I am not a doctor and have no accreditation. I’m also a man so you may wonder what I have to contribute to this subject.

In October of 2005 I caused myself an endocrine disruption, which led to the subjective tremors / internal shaking that have plagued me through the year of 2006, and the beginning of 2007. To better understand my situation you can read this earlier post http://www.power-surge.com/php/forums/inde...;p=115787&#, but please read though this post first.

I was looking for answers in the wrong places. I focused all of my research on Central Nervous System related possibilities – Dopamine neurons, Serotonin neurons, brain function and neuronal damage – because this is where modern allopathic medicine pointed to for these symptoms.

I was told that I had done some type of neuronal damage or that I had developed Essential Tremor. I found the Power Surge forum because when ever I did a search of my symptoms I inevitably ended up at a women’s forum discussing symptoms of menopause.

When I looked back at my symptoms over the past year:

• A constant vibrating/tremor feeling that runs through my whole body – from the insteps of my feet to all of my facial muscles
• Periods of low body temperature
• Awakening in the middle of the night, heart pounding, sweating and my body vibrating like a guitar string that had just been strummed
• A “buzzing” feeling that shoots through my legs and hands – almost like an electric shock
• Awakening in the middle of the night with full blow panic attacks
• Vision problems
• Brain fog
• Varying degrees of sleep patter problems – periods of full blown insomnia to poor sleep
• Palpitations
• Weakness in the legs
• Fatigued muscles – the same soreness as after a hard workout
• Muscle twitches
• Muscle cramps
• Tinnitus – from a low hiss to full blow piercing ringing in the ears

There are others that I’ve forgotten I’m sure.

My symptoms had varying degrees of severity and this peaked my interest early on. Why I always felt worst in the morning perplexed me. By mid afternoon I generally felt that many of my symptoms would begin to disappear.

The tremors were the worst part of this whole thing. It’s hard to do anything but think about them when you feel this constant sensation that makes you feel that something is seriously wrong with you. It is totally captivating.

Over the year of 2006 I began to experiment with a variety of “therapies”. Some well researched and others – just a shot in the dark. What I began to notice is that the vibrating feeling changed at different times of the day with very little rhyme or reason. Or so I thought.

I developed this method of sampling the tremor. I cross my arms and place my hands between my upper arms and the sides of my body. The same way you would if you folded your arms in front of you. Then I press down with my upper arms and squeeze my hands against the sides of my body. In this way I could develop a “baseline” to work with. I could feel my hands vibrating and take specific note of the frequency of the tremor and the amplitude.

Now I could test different things and see how my tremor responded to it.

I’ll save you all of the details of the dead end attempts to understand what had happened to my body. What I will tell you is that about a month ago I stumbled upon something interesting. What I learned was these symptoms – at least in my case – had nothing to do with my brain, Parkinson’s Disease, ALS or any other neurological issue.

I had started to notice that when I ate a meal high in simple carbohydrates such as pasta (I’m Italian so there’s always plenty of pasta to go around), about a half hour after the meal my tremors would subside. Then about a half hour after that they would come back with a vengeance. The frequency and the amplitude would both be at their highest.

As a strength athlete I have always used a Glucometer to determine the effects of different foods on my blood glucose levels. I began to use it to see what my blood glucose levels were at theses times. I did a test prior to the meal, one hour after and two hours after the meal (known as postprandial). What I found was a bit confusing. Normally my fasting glucose levels always are around 80mg/dl and one hour after a high carbohydrate loaded meal they can rise to as much 160mg/dl. At the two-hour mark they will generally drop to around 110mg/dl and continue to drop to around 90mg/dl.

What I found was that prior to the meal my glucose levels were 71mg/dl, at the one-hour mark they had only risen to 90mg/dl and at the two hour point they had dropped to 67mg/dl.

This was amazing. My pancreas was responding so quickly and with such an exaggerated response that my glucose level had dropped below the level prior to the meal. I felt I was on to something.

I continued to test after meals and check the frequency and amplitude of my tremors using my testing process. Some meals increased my tremors and some didn’t. Also on days where I ate high carbohydrates, my nighttime awakenings were the worst.

I began to devour research related to the glucose management system that keeps our bodies and brains fed with fuel. I looked at what increases insulin production and how I could manipulate its response.

One night I took my Glucometer to bed with me to see if my theory had anything to do with my 2:30 AM episodes of sweaty, trembling, heart-pounding awakenings. I had my last meal at 9:00PM – 2 servings of fat free cottage cheese and a small handful of raw walnuts – as I always have prior to bedtime. At 10:00 PM I took my bedtime level so I would have a baseline for comparison and it was 87mg/dl. When I woke up that night at 2:45 AM I sat at the side of the bed and immediately checked my levels. I was astonished at what I saw. My glucose levels were 159mg/dl.

I had a hard time falling back to sleep as this confused me but I figured I would deal with it in the morning when I would be clear to think it all thorough.

What I had stumbled upon was that, at that time of my sleep cycle, due to certain hormonal cascades I had become hypoglycemic. The symptoms of hypoglycemia are – tremors, anxiety, sweating and rapid heart beat. What I saw at the moment of awakening was my body responding to the hypoglycemia – most likely by the adrenal glands secreting Cortisol which liberates glycogen from the liver and floods the blood stream with glucose – and thus the high blood glucose levels in the middle of the night. This is a natural response from the body to maintain safe glucose levels.

If my symptoms were caused by poor glucose management, and food had an effect on my symptoms, the in theory I should be able to correct my problems through nutrition.

As the host of a fitness radio show I began to contact various scientist, physicians and nutritional experts to see if I could unravel the root cause of my problems.

The foods that have the most profound effect on insulin production are – refined carbohydrate, large doses of saturated fats and high sodium intake.

The conclusion I have come to is this – the thyroid, adrenals, pancreas and liver are the root of these symptoms. Each plays a unique role in glucose management. The pancreas and adrenals play a delicate game of dug-of-war, with the pancreas working to shuttle glucose out of the blood stream and the adrenals working to keep adequate levels in the blood stream. The thyroid causes cells to be responsive to insulin – namely getting glucose into the cells so they can function properly. And the liver is like a glucose battery – it stores glycogen for later distribution in the event we don’t have enough circulating from meal to meal.

What I began to do on March 30th is eat a modified ketogenic diet. I’m getting my calories mainly from lean proteins, healthy fats and no simple carbohydrates at all. Lots of vegetables. No starches. NO SUGARS. Low sodium, low saturated fats. This is not easy to do. It should also be mentioned that as a strength athlete I have always eaten 4 to 5 times a day so I am still eating with this same frequency.

It should also be mentioned that I get to the gym at least 4 times a week and do cardiovascular exercise about the same number of days.

With each passing day that I’ve been eating this way my tremors are noticeably going away. I awoke this morning and instead of the trembling feeling I’m accustomed to waking to, it was more like a tingling and instead of feeling it in my whole body – I only felt it in my lower legs and hands. And I have not awoken to night sweats, trembling or pounding heart so far this week.

I wanted to share this information with those of you who are interested. I’m not going to get into the hormone imbalances that cause this issue. I am clear as to what it is now but that’s not important at this point.

What I would like to do is use this forum for feedback and comments. While this is working for me it may not work for you. I would appreciate it if those of you who have anything to contribute to this information do so no matter how insignificant you think it is.

Have you noticed that your shaking changes throughout the day? After certain meals? When are they worst?

