Sleeplessness and IBD

well kev, if you live on the other side of johnphx's neighbor, and the rude dudes loud music is keeping you awake, I would suggest the two of you get together and beat the crap outa the guy -

if that's not it, let john go it alone

Post Edited (soystud) : 3/27/2014 6:37:20 PM (GMT-6)

Kevlar: What meds are you on?

Ha ha (soystud) if only that were the case lol. Easy fix!

(StealthGuardian) Yeah magnesium is amazing stuff. I started taking some before bed about a week and a half ago and have seen some improvements (in regards to it helping me to relax). I know it's helping my muscles relax and stuff but my mind is on constant think mode. . . I can lay down and "sleep" for 8 hours straight at times, but its really just 8 hours of resting if you know what I mean. I'm not able to truly get to deep, Normal, sleep...

Regarding my diet now, I Loooove protein, carbs and pretty much anything that doesn't give me a reaction lol. I absolutely Love tuna cuz of all of it's good properties, and the taste of course :P I feel like I should be getting a pretty good amount of oil from that but there still could be reason to take it in capsule from as well. maybe Ill try that too. I've been trying not to eat too much too late in the evening because I know my body should be resting at night, not working to digest haha, but I can lay down for an hour and then the sleeplessness/restlessness kicks in and I just want to get up and DO something. SO, I end up getting up and watching something on Netflix and snacking and eating more stuff which I'm sure gives me more energy and only compounds the problem, but it is what it is.

I actually went to the store yesterday to get some melatonin but I looked at the package and it said to not take it if you have auto immune. Not sure if you might have some insight into that. so I went with some Valerian capsules instead. Haven't tried them yet.

(garylouisville & momto2boys) Originally my GI prescribed Lialda. I'm not completely against prescription drugs, but I prefer to go the more natural route first, whenever possible. I might just end up doing what you guys are doing; combining the natural with the perscription. I guess we'll see.

After 4 years of struggling with foods and drinks I've finally gotten my diet down to a science which I know is huuuge when it comes to controlling the inflammation. During those 3 to 4 years, other than working on figuring out my wacky diet, I didnt really do or take anything for the inflammation which I know is stupid... about a week and a half ago though I started on Renew Life brand (Ultimate Flora Critical Colon Bifido Max 80 bil probiotic). At the same time I began taking around 1000mg of Turmeric root extract (Gaia Brand). within 3 days or so I was having normal (or as close to normal as it's been in a while) bathroom trips. still seeing what the results will be but feeling encouraged for sure. All in all how are all 3 of you doing? do you feel like you have control/reached remission? Thank you all for your comments/help, Im SO thankful for an awesome resource like this chat/forum thing.

My cause of sleepless nights was due to frequent nocturnal bm's, the only thing that stopped that was when I finally broke down and started smoking mj just before bed, haven't had a sleepless night since.

Awesome, thank you, I'll definitely check it out.

imagardener2 said...
Melatonin did not make my gut happy, I tried but no.

I take a generic Benadryl every night which is also sold at Walwart as Equate sleep pill (cheapest). Works like a charm and has the added benefit of being an anti-histamine which may also be at play in my UC. All I know is it works.

I understand it may not help everyone. I'm a big fan of letting the pineal gland generate its own amount of melatonin, but I'm exposed to a lot of artificial light @ night and winter is just finishing up here, so I can sense that my plasma melatonin secretions are far less. I use a little to give it my body a boost, and I wouldn't recommend it in the large amounts (3-5 mg) that people are taking. I think even .25 mg is decent enough. .5 mg is optimal and what the science recommends.

I was reading more into melatonin yesterday and it's responsible for reducing many inflammatory mechanisms in the body. It also helps production of human growth hormone, which is required for healing the gut lining. A recent study on mice showed it to be very helpful for reducing the range of inflammatory markers and maintaining remission in UC.

Another thing I forgot mention is to try 1 tsp of local, raw honey mixed with equal parts cream/butter before bedtime. I use raw goat cream, but butter works just as well. Coconut oil will have that same MCT effect if you have dairy sensitivity. The brain's preferred fuel source is ketone bodies and the body burns loves to burn fat (the right kind - saturated fats) during sleep cycles.

Post Edited (StealthGuardian) : 3/29/2014 9:38:12 AM (GMT-6)

Melatonin helped me a bit, but not as much as I would have liked. I agree with Stealthy about only using small amounts - work your way up if you need to, but 3-6mg is far in excess of what the body normally produces and may leave you feeling groggy and hungover the next day.

I have no proof for this, but my feeling is the earlier you take melatonin, the better: I don't think it works very well with my 3am bedtime. I can't get to bed much earlier than that; partly because I can't fall asleep and partly because my dad would drive me batsh!t insane with his faffing around if I tried, so it's just easier for me to wait until he's gone to bed (which is usually after 2am).

Re Sunny13's post: I use a program called f.lux for my laptop, which cuts out the blue light which is meant to stimulate wakefulness. It'll make your screen look orange at first, but stick with it: you get used to it really quickly and it is amazing for reducing eye strain. I have also found that I can use my laptop right up to bedtime and it seems to make no difference to my ability to fall asleep, as long as I haven't got wound up by anything. But if I play on my Vita up until bedtime, it's fatal: unfortunately videogames and watching films wake me up more than the internet does. Hell, just read some really boring posts before going to bed. Like this one >_>.