Trouble with sleeping

Lilja · Post by **Lilja** » Mon Oct 10, 2016 8:32 am

Hi,

I have a spreadsheet (Excel) where I put in all lab test results in order to monitor how they develop. I don't know how you enclose an Excel-file here, but I'll try to type it...

Vitamin D3 (ref area: 50 - 150):
March: 275
August: 162
September: 262

Serum Magnesium (ref area: 0,71-0,94)
August: 0,88
September 0,84

Thank you Tex for explaining the elemental magnesium question!

Lilja

Lilja · Post by **Lilja** » Mon Oct 10, 2016 9:26 am

hollyweb wrote:Hi Lilja,

So sorry to hear about this sleeping issue. You've been given great advice from others much further along than me. I'll just share that I've had insomnia and restless leg (plus countless other symptoms) my entire life. It wasn't until finding ReMag that I am now consistently able to sleep. Finding the right amount is still ongoing, but just reading what you've written it sounds to me like you could possibly use more magnesium, and maybe try sipping the ReMag throughout the day (instead of mostly at night). I was told by my naturopath to take my Vitamin D at night, which I've done since my diagnosis. And I've cut waaaaay back on my Vitamin D intake since I've also tested so high in the levels and also since I'm working hard to reverse my very long-term magnesium deficiency.

As you know, too much Vitamin D can cause magnesium not to be absorbed as efficiently. So now you're scratching your head (so glad to hear about your hair!!) and wondering, "is it too much or too little magnesium?"!! That's a question most of us ask every day, at least I do, and I certainly know how confusing it can all be. All we can do here is to share our experiences and hope that they are helpful in some way to someone else.

Right now, I'm taking about 750 elemental magnesium daily (2 1/2 tsp) from ReMag, and I alternate taking 2,000 and 3,000 Vitamin D (I use a combination D3 and K2 sublingual formula) each night. (Up until a couple of weeks ago, I was taking 5-7,500 mg Vitamin D nightly.) My sleep has been wonderful. I've added a couple of other Dr. Dean products so definitely feel more detox is happening ... but so far, this hasn't affected my sleep.

I've got a long way to go in my healing journey, and many of my worst symptoms are neurological ones (depression, anxiety, panic attacks, social phobia). All my symptoms I've had for decades, and can now realize that my immediate family (now mostly passed) suffered from all of these too. But being able to sleep is such a blessing, and even when I feel I'm not making much progress during the day as far as living the life I want to live, at least at night I know that healing can take place due to the quality of sleep.

Having those tests is a good thing, in my opinion. Whenever we can get numbers to find baselines of things, this is really helpful towards figuring out any adjustments. I'm also very low on cortisol (adrenal fatigue), so it sounds like you're on the right track. We need to know how various organs are functioning, and when there are "accurate" tests, that is good.

Wishing you all the best, Lilja, and I know that you'll be able to work out what changes to make to give you that blessed ability to sleep at night again soon. Please keep us posted!

~ Holly

Holly,
Thank you for the long and nice response. I'm so happy for you that you now are able to have a good night sleep after so long.

Yes, finding the right amount of magnesium is a challenge, but I will try to spread the fluid magnesium during the day, and not take all at bedtime.

Lilja

Lilja · Post by **Lilja** » Mon Oct 10, 2016 11:00 am

This little happy story doesn't fit the topic here at all, but I couldn't create a new discussion as it is not that important. But, my doctor told me last week:

One of his patients, a man in his 40s, had had constant D for 2 years, he had lost 30 kilos, he could not keep any food, all went right through him. The man was starving, could not stand on his own feet, and my doctor could not take responsibility any longer. He had tried all to help him, (he is a functional medical doctor) diet changes, medications etc, to no avail. So, he sent the patient to the hospital, where he was put on intravenous nutrition for 10 days.

The man came out of the hospital after 10 days, and has not had any digestive symptoms after that. My doctor said he has no clue as to what happened, he just shrugged his head while saying "I have no idea why the man healed".

Lilja

Post by **tex** » Mon Oct 10, 2016 11:02 am

Lilja wrote:Vitamin D3 (ref area: 50 - 150):
March: 275
August: 162
September: 262

That's a big change between March and August, and between August and September.

Was there anything that might have caused your immune system to work extra hard between March and August? Or did you stop taking vitamin D after the march test and then start taking a large dose after the August test?

Your serum magnesium levels don't show any signs of a magnesium overdose.

Tex

Lilja · Post by **Lilja** » Mon Oct 10, 2016 11:07 am

tex wrote:
Lilja wrote:Vitamin D3 (ref area: 50 - 150):
March: 275
August: 162
September: 262
That's a big change between March and August, and between August and September.

