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  #1   ^
Old Mon, Nov-24-08, 04:34
Sagehill Sagehill is offline
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Posts: 14,561
 
Plan: My own
Stats: 250/161.4/130 Female 5'3"
BF:
Progress: 74%
Location: Central FL
Default strange early morning symptoms--caused by LC?

Almost every night between 3-4am, my heart starts pounding with a very strong pulse of 80 bps that I can feel down to my toes, there's a crawling sensation in my flesh, plus a sudden surge of body heat that causes me to throw the covers off (when room temp is 60F!!). Sometimes it's so distressing that I get up for an hour or two. The symptoms abate in 45 mins to the point of a normal pulse (63) and feeling cold again. I usually go back to bed an hour or two later, then wake again about 7:30, feeling drugged and exhausted. I can't remember the last time I woke up feeling refreshed. If the attack happens around 4am, I often don't even bother going back to bed, and of course feel even more tired, as happened today. My normal daytime BP is 107/70, so a suddenly increased pulse of 80 while sleeping is unusual.

A milder form of this has been happening for the last 3-4 years, so mild I only noticed that I'd woken up for some reason, and it only happened a couple times a week... until the last year, when symptoms started increasing in frequency and intensity to the point where I'm becoming alarmed.

I've been low-carbing for 18 months now, about the time when frequency started increasing, and for the last six months have been getting stronger. I love low carbing and have switched for life and do not want to go off as I've lost 80 lbs so far and I still have another 30-40 lbs to lose. I usually eat about 30-40 g carbs a day since eating more causes me to gain.

What is going on? Has this happened to anyone else, and is there something I can do to stop it?

Last edited by Sagehill : Mon, Nov-24-08 at 04:40.
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  #2   ^
Old Mon, Nov-24-08, 05:05
neo_crone's Avatar
neo_crone neo_crone is offline
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Posts: 2,779
 
Plan: 30/60/90
Stats: 000/000/140 Female 5'3"
BF:
Progress: 0%
Location: England
Default

It sounds like a hypoglycemic attack. Its the classic time for it, and the classic symptoms. Have you got a blood glucose meter? Testing your level when you get an attack is the only way to know for sure.

Best way to avoid this is to have a small snack at bedtime, or half a glass of wine.
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  #3   ^
Old Mon, Nov-24-08, 07:04
Ptrcmcc6's Avatar
Ptrcmcc6 Ptrcmcc6 is offline
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Posts: 4,570
 
Plan: Eating healthier
Stats: 185/178/150 Female 5 feet 3 inches
BF:
Progress: 20%
Location: Jersey Shore
Default

I'm not sure how old you are but if it turns out to not be a hypoglycemic attack, I was wondering if you had gone through your changes already? They also seem like the classic symptoms of a perimenopausal woman with the heart palpatations and the night sweats. I've experienced my b/f having a hypoglycemic attack (he's a T1 diabetic) in the past and it could be a hypo attack but he's usually cold and clammy, his speech is slurry as if he is drunk, and he has brain fog to the point of he really doesn't know what he's doing when it happens.

If it's something that has you worried to the point of being scared....maybe a trip to the doctors is in order. All the best to you and I hope it turns out to not be anything too serious.

Patty
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  #4   ^
Old Mon, Nov-24-08, 07:12
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diana55 diana55 is offline
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Posts: 488
 
Plan: General Low Carb
Stats: 230/220/160 Female 5'6"
BF:
Progress: 14%
Location: Upstate, N.Y.
Default

To me, this sounds exactly like Hot Flashes!

How old are you?

If you've been having these symptoms for 3-4 years on a milder scale, now they're increasing in severity, that sounds like Hot Flashes for sure.

Everything you describe, I use to have, when a hot flash starts to come on. I would feel my heart rate go up, the same crawling sensation, and the sudden heat .. which causes you to throw off covers, open windows .. gosh I could even stand in the SNOW and be hot. Yup, to me this sounds just like it.

