Sleep Patterns

[Guest ~wAvE WeT sAnD~]

Hey everyone!!!

I was wondering, has keeping a consistent sleep pattern made a significant impact on your health after you were diagnosed? Staying up late is practically a lifestyle for college students (I must sound like I'm making a justification for myself!).

I have heard that as people get older, they need less sleep. It probably varies from person to person, but are sleep patterns essential to overall sleeping health?

I'm a bit of a night owl (it's 12:18 and I'm wide awake--a quality of mine when I'm healthy).

Thanks a lot!!!!

[Alexolua]

Not an expert.. but I like increasing my post count! =D

I do know, if you don't get enough sleep.. it weakens your immune system. I don't know if it matters when you go to bed though. I think it's more important to just try to get to bed around the same time, and get enough of it! 8 hours seems to be the magic number I hear.. could be wrong there.

So.. getting enough sleep, is important to health. Though not entirely sure about sleep patterns.. or what you mean by that, lol sorry.

[burdee]

Hey Jill:

I've discovered a different fact about older people and sleep: As they get older their sleep quality is often disturbed by pain, stress and snoring mates. So although they need the same 8 hours as younger people, they don't get as much sleep. Then they try to use caffeine (which can cause headaches if you decrease your daily dose ) or sugary foods (which can cause weight gain when you eat for fatigue rather than hunger) or bright lights late in the evening (which really mess up your melatonin and sleep/wake cycles) to keep themselves alert when they are exhausted. So not only are older people more tired due to lack of sleep, but they have all those other pesky symptoms like headaches, overweight and more insomnia which doctors explain by "you're just getting older". Please remind me again why we depend so much on doctors' opinions.

BURDEE

[Nadtorious]

Personally my sleep patterns changed significantly once I was gluten free for about a year. I went from sleeping 14 or more hours a day to needing 7-9, with a significantly more active lifestyle nowadays. Whenever your body reacts to gluten, I see it-and feel like it-as though your immune system is fighting it just like a cold or the flu. That's why I slept so darn much, and why one of my only symptoms of accidental gluten ingestion anymore is feeling sleepy!

Nadia

[jendenise]

I'm 21 and I used to stay up until 3 or 4 in the morning and get up at 7 am for work. This was normal I never needed sleep I was always energetic. I was diagnosed 2 years ago, and up until about 8 months ago I barely ever slept. But now I sleep 7 to 10 hours a day and still feel exhausted a lot of the time. But I'm totally gluten free and except for a few gluttened mishaps I haven't had any gluten issues. Can't explain it...

[Guest ~wAvE WeT sAnD~]

JenDenise--

I'm 21 too, and tired 24 hours a day. Thanks for replying!! It's 2:16 am in Pennsylvania and I'm still typing a paper! Tomorrow I will feel like a truck hit me.

[jendenise]

WOW, I'm surprised you were able to make it to 2:00am, I was up until 10:00 last night and felt exhausted! Do you think it could be a deficiency type thing? I'm going to have my iron levels checked on Monday to see if I'm still anemic, I figure that could explain my never ending exhaustion, but if not then what? Glad to see I'm not alone, but then again I wish others didn't feel like I do.

[CoolCat1]

I felt tired for years and then I got really exhausted but thought I was just stressed. I then lost weight and eventually tested low iron and was definitely anemic. I tried iron pills but they gave me diarrhea. 2 months ago I found out I had celiac disease and am on the gluten-free diet. i still can't sleep without a sleeping pill and I'm still bloating/constipated and then I have diarrhea in the morning. But, hey, it was way worse a few months ago. I am only working mornings and I'm trying to rest pm's but I still have insomnia. Melatonin doesn't do it for me..neither does valarian. Jendenise, good luck!

[Guest ~wAvE WeT sAnD~]

jendenise,

I'm not sure...I just had my iron checked, and it's 12.5 I have no idea what's going on, but I've found that if I regulate my sleep patterns more closely, it works. I admire you for being able to go to bed at 10 pm---I'm actually more awake at night and exhausted during the day! Any thoughts?

