Waking At 3 Each Morning

[ecstatichamster]

I wake up now and feel an adrenaline reaction. I drink some OJ and collagen, maybe take a tiny bit of T3, and all is fine for awhile.

I think my cortisol is too low at night, and adrenaline kicks in to maintain blood sugar.

Any ideas are appreciated. One thing that I think has caused this is I eat the ground mushrooms before bedtime. Maybe I should do that in the afternoon.

 

[Wagner83]

Didn't you say you were going low fat and ditching most starch not long ago?
I eat more fat at dinner and it may help with sleep.

 

[DuggaDugga]

I wake up now and feel an adrenaline reaction. I drink some OJ and collagen, maybe take a tiny bit of T3, and all is fine for awhile.

I think my cortisol is too low at night, and adrenaline kicks in to maintain blood sugar.

Any ideas are appreciated. One thing that I think has caused this is I eat the ground mushrooms before bedtime. Maybe I should do that in the afternoon.

Cortisol is released to maintain blood glucose levels, so I would doubt it's going too low; probably the exact opposite.
Eating right before bed works well for me. If I'm not particularly hungry but want to avoid night-waking I'll just do a spoonful of honey to restore hepatic glycogen. Relaxing activities like reading help to lower excitation as well.

 

[James IV]

Eat a low carb, moderate to low protein, high fat meal as your last meal. Something like some squash with butter, and a side of bacon. Or push your last meal earlier in the day.

You want your blood sugar near fasted levels, and your mitochondria momentum geared toward fat burning before you go to bed, unless you don't mind eating carbs in the middle of the night.

 

[DuggaDugga]

Eat a low carb, moderate to low protein, high fat meal as your last meal. Something like some squash with butter, and a side of bacon. Or push your last meal earlier in the day.

You want your blood sugar near fasted levels, and your mitochondria momentum geared toward fat burning before you go to bed, unless you don't mind eating carbs in the middle of the night.

OP, I would strongly suggest avoiding @James IV 's recommendation.
You need carbohydrates to support anaplerotic reactions (production of oxaloacetate, the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex).

 

[James IV]

OP, I would strongly suggest avoiding @James IV 's recommendation.
You need carbohydrates to support anaplerotic reactions (production of oxaloacetate, the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex).

So you believe one meal without carbohydrate means there are none available in your body?

Go ahead and experiment hamster. See what works best.

 

[DuggaDugga]

So you believe one meal without carbohydrate means there are none available in your body?

Go ahead and experiment hamster. See what works best.

If you spike your insulin with protein your body will conduct gluconeogesis once hepatic glycogen is depleted, an inefficient and stress hormone-mediated process.

 

[James IV]

If you spike your insulin with protein your body will conduct gluconeogesis once hepatic glycogen is depleted, an inefficient and stress hormone-mediated process.

I said a fat based meal, not protein. And hepatic glycogen better not be depleted after one low carb meal, and a night of sleep, or you are really sick and malnourished.

 

[raypeatclips]

Peat has said the fibers can cause blood sugar to drop I believe. I used to wake many times in the night when I was more stressed than I am now. I also find eating some starch (rice) with some protein and fat (milk) keeps me asleep for 8 hours more consistently more than eating anything else. Just liquids before bed guarantees I will wake in the night hungry.

 

[theLaw]

I would try the following:

1. Clean out your gut with 1-4T of ac to insure this is not a bacteria issue along with daily carrot salad

2. Create an "emergency" meal for when you wake up - MCT/coconut oil + sugar appears to be the most basic posted here, but warm milk + sugar or ice cream would work

3. Peat recommends protein during the day and fat at night

Just keep in mind that this is probably a liver/digestion/stored pufa issue, so you'll need to work toward resolving those issues.

I tested out milk + sugar (w/a few BCAAs) each and every time I woke up, and it killed my nightly adrenaline spikes, and hourly sugar (1T) during the day did the same.

From the RPEE:

I think a total for sugar up to ten ounces can be o.k., depending on your metabolic rate and needs. Budd and Piorry used up to 12 ounces per day therapeutically.

10 ounces of sugar is around 24T!!!

 

[DuggaDugga]

I said a fat based meal, not protein. And hepatic glycogen better not be depleted after one low carb meal, and a night of sleep, or you are really sick and malnourished.

If you have great liver function, that's probably true. It's still not ideal, and you haven't provided any justification for your recommendations. Carbohydrates support functions that fat cannot, which I've already stated. I'm here to engage in constructive discussion, but you haven't addressed any of my points.

 

[opiath]

To prevent adrenaline spikes during the night both glycogen and cholesterol should be up.
Aspirin, niacinamide and coffee burn up the glycogen and if your are low maybe it's best to avoid them in the evening.
Taurine repletes glycogen fast but drops the blood sugar.
Cholesterol should not be low so that cortisol synthesis can kick in after going to bed.
PUFAs interefe with cholesterol synthesis and T3 converts it fast. If you take T3 you might be dropping it too low.
Egg yolks in the evening should give you enough to support the cortisol launch.

 

[ecstatichamster]

these are great ideas.

I think cortisol is low because I feel low-adrenaline when I wake. Cold feet. Kind of an uneasy feeling. Cortisol doesn't do that for me. Before I started Peat inspired eating I never woke up at night.

 

[raypeatclips]

these are great ideas.

I think cortisol is low because I feel low-adrenaline when I wake. Cold feet. Kind of an uneasy feeling. Cortisol doesn't do that for me. Before I started Peat inspired eating I never woke up at night.

What was your diet like before Peat? Less liquids, more starch?

 

[Diokine]

Do you feel like you are clearing glucose well? Are you getting adequate potassium? Are you urinating a lot in the day? Do you have back pain?

 

[ecstatichamster]

What was your diet like before Peat? Less liquids, more starch?

less liquids, less starch, less sugar, more fat, lots of PUFAs (lots of nuts). Lots of meat.

 

[ecstatichamster]

one thing is different that I thought of. Now I drink 1/2 gallon of 1% milk. No cheese. No icecream. Lean meats. So much lower fat than before. Do you think this could account for the sleeping issues?

 

[raypeatclips]

one thing is different that I thought of. Now I drink 1/2 gallon of 1% milk. No cheese. No icecream. Lean meats. So much lower fat than before. Do you think this could account for the sleeping issues?

Why not up the fat and see for yourself? My health is definitely better with a bit of fat compared going low fat <20g

 

[shepherdgirl]

I don't have time to find the quote, but i believe Dr. Peat said that when your liver runs low on glycogen, the adrenaline will spike to squeeze every last bit of sugar out of the liver. At that point the body releases cortisol to raise the blood sugar (via gluconeogenesis). I think he might have said this in a kmud interview.
So if your liver does not store enough sugar, or if your metabolism increases, or if you are not eating enough, those could be reasons you are running out of glycogen.
If you have cut back on fat, maybe you are not eating enough at night? Caloric intake should also reflect the season - colder weather may require more food.
I eat some fat and sugar at night and find them very helpful, but adding casein or gelatin has also helped. I used to make a pudding out of skim and 1% milk, gelatin, casein, sugar, salt and cocoa and eat it before bed, but recently I am just drinking a lot of sugared salted lowfat or skim milk and oj. Also potatoes (with fat and salt, or chips fried in co) help me. Also I try to eat a decent amount for dinner, in addition to eating before bed.

 

[DuggaDugga]

I don't have time to find the quote, but i believe Dr. Peat said that when your liver runs low on glycogen, the adrenaline will spike to squeeze every last bit of sugar out of the liver. At that point the body releases cortisol to raise the blood sugar (via gluconeogenesis). I think he might have said this in a kmud interview.
So if your liver does not store enough sugar, or if your metabolism increases, or if you are not eating enough, those could be reasons you are running out of glycogen.
If you have cut back on fat, maybe you are not eating enough at night? Caloric intake should also reflect the season - colder weather may require more food.
I eat some fat and sugar at night and find them very helpful, but adding casein or gelatin has also helped. I used to make a pudding out of skim and 1% milk, gelatin, casein, sugar, salt and cocoa and eat it before bed, but recently I am just drinking a lot of sugared salted lowfat or skim milk and oj. Also potatoes (with fat and salt, or chips fried in co) help me. Also I try to eat a decent amount for dinner, in addition to eating before bed.

This is correct. Most people who are hypothyroid suffer from poor glycogen storage and generally poor liver function, so abruptly switching to a pro-metabolic diet leaves them constantly in need glucose until their capacity to store it improves. Frequent sucrose/fructose feeding can be therapeutic in these instances.