The years previous, when they were milder, you may have been in mild peri-menopause, but now you may be approaching menopause. It depends on your age, if you're still young, you may still be in peri-menopause, but it's just getting worse, which happens.

And yes, got the 'hot' back to 'cold' again too ... sometimes I just got the extreme cold, even freezing, no matter how many blankets I used.

Hate to say, if this is what it is .... it hangs on for a few more years, depending on how old you are, family history of menopause, etc.

That's just my thoughts anyway .. can't tell you for sure, but it sounds SO much like Hot Flashes and Peri-Menopause.

HTH
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  #5   ^
Old Mon, Nov-24-08, 07:13
diana55's Avatar
diana55 diana55 is offline
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Posts: 488
 
Plan: General Low Carb
Stats: 230/220/160 Female 5'6"
BF:
Progress: 14%
Location: Upstate, N.Y.
Default

To me, it doesn't sound like a hypoglycemic attack.

Edited to add: not sure about others, but my hot flashes seem to come in the morning and evening.

I'm 56, had a parital hysterectomy (left one ovary and cervix) and still have hot flashes, 3 years after the surgery. So yeah, they do last awhile. I'm still waiting for them to leave!
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  #6   ^
Old Mon, Nov-24-08, 08:06
Sagehill Sagehill is offline
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Posts: 14,561
 
Plan: My own
Stats: 250/161.4/130 Female 5'3"
BF:
Progress: 74%
Location: Central FL
Default

I'm 55 and started menopause over 12 years ago, including frequent hot flashes and night sweats, so I know what they feel like. I don't think these recent events are are due to menopause as they happen only once in 24 hours, at practically the same time nearly every early morning, whereas my menopausal hot flashes were unpredictable, occurring at any time of day or night, and tapered off until they stopped five years ago; haven't had a period in nine years.

Besides, after 12 years, wouldn't menopausal hot flashes be weakening rather than getting stronger? It seems that since starting low-carb, these new symptoms have increased, from being fairly mild once a night 2-3 times a week, to being fairly severe and once a night nearly every night, especially in the last six months.

I googled the symptoms earlier and found something called the Dawn Phenomenon... does that sound like something it could be? Or maybe it is hypoglycemia, as Neo-Crone suggested. I visited the doctor last month and had bloodwork done, but forgot to ask her about it at the time. Not crazy about this doctor anyway, as she wanted to put me on statins based on total cholesterol only, even though my LDL was low and HDL was high, not to mention having lost 80 lbs.

Anyway, I want to fix it! It's driving me crazy.
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  #7   ^
Old Mon, Nov-24-08, 08:27
J-lo carb J-lo carb is offline
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Posts: 268
 
Plan: my plan
Stats: 162.5/148/145 Female 5' 8"
BF:
Progress: 83%
Default

Don't let a crappy doc stop you from going. Ask around and find a doc that let's you be your own advocate. I hope you find an answer Sagehill.
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  #8   ^
Old Mon, Nov-24-08, 08:38
Ptrcmcc6's Avatar
Ptrcmcc6 Ptrcmcc6 is offline
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Posts: 4,570
 
Plan: Eating healthier
Stats: 185/178/150 Female 5 feet 3 inches
BF:
Progress: 20%
Location: Jersey Shore
Default

You might want to take a look at the diabetes forum then. I'm pretty sure there is a thread on Dawn Phenomenon in there. I'm no expert and I'm not a diabetic but after seeing my b/f have 2 hypoglycemic attacks, it doesn't sound to me like your sugar is dropping. You can actually mistake him for appearing drunk when his sugar drops. He's all clammy, can't see or think straight, and doesn't have his wits about him at all. Sounds to me as if you still have your wits about you when this happens.
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  #9   ^
Old Mon, Nov-24-08, 09:25
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neo_crone neo_crone is offline
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Posts: 2,779
 
Plan: 30/60/90
Stats: 000/000/140 Female 5'3"
BF:
Progress: 0%
Location: England
Default

Are you taking any medication to lower your blood pressure? If so, it may need adjusting. From Jenny's excellent site Blood Sugar 101
Quote:
Another, Unsuspected, Cause of Morning Rebound Blood Sugars--Too Much Blood Pressure Medication
Taking a bit too much blood pressure medication can also cause your blood sugar to go up first thing in the morning. That is because if your blood pressure drops too low at night, the body will also secrete stress hormones to raise the blood pressure back into the safe zone, and they have the side effect, as we've seen, of raising blood sugar. Again, the tip-off that this is happening is that you are likely to wake up at 3 or 4 a.m. with your pulse pounding, sometimes you will think this is because of a vivid nightmare, but it is more likely that the nightmare was a response to the surge of stress hormones that raised your blood pressure. If you measure your blood pressure after waking, the main thing you'll see is a faster pulse. The blood pressure will be back in the normal, or even slightly high zone. If you raise your medication because the blood pressure is too high first thing in the morning, you may make the situation worse! If you are waking up with a pounding pulse in the early morning hours and see your morning blood sugar rising, too, talk to your doctor about whether your blood pressure medication needs adjustment. Often, as you bring down your blood sugar by cutting down on your carbohydrates, your blood pressure will start dropping, too, even if you haven't lost significant amounts of weight, so an adjustment will be needed.
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  #10   ^
Old Mon, Nov-24-08, 10:02
Nancy LC's Avatar
Nancy LC Nancy LC is offline
Experimenter
Posts: 25,843
 
Plan: DDF
Stats: 202/185.4/179 Female 67
BF:
Progress: 72%
Location: San Diego, CA
Default

DP doesn't usually have any symptoms other than high blood glucose when you meter your BG. At least, I never heard of it happening.

Low blood sugar... hmmm... the symptoms don't match what I would expect but some people get weird symptoms.

Either way, buy a Relion meter and a few strips at Walmart, very cheap and get a blood sugar reading when it happens. That'd at least tell you if it is glucose related.

If it is menopausal then I'd recommend reading Dr. McCleary's book "The Brain Trust". He has some advice for dealing with hot flashes with supplements. I'm armed and ready for myself (haven't gone through it yet).
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  #11   ^
Old Mon, Nov-24-08, 10:15
Sagehill Sagehill is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 14,561
 
Plan: My own
Stats: 250/161.4/130 Female 5'3"
BF:
Progress: 74%
Location: Central FL
Default

Quote:
...if your blood pressure drops too low at night, the body will also secrete stress hormones to raise the blood pressure back into the safe zone, and they have the side effect, as we've seen, of raising blood sugar. Again, the tip-off that this is happening is that you are likely to wake up at 3 or 4 a.m. with your pulse pounding. ... If you measure your blood pressure after waking, the main thing you'll see is a faster pulse. The blood pressure will be back in the normal, or even slightly high zone. ... Often, as you bring down your blood sugar by cutting down on your carbohydrates, your blood pressure will start dropping, too, even if you haven't lost significant amounts of weight...
Hmmm, this sounds almost exactly what's going on, except I don't take any medication of any kind.... my BP has always been low, even when I weighed 250 lbs. I have increased my exercise since early spring though... about the time this all started increasing in intensity. I wonder if exercise is dropping my blood pressure or stimulating cortisol release at night?