Sleep tight,

[ms-sillyak-screwed]

I'm Sleepless in Florida

~ Hi all my celiac cyberspace friends!

Since I was a kid I was up late, I was born at 1:00 am if that matters. My body clock seems to be set much different than most people.

I alway had a problem getting out of bed in the morning. I remember as a kid, and teen years, my dad would pull the covers off me, grab me by the ankles and pull me out of bed on to the floor to wake me up early mornings. As a teen, 20's, 30's and into my 40's now I'm up all night. I generally wake up around 10:00 a.m to 11:00 a.m. It seemed I would wake up and get a second wind around 10 or 11:00 p.m. I would go out dancing all night and come home around 3:00 am. Or when I had a hubby I would go to bed when he did but would get up when he fell asleep and would go out to my home/studio. I'm an artist, and all and all creative soul that does my best work at night. Some times I'm up until 4.

I don't know if it was insomnia, because I would get 7 or 8 hours of sleep and I feel rested for the most part. I slept sound. I was just living on the USA east coast but my body clock was on west coast time. (giggle)

Even now with this illness I have tried to reset my body clock. It's so so so hard...

I have lived with celiac disease gluten-dairy free for 4-years and been okay until a major flare up and stress with my thyroid problem. Now sleep is a major issue. I have so many symptoms now and insomnia IS a problem.

I find that what does help me fall asleep. I take my little Italian dog GOOMBA for a walk for a mile or so in the evening around 11:00 pm. (The weather here is always beautiful.) I force myself to go to bed no later then 1 to 1:30 a.m. Then with dim lights or candles aromatherapy in the room or aromatherapy spray on the pillow bed sheets. I take a shower or bath with aromatherapy oils and read my Bible or a book if I'm not relaxed enough. I will relax with no outside stimulation. NO TV it makes me wired, a radio wakes me up and not even a alarm clock in the room. If I don't fall asleep after 15 minutes then I take something. Only since I've had this thyroid flare up on occasion have I had too, when I feel racy, my heart goes into palpitations or etc. I feel better in the morning and though out the day when I get deep sleep uninterrupted.

As I look back I wonder if when I break this routine (I started a few weeks ago) its the reason I feel really bad... Now as my thyroid is swinging between hyper to hypo I'm sleeping in the late afternoon early evening and feel like that cartoon where I'm dragging myself around by my collar.

I have always been an UP positive person alway on the go, I hate feeling depressed

My question is there any common thread between my sleep patterns and feeling so bad? Is it just my thyroid is killing me? Or I'm not getting better because of my thyroid problem and sleep?

Anyone out there on Celiac-cyberspace have any answers I welcome them?

Thanx and sleep well my friends!

[Generic]

I was just diagnosed with fibromyalgia. It seems that no matter how much sleep I get, I feel like I got ran over by a truck. I am also quite the night owl, always have been. The Dr, gave me some pills to help me sleep, so hopefully this will help.

[darlindeb25]

I am not sure if our sleep disturbances have anything to do with being celiac--I think our lifestyles make the difference---although, many of us have pain from other ailments that celiacs may have caused--I have neuropathy, I also have tinnitus, which I have had all my life but is in a serious flare up condition for now--there is a field of crickets in my head most nights now they wont go away---at any rate----I made a huge change in my life and my sleep patterns have much improved with this change----I moved 800 miles away from most of my stress, I now live near my sweetheart, I have a full time job that is regular hours--for years I worked jobs that had me working early in the morning or late at night, never the same days off, rarely a weekend--now i never start work before 9am and I am always done by 7pm and I have the same days off every week---all these changes have done good things for me---I'm eating better now, sleeping better, and enjoying my life-----just my thoughts on the subject Deb

[ms-sillyak-screwed]

darlindeb25 - Glad you moved away from your stressors. Wonderful to hear about your sweetheart. Being in a loving enviroment can heal a lot. I also believe the power of loving touch does wonders as well. I noticed I became sicker (this time I had a flare up) when I called of my engagment. Plus it stressed me out in addition to several other things.