If you are going experiment with a ketogenic diet please email me prior so I can explain what the first couple days were like as I thought at first that my symptoms worsened. It’s important NOT TO REDUCE YOUR CALORIES. Just shift them away from carbohydrates like cereals, starches, sugars towards vegetables. My email address is carl.lanore@superhumanradio.com . I welcome any correspondence related to this issue.

The goal of eating ketogenic is twofold. First to reduce the symptoms. Second to reset the sensitivity of the cells to normal insulin levels by reducing circulating insulin levels. You body manufactures glucose from protein as needed when on a ketogenic diet though a process known as gluconeogenesis. If you see results from this, it will most likely take about 6 months to a year for the cells to reset to the proper sensativity. You should see a marked difference in the quality of the shaking/tremor within the 4rd or 5th day of eating this way as well as the night sweats and sleep interruption.

Where do subjective tremors come from? I believe that a change occurs on a cellular level when certain hormones begin to recede. The symptoms don’t occur right away. It take a year or so. I’ve spoke to a few women who have had this problem and they have told me they began to notice the shaking during perimenopause in the middle of the night around the time of their period. Once they went though menopause it came home to stay. The “thermostat” that dictates how much glucose is needed in the blood stream DOES NOT CHANGE. What change is the sensitivity on a cellular level of the muscles and the peripheral nerves associated with those muscles due to changes in estrogen and androgen levels which effects both glucose uptake and availability. Directly glucose uptake is effected by estrogen and indirectly by estrogens effects on thyroid hormone production. Estrogen also blunts adrenal response and keeps the adrenals from over reacting. Adequate glucose can’t get in to those cells so they’re are always in a hypoglycemic state. If your physician checks your blood he/she would think that you have a healthy operating glucose management system because its within range. The problem is that on a cellular level the glucose is not being delivered.

Exercise also plays a role increasing the sensitivity of cells to insulin and glucose uptake. This is also significant if my theory is correct.

Please post any results that you see so we can accumulate more data. Perhaps we can put an end to this issue. I’m not presumptive enough to think I have the answers. I hope that through dialogue on this forum we may be able to find the answers to this confounding issue of internal shaking / subjective tremor that the medical community obviously has not interest in.

- Carl

Hi Carl,

Thanks for the very interesting post! You indeed may be onto something. Your post really caught my eye when you mentioned the low body temperature thing-- can you give some insight on what causes that? My temp has always been right on 98.6, but in the past 4-5 months, it has varied from 98.3 to 97.1, which I have thought was unusual for me. I asked my doctor about it, but he is unconcerned about it and has brushed it off as very insignificant as long as I don't feel like I have a fever. What I feel is lousy pretty much all the time. Plus, I have all the other symptoms you mention also, especially the vibrating, ears ringing, palpitations, heart pounding, and nighttime panic attacks.

Again, thanks!

[quote name='triceptor' date='Apr 7 2007, 11:22 PM' post='165270']
I am not a doctor and have no accreditation. I’m also a man so you may wonder what I have to contribute to this subject.

In October of 2005 I caused myself an endocrine disruption, which led to the subjective tremors / internal shaking that have plagued me through the year of 2006, and the beginning of 2007. To better understand my situation you can read this earlier post http://www.power-surge.com/php/forums/inde...;p=115787&#, but please read though this post first.

I was looking for answers in the wrong places. I focused all of my research on Central Nervous System related possibilities – Dopamine neurons, Serotonin neurons, brain function and neuronal damage – because this is where modern allopathic medicine pointed to for these symptoms.

I was told that I had done some type of neuronal damage or that I had developed Essential Tremor. I found the Power Surge forum because when ever I did a search of my symptoms I inevitably ended up at a women’s forum discussing symptoms of menopause.

When I looked back at my symptoms over the past year:

• A constant vibrating/tremor feeling that runs through my whole body – from the insteps of my feet to all of my facial muscles
• Periods of low body temperature
• Awakening in the middle of the night, heart pounding, sweating and my body vibrating like a guitar string that had just been strummed
• A “buzzing” feeling that shoots through my legs and hands – almost like an electric shock
• Awakening in the middle of the night with full blow panic attacks
• Vision problems
• Brain fog
• Varying degrees of sleep patter problems – periods of full blown insomnia to poor sleep
• Palpitations
• Weakness in the legs
• Fatigued muscles – the same soreness as after a hard workout
• Muscle twitches
• Muscle cramps
• Tinnitus – from a low hiss to full blow piercing ringing in the ears

There are others that I’ve forgotten I’m sure.

My symptoms had varying degrees of severity and this peaked my interest early on. Why I always felt worst in the morning perplexed me. By mid afternoon I generally felt that many of my symptoms would begin to disappear.

The tremors were the worst part of this whole thing. It’s hard to do anything but think about them when you feel this constant sensation that makes you feel that something is seriously wrong with you. It is totally captivating.

Over the year of 2006 I began to experiment with a variety of “therapies”. Some well researched and others – just a shot in the dark. What I began to notice is that the vibrating feeling changed at different times of the day with very little rhyme or reason. Or so I thought.

I developed this method of sampling the tremor. I cross my arms and place my hands between my upper arms and the sides of my body. The same way you would if you folded your arms in front of you. Then I press down with my upper arms and squeeze my hands against the sides of my body. In this way I could develop a “baseline” to work with. I could feel my hands vibrating and take specific note of the frequency of the tremor and the amplitude.

Now I could test different things and see how my tremor responded to it.

I’ll save you all of the details of the dead end attempts to understand what had happened to my body. What I will tell you is that about a month ago I stumbled upon something interesting. What I learned was these symptoms – at least in my case – had nothing to do with my brain, Parkinson’s Disease, ALS or any other neurological issue.

I had started to notice that when I ate a meal high in simple carbohydrates such as pasta (I’m Italian so there’s always plenty of pasta to go around), about a half hour after the meal my tremors would subside. Then about a half hour after that they would come back with a vengeance. The frequency and the amplitude would both be at their highest.

As a strength athlete I have always used a Glucometer to determine the effects of different foods on my blood glucose levels. I began to use it to see what my blood glucose levels were at theses times. I did a test prior to the meal, one hour after and two hours after the meal (known as postprandial). What I found was a bit confusing. Normally my fasting glucose levels always are around 80mg/dl and one hour after a high carbohydrate loaded meal they can rise to as much 160mg/dl. At the two-hour mark they will generally drop to around 110mg/dl and continue to drop to around 90mg/dl.

What I found was that prior to the meal my glucose levels were 71mg/dl, at the one-hour mark they had only risen to 90mg/dl and at the two hour point they had dropped to 67mg/dl.

This was amazing. My pancreas was responding so quickly and with such an exaggerated response that my glucose level had dropped below the level prior to the meal. I felt I was on to something.

I continued to test after meals and check the frequency and amplitude of my tremors using my testing process. Some meals increased my tremors and some didn’t. Also on days where I ate high carbohydrates, my nighttime awakenings were the worst.

I began to devour research related to the glucose management system that keeps our bodies and brains fed with fuel. I looked at what increases insulin production and how I could manipulate its response.

One night I took my Glucometer to bed with me to see if my theory had anything to do with my 2:30 AM episodes of sweaty, trembling, heart-pounding awakenings. I had my last meal at 9:00PM – 2 servings of fat free cottage cheese and a small handful of raw walnuts – as I always have prior to bedtime. At 10:00 PM I took my bedtime level so I would have a baseline for comparison and it was 87mg/dl. When I woke up that night at 2:45 AM I sat at the side of the bed and immediately checked my levels. I was astonished at what I saw. My glucose levels were 159mg/dl.

