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Insomnia
@puddleduck. Thanks so much for your reply and links. I have Hashimoto’s thyroiditis and have been calorie restricting for many years due to unwanted weight gain from this disease. Additionally, my insomnia worsened with the institution of T4 - at the time my endocrinologist never addressed my weight - 113# at 5’3" nor advised me that I would need to increase my calories to tolerate the pro metabolic actions of T4. My insomnia at that time was excruciating and I have been dealing with it ever since. Through various forums like this one I have learned how important nutrition is for refreshing sleep. My weight is now 137 but I am still struggling with the insomnia. The articles you linked suggest that I still maybe under eating even though I have gained 25 lbs. I believe I eat around 2500 calories a day most days of the week but I will consistently track this once our renovation is done. Trying to follow a low A diet and obtain adequate calories is a challenge as large amounts of rice and potatoes give me terrible bloating and other GI issues. I ended up looking at hypervitaminosis A because of the huge amounts of beta carotene I was consuming daily on a near vegetarian diet for almost 20 years (plus long-term Retin A use). Thanks again and I will be more mindful of getting enough calories. I thought my weight gain was proof that I was, but apparently I am not completely healed from years of under eating the wrong foods. These articles were eye opening!
I am in my twenties. Travelling. I have gone from drinking more or less little to no alcohol over the last few months to now haven drunk alcohol every other night for the past week, and a lot.
Lasr night I couldn't get any sleep even after having worked all day. Other nights this week have also been particularly poor. Before this week I was sleeping fine.
The alcohol also caused my gums to start bleeding again. Something I haven't seen in a good few years after having taken Accutane.
Do you notice a direct connection to your insomnia and alcohol consumption?
I've only recently started to drink red wine too, before this week I rarely touched it.
Keero, that is so strange because I'm having gum problems and drinking red wine again as well and I'm having trouble telling myself 'no' about it.
Red wine is an effective topical germ killer and has things in it that people think are so darn healthy. (and some, like resveratrol, are absorbed right in the mouth) I wonder which came first? Are the sore gums "asking" for the wine?
But of course, perhaps it is a mixed bag, the alcohol reaches the liver and the liver sends out VA into the tissues, making inflammation worse.
I'm always interested when I've got a hankering for something.
This is not VA related but is an interesting article about paleo sleeping postures:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1119282/
Alcohol likely causes sleeping disorders through different means, in regard to sleep apnea and snoring it could contribute via fat gain in the neck.
Correlation doesn't equal causation, I agree. The answer lies within the ALDH mechanism though
Quote from tim on November 2, 2019, 12:47 amThis is not VA related but is an interesting article about paleo sleeping postures:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1119282/
Alcohol likely causes sleeping disorders through different means, in regard to sleep apnea and snoring it could contribute via fat gain in the neck.
Wow that is super interesting info @tim-2!
I wonder if this could have something to do with why I'm such a "princess and the pea"? There were no pillows in the garden of eden? 🙂 But truly this is one of my issues. All my pillows irk me.
Of course, after I watched the video I had a little tiny melt down like this, "IS EVERYTHING I EVER THOUGHT ABOUT HEALTH WRONG?"
Yeah I've always disliked soft mattresses and actually enjoy lying on the floor. I tried the arm as pillow thing like the african man is doing but it seems I'm not flexible enough or something. I'm sleeping without a pillow though. I came to the conclusion to get rid of a pillow by realising my airway would be constricted when I'm lying on my back with my head on a pillow.
Quote from Gswitch on August 18, 2019, 7:52 am@puddleduck. Thanks so much for your reply and links. I have Hashimoto’s thyroiditis and have been calorie restricting for many years due to unwanted weight gain from this disease. Additionally, my insomnia worsened with the institution of T4 - at the time my endocrinologist never addressed my weight - 113# at 5’3" nor advised me that I would need to increase my calories to tolerate the pro metabolic actions of T4. My insomnia at that time was excruciating and I have been dealing with it ever since. Through various forums like this one I have learned how important nutrition is for refreshing sleep. My weight is now 137 but I am still struggling with the insomnia. The articles you linked suggest that I still maybe under eating even though I have gained 25 lbs. I believe I eat around 2500 calories a day most days of the week but I will consistently track this once our renovation is done. Trying to follow a low A diet and obtain adequate calories is a challenge as large amounts of rice and potatoes give me terrible bloating and other GI issues. I ended up looking at hypervitaminosis A because of the huge amounts of beta carotene I was consuming daily on a near vegetarian diet for almost 20 years (plus long-term Retin A use). Thanks again and I will be more mindful of getting enough calories. I thought my weight gain was proof that I was, but apparently I am not completely healed from years of under eating the wrong foods. These articles were eye opening!
Hey @gswitch!
For me, the calorie consumption was a game changer. But it’s hard to know what other factors could have been at play there (maybe it was the vitamin A all along, and the increase in nutrients allowed me to detox it better, who knows).
A lady in Dr. Garett Smith’s community has seen some incredible improvements in her thyroid health (she was able to lower her thyroid medication) after several months following the low-VA detox plan. So I think it’s worth monitoring your TSH carefully during this experiment!
I know that low-protien diets can often be harmful for people with thyroid issues, because the protien is used to make thyroid hormones as well as transthyretin (which protects the body from vitamin A, at least as I understand it).
Just wanted to let you know that I have removed the links to the Eating Disorder Institute from my prior post, as it has come to my attention that the site owner turned out to be something of a medical charlatan (she claimed to have medical training, but did not). Dozens of individuals ended up being harmed by the advice presented on her site and through consultation she used to offer. So I do want to caution everyone against believing anything written over there as scientific fact (the references do not always match the article).
I do think that if you have dieted for a long time, nutritional deficiencies can show up, and it can take time to restore digestion (both things have been a problem for me). The best advice I’ve recieved, is to trust your cravings and trust your body!
Best wishes, Gswitch, I hope you’re sleeping better these days. 🙂
In case anyone is not aware D deficiency is associated with insomnia:
The Association between Vitamin D Deficiency and Sleep Disorders: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Abstract
Epidemiology studies have investigated the association between vitamin D and the risk of sleep disorders, but the results remain controversial. Therefore, we conducted this meta-analysis with the goal of clarifying the association between vitamin D and sleep disorders risk. All relevant studies were searched using PubMed, EMBASE, and Web of Science from inception to January 2018. Pooled odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence interval (CIs) were calculated using a fixed-effect model A total of nine studies (6 cross-sectional, 2 case-control, and 1 cohort studies) involving 9397 participants were included. By comparing the lowest verse highest levels of serum vitamin D, we found that participants with vitamin D deficiency (VDD) had a significantly increased risk of sleep disorders (OR: 1.50, 95% CI: 1.31, 1.72). Subgroup analysis showed that VDD also was associated with poor sleep quality (OR: 1.59, 95% CI: 1.23, 2.05), short sleep duration (OR: 1.74, 95% CI: 1.30, 2.32), and sleepiness (OR: 1.36, 95% CI: 1.12, 1.65). Subgroup analyses further indicated that serum 25(OH)D <20 ng/mL could significantly increase the risk of unhealthy sleep. This meta-analysis suggest that vitamin D deficiency is associated with a higher risk of sleep disorders. More high-quality cohort studies and randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are needed to verify this association.