My late-mom had the crickets in here ears. I remember as a kid she told me she had virtigo.

Have you tried a SOUND MACHINE to sleep with? You know it has sounds of the ocean, or city noise, or whatever soft noise in your comfort zone. I have a girlfriend that uses one to put her twin babies to sleep. My 84-year old daddyO sleeps with the radio playing. Sometimes it so loud I can hear it on the otherside of my home. He said for the same reason.

So.... thank you for remindiing me.... I've just added it to the Walmart shopping list, I'm going to check into it, and price them out. I'll get back to you on what I find.

Sleep Well!

[ianm]

I used to be chronically tired but could only sleep a few hours at a time. I never felt rested. After I went gluten-free I was able to sleep normally. Regular exercise helps a great deal. If I am not able to exercise then I start having trouble sleeping. I used to have ringing in my ears but that too has gone away.

[ms-sillyak-screwed]

darlindeb25 - I went to Walmart yesterday and I priced the Sound Machines. I found one in the candle and aromatherapy isle where they have some mood music celiac disease's and cassette tapes. The one I found is called SOUND SCAPES it sells for about $19.00 and it looks good. It has about half a dozen types of sounds to choose from. I don't know if it would help drown-out the crickets you hear...???

Sleep well my friend!

[Guest ~wAvE WeT sAnD~]

I used to have Soundscapes It wasn't too bad, but now I've upgraded to Dan Gibson's "Solitudes" collection. It is fantastic!!!

[watkinson]

I also have sleeplessness. (For about 20 years or so) I had no problem sleeping as a child or teenager. But starting in my 20's (a few years after the celiac symptoms started) I began having sleep problems. (which go worse as the celiac problemas got worse.) I sometimes get as little as 1 or 2 hours a night several nights in a row.

I have recently been diagnosed with fibromyalgia, (restless leg syndrome, chronic fatigue, all kind of go hand in hand). I also have peripheral neuropothy. Tingling pain in my hands and feet, with shooting pains going down the arms and legs. The hands and feet will then fall asleep. It's basically nerve damage. I also have Osteomalasia (caused by malabsorbtion of calcium when the bones are developing.) Nothing you can see, just constant pain for me, mainly in the lower back and hips. It makes it difficult to sleep when you are constantly tossing and turning from pain. I realize now that I have had these problems all along the same time I suffered from Celiacs, but it all went undiagnosed.

Sometimes a person may not know that they are not sleeping. You may wake in the morning thinking that you got 8 or 9 hours but the reality is that you never fell into the deep REM kind of sleep, the restfull kind that we all need for body healing. When you toss and turn from pain or jerking muscles or tight muscles that never relax, you are obviously not going to fall into that deep sleep.

all of my problems are much better since I discovered that I have Celiacs and went gluten-free over a year ago. But I still suffer quite a bit from the pain and lack of sleep. I'm guessing that since it took my body many years to create all the damamge, it may take many years to undo it.

My doctor has put me on an antidepressant for the fibromyalgia. 25 mg. dose. It isn't a high enough dose to work for depression, but it helps with the pain by releasing endorfins, and also helps you sleep, which in turn helps with the pain. I also have Lidocaine patches that you place on the really sore muscles while you sleep. I have only been on these for about 2 weeks. At first I saw no difference, but I've noticed in the last few days that for the first time in years I am getting about 5 or 6 straight hours. WOW!!! I do feel better!! Pain is the same but I'm betting that will change too.

Definately regular excersise helps a ton. I try to run every day. It feels great when I do, but if I miss a day I really feel it.

P.S. I have 2 sound machines

Good luck with the sleep, Wendy

[ianm]

If I don't get exercise of any kind for at least a 1/2 hour a day I have a rough time getting to sleep.