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waking up at 1 am with continous adrenalin like surges

soxfan

Senior Member
Messages
995
Location
North Carolina
I usually sleep well although wake up tired..recently I have been woken up at around 1am with a feeling of continous adrenalin coursing through my body. Once this wakes me up I can't fall back to sleep. I only seem to have it once a week but it has been going on for a few months now and something I haven't experienced in the past. It also feels as though my body is internally vibrating and I can actually feel it with my hand mostly on my abdomnal area.

I am having thyroid problems at the moment with a TSH that rises and falls within weeks. Plus I am on a cortef taper but have been on the same dose now for 3 months.

I am sure this has probably been written about but it happened to me last night and I am totally exhausted today..had about 2-3 hours sleep even with lunesta.

Anyone experience this crazy symptom or have any ideas what the cause is..I am seeing my doctor in 2 weeks and will be sure to mention it to him..thanks
 

Athene

ihateticks.me
Messages
1,143
Location
Italy
"Internally vibrating" is a classic symptom of borreliosis. Waking up in the night is also a symptom of Lyme, but this is also a typical symptom of CFS (XMRV?) and maybe some other illnesses, I think.

Some things that can help prevent it are:
No caffeine at all, not even in the morning
No carbohydrate rich foods after lunch - just have fish or meat and salad type vegetables for dinner and no sweet drinks
Avoid going to bed too early. For me, if I go to bed before 10pm this happens but if I have a little nap after lunch I can stay up till 10.30 and then I usually manage to sleep through the night.
 

soxfan

Senior Member
Messages
995
Location
North Carolina
I am in bed before ten and usually asleep by ten or ten thirty. I make sure to keep the same bedtime hours. I was treated for lyme for 30 months from Nov 2006 till May 2009 but my symptoms never got better. This is a new thing for me and leaves me numb with exhaustion the following day. Luckily I didn't have to go anywhere today.

Thanks for the tips...just wondering why it happens only once a week or so. strange like everything else I have going on. ..
 

Vegas

Senior Member
Messages
577
Location
Virginia
This is probably an indication of autonomic nervous system dysfunction. I bet if you had a glucose monitor you would find your blood sugar is substantially elevated above fasting levels when you get these. Adrenaline will do this to you, and if you get a big bs drop in the nighttime you will get a compensatory response from the SNS. My BS would hit 160 hours after meals, yet I was about as far as you could get from metabolic disease/diabetic. My doctor couldn't explain why my fasting bs was 81, yet sometimes during the day I would get these huge bs increases without food. Of course the endocrinologist didn't know jack about fatigue and all the crazy imbalances that can occur. Eating a moderate amount of protein/fat before bedtime might help. In the longer term, I would recommend trying a methylation protocol. It has certainly improved my sympathetic/parasympathetic balance. The internal trembling feeling, adrenaline surges, hand paresthesia is definitely an unwanted response, and it will always be followed by a period of tiredness/exhaustion.
 

soxfan

Senior Member
Messages
995
Location
North Carolina
I was thinking it might have something to do with my glucose. I do have a monitor but am out of strips. When I was first sick my doctor always told me to eat some cheese and whole wheat crackers or peanut butter before bed. I guess I will have to start doing that again. It is just strange that all of the sudden this is happening.
I also had this the night after my ACTH test and I thought it had something to do with having the test done but that was back in August and it is still happening.

You are right about the endocrinologist...I am going to a different one next month but I doubt he will be any better. I am feeling worse since seeing the endo a year ago. She has totally messed me up inside.
I am hoping my doctor will work with Rich V so I can get going on the protocol because I need to try something as I feel much worse off physically than last year at this time.
Thank you so much for your imput...it makes so much sense.
 

justy

Donate Advocate Demonstrate
Messages
5,524
Location
U.K
Hi Soxfan, i had this symptom for months last year - waking with huge adrenaline surges. The internal trembling i have not had much in recentr years, but i used to get it years ago when i was first sick.
I dont know what causes it, but for me i think the waking with adrenaline thing was down to blood sugar changes. Dr. Myhill in the UK, suggested i eat a high protein snack before bed. I would eat half or a quarter of a bannana with a handful of almonds or rice cakes with peanut butter. Stabilising my blood sugar at night really helped with this symptom - although it did take a while. Dr.Myhill suggests also having a snack by the bed to eat if the symptom is severe.

I dont have this problem anymore, but it came back or a few days recently and the last thing at night snack helped again.

I dont understand the trembling thing though and havent heard anyone else talk about it before, it is slightly reassuring to me to hear that others have had this.
Good luck with it all, not sleeping is one of the worst things.
 

soxfan

Senior Member
Messages
995
Location
North Carolina
justy- i am pretty sure it does have to do with blood sugar levels..i use to wake up feeling really hungry when i was first sick and kept a snack next to my bed. It is just so strange that I only get this occasionally but i am grateful i don't have it more often. It is almost worse how i feel the following day...just useless. It is amazing that it just wakes me right up and i think i did doze on and off the rest of the night but never really fell asleep because of the surges.

The body vibration feeling is really strange too. I have had that off and on for a long time and i contribute it to just be overly tired. i did go out shopping yesterday for clothes and stayed way too long at the store so i think? that might be the cause.

Thanks for writing..i really appreciate all the responses because it is kind of a scary thing to go through. my husband works nights so being alone doesn't help either. Yes not sleeping is the worse and i will do almost anything to make sure i sleep at night.
 

Carrigon

Senior Member
Messages
808
Location
PA, USA
I get this from aspartame and caffeine. I don't know why we aren't all screaming about aspartame on this forum. It causes every symptom we get. In 1996, they approved it to be hidden in many, many things. And it is a toxic poison.

Thyroid can also snap you awake if it's out of control. But that, too, gets wrecked from the aspartame. I had gotten some long, long letters from Dr. Betty Martini recently that fully convinced me that the aspartame is what made me sick in the 80's and really started everything on me.
 

leaves

Senior Member
Messages
1,193
Yes a pure and clean foods diet (without additives) is really a priority for PWC. All these additives at best put extra strain on your liver and at worst mess up your hormones, nerves and what not.
 

soxfan

Senior Member
Messages
995
Location
North Carolina
My thyroid is definately out of control and has been since I started seeing a endocrinologist. My doctor had been treating my thyroid prior. I have gone from a 1.89 to a 5.78 in a matter of weeks and it has been like that since March. I now am seeing a new endo in a couple weeks to see if maybe he can figure it out.
I have felt much worse since the endocrinologist started playing with my thyroid dose..nothing against them but things for me have gone downhill...

I don't think I use aspartame but guess can't be certain it isn't in some of the food I eat. I can say that I eat very well and always have even since before becoming sick. But I will also look into that cuz I don't have a clue...
 

Carrigon

Senior Member
Messages
808
Location
PA, USA
Trust me, it's in something you're having. They put it in mouthwash, toothpaste, vitamins, including the capsules, they actually add aspartame to the gelatin capsules. It's even put in the glue on the backs of envelopes. Nearly everything you have has hidden aspartame in it now. It's in sports drinks, it's in juice cocktails, it's in yogurts. You name it, it's in there. What happened in 96 is that they got permission to not label it on the ingredients and to add it to everything. So if you have something that just says "natural flavors", "flavoring", they hide it in there.

Aspartame hits every organ system in the body. It disrupts the central nervous system, it ruins your eyesight, it's an endocrine disruptor, it also inflames a part of the brain that makes you feel like you have severe earaches. It causes the muscle flutters/spasms, the insomnia, the pain all over your body. It is a trigger and cause of fibromyalgia. It lowers the seizure threshold in the brain and that is why Lyrica is an anti seizure medication. They know aspartame is causing fibromyalgia. Everyone on this forum should be doing extensive research into what aspartame really is and does. It's not myths. The reality is, there has been medical data on the toxicity of aspartame for like twenty five to thirty years now documenting all this stuff. And the entire population doesn't want to know it and has some kind of denial/collective amnesia when it comes to aspartame. We are being poisoned every single day by this toxin. That is why so many of us were told our bloodwork was normal for years. No one was looking for methyl alcohol poisoning. You can look it all up here:
http://www.mpwhi.com
As far as I'm concerned, there is no longer a mystery as to what the cause of fibromyalgia is, it's aspartame poisoning. And it breaks down the blood/brain barrier so that other things that wouldn't normally make us as ill like Lyme and viruses get into the brain and that's what gives us the CFIDS/ME. But it all starts with the aspartame.
 

leaves

Senior Member
Messages
1,193
I am not sure if thats true; my grandmother had fibro (she died) but I am pretty sure she never had aspartame, xmrv virus she could have though. However I do agree that aspartame is probably not healthy to take.
 

serenity

Senior Member
Messages
571
Location
Austin
be sure to mention it to your doc & check to be sure it's not sleep apnea. i think it's pretty common for us, but i had a sleep study to be sure to rule out apnea & think anyone with sleep issues should. it's not fun, but i think it's needed.
 

Wonko

Senior Member
Messages
1,467
Location
The other side.
I get this - not as much as I used to but it still happens - got nothign to do with time tho - it can happen any time I am asleep and even occasionally when I'm awake - I'm pretty sure I dont ingest any significant levels of aspartame these days as virtually everythign i eat or drink is prepared by me - unless it's in the packaging or tap water

it doesnt feel like a blood sugar issue to me but I will check next time it happens as soon as I am functional enough to - trying to operate when it's occuring isnt much fun and generally pointless as my ability to complete even simple tasks is practically zero

edit - the vibrating isnt like trembling - at least not in my case - it's much more of an intense thudding electric vibration than trembling - it's similar, but goes on a lot longer, to the intense thudding vibrating buzzing sensation I get after I come round from being unconcious - but involves less swearing lol
 

Stone

Senior Member
Messages
371
Location
NC
I haven't read through this whole thread yet, too tired today, so pardon if I'm stating something out of context. For about two months before I suddenly collapsed at work with CFS, I had these strange adrenaline surges all the time, day and night for NO reason. I could be just standing there, not thinking about anything stressful when all of a sudden I experienced a surge as if I had just bunjee jumped or something. It was very odd. I mentioned it to a few people but didn't make a big deal about it although it really did concern me greatly, and it was most uncomfortable. The odd thing is though, it stopped with my 'sudden onset'. Strange. I always wondered if this disease had something to do with my HPA axis, and later research did uncover a connection so I felt a little validated but that hasn't helped me get better, so....

Just thought I'd mention it. Setting sights on tomorrow...
 

soxfan

Senior Member
Messages
995
Location
North Carolina
It is very uncomfortable..enough so that it keeps me from falling back to sleep. I try not to get too upset or worried about the strange things that happen to me or else I would be totally nuts. I feel strange most days so...I do have a glucose monitor but not sure I could get up at night during this and do the test.

I did have a sleep study in June and of course the report seemed to be normal..but not diagnostic since I didn't sleep more than 2.5 hours the entire night. It didn't help that the sleep technician asked me several times if there was something she could do for me.

Yes the vibration is more like buzzing feeling. Almost like I have a bunch of cell phones vibrating inside my body. It isn't trembling or shaking etc..

I have had this surge thing happen at least 5-6 times since August when I had my ACTH test. I will be talking to my doc about it since it is a new symptom for me.

Thanks everyone for all the responses..very interesting
 

soxfan

Senior Member
Messages
995
Location
North Carolina
slept good last night..no surging. i did eat a piece of whole wheat bread with p/b before i went to bed. woke up unrefreshed as usual but i will take that any day over being awake all night.
 

justy

Donate Advocate Demonstrate
Messages
5,524
Location
U.K
Thats good news, i would try and keep up the night time snack for a while - few months to see if it helps, it cant do any harm anyway.
My vibrating thing is just as you describe also, not like a tremo, more like a strange buzzing.

Im not sure about the Aspartame connection for this particular issue. i have not eaten Aspartame, but i still had this symptom. I have been a health food freak for all my adult life, and i always read labels. im sure in the uk it has to be labelled if in a product. i also have never used normal toothpaste etc. Although i agree that it is a particularly evil thing that shouldt be consumed at all.
 

soxfan

Senior Member
Messages
995
Location
North Carolina
I will definately keep up the snack for a while since I really don't want another totally wasted day..i have enough of those to begin with. I will ask the doctor and see if he has any ideas. They are thinking I have Hashimoto's so I believe that being out of synch can produce some strange symptoms. I will be tested for that in a few weeks.