I had a hard time falling back to sleep as this confused me but I figured I would deal with it in the morning when I would be clear to think it all thorough.

What I had stumbled upon was that, at that time of my sleep cycle, due to certain hormonal cascades I had become hypoglycemic. The symptoms of hypoglycemia are – tremors, anxiety, sweating and rapid heart beat. What I saw at the moment of awakening was my body responding to the hypoglycemia – most likely by the adrenal glands secreting Cortisol which liberates glycogen from the liver and floods the blood stream with glucose – and thus the high blood glucose levels in the middle of the night. This is a natural response from the body to maintain safe glucose levels.

If my symptoms were caused by poor glucose management, and food had an effect on my symptoms, the in theory I should be able to correct my problems through nutrition.

As the host of a fitness radio show I began to contact various scientist, physicians and nutritional experts to see if I could unravel the root cause of my problems.

The foods that have the most profound effect on insulin production are – refined carbohydrate, large doses of saturated fats and high sodium intake.

The conclusion I have come to is this – the thyroid, adrenals, pancreas and liver are the root of these symptoms. Each plays a unique role in glucose management. The pancreas and adrenals play a delicate game of dug-of-war, with the pancreas working to shuttle glucose out of the blood stream and the adrenals working to keep adequate levels in the blood stream. The thyroid causes cells to be responsive to insulin – namely getting glucose into the cells so they can function properly. And the liver is like a glucose battery – it stores glycogen for later distribution in the event we don’t have enough circulating from meal to meal.

What I began to do on March 30th is eat a modified ketogenic diet. I’m getting my calories mainly from lean proteins, healthy fats and no simple carbohydrates at all. Lots of vegetables. No starches. NO SUGARS. Low sodium, low saturated fats. This is not easy to do. It should also be mentioned that as a strength athlete I have always eaten 4 to 5 times a day so I am still eating with this same frequency.

It should also be mentioned that I get to the gym at least 4 times a week and do cardiovascular exercise about the same number of days.

With each passing day that I’ve been eating this way my tremors are noticeably going away. I awoke this morning and instead of the trembling feeling I’m accustomed to waking to, it was more like a tingling and instead of feeling it in my whole body – I only felt it in my lower legs and hands. And I have not awoken to night sweats, trembling or pounding heart so far this week.

I wanted to share this information with those of you who are interested. I’m not going to get into the hormone imbalances that cause this issue. I am clear as to what it is now but that’s not important at this point.

What I would like to do is use this forum for feedback and comments. While this is working for me it may not work for you. I would appreciate it if those of you who have anything to contribute to this information do so no matter how insignificant you think it is.

Have you noticed that your shaking changes throughout the day? After certain meals? When are they worst?

If you are going experiment with a ketogenic diet please email me prior so I can explain what the first couple days were like as I thought at first that my symptoms worsened. It’s important NOT TO REDUCE YOUR CALORIES. Just shift them away from carbohydrates like cereals, starches, sugars towards vegetables. My email address is carl.lanore@superhumanradio.com . I welcome any correspondence related to this issue.

The goal of eating ketogenic is twofold. First to reduce the symptoms. Second to reset the sensitivity of the cells to normal insulin levels by reducing circulating insulin levels. You body manufactures glucose from protein as needed when on a ketogenic diet though a process known as gluconeogenesis. If you see results from this, it will most likely take about 6 months to a year for the cells to reset to the proper sensativity. You should see a marked difference in the quality of the shaking/tremor within the 4rd or 5th day of eating this way as well as the night sweats and sleep interruption.

Where do subjective tremors come from? I believe that a change occurs on a cellular level when certain hormones begin to recede. The symptoms don’t occur right away. It take a year or so. I’ve spoke to a few women who have had this problem and they have told me they began to notice the shaking during perimenopause in the middle of the night around the time of their period. Once they went though menopause it came home to stay. The “thermostat” that dictates how much glucose is needed in the blood stream DOES NOT CHANGE. What change is the sensitivity on a cellular level of the muscles and the peripheral nerves associated with those muscles due to changes in estrogen and androgen levels which effects both glucose uptake and availability. Directly glucose uptake is effected by estrogen and indirectly by estrogens effects on thyroid hormone production. Estrogen also blunts adrenal response and keeps the adrenals from over reacting. Adequate glucose can’t get in to those cells so they’re are always in a hypoglycemic state. If your physician checks your blood he/she would think that you have a healthy operating glucose management system because its within range. The problem is that on a cellular level the glucose is not being delivered.

Exercise also plays a role increasing the sensitivity of cells to insulin and glucose uptake. This is also significant if my theory is correct.

Please post any results that you see so we can accumulate more data. Perhaps we can put an end to this issue. I’m not presumptive enough to think I have the answers. I hope that through dialogue on this forum we may be able to find the answers to this confounding issue of internal shaking / subjective tremor that the medical community obviously has not interest in.

- Carl
/quote]

Triceptor,

When you stated that at 2:30 am when you checked your blood glucose you were 159 and that you were hypoglycemic, don't you mean hyperglycemic? Hypo means low blood sugar, hyper means high blood sugar, right?

No. The glucose surge I was seeing was after the fact - a result of my body responding to a hypoglycemic state that occurred during my sleep. It was that hypoglycemic state that caused me to awake with my heart pounding, sweating and shaking. I was getting a glimpse of my body's response to the lack of adequate blood sugar. There is actually a name for this syndrome and it effects some women during pregnancy. Its called gestational diabetes.

Also the 159mg/dl glucose level is not considered hypoglycemic in and of itself. Hyperglycemia would be more like 250+ glucose levels and uncontrolled. The real thing to focus on here is that one hour after my last meal my glucose levels were well within healthy response range. It was during a period of fasting that my body had difficulty controlling my glucose levels.

This could be due to a couple different factors. Cortisol is at its lowest in the evening and the adrenals are supposed to be pretty much relaxed at this time. In the early morning the adrenals release Cortisol as part of the awakening process so that glucose levels begin o rise in concert with the brain becoming more active along with other adrenal hormones such as Epinephrine which increases heart rate. In the middle of the night Cortisol and Epinephrine are pretty much shut down - or at least they are supposed to be.

Thyroid hormone is produced at night to stabilize body temperature. Another important factor of thyroid hormone is its ability to enhance the uptake of glucose by causing the cells to have a greater sensitivity to insulin transport. This is where I think the issue is - with thyroid function. I believe that this condition is mainly a result of thyroid/parathyroid dysfunction. It's not something that a lab test necessarily is going to catch.

The factor other could be an overactive pancreas. The pancreas is a bit too forceful in clearing glucose from the blood stream. I find it hard to think this could be it. The thyroid is much more logical - especially with the reduction of important hormones such as estradiol and testosterone.

Either way, once the siren bells go off the adrenals kick in and wake the body up to the emergency by flooding the blood stream with glucose. The supposed threshold is around 60mg/dl. Once blood glucose levels get to this range the brain has difficulty functioning and the system is designed to liberate glucose from the liver.

