good to hear that so many other people have had problems with this. Before being diagnosed I'd have problems falling asleep, often waking up several times in the middle of the night. I tried melatonin, but it didn't work. I've always been the type of person to wake up early naturally, but I'm hoping that once I'm gluten-free for a while longer, I'll be able to at least sleep more deeply. Today is day #10, and I'm feeling so much better!

etta694 Explorer

I find when my iron levels are low, even though I am tired, I can't sleep - and since iron deficiency is common with having Celiac, it could be a part of the puzzle..?

Cattknap Rookie

I haven't slept well in many years - I notice no difference since being diagnosed with celiac.

adab8ca Enthusiast

I developed terrible insomnia (ie not sleeping for days) and now that I am gluten-free I have little trouble sleeping...

Medusa Newbie

This is fascinating! The first effect we noticed when we put our youngest daughter on a gluten free diet was that for the first time in her life she slept right through the night. She's nearly 9, and I'd more or less given up hope of ever having an unbroken night again. Right from the start the slightest noise would wake her up - now she sleeps like a log! Her restlessness seemed to be a combination of constant low level stomach pain and cramps in her legs - enough to give anyone nightmares! Interestingly, my mother (not diagnosed coeliac yet) also has similar problems and "restless legs" which she finds resolve when she goes gluten free.

Marilyn R Community Regular

I'm so glad your daughter is sleeping well now, and I'm happy you found out while she's still young...you've saved her from a multitude of problems!

Yay mom!

  • 6 months later...
serenajoy Newbie

I am so glad to have found this forum. I've had chronic insomnia for years. Never connected it to celiac disease. But was having terrible digestive problems -- read that could be helped by going low carb. So...in going low carb, I quit eating grains. The indigestion has pretty much cleared up and some other pesky symptoms. I was having nights and days when my brain was so wired I could not sleep. Now while I still come wide awake after 3-4 hours, after a couple hours I'm able to go back to sleep so am getting about 6 hours sleep. Reading your posts on here, seems you're describing my sleep problems exactly. I'm looking forward to learning about celiac disease and perhap being able to sleep through the night.

millertl2 Rookie

Hey, I have noticed that I am sleeping better now too. I am a newbie with Celiac. I tested positive about 2 weeks ago.

Elizabeth5220 Apprentice

Oh my...there is hope...there is hope!! :)B) B) :rolleyes:

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    • trents
      @BlessedinBoston, it is possible that in Canada the product in question is formulated differently than in the USA or at least processed in in a facility that precludes cross contamination. I assume from your user name that you are in the USA. And it is also possible that the product meets the FDA requirement of not more than 20ppm of gluten but you are a super sensitive celiac for whom that standard is insufficient. 
    • BlessedinBoston
      No,Lindt is not gluten free no matter what they say on their website. I found out the hard way when I was newly diagnosed in 2000. At that time the Lindt truffles were just becoming popular and were only sold in small specialty shops at the mall. You couldn't buy them in any stores like today and I was obsessed with them 😁. Took me a while to get around to checking them and was heartbroken when I saw they were absolutely not gluten free 😔. Felt the same when I realized Twizzlers weren't either. Took me a while to get my diet on order after being diagnosed. I was diagnosed with small bowel non Hodgkins lymphoma at the same time. So it was a very stressful time to say the least. Hope this helps 😁.
    • knitty kitty
      @Jmartes71, I understand your frustration and anger.  I've been in a similar situation where no doctor took me seriously, accused me of making things up, and eventually sent me home to suffer alone.   My doctors did not recognize nutritional deficiencies.  Doctors are trained in medical learning institutions that are funded by pharmaceutical companies.  They are taught which medications cover up which symptoms.  Doctors are required to take twenty  hours of nutritional education in seven years of medical training.  (They can earn nine hours in Nutrition by taking a three day weekend seminar.)  They are taught nutritional deficiencies are passe' and don't happen in our well fed Western society any more.  In Celiac Disease, the autoimmune response and inflammation affects the absorption of ALL the essential vitamins and minerals.  Correcting nutritional deficiencies caused by malabsorption is essential!  I begged my doctor to check my Vitamin D level, which he did only after making sure my insurance would cover it.  When my Vitamin D came back extremely low, my doctor was very surprised, but refused to test for further nutritional deficiencies because he "couldn't make money prescribing vitamins.". I believe it was beyond his knowledge, so he blamed me for making stuff up, and stormed out of the exam room.  I had studied Nutrition before earning a degree in Microbiology.  I switched because I was curious what vitamins from our food were doing in our bodies.  Vitamins are substances that our bodies cannot manufacture, so we must ingest them every day.  Without them, our bodies cannot manufacture life sustaining enzymes and we sicken and die.   At home alone, I could feel myself dying.  It's an unnerving feeling, to say the least, and, so, with nothing left to lose, I relied in my education in nutrition.  My symptoms of Thiamine deficiency were the worst, so I began taking high dose Thiamine.  I had health improvement within an hour.  It was magical.  I continued taking high dose thiamine with a B Complex, magnesium. and other essential nutrients.  The health improvements continued for months.  High doses of thiamine are required to correct a thiamine deficiency because thiamine affects every cell and mitochondria in our bodies.    A twenty percent increase in dietary thiamine causes an eighty percent increase in brain function.  The cerebellum of the brain is most affected.  The cerebellum controls things we don't have to consciously have to think about, like digestion, balance, breathing, blood pressure, heart rate, hormone regulation, and many more.  Thiamine is absorbed from the digestive tract and sent to the most important organs like the brain and the heart.  This leaves the digestive tract depleted of Thiamine and symptoms of Gastrointestinal Beriberi, a thiamine deficiency localized in the digestive system, begin to appear.  Symptoms of Gastrointestinal Beriberi include anxiety, depression, chronic fatigue, headaches, Gerd, acid reflux, gas, slow stomach emptying, gastroparesis, bloating, diarrhea and/or constipation, incontinence, abdominal pain, IBS,  SIBO, POTS, high blood pressure, heart rate changes like tachycardia, difficulty swallowing, Barrett's Esophagus, peripheral neuropathy, and more. Doctors are only taught about thiamine deficiency in alcoholism and look for the classic triad of symptoms (changes in gait, mental function, and nystagmus) but fail to realize that gastrointestinal symptoms can precede these symptoms by months.  All three classic triad of symptoms only appear in fifteen percent of patients, with most patients being diagnosed with thiamine deficiency post mortem.  I had all three but swore I didn't drink, so I was dismissed as "crazy" and sent home to die basically.   Yes, I understand how frustrating no answers from doctors can be.  I took OTC Thiamine Hydrochloride, and later thiamine in the forms TTFD (tetrahydrofurfuryl disulfide) and Benfotiamine to correct my thiamine deficiency.  I also took magnesium, needed by thiamine to make those life sustaining enzymes.  Thiamine interacts with each of the other B vitamins, so the other B vitamins must be supplemented as well.  Thiamine is safe and nontoxic even in high doses.   A doctor can administer high dose thiamine by IV along with the other B vitamins.  Again, Thiamine is safe and nontoxic even in high doses.  Thiamine should be given if only to rule Gastrointestinal Beriberi out as a cause of your symptoms.  If no improvement, no harm is done. Share the following link with your doctors.  Section Three is especially informative.  They need to be expand their knowledge about Thiamine and nutrition in Celiac Disease.  Ask for an Erythrocyte Transketolace Activity test for thiamine deficiency.  This test is more reliable than a blood test. Thiamine, gastrointestinal beriberi and acetylcholine signaling.  https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12014454/ Best wishes!
    • Jmartes71
      I have been diagnosed with celiac in 1994, in remission not eating wheat and other foods not to consume  my household eats wheat.I have diagnosed sibo, hernia ibs, high blood pressure, menopause, chronic fatigue just to name a few oh yes and Barrett's esophagus which i forgot, I currently have bumps in back of my throat, one Dr stated we all have bumps in the back of our throat.Im in pain.Standford specialist really dismissed me and now im really in limbo and trying to get properly cared for.I found a new gi and new pcp but its still a mess and medical is making it look like im a disability chaser when Im actively not well I look and feel horrible and its adding anxiety and depression more so.Im angery my condition is affecting me and its being down played 
    • marion wheaton
      Wondering if anyone knows whether Lindt chocolate balls are gluten free. The Lindt Canadian website says yes but the Lindt USA website says no. The information is a bit confusing.
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