Thanks for the suggestion of getting blood meter... I'm not diabetic, but doc said 18 months ago that I was pre-diabetic, but at last visit she said my sugars were normal. But since this intensity started, I've been curious whether it was sugar-related after all. If it's not glucose, then something else is stimulating the adrenaline/cortisol release.
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  #12   ^
Old Mon, Nov-24-08, 10:28
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Locarb4mee Locarb4mee is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 390
 
Plan: Zero Carb
Stats: 200/189/150 Female 5'5"
BF:
Progress: 22%
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Sagehill
Almost every night between 3-4am, my heart starts pounding with a very strong pulse of 80 bps that I can feel down to my toes, there's a crawling sensation in my flesh, plus a sudden surge of body heat that causes me to throw the covers off (when room temp is 60F!!). Sometimes it's so distressing that I get up for an hour or two. The symptoms abate in 45 mins to the point of a normal pulse (63) and feeling cold again. I usually go back to bed an hour or two later, then wake again about 7:30, feeling drugged and exhausted. I can't remember the last time I woke up feeling refreshed. If the attack happens around 4am, I often don't even bother going back to bed, and of course feel even more tired, as happened today. My normal daytime BP is 107/70, so a suddenly increased pulse of 80 while sleeping is unusual.

A milder form of this has been happening for the last 3-4 years, so mild I only noticed that I'd woken up for some reason, and it only happened a couple times a week... until the last year, when symptoms started increasing in frequency and intensity to the point where I'm becoming alarmed.

I've been low-carbing for 18 months now, about the time when frequency started increasing, and for the last six months have been getting stronger. I love low carbing and have switched for life and do not want to go off as I've lost 80 lbs so far and I still have another 30-40 lbs to lose. I usually eat about 30-40 g carbs a day since eating more causes me to gain.

What is going on? Has this happened to anyone else, and is there something I can do to stop it?


I do this, but much milder. The time it happens is the same.

The only things I can tell you about me:

1. I have metabolic syndrome, with high fasting BS. Treating with Metformin ER.
2. I am a dedicated low carber, have been for a year

3. I have thyroid issues, but mostly under control

4. I'm surgically menopausal since 2002. Taking bioidentical hormones now and they are helping. I notice when I let the testosterone pellet run out, this symptom gets much worse and will repeat again around 6 am. I don't get up - I lay in bed and wait it out.

I don't know if you have any of those conditions underlying to help us both figure out what's going on, but I would sure like to be rid of it, too.

I have used 100 mg 5-HTP plus Melatonin plus one Benadryl at bedtime to keep it all minimized and some nights this isn't happening. I have a new pellet too, and I do think it's making a difference. It was much worse a few weeks ago before the new pellet.

Hope this helps you.
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  #13   ^
Old Mon, Nov-24-08, 12:14
capmikee's Avatar
capmikee capmikee is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 5,160
 
Plan: Weston A. Price, GFCF
Stats: 165/133/132 Male 5' 5"
BF:?/12.7%/?
Progress: 97%
Location: Philadelphia
Default

I occasionally have huge sweats in the middle of the night. My wife usually wakes up before I do, though. I think I'm having hypoglycemic episodes. I don't like it, but I used to get them all day long before I started intermittent fasting, so only having them when I'm asleep is a big improvement.

I avoid alcohol, but I ferment a lot of things and sometimes they come out a bit alcoholic. Lately it's seemed like having a small trace of alcohol (or yeast, or acetic acid) can cause me to have a sweating episode later that night.
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  #14   ^
Old Mon, Nov-24-08, 12:37
Patty47200 Patty47200 is offline
Shrinking Member
Posts: 471
 
Plan: Atkins
Stats: 242/236.8/160 Female 5' 8"
BF:ample
Progress: 6%
Location: Southern California
Default

You have described my symptoms exactly! Mine have been diagnosed as hot flashes. I have had them for about a year now. Sometimes I will have them everynight and then none for months, then they return again. My doctor says it is just peri menopause and very normal.


For me it is my heart palpatating that wakes me up, then I get the skin crawly feeling then the warmth comes. When I am having these it really disturbs my sleep and makes me feel kind of yucky the next day.
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  #15   ^
Old Mon, Nov-24-08, 13:30
J-lo carb J-lo carb is offline
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Posts: 268
 
Plan: my plan
Stats: 162.5/148/145 Female 5' 8"
BF:
Progress: 83%
Default

But you're still gonna go to the doctor right?
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