Lalobear,

I used to eat a high-carb, low-protein, low fat diet that caused hypoglycemia... and eventually it became a severe case of AF. I would "graze" and snack on things constantly to boost up my blood Sugar and as a way to crudely low cortisol by "stuffing" myself full of carbs to get to sleep... ever since I was a small boy. I was never able to turn down crackers, popcorn, cookies or chips. Bread was my favorite, i'd eat a whole basket at a restaurant before the meal came.

Since discovering / healing my AF... I have gone on a VERY strict diet of high quality proteins, organic vegetables, fats (coconut and olive oil, chicken broth), and only cooked whole grains. No bread, no noodles and especially NO WHEAT - which caused all kinds of inflammation and havoc in my weakened digestive state. For sweets or desert I eat only natural, lower-glycemic fruit in moderation.


sample meal: bowl of organic spinach + tomato slice + 1/2 - 3/4 cup organic brown rice + chicken or turkey patty + olive oil OR avocado .. drizzled with Braggs Liquid Aminos or Gluten-free soy sauce. Desert: half an organic apple or mango.

I also keep my blood Sugar balanced by eating a high protien, high fat snack in between meals (usually nuts, as recommended by Dr. Lam).

It sounds like your hypoglycemia is still serious and you may benefit from eating 5 smaller meals a day instead of 3 meals + snacks.

By adhering to this diet for several months I was able to fix my hypoglycemia and now it is a non-issue. I suspect blood Sugar imbalances were causing bad sleep, and now it appears fixed.

This book has lots of great information about AF diet, insulin, blood sugar and metabolism - I really recommend it.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Schwarzbein-Principle-Regeneration-Accelerated/dp/1...

I also recommend this information from Dr. Lam (his book is essential) -
http://www.drlam.com/articles/adrenal_fatigue.asp?page=5

http://www.drlam.com/articles/adrenal_fatigue.asp?page=4

I'v been using trazodone to get to sleep, I'v been combining it with saphris for improved results. Traditional psychiatrists can be of use in treating such conditions, not so sure on the curing part tho

Regardless, they allow me to get an average of 8 hrs sleep per night

I was on ellavil but stopped taking it when I read that it can be constipating

Being able to get to sleep at night, even if it requires drugs, should help my body heal

SillyLily,

Stopping my catabloc wasting involves 4 components:

1.) Re-wire my brain and stop worrying so much (meditation and EFT) that cortisol is constantly high and muscle & collagen tissue is being used up for energy.

2.) Fixing my digestion and absorption problems (e.g., eliminate wheat, taking enzymes and beatine, chew slowly and eat calmly) and changing to a high-protein diet that allows sufficient nutrition.

3.) Drinking 1 cup of chicken broth 3x a day. This is loaded with easily digestible protein (amino acids) and minerals and can be digested even in terrible crash states.

4.) Supplements (for when you are stable, digesting and strong enough):

a.) Free form amino Acids (Twinlab Amino Fuel liquid) 1 teaspoon 2x a day
b.) l-glutamine - 1g 2-3x per day (2 to 3g total) on an empty stomach
c.) Type I and Type III collagen - 6.6g a day on an empty stomach


You have to make sure your digestion is good before adding the collagen as Dr. Lam says it is hard to digest for advanced AF states,

hope this helps!

Trazadone is very effective for sleep, took it briefly but it gave me strange dreams and hallucinations (kinda like the movie Avatar!) - and I had a feeling it might be quite hard to get off of.

If you are feeling desperate to sleep and have SEVERE sleep problems (SillyLily it sounds like you qualify here) and want to go a more natural route...

I have three recommendations:

1.) 1g to 3g of L-tryptophan. Start low and go slow, as high doses can cause bizzare effects. Usually 1.5g would get me right to sleep even in a high-adrenaline state.

2.) Dr. Lam recommends .5g to 2g of Inositol in his book, but I haven't tried it.

3.) 225 to 600mg of kavalactones (active ingredient in the herb Kava Kava) would usually put me out good. It might be a little hard on the body or liver in a weakened state, I'm not a doctor and am not sure... but it got me to sleep on the worst nights.

I'm doing it, man! 30 to 40 minutes a day of mixed EFT including FasterEFT .. will report soon ;)

My libido is super high. My adrenaline is also very high and my insomnia is still as bad as ever and is the single most destructive symptom in my life :(

It is definitely severe so I am open to suggestions, even medical drugs IF absolutely neccesary (would like to know the names of these like trazodone so I can ask doc).

My insomnia gives me nasty sleep deprivation headaches too and nausea.

Sherpa, I shall try tryptophan at higher doses. Some time ago I tried 500mg at night time and it did absolutely nothing.

Taurine at high doses (3g) helps only very slightly. Melatonin (normal, time release, 5mg, 0.5mg etc) helps me fall asleep but my sleep still isn't very refreshing and I still wake up many times during sleep and find it hard to sleep again and end up with a headache whilst in bed which lingers throughout the day.

I usually wake up with heart palpitations. I've also tried Seriphos and Relora and they did nothing either :(

Way to go Feo!~ A huge journey and you're almost there, it sounds like.

congrats Feo & Sherpa!
thanks for the info on what is working for you Sherpa. It is inspiring. 5HTP never worked for me, but I haven't tried tryptophan. i was too dependent on ambien and it stopped working for me.
Feo-- are you doing NB? or another protocol?
Thanks for the inspiration!