Hi triceptor

I found your post very interesting. I did think though maybe being male tremors would mean a different thing to as being female. Why I say this is because I've had my tremors begin as a twitch in my left calf muscle for a week, then the front of my thighs began the tremors, then the calf muscles started. Progressed to very strong vibrations in my legs, mainly when I sat down at the end of the day/early evening. Then continuous tremors all day. Then it started to happen the minuete I laid down in bed and would have vibrations in my legs and on the left side of my body, the underneath of my arm and my back. I would wake at night with vibrations running up and down my back and legs sometimes onto my head and face. I felt panic a few times obviously it would scare the pants off anyone!! Had the "zapping" as well, same with the legs feeling like electricity running through them.

But I had found sugar didn't effect tremors neither did exercise. In saying that now when I go for a walk when I come back my legs will go silly for awhile then they calm down. I can understand what you are saying and it sounds feasable, but it must be different for us. Also I've had these for 2years and 2months (who's counting!!) and the tremors have gone down to a purr, in mainly my legs and feet, while I speak they are in the soles of my feet. A lot of women have said they're tremors have eventually stopped altogether without doing anything. I find they still also go up and down in intensity
depending on my cycle, but saying that I haven't had a period in 9months, just all the cycle symptoms.

Iam interested in your personal study for this and it could be adapted for women. I have also read recently women should not go on low carb diets with high protein it interferes with the seretonin levels. I would like to see your food routine if you wouldn't mind pm,ing me. Thanks

Cheers choco

Thanks for sharing with us all. It looks like tremors can be caused by many things--but what we have in common is that doctors aren't particularly interested in our problems, and nutritionists tend to have just the perfect supplement--for a small fee.

My tremors started 2 1/2 months ago when I contracted (very abruptly) non-viral hepatitis. Obviously my liver was involved somehow, but I have no idea, and no doctor that I've seen has the slightest interest in this problem since it doesn't fit the profile of liver patient.

My liver seems to be better, but the tremors are still around. I also have severe insomnia--haven't been able to take naps or sleep without medication. Very weird.

May we all find answers to these crazy tremors!

the liver plays a major role in regulating the endocrine system as well as blood sugar levels. there are receptors in the liver for every hormone that the body produces. In the event of an extreme elevation in a particular hormone - such as T4 from the thyroid - the liver will up regulate specific receptors to help flush the excess hormone out of the system. If the liver is sick then you can bet that every other system int he body is effected. N-Acetyl Cysteine and Milk Thistle are marvelous for liver recovery. There are peer reviewed studies that show it can revers severe liver damage - even cirrhosis. That would help your liver recover faster. I did a show on liver function. Strength athletes who use oral performance enhancing drugs risk liver degradation. The use a variety of methods including the above mentioned supplements.

An update on my theory - I ate lots of carbs on Easter Sunday - bread, candy, etc. - and awoke 3 time during the night with sweats and heart pounding. It wasn't as severe as before, very mild in comparison to what they used to be. Went back to the ketogenic diet on Monday and slept all night last night and felt remarkably well this morning.

My further research has also pointed me in a direction to try and stabilize my thyroid. I have been drinking distilled water for years. I have since switched to spring water. distilled is rumored to reduce minerals by way of leaching. Minerals are critical for thyroid and nerve function. Also started Green juicing again - organics only. 3X a day I have celery and parsley juice - 2 cup services.

Saturday I began painting a one inch square of tincture of iodine on my upper chest - I may not be getting enough iodine in my diet since I use sea salt to season foods and eat a very clean diet - very little to none processed foods.

I noticed that the buzzing feeling akin to an electrical shock which runs through my hands periodically is gone today. Could be the cumulative effects of the ketogenic diet or the thyroid up regulation due to higher mineral / iodine levels. I'll have to wait and see how the week plays out.

The parathyroid regulates minerals such as calcium and magnesium in the blood. I can't help but to think that the parathyroid has a role in all of this. The body is very sensitive to fluctuating calcium levels. Lab test ranges are generally very narrow. A symptom of calcium imbalances is sensitivity of the nervous system.

I believe the glucose mystery is tied to the thyroid as well. We'll see.

When I had my endocrine disruption at the end of 2005 I was convinced that I had altered the threshold of my hypothalamus from the elevated testosterone levels for such a long period of time. It wasn't until the middle of 2006 that I realized that it was my thyroid causing most of these symptoms - directly and indirectly.

Estrogen - more importantly estradiol - is required for proper thyroids function. It regulates thyroid receptor binding. The thyroid can not function in the absence of adequate estardiol - as I learned the hard way in 2005.

The thyroid and your liver create the furnace of your body - the thyroid produces T4 and the liver converts it to the active form T3. This is how we maintain body temperature. The hypothalamus is the thermostat and has the thermogenic threshold set points programmed. When the temperature is too low the hypothalamus signals the pituitary to produce thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) which in turn causes the thyroid to produce T4 and the liver converts it to T3 which in part increases thermogenesis and body temperature.

When my body temperature was so low that i went tot eh hospital with a 96.5 body temperature - all the ER physician checked was TSH levels. She immediately discounted my thyroid has the problem because my TSH "was in range". Who's range? What she failed to do - and because it wouldhave take too long to get the results back - was checked my free T3 level.

The thyroid also effects peripheral vasoconstriction and distillation. It does this in an effort to help maintain proper blood pressure. Many of the top audiologists believe that tinnitus is a result of exaggerated vaso response that restricts blood flow to the nerves of the ear. Again this points to the thyroid.

One of the things I preach on my radio show is that you can not expect your physician to find answers for these types of issues. You have to find answers yourself. While I do not believe that there is a conspiracy being perpetrated by allopathic medicine, I do believe that if a pharmaceutical rep doesn't bring a doctor a pill for a specific ailment, a physician has not time to research your specific problem.

Do you realize that the makers of Requip have no idea what the actual pathway of its action in relieving restless leg syndrome is? How does that make you feel?

I am planning an episode of my radio show on the thyroid. I would like to have Dr. Wilson - the individual who first found the relationship between body temperature and thyroid deficiency - on my show to ask him these and other questions related to the symptoms we develop as we age and their relationship to thyroid function.

In the mean time I have taken some steps of my own to help my thyroid. I continue to exercise and eat every 3 to 4 hours. I have taken steps to increase my mineral intake and retention. I began painting a 1 inch square patch of tincture of iodine on my upper chest. And I am still eating a ketogenic diet. I received my saliva test back a couple weeks ago and my testosterone and estradiol levels are back to normal so I feel that the healing can begin now. I'll report any progress or regress I see in the upcoming week(s)

My diet is pretty simple. I eatthe same things every day. I don;t think you need to go low carb. I think youhave to switch your carms away from starchy/sugary carbs.

Here's what I eat - and I'm not suggesting that anyone else follwo this as i train very hard in the gym.

Meals
1 - 8 egg whites 1 whole egg, 1 cup of raw unpastuerized milk, 1 medium apple
- Go to the gym and train
2 - post workout protein drink consisting of 40 grams of whey protein and 1/3 cup of single grain rice baby cereal (aprox 13 G carbs)
3 - 8 oz of grilled/pan fried (in very small amount of extra virgin olive oil) skinless chicken breast - 3 servings vegis - half avacado or 1 ounce of raw walnust
4 - 5 to 6 ounces of salmon or tuna - if salmon no additional fat - if tuna + half avacado or 1 ounce raw walnuts - 3 servings vegis
5 - Protein drink + 1 whole avacado, 40 grams of whey protein in water

I have a small amount of sugar/starch around my training session as I'm not worrying asbout an insulin spike. Byth etime I get done training my body needs some carbs. After that its pretty much vegis for my carbs. Keep in mind that I am 250 lbs and 6 feet 1 inch so this is considered a maintenence diet for me.

