Insomnia theory -- viscous blood

I wonder if this might explain some of that insomnia when you wake up and can't go back to sleep for a few hours ...

I noticed that when I wake up after sleeping for awhile, my heart rate seems to shoot up and I get a rush of blood all around my body. It made me think -- Lyme patients tend to have more viscous blood, correct? Mine definitely seems that way during blood draws. My theory is that when I wake up, my heart works hard for a short time to get that thick blood moving better. And I think when people's heart rate goes up, it takes awhile for it to go down enough to go to sleep. I've noticed with my young son that when he gets active or wound up, it's usually two hours before he can go to sleep, and that's often what it takes for me to go back to sleep in the middle of the night. I wonder if eating any foods that help thin the blood and presumably keep it moving better would mitigate this issue.

This doesn't explain why I always wake up between 1 and 4 a.m., no matter what time I went to bed. But I recently read that that is when the liver gets more active. My labs are fine but I'm getting liver spots. Another piece of the puzzle maybe? Could thinner blood plus healthier liver equal better sleep?

What do you think? Any science to back this up?

Post Edited (Dahlias) : 5/13/2018 4:01:37 AM (GMT-6)

k07 said...
It also sounds a bit like an adrenaline rush. I haven’t completely figured my issue out. I was doing well for a bit and now it’s back. I had stopped rhodiola so I’m going to add back in to see if it helps.

I've woken up with adrenaline rushes before, and this is different. The adrenaline rush feels unpleasant to me. This is neutral, like an HVAC system kicking in.


Sandyfeet, something called Gabatrex (an L-theanine supplement) has helped me a little. I'd be interested to hear what you find.

Dahlias-

What you describe is adrenals. These infections hit the endo sys hard.

Your endo sys is "off its clock".

" I wake up, my heart works hard for a short time" - adrenals do that. Adrenals and thyroid can both be gradual.

Panic is only in extreme cases, like panic attack.

Have you rulled out mechanical sleep apnea?

Both waking up and having trouble going back to sleep and heart racing are in Gordon Medical's description of babesia. www.gordonmedical.com/unravelling-complex-chronic-illness/babesia-like-organisms-bablo-consideration-signs-and-symptoms/

However, in Buhner's bartonella book, he says any heart problems should be a clue to a bartonella infection and that bartonella can cause insomnia. The insomnia reference is part of a quoted work attributed to Maurin and Raoult 1996, 280.

Hard to say which is right, or maybe both are.

I have had both of the symptoms you described. I have not tested positive for either bart or babs, but I have the more definitive signs of bart (striae, stretch marks, foot pain, bone pain). Doesn't mean I couldn't also have babs. Bart is just much more obvious in my symptom picture.

If you have either bart or babs and especially if you are treating either of those right now, they would be suspect IMO.

I'm not sure I described the heart part accurately -- I know my heat rate increases compared to when I'm sleeping, but that's really not what I'm noticing. I'm noticing the surge of blood through all my limbs. It's kind of like when your foot falls asleep and it's waking up again, but milder. I'll try to pay more attention next time and see if I can describe it better. Maybe this is just me? Lol.

borrelioburgdorferii said...
I have sleep apnea and it's a lot like this. I have central and obstructive (mechanical) mix. Without the machine I am in for hellish insomnia, and lately I take trazodone (sedative/antidepressant) which helps me achieve the much-needed REM sleep, though it feels like I shouldn't knock myself out without this respirator sort of device anyway.

As for the hypercoagulation, I'm sad to say my health care provider assigned cardiologist would not even hear it, because I dont have the sort of insurance (or any) that would pay for any fancy extra test or doctor without a lot of paperwork. But I'm sure blood thickening is part of my symptomology, like 100% sure. I get this weird dull vascular pain in my armpits, and I also have treatment-resistant HBP, well yeah thats hypercoagulation, well tell that to the doctors that don't understand Lyme-literacy and co-infections nor their symptoms.

Also, look at HPA axis disruption, which a beta-blocker (toprol, metoprolol) may help somewhat, adrenally anyway, good luck.

I also tested and have central and obstructive...but it's much better - so my husband says anyway. He used to hear me - I'd stop breathing...and then take a gasp for air...not doing that anymore.
Maybe that's why I'm not waking during the night anymore.

I'm going to do a re-test - wear the monitor and see if my test results for sleep apnea improves.