Heart palps and insomnia caused by new onset sensitivity

Hey everyone. Been a while. I moved a few months ago and the stress took me way out.

My biggest issue was the onset of major heart palpitations and severe insomnia a week after I moved. Naturally I started freaking out about hidden mold and off-gassing and nearly driving myself insane looking for trustworthy mold specialist and duct cleaners and probably giving the landlords major buyer’s remorse (lessor’s remorse?).

However every doctor I went to insisted it was stress and I didn’t show the usual signs of mold reaction. I noticed I felt better when on vacation bc of less stress but the palps and insomnia did not go away.

Long and painful story short, I figured out that this happened around the same time I started eating more nuts. I’d already cut out peanuts, but enjoyed almonds, Brazil nuts, macadamia, and cashews on occasion. When we moved, we discovered new grocery stores, and started traveling more with the start of summer, both which led me to indulge more and more.

Then in desperation I did a strict Whole30 (I made it 21), which caused me to depend even more on nuts to help my cravings and munchies.

Finally put 2 and 2 together and stopped eating any nuts. In a few days I was sleeping well. I’d eat a spoon of almond butter at breakfast, and would not sleep at night. Quit the nuts, and back to sleeping again.

And yet... I can eat pistachios no problem. So I experimented with my old favorite, macadamias. And now here I lie at 1 am with heart palpitations and no sleepiness. So it’s definitely the nuts.

In the meantime I got a CPAP machine which I hate and only sleep after I’ve clawed it off my face and thrown it on the floor. At least I didn’t waste more money on mold remediation.

Moral of the story: even when everything else is healing, you can still suffer new and baffling symptoms from new onset food sensitivities. Always be aware of what you’re eating.

Also, stress will set off many stupid symptoms and a cascade of health problems. Learn to manage stress, learn to say no.

I really miss my almond butter now, but OMG sleeping has been aaahhhh-mazing!

Hi BabsBunny!

A lot of nuts contain mold.

Best Wishes!

Little Bear (LB) said...
Hi BabsBunny!

A lot of nuts contain mold.

Best Wishes!

I thought of this. At least I can control the excess mold via food intake.

Possibly there is higher mold exposure in the new house, so nuts are tipping me over the edge.
If there’s hidden mold in the house, I simply can’t deal with the logistics. I’ll just avoid nuts and learn to live with levels just below my threshold.

ToddPaul said...
I get this same exact reaction to oils like olive or hemp (maybe all) and alcohol. It seems to be an MCAS reaction which started sometime after my first tick bite. My heart will pound and my mind races so I'll be up half the night. If I do drink which is not often what works to help me sleep is a benzo but best to avoid the trigger of course.

Yep, I have MCAS/HI as well, though it seemed to be well under control.
I think not knowing also induces a panic response and adds to the insomnia. Last night I just confirmed and accepted that it’s definitely the nuts, and I’ll be fine in the AM. Actually went to sleep at 3:45 am!

I said in your other thread but I'll say it again, food intolerances/allergies can pop up at any time in your life, and they can also go away. So far mine have just accumulated...