Yawning, sleepy, achy fingertips

[messtafarian]

Does anyone ever have this symptom? It usually comes on after food, no matter how much caffeine, protein, etc -- although I tend to associate it with either too much sugar or being "dehydrated."

I feel a little breathless, very sleepy and it feels like I am somehow not getting enough oxygen. Maybe a serotonin spike, brings on a sense of torpor. Not sure.

Anyone have any ideas what this is, ever had it before or know how to fix it?

 

[Sirkama]

Did you find out what was causing your achy fingertips? I'm having the same problem... They're also slightly enlarged (clubbing?). It began a year ago or so, and I've only been "Peating" for 2-3 months.

 

[Blossom]

Did you find out what was causing your achy fingertips? I'm having the same problem... They're also slightly enlarged (clubbing?). It began a year ago or so, and I've only been "Peating" for 2-3 months.

I've had the achy fingertips and they seem to have improved after Peating for 9-10 months. I'm not sure at what point they actually improved but I noticed it several months ago. The tips of my fingers are definitely less pronounced and are now normally about the same color as the rest of my hand (instead of significantly redder). I consider it a mild structural change. Peat has written about energy changing/effecting structure and I think this is probably one example of that process. I always associated the fingertip issue with oxidative stress but that was just based on my feeling about what was happening in my own body. Just thought I'd share my personal experience.

 

[Sirkama]

Did you find out what was causing your achy fingertips? I'm having the same problem... They're also slightly enlarged (clubbing?). It began a year ago or so, and I've only been "Peating" for 2-3 months.

I've had the achy fingertips and they seem to have improved after Peating for 9-10 months. I'm not sure at what point they actually improved but I noticed it several months ago. The tips of my fingers are definitely less pronounced and are now normally about the same color as the rest of my hand (instead of significantly redder). I consider it a mild structural change. Peat has written about energy changing/effecting structure and I think this is probably one example of that process. I always associated the fingertip issue with oxidative stress but that was just based on my feeling about what was happening in my own body. Just thought I'd share my personal experience.

Woah, that sounds spot on, thank you. The problem has gotten somewhat better the last few weeks, so that's encouraging. I'm curious - what are the best ways to reduce oxidative stress (sorry if that's a silly question... I'm very new to all of this)? Everything Peat talks about? :P

 

[Blossom]

That's not a silly question! We are all in the same boat. I think you are right that it's basically everything Peat talks about that helps restore metabolism/cellular respiration. It's all synergistic IMO but I do find the carrot salad for managing endotoxin and bag breathing 2-3 times per day particularly helpful (I do not live at a high altitude).

 

[aguilaroja]

...I've had the achy fingertips and they seem to have improved after Peating for 9-10 months. I'm not sure at what point they actually improved but I noticed it several months ago. The tips of my fingers are definitely less pronounced and are now normally about the same color as the rest of my hand (instead of significantly redder)....

You might browse the web for a description of "Raynaud's phenomenon" to see if it corresponds to the difficulty. Dr. Peat has mentioned the condition, for instance, in relation to scleroderma, but more often the issue is seen by itself. (This is not a criticism of Dr. Peat–I am mentioning his discussion of another topic where the sub-topic was mentioned.) (And scleroderma is a very rare condition compared to Raynaud's phenomenon.)

"Raynaud's disease, or "Primary Raynaud's", is diagnosed if the symptoms are idiopathic, that is, if they occur by themselves and not in association with other diseases."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raynaud's_phenomenon

One way to look at Raynaud's phenomenon is as a reflection both of cold extremities and the collagen changes when metabolism is low.

http://raypeat.com/articles/articles/hy ... dism.shtml

"But hypoglycemia also tends to decrease the conversion of T4 to T3, so heat production often decreases when a person is hungry. First, their fingers, toes, and nose will get cold, because adrenalin, or adrenergic sympathetic nervous activity, will increase to keep the brain and heart at a normal temperature, by reducing circulation to the skin and extremities. Despite the temperature-regulating effect of adrenalin, the reduced heat production resulting from decreased T3 will make a person susceptible to hypothermia if the environment is cool."

http://raypeat.com/articles/articles/diabetes.shtml

"Besides hardening the skin, [scleroderma] can involve fibrosis of the heart and other organs, and can cause changes in blood vessels of the kidneys like those seen in some types of hypertension, and often involves Raynaud's phenomenon and osteoporosis of the fingers."