Was there anything that might have caused your immune system to work extra hard between March and August? Or did you stop taking vitamin D after the march test and then start taking a large dose after the August test?

Your serum magnesium levels don't show any signs of a magnesium overdose.

Tex

Thank you, Tex. After the March lab result, I was so scared that I stopped taking D3, and then restarted late July because summer was not so sunny.

Lilja

Post by **tex** » Mon Oct 10, 2016 7:08 pm

That explains the test results. You sure absorb vitamin D well.

Tex

Lilja · Post by **Lilja** » Wed Oct 12, 2016 1:50 pm

I see nobody commented on my "happy history" above. I thought it was interesting, but maybe this is a well known procedure in other countries?

Lilja

hollyweb · Post by **hollyweb** » Wed Oct 12, 2016 2:53 pm

Hi Lilja!

I think your happy story is VERY interesting!!!!! I imagine few of us would know what to say to that ... I don't think it's common at all!!!!! How fortunate for this poor man. The only thing that comes to my mind is that perhaps he was extremely run down ... and that actually resting in hospital reduced his stress level and helped bring about this phenomenon.

I wonder what his IV nutritional therapy was??? I wonder if receiving the nutrition via IV and avoiding the digestive system/gut allowed for the latter to heal? Perhaps this man didn't have actual colitis (hence the diet changes the doctor ordered plus the medications wouldn't have worked for him), but rather severe malnutrition, exhaustion, or something else??

Fascinating story!!! And, thank you for sharing your vitamin D results. I'm one of those with off-the-chart high amounts, so will be getting my level checked again in another month or so, to see what 3 months on ReMag and reducing my vitamin D will show. It's wonderful to have someone else's levels with mc to have as a basis for comparison.

~ Holly

Post by **tex** » Wed Oct 12, 2016 2:55 pm

Lilja,

I didn't see that story, but did anyone test his magnesium level? When my magnesium deficiency finally became severe, I was losing a kilo every week (on the average). The reason why I went to the ER was because couldn't eat breakfast one day.

He probably received intravenous magnesium while in the hospital.

Tex

Lilja · Post by **Lilja** » Wed Oct 12, 2016 3:32 pm

Tex,

I really don't know, but I like the idea that if something like that should ever happen to me or someone I know, and the doctors were unable to find out what was wrong with my digestion, bypassing the intestinal tract seems to be a good idea in a really critical situation. Maybe it was just what we call Ringer water, a electrolyte balance water given to patiens with persistent D.

Holly,

It's a good idea to check your D-vitamin levels. I sleep much better now.

Lilja

hollyweb · Post by **hollyweb** » Wed Oct 12, 2016 4:50 pm

I'm so glad you are sleeping better, Lilja!!

~ Holly

Lilja · Post by **Lilja** » Tue Nov 22, 2016 4:49 am

Hi,

My sleeping improvement did not last for long. I was back to 3-4 hours a night.

Since I live in a country with little daylight during winter season - it's dark from 3pm to 9 am now - and on cloudy foggy days, the darkness comes at 1.30 pm, so I started taking melatonin. I was adviced against it by some nutrition people, who said that taking melatonin would interfer with the whole hormone production, and that taking only one hormone would disrupt the overall production.

So, I bought a daylight lamp, which I have been using for two days. It has 10.000 lumen, I put it 60 cm from my face each morning. I only look directly into the light 6-7 times during the 30 min I use it.

Early days to make any conclusion, but these two nights I have been able to sleep from 11pm till 8 am. The lack of daylight impairs the melatonin production, so I thought that if daylight during the summer season does not disrupt my hormone production, so why should a daylight lamp do...

I hope the improved sleep will continue, because lack of sleep makes you depressed and desperate.

Lilja

brandy · Post by **brandy** » Tue Nov 22, 2016 6:40 am

Hi Lilja,

I was waking up at 2:00 am and 4:00 am on the dot every night. I think it was some kind of cortisol disruption. Now I take 2 200 mag glycinate tablets at around 9:00 pm. I now sleep through the night.

Lilja · Post by **Lilja** » Tue Nov 22, 2016 8:33 am

Hi Brandy,
I have tried taking magnesium right before bedtime as well. It hasn't helped me.

Lilja

brandy · Post by **brandy** » Tue Nov 22, 2016 12:44 pm

Look into the soy free phosphatidylserine supplement. It is also supposed to do something with the corisol at night. I used it (in evening) until I found the mag which worked better for me.

I tried about 5 other supplements that either did nothing or seemed dangerous.