Hello again triceptor, I'm not too impressed by your diet! I couldn't survive on it!! I went onto atkins diet awhile ago and lost weight (put back on now ) which obviously restricted the carbs. I said in my previous post that women shouldn't go on low carb diets, I read it the other week. I think because of our hormones. I have had my thyroid tested a few times because of tremors and other reasons and also my liver and they are both fine.
I've decided after all the chocolate is gone no more, eat salads and limited bread and not potatoes. As you can see by my name I'm a bit of a chocolate freak!! Anyway keep us posted on your progress please. How long have you had this going for?

Cheers choco

Carbs are important for proper thyroid function. It's just the high glycemic ones I try and stay clear of - with the exception of before and after training.

I believe that I have made some new observations about the glucose fluctuations and subjective tremor.

I don't believe they are dependant upon each other. In my humble opinion the night sweats, heart pounding and sleep interruptions are definitely a result of the periods of night time hypoglycemia. I have not had any of these episodes since I cut out the starch/sugar consumption throughout the day.

While my tremors are better - I feel it is indirectly a result of stabilizing my glucose levels. I'm sleeping better. The tremors have definitely responded to the recuperative effects of better sleep. I asked my self "why". Here's what I think. Nighttime melatonin levels help stabilize the thyroid. Hormone cascades at night set up hormone production for the oncoming day. Sleep interruption causes all hormones to be out of kilter.

As a result of research I did a little test on Tuesday. I took 3 grams of calcium over the course of 3 hours on top of what I normally get in my diet. My tremors were worst. Both the amplitude and frequency increased. I felt very agitated. I have suspected thyroid/parathyroid in the past as you know. I will say it again - one test in the morning is not indicative of how your thyroid is performing the rest of the day - especially in response to feeding and nutrients. This is a great frustration of mine as it relates to the medical community. The endocrine system is the last great frontier for modern medicine. They know as much about how our hormones work and effect us as they do about outer space or the deepest depths of the ocean.

The parathyroid controls serum calcium levels, as well as other minerals such as magnesium. Serum calcium levels are well known to effect neuromotor function. It's intracellular calcium that is responsible for muscle fiber contraction. high levels of serum calcium have been known to excite the nervous system. A symptom of high serum calcium levels is Repetitive Neuromuscular Discharge (RND). Could this also be the reason that estrogen mediates bone mineral uptake? We now know that there are other ways to stabilize osteoporosis besides estrogen replacement. It could be estrogen's effects on the parathyroid. When the parathyroid malfunctions serum calcium levels get out of control. The body thinks it needs more in the blood stream so it leaches it from bones. High calcium levels have been long associated with all types of neuromuscular issues - think calcium channel blockers.

On Wednesday I began taking an additional 2 grams of vitamin D3. I already get about 380MG of it in my multiple vitamin pack. I used to get a bit more from my consumption of raw unpasteurized milk - but I've cut that back to just one 8 oz glass a day due to the lactose and my experimentation eliminating sugars.

While it's too soon to be sure, I do notice that my tremors have become much less noticeable. Nothing extreme. but noticeable enough. Usually when I sit and read, at the moment I first sit down the tremors are a more pronounced, but then after sitting for a few minutes they begin to subside. Now when I sit down I don't really notice them.

I haven't been able to train this week due to an upper respiratory bug my son brought home from school. The acid test will be when I train. In the past - since developing these symptoms - the initial few sets of whatever exercise movement I am doing elicits the tremors to worsten for a while - especially in my legs. Then at around the 30 minute point they go away. After I complete my training I usually feel great. I will be able to tell if I have stumbled upon something after I train again next week.

Many of these things I have cited above point me toward the parathyroid. Irregular control of calcium is a bit harder to track down. While the range for acceptable calcium levels is narrow - like all hormones - our bodies get used to "our" set point and any deviation opens the door for symptoms. Yet another frustration of mine. The acceptable ranges of hormone levels. If you want to do something wonderful for your children - have a compete hormone panel done while they are in their late 20's - while they are thriving. Let this be a template for both the levels and ratios (which I believe plays a greater role in the manifestation of disease than the individual levels) of hormones while they were young and healthy. Then you have something to compare to!

Ranges mean nothing. My body may have developed with a set amount of estradiol which is lower than yours. But if I fall into the "range" even though my current level is higher or lower than what my body is used to, my physician will tell me that I'm in the acceptable range. That doesn't make my symptoms go away.

I have a theory as to why the tremors are worst when episodes of hypoglycemia wakes us up in the middle of the night. Its because our hearts are POUNDING and the repetitive neuromuscular discharge is pulsating our muscle in response to each of those pounding heart beats - blood coursing through our veins - to every inch of our bodies. Like ripples on water - but instead its our peripheral nervous system. This would also explain the hyper-awareness we develop of our heart. I know that when my tremors were the worst in 2006 I was constantly on edge as I had no control over my hyper-focus of my heart beat. Even though I would check my blood pressure and it was fine, I felt as though my heart was going to jump from my chest. I was convinced that my heart was working so hard that I would shortly go into cardiac arrest. Now I look back and think that it was a hypersensitivity of my nervous system that causes a sudden awareness of my heart beat - that really hadn't changed - bt my sensitivity to it had changed.

I offer that this is why when we lie down at night and awake in the morning and our heart beat decreases and increases to the work load, the tremors follow in kind. When we lie down, shortly there after they subside and as the body awakes, the heart begins to increase stroke and beat, and heralds the tremors.

This became even more apparent the day I took the 3 grams of calcium. I have been a student of transcendental meditation for about 14 years now. When I meditated that day, which by the way took 3 times as long to get into my zone, once my heart beat began to slow, I could feel my tremors change in kind. In that deep state of meditation I had a unique perspective. My heart rate and breath rate drop significantly. The pauses in my heart beat are quite protracted. I could feel the tremor increase the moment the heart beat rang out and then begin to lessen till gone during the pause of the heart beat, only to increase at the next beat again. It was amazing. The tremor was a guitar string and my heart beat was the guitarist strumming the string.

Vitamin D3 helps to normalize serum calcium levels. I don't expect the changes to come quickly as chronic calcium fluctuations causes aggravated damage to the nervous system. It will heal, however. There is a great degree of plasticity to the nervous system. so I will report back as soon as I notice something, anything.

And to answer your question - I have had these tremors since October 2005 when my excessive abuse of aromatase inhibitors (which elevate testosterone levels in men - if you're asking why - read my post from feb 2006 here http://www.power-surge.com/php/forums/inde...;p=115787&#), reduced my estrogen levels to near 0. This also caused a disruption to other hormones and respective systems. My whole body shut down. I ask that you not judge me. The use of aromatase inhibitors is quite widespread and accepted in strength sports and it was our use that now has andrologists looking at this approach to correcting hypogonadism in older men instead of testosterone therapy.

- Carl

WOW triceptor you are really looking into tremors! I hope you fine a cure for future women
I've noticed now when we go for walks my legs (as you say yours do) go nuts when I finish and we come home. Tremors are really strong for about half an hour after coming home, plus they do a sort of muscle twitching which has always happened to me after exercise. I cannot sit down for at least half an hour, have to do dishes or tidy up when I come in the door as it's too uncomfortable to sit down. When my tremors were very strong it made no difference whether I walked or not to the severity of them, they were the same. Now I have them less, walking makes them come back strong for that short time.

I see what you mean about being hyperglycemic, I at one stage of this peri time couldn't go past mealtimes without eating, I would start to feel shaky, dizzy and have a bit of anxiety. But I'm not sure about in the middle of the night as I've only woken up with tremors running up and down my body, not palps (thank god!) and sometimes a bit of anxiety.

How will you be sure what really does work because tremors can be strong one day and then mild for a couple of weeks so gauging them is so hard?

cheers choco

Hi everyone,

Just wanted to know if anyone has found that they suffer from vertigo . Never had this experience in the past past meaning up until everything else happened which is now about five years ago. Somehow the tremors get worse since I have been having such bad vertigo and also the damn ringing in my ears.

I never had a clue that all these awful things would happen. About a year ago when I checked the hormones I was told no I had not yet reached menopause because lots of estrogen still showing. One year down the track and I was told first I was menopausal and when I looked at the result at the doctor it clearly said post menopause. How come the last three weeks have been the very worst ever if I am post menopause. Man alive these symptoms coupled with tremors how on earth does one go one.

Not to mention the nausea do any of you suffer ALL THESE SYMPTOMS or am I completely alone.

The weirdest thing is that can feel quite calm and the tremors are there but the minute I for instance this morning sat down cross legged to wrap some gift for my sister when I got up my legs were so stiff and my face got so hot and the tremors got worse.

It seems to happen every time I do just the menial tasks any movement that is bending and getting up again makes my tremors and the heat in the face worse. Would you believe as I am typing the heat in my face is coming on again.

What on earth is going on

Please tell me that this is not uniquely me.

Lots of love Flying Fairy

flying fairy, just wanted to let you know, you are not alone! My madness started 9 months ago with the vertigo and ear stuffiness. I went to ear nose throat and they found nothing. Since then, I have had chest pain, anxiety, panic attacks, depression, insomnia, inner tremors, and that weird head fogginess. I was totally healthy and on vacation when all this started, and I had never heard of perimenopause, until I started doing my own research to figure out what in the world was wrong with me. I have had blood tests, heart monitors, and have seen just about every doctor there is to see. The only real help I have had is with an alternative doctor who is wonderful, but is not covered by insurance, and even he thinks I am too young to have this. When I told him about the night sweats, he started reconsidering ( I am 37) This has changed my life, but I think I am gradually adjusting to my new reality. I have 4 small children, so it has been hard , but slowly but surely life is getting better. The progesterone cream has helped me tons. I'm sure it will get better for you, too!

Thank you so much for your reply Ohio Girl I really appreciate your comfort. What progesterone cream are you using. its funny how doctors initially say you are too young or it is not to do with hormones when they dont really know.

My goodness me I now sometimes wonder if my tremors that were called orthostatic and essential did not begin in the first instance because of my hormonal changes. Its incredible though that my newest one is when I have a chocolate I seem to tremor even more . Sometimes I just crave a chocolate and it sets me off. Even would you believe some times after dinner I find my tremors become worse. I just long for the day when I could wake up and feel remotely like my old self.

Its weird sometimes I feel that sitting on a chair makes me feel like I am being pushed backward have you ever experienced that from the tremors Almost like a gravity thing.

You are very brave to have the four children and experiencing all these things. Sometimes though you probably are better off having the little ones because this helps to take your mind off things.

Lovely to hear from you and waiting to hear from all the rest of my tremulous menopausal friends.

God bless you all

Flying Fairy

Triceptor...
Hi...I was wondering if in your experience with the hormonal imbalance...did you find you had any issues with your proprioception? Any sluggishness with muscle function? Slowed movements?

Did/do you feel off balance or slightly uncoordinated in any way? I don't recall whether you mentioned having saliva testing done or not? If you did, did you test your cortisol throughout the day to rule out adrenal insufficiency?

Have you researched glandulars to help restore and maintain your endocrine system?

I recently found that I have stage 3-4 adrenal fatigue and have been treating it with supplements, cutting out sugar and caffeine.
My saliva tests revealed a borderline high tsh which my consultant/pharmacist thinks is a result of the adrenal fatigue. I am supporting my thyroid with glandulars and supplements as well...just to help it out.

I have always been highly aware of whats going on in my body....I used to run, teach aerobics for Richard Simmons, managed fitness centers and am a licensed massage therapist (retired)...so I too have become my own researcher into my body and hormones.

MarieR

flying fairy, the progesterone cream I am getting is prescribed by my alternative doctor from a compounding pharmacy, but you can get it over the counter, as well. You just have to make sure you get a cream that has an appropriate amount of progesterone in it. There are many good brands listed in Dr. John Lee's book-What Your Doctor May Never Have TOld YOu About Menopause. This was an eye-opening book for me, to say the least and I would recommend it to anyone. Also, yes , the inner tremors just started for me, and they are definately worse after I eat chocolate. As far as the vertigo feeling, that was how it all started for me! I was on vacation and I had spent alot of time on a pier, and I thought that was what was causing me to feel that "falling over feeling" or just that your inner gravity is off or something, it's hard to explain-the rocking chair feeling sounded similar to what I feel. I think there are estrogen receptors in our ears that are affected by the flow of estrogen somehow. My ears get clogged around ovulation and around the week before my period-it's so strange-but I start to get tinnitus and can hear the blood flow through my head! It's terrible , but I try to ignore it. I am taking a natural anihistimine from my doctor that helps. I am finally feeling like my normal self, but it has been almost a year, and I am on MANY supplements, but not prescription meds. Hope you are feeling better with your symptoms this week!! Ohiogirl

Hello everyone, I am new to this site and I am so grateful to have found it. I am a 44 year old female who has been experiencing terrible internal shaking mainly on my right side and mainly on my hands and legs. I also have extreme anxiety and heart palpitations as well as heart drops; like when you are on a rollercoaster and your heart drops as you go down the drops. This has been going on for about a month now and I can't tell you how nervous and upset it has me. I can't seem to get any answers from my primary doctor. He ran a thyroid panel on me and said I had a borderline low TSH reading, but he told me that shouldn't be causing my symptoms because I've had this type of reading before. I asked him if I could be going through menopause and he said no that I was too young. My sisters didn't go through menopause till around early 50's. I have been constantly researching on the internet and can't figure out what's wrong with me. I'm so afraid it could either be Parkinson's disease or MS because my mom had PD, so you can see why I'd be worried. I have an appointment with an endocrinoligist next Thursday because I don't feel like my primary doctor is taking me seriously enough. I'm also considering going to a neurologist to rule out and neurological/nerve disorders. Has anyone else here had a borderline low TSH level and had these types of symptoms? I would love to hear from you or anyone who has any insight to what I am experiencing and might be going through.

Thanks in advance,
Tinalu

These symptoms can all be traced back to the thyroid - especially the morning brain fog. How is your vision in the morning ?

It's not the thyroid itself however in my humble opinion. The thyroid must be viewed as a system - Pituitary produces STH --> thyroid hormones - T4, T3, Free T3, reverse T3, Parathyroid hormone such as calcitonin, etc - these are most important. Then you must look at the receptors and lastly the enzymes responsible for the conversion of T4 to either T3 or reverse T3 D'-iodinase and D-iodinase.

The problem is most just look at TSH or the more progressive Dr's look at all the important hormones but not the enzymes. The enzymes are where all the most recent research is coming from. It's not uniform in all tissue and thus a person can present hyperthyroid symptoms - MVP, Palpitations, thinning hair simultaneously while presenting hypothyroid symptoms - fatigue, lack of energy, low body temperature. This confounds most Dr's and takes them off the track of what is really wrong here.

While the thyroid is the issue causing the symptoms - you have to look garter up stream for what is causing the thyroid SYSTEM not to function properly. - In my humble opinion.

Yes. badly. When I first crashed I was weak like a 7 year old. I had gone from squatting 450 pounds for reps to barely being able to handle 35 pound dumbbells. My friends thought I had damaged my brain . I was a wreck.

I didn't test cortisol. I knew my adrenals were whacked. I'm sure I was pumping cortisol at all the wrong times. I don't think its adrenal insufficiency now that I have spent over 1000 hours researching this situation. I think the adrenals are producing hormones just fine. I did test DHEA-S over the course of the past year. Shortly after my crash my testosterone plummeted from 868 ng/dl to 246 ng/dl - all the while my DHEA-S was screaming. the high end of the range for a 25 year old males is around 800. Mine is usually slightly above due to me intense training. This time it was over 950. this is a response to hyperinsulinemia. The adrenals and thyroid are modulated by circulating insulin levels





Yes - extensively

Again - the thyroid and adrenal issues are down stream from what I believe to be the real problem. Th problem with current medical estimations of this type of problem is they are still not asking the right questions. Why are the adrenals so disrupted. Why is the thyroid not functioning properly. Why is the pancreas over-reacting. Why is the sensitivity to circulating glucose so impaired?

It is ALL of these issues that are at the root of the problem and it is the cause of these issues that the real value in recovery lies. In my humble opinion.



Hormones are chemical messengers. While some women respond to hormone replacement therapy - other do not. Why is that? Adding hormones in and of themselves is not the sole answer. They do play a role in al of this. We have to think of them as they are - messengers. Why is this message being sent by the body? What mechanism is sending this message and why. There is the answer to the problem.

In fact you cant solve this problem without understanding a much larger problem that is at the root of these symptoms. I'm sorry if I seem cryptic. I am still resolving all of this in my mind and don;t want to go off half cocked.

I have had remarkable results ridding myself of my symptoms over the past couple months. I have made astounding progress and believe that I have found a series of tactics - or therapeutic approaches that can be a path to recovery. again I don't want to spread misinformation.

This is why I have been absent from the forum for a while.

I have created a blind survey that will allow me to better connect all the pieces of the puzzle that i believe i have identified. I'm asking that you take 15 minutes and compete this survey. It is totally anonymous. I believe that I have uncovered a series of therapies that can dramatically reduce and reverse these symptoms. It will not occur overnight - and I know that even one day more of feeling like this is too long. I've been there since October 2005 when this happened to me. I hope that you will take this in the spirit that it is meant - I am the closest thing to a man who has gone through menopause. I have suffered through all of these symptoms for over a year.

The tactics I have uncovered have reduced my tremors by 90%. I believe that within a couple more months I will be back to normal. My ears no longer ring. I no longer get lightheaded when I stand. My muscles no longer feel that tightness fatigue-like feeling. The buzzing feeling that usually shoots through my hands and fingers is only about 10% as noticeable. I ceased to have palpitations. The tingling red blotchy hands/palms that cause me feel like I have wax paper covering my fingers has been reduced to almost unnoticeable. I sleep through the night and no longer have night sweats or night panic attacks. I'm in the gym and my strength has returned. For the first time in a year I feel like there is light at the end of the tunnel. That I won't be relegated to feeling like this for the rest of my day.

I am reluctant to share any information as of yet until I first have an accredited individual look at my summary information. It would also help greatly if I had some real-world statistical data to support my findings. This is why I am asking that you complete the survey - and ask anyone that you know who is suffering through a difficult menopause with these symptoms to take the survey as well. Ihope you'll take the time to take the survey. - carl

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I have painted a dime sized iodine patch on my skin. I knew if the color disappeared within 24 hours, my iodine level was low. When I first painted iodine, the color disappeared within a couple of hours. I was onto something. Within a month, I finally managed to keep the area colored for over 24 hours. My body was happy; it had the iodine to work with. Which meant my thyroid was happy. I did have a free T3 done which showed low but PCP didn't think anything was really wrong. I didn't agree.

The low and then high sugar is called sjorgen's syndrome or perhaps the dawn phenomenon (between 4:00am to 8:00am). The initial is relatively rare, the latter more like it. I have been diagnosed as glucose intolerant, eat a diet primarily of protein and find that protein durng the morning hours with carbohydrate increased a bit in the afternoon seems to help me. I do eat a snack consisting of protein and a little carbohydrate before going to bed which seems to tide me over until I get up. And yes...I used to wake up around 4:30 in a major panic state. No doubt prior my blood sugar took a dip and my body was attempting to correct this, overcompensating and thus for the major anxiety felt upon awakening.

In the meantime, since "balancing" my glucose, I have lost 35 pounds and I find that exercising will immediately lower high blood sugar. My fasting sugar is in the mid 90's and two hours after eating will be in the low 100 and another hour later, in the low 90's. I personally think all of my problems have been due to the glucose and my body's inability to assimilate it.

I agree with you. Many of these issues are related to glucose management. I find that a pre-bedtime meal consisting of 1 - 2 servings of fat free cottage cheese with half an avocado allows me to sleep through the night uninterrupted. If find that any carbohydrate load sets me up for a mid-night awakening - no doubt from a rebounding of insulin related hypoglycemia. Its not the insulin that is the culprit here in my humble opinion - its the lack of adequate D'-deiodinease in target tissue so that thyroid hormone is not being properly metabolized, in conjunction with adrenals that are not responding quick enough and liberating glycogen from the liver.

Wow, Triceptor! What a lot of information! Thank you so much for your research and sharing. I don't understand all of what you had to say, but I do think for me there is a hypoglycemic connection as well. Also a thyroid/pancreas/adrenal/liver problem. I regularly wake at 4 am with heart palps., shaking, ears ringing, etc. I have been tested and tested and the doctors come up with nada. For the last two years I have done accupuncture once a month and it really seems to have helped, although the shaking is not completely gone. One other thing we have in common is the exercise. If I try to exert myself with weight training, my symptoms get worse. Also, if I try to limit my carbs. I don't eat simple carbs, but I feel much worse if I cut out most of my carbs. Please share anything that has been helpful. Abbey

Carl,
very interesting and very much in sync with what I already posted many times. it is all about insulin after all. High carb meals even if you are non-diabetic, which spike glucose to high level, and then your pancrease will release too much insulin, so your blood sugar drops too low then. High insulin=high adrenalin, and it is a vivious cycle. Brain needs only very little glucose to function, actually, it can use ketones with no problem. Small amount of glucose (30-40g) needed for RBC, kidney cells, mainly those that lack mitochondria.
Again, high carb/sugar diet is known to cause anxiety/panic. I monitor my Bgs daily, so I know if I wake up with tremomrs, my BGs is rather high, not low. Your low carb bed time snack can be problematic, and raise your Bgs during night time, or it can be rebound hypoglycemia.
Anyways, every time your Bgs and insulin swings widely, you will get a rebound effect. Blood sugar control is tightly associated with anxiety/panic, and as we lose estrogen, we start getting problems in this repartment as well
One word of caution, ketogenic diet is better conducted with higher fat content ( at least 60%) which becomes your primary fuel when carbs are low. Keeping fat higher ( can bve olive oil, avocado, seeds and nuts) will allow your body to keep energy level high, avoiding fatigue and lethargy.
having said this, I have been about 7 years on a verious degress of low carb diets, and while it is working for blood sugar control, it also started making me depressed over time, and lowered my FT3, so I had low energy and did not feel well.
Ifter reading Swarzbein Principals II ( Dr.Diane Shwarzbein 2nd book I indeed realized that staying in ketosis for a long time, will result in adrenal burnout, since it takes adrenalin to convert protein into glucose via gluconeogenesis. Especially if one performes lots of carido exercise. So, I allow myself now some "real carbs" like small amount of beans, starches, even pasta, and it helped with my energy level and my FT3 is in the upper range now.
it can be very individual, and some ppl react differently to ketogenic diets, but again, it must be then high fat % ( up to 80%) fat, very low carb ( less than 5%), and moderate protein (less than 20%) plan to avoid complete burnout. But if you are stuck on this plan for a very long term, you can expect thyroid slowing down. This type of diet is great for those who are not very active also, and supposedly promote longevity, since your metabolic rate will slow down eventually.
I had low body temperature and low Ft3 when in deep ketosis, and I did it for a long time. Sometimes, I wonder if this diet messed up my endocrine system. JMO though.
I would love to hear from you.

best,
I.

Abbey,
I hear you. But completely cutting carbs and overtraining ( weight lifting) is what I have done for years, unfortunately. Hypoglycemia is one part of the problem, so avoiding processed sugars and sweets, soft drinks, and fruit juices is onme thing every human being will benefit from. But avoiding healthy unprocessed carbs while heavy training, requires to hike diteary fat to a very high level, and even only temporary. Athletes use this type of ketogenic diet 9 very low carb) for cutting phase m,ostly ( short time before competition to shake off water weight and get ripped, dry look), but if you want to continue in this regimen, you will have to add lots of fat and calories to your daily diet, and try to minimize physical stress (aka streneous exercise as heavy lifting). Bottom line is that lifting heavy will trigger adrenal reponse, our body does not make difference between physical and emotional stress, so excessive adrenalin will trigger cortisol response.
As for waking up with ringing eaars, and other symptoms, IMHO, it is liver acting, since it has to make glucose in the absense of food at night and also because of gluconeogenesis on a low carb plan, so it will get adrenals involved for this conversion.
So, I upted my carbs slightly ( from 30-40g to almost 100g) from a healthy whole food sources, and I feel much better since then in terms of depression and anxiety, which are 2 sides of the same coin.
JMO and JME.
I.

Since beginning the series of therapies I have initiated for myself I have eliminated most all of the symptoms. Tremors are completely gone. The tinnitus has turned to a faint whisper every third day or so and now most days is not there. Raynaud's Syndrome is gone - thank god - that has to be one of the most annoying syndrome in the world. My waking body temperature is regularly 97.9 - 98.1. On the couple occasions that I have awakened with the momentary vibrating feeling my body temperature was 96.x.

OK so it's been about 1.5 months since I initiated strategies to address the sources of the symptoms while at the same time addressing what I BELIEVE to be at the root of all of this. So I've been feeling confident with my progress - but I know full well that I have not reversed the problem in just over a month. I'm not that naive.

My daughter's graduation was last Saturday. She wanted to have Sushi for dinner. We (the family plus some friends) went to a great Sushi bar. I haven't been to a good Sushi bar in a long while. I had planned to stay on course with my therapy by eating only fish and now white rice. My wife often complains that I have become too rigid with my eating. She is going through menopause but has no symptoms at all - and I can't explain how it feels to vibrate from face to feet to her well enough to understand that I'm not being rigid - I have to eat like this. I also don;t drink any more. I used to be a big drinker but when the powerlifitng bug bit me some 7 years ago I decided that the alcohol was counter productive.

The Sushi bar was out of the fish I wanted - Hamachi Kama - and my wife complained that I should loosen up for once - so I did.

Now before I tell you the rest of the story - no I'm not impersonating Paul Harvey - let me first list the 4 deadly sins of a person having glucose control issues. No high salt intake, no alcohol, no high fat intake and the obvious - no high glycemic carbohydrate intake. All four of these INDIVIDUALLY will lead to a tsunami-like insulin spike that is sure to cause a period of hypoglycemia.

I estimate that ate the equivalent of 6 servings of white rice, plus high fat from salmon, shrimp, avacado, etc, plus what must have equaled an ounce or two of soy sauce - oh and at the prodding of my wife - a small carafe of Saki. Yes - I committed all 4 of the deadly sins.

Sitting there, eating - I felt fine. In fact I was sitting there gloating that my self-imposed strategies had corrected my hyperinsulinemia as I shoveled the Sushi into my mouth like a man possessed. A big man with a big appetite.

Dinner was uneventful.

We got into the car to drop my daughter and her friend off at another graduate's home for a party. I noticed that my heart - every now and again - would skip a beat. Preventricular contractions - I was sure. Then they came with more frequency. By the time I got home my body was vibrating. I mean like it had back in 2005 when all of this started. Even that annoying vibrating feeling that radiates from the balls of my buttocks out to the inner/back of legs towards the knees when I sat - came back. I was home for about 30 minutes and I noticed that I became VERY anxious and over-stimulated feeling. I started to have a panic attack. That's when my heart decided it needed to be the center of attraction demanding attention away from the ominous but relatively harmless vibratiions and panic feelings.

My heart broke into tachycardia combined with the PVC's. I was a mess. I got light headed when I stood up and I was anxious when I sat there. I told my wife what was going on and that I may need to go to the hospital. These symptoms - all of them - continued from 10:00PM till 2:45AM - when my heart finally regained a regular beat. I felt like **** the whole next day - but I guess that was a given.

I am more convinced than ever that poor glucose management is at the root of these symptoms. The reasons for the poor glucose management is not the traditional pancreas/insulin reasons however.

I have found studies that link MVP and tachycardia to poor glucose utilization at the heart which is reversed through the supplementation with ribose.

I have since gotten back to my regular regimen and I'm fine again. I will not attempt something so foolish again until I am convinced that my root issue is gone. I feel that it will take a total of 6 months to correct this. I have another 3.5 months to go.

Carl,
Well, now i know that you are male, I shoudl have guessed it, LOL.
Based on the sushi eating experiment you described, I have opne question: did you check your blood sugar once you got home? because, I have very mild T2 diabetes which is pretty well controlled thorugh the diet and exericse, and even though I can tell you that high BG can cause the same nasty symptoms as low BGs: pounding heart, anxiety, skipped beats, etc.
I never eat sushi only sashimi, but it was not only rice. Sushi rice is made with lots of sugar, actualy they add sugar boiled with vinegar, to a syrop-like substance so the rice is sticky and easy to handle. Also, most of the rolled sushi have some sauce added, which contains copious amount of sugar as well. If i eat a sashimi dinner, I barely see any spikes; sushi will send my Bgs o 180 in one hour, and then crush it to <70 in 2-3 hours.
Now, add to this high sodium content of the meal plus alcohol from Sake, and you got picture perfect ground for heart palpitaiton, PVCs, and anