<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>> Have you had your thyroid levels checked? There is a connection between celiac and thyroid disease, and when I went to an endocrinologist after a year of insomnia he found that I had thyroiditis. Something you might want to look into. _________________________ I used to have this problem. I saw a sleep specialist and went through a sleep study to find out I have sleep apnea. I now use a CPAP machine to sleep at night and get into actual deep sleep for the first time in my life. There are over 70 sleep disorders that can only be properly diagnosed by a sleep specialist not a primary care doctor. Did you know that if you have sleep apnea and take sleeping pills, it can make the condition worse? It is important to understand why you are not sleeping well and only a specialist can properly diagnose this. _________________ *1) About 100-200mg of powder from a Magnesium Glyconate capsule, hot water, few drops of liquid Stevia extract, squeeze of lemon. (This hot drink helps calm my racing mind and slow down the "mind noise" of yesterday's, today's, and tomorrow's worries. Instead of lying in bed with my negative-self-down-talk.) * ** *2) About 100-200mg of the vitamin, GABA. (GABA is the natural form of Valium and is very relaxing. It is addictive-forming, be careful. Helps relieve anger & anxiety, and helps calm emotions down.) * ** *3) Eat protein (meat or beans/rice) for dinner and 2 hours later have a snack, without dairy or protein, with cooked potatoes with the "skins" still on! (The potato skins have all of the good stuff in them and will activate the release of Tryptophan from the "protein dinner" to transform, then, into the "natural sleep-aid" Serotonin.....and I get SLEEPY.......very, very SLEEPY and relaxed. Very pleasant & satisfying way to get sleep.) * ** *4) Look into the possibility of vitamin Zinc & B6 deficiencies: A condition I also have called, PYROLURIA. (Deficiency of vitamin B6 can cause insomnia, little to no dream-recall, and/or severe nightmares. Deficiency of Zinc can be noticeable by white flecks on the fingernails.) * *See also: http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyroluria * ** *Again, pleas ask a professional health care adviser "before" trying any of these methods. I am not a doctor, nor do I "claim" to be a doctor. * ** *___________________________* ** I discussed the situation with my doctor and she prescribed APO-Amitriptyline for me. This medication has been around a *long* time and has few contraindications. It's not a sleeping pill (my doctor won't prescribe this). It basically mimics Rem sleep and relaxes you. I take a very low dosage (~10-12 mg) when I feel wound up or unable to relax. I'm not celiac (I'm on this list so I can gather info. about the condition for my husband, who is celiac), so I don't know what the gluten-free status is. Also, this med. may be called something else in other countries. ________________ I also tried L-tryptophan, which is the thing in turkey, almonds, and milk that promotes sleep. That worked just fine. It is available at health food stores. Recently I found a mangosteen juice I like really well that is packed with anti-oxidants, and it has helped regulate my hormonal imbalances that cause occasional sleep problems. _______________ Try Benadryl, 25 mgm. Be sure to buy original brand, not generic. It is very safe. McNeil is gluten free, off Clan Thompson list _____________________ I have had sleep issues, mostly waking up in the wee hours of the morning and not being able to get back to sleep. My doctor put me on a sub-therapeutic dose of amitriptyline (sp?) an antidepressant with a side effect of drowsiness. I take 5 or 10 mg. before bed. It's great for me - I've never looked back. _______________ I've tried different things, but have found that B-12 Sublingual, 800 UI of Vit D, and Omega 3 have helped me tremendously, in addition to my Multi-Vit, selenium, B6, and Super B Complex. I still have some sleeplessness but can usually attribute it to eating chocolate late, too much sugar, being hungry or thirsty, caffiene. If I watch what I'm doing, I usually sleep pretty well now (4 years GF). ______________ My sleep issues have been solved by taking the supplement 5-HTP __________________ you might try: magnesium. Typical symptoms of Mg deficiency are dry mouth but water goes straight to your bladder, and waking up in the night and being unable to fall asleep again. Stir 1/8 tsp Epsoms salts into 6 oz water and taste. Unless it is bitter, you need Mg. You can supplement this way, I do, by drinking the solution. If it ever turns bitter, stop for the day, you have enough Mg for that day. _______________________ I REALLY would not take Ambien. My husband ended up in the psychiatric ward of the local hospital and again at the VA from bizarre side effects - VERY bizarre. After that our primary MD told us he had taken it and after three nights was so jittery and shaky he thought he was going to have a breakdown. Since then I've heard horror story after horror story, I couldn't even list them all. The manufacturer is very specific that it isn't to be used routinely, definitely not long-term. I drink a glass of warm milk (honest!) and maintain a strict caffiene-free life, a bedtime routine that never varies, and if I'm really tossing and turning, a benadryl. _____________ * Send administrative questions to mailto:[log in to unmask] * Archives are at: Http://Listserv.icors.org/SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?LIST=CELIAC