"...estrogen promotes collagen formation, and that changes in the connective tissue are deeply associated with the processes of stress and aging, following the ideas of Metchnikov and Selye."

Clubbing of the fingers and toes can look somewhat similar, and according to references includes more prominent nail changes. The medical orthodoxy attributes clubbing to ailments that reduce blood oxygen.

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency ... 003282.htm

I am not saying that one or another or both is going on in messtafarian's report. I am relaying my observations that Raynaud's type changes and cold fingers are somewhat frequent findings when metabolism is low in the way Dr. Peat describes.

 

[Blossom]

That's so helpful aquilaroja, thanks. I have been around people with every severe clubbing due to what is called cystic fibrosis and also Raynaud's related to the medical diagnosis of lupus and it seems you have pretty much hit the nail on the head. I noticed my fingertip issues started after my partial hysterectomy and worsened over time. Prior smoking and low carb eating seemed to really intensify it as well. I appreciate you sharing the links and your insight.

 

[LucyL]

Peat on Raynauds

I emailed Dr. Peat about Raynauds once, I never had clubbing or achy-ness just the fingers and toes going white and numb. Anyway, here is what he wrote

-----------------------
Calcium, magnesium, vitamins D and K are closely involved in regulating circulation. The balance of thyroid, progesterone, and estrogen is important, with too much estrogen being a problem. A blood level of vitamin D3, 25-hydroxycholecalciferol, around the middle of the normal range, e.g., 50 ng/ml, is desirable.

Rheumatol Int. 2013 Mar;33(3):751-5.
Raynaud's phenomenon and vitamin D.
Hélou J, Moutran R, Maatouk I, Haddad F.
To our knowledge, there have not been studies to evaluate the effect of vitamin D supplementation on Raynaud's phenomenon (RP). To test in a randomized, placebo-controlled, double blind, and prospective way whether 8 weeks of 600,000 IU monthly supplementation of oral vitamin D3 would contribute to improvements in RP, 53 patients describing RP were recruited during winter 2010-2011. 42 patients were deficient in vitamin D dosage and randomly assigned into either the vitamin D group or placebo group. Every 4 weeks (for a total of 3 doses), patients received their treatment and answered on a visual analogue scale (VAS) basis about their RP. In the vitamin D group, baseline average blood vitamin D level was 20.9 ng/mL. VAS 0, VAS 1, and VAS 2 were 58.33, 48.09, and 36.2, respectively. At the end of the study, the average blood vitamin D level was 32.9 ng/mL. In the placebo group, baseline average blood vitamin D level was 21.8 ng/mL. VAS 0, VAS 1, and VAS 2 were 58.33, 51.19, and 64.28, respectively. At the end of the study, the average blood vitamin D level was 23.2 ng/mL. Following our observations, we concluded to an objective augmentation of vitamin D blood level and RP self-judgment improvement after 8 weeks of monthly supplementation of vitamin D3. One can ask whether vitamin D has as a vasodilator effect in patients with RP who are deficient in vitamin D. Other studies and researches are needed to answer these questions.

 

[Blossom]

I was thinking about my personal experience with the swollen, achy fingertips last night and remembered a situation that happened prior to my discovering Peat's work. I had some GI issues and decided to try activated charcoal to get some relief. At the time I felt the charcoal helped not only my stomach issue but gave me an overall feeling of a return to normal. I noticed for the first time in a long while that my fingertips were not red and sore. I continued to use charcoal intermittently, away from food and supplements through the months until I started reading Peat. I always used to wish charcoal was okay to use daily because it helped me feel so much better! I believe I might have even posted a question about that when I first joined the forum. I suppose I was fairly toxic at the time. The good news is the issue eventually resolved in my case by getting to the root problem of impaired cellular metabolism/respiration. I believe that the official medical diagnosis of clubbing seen in many chronic diseases could possibly start with a situation like mine that just never gets corrected. Just thought I'd mention that experience.

 

[SQu]

I get bumpy fingernails. Sounds like they might be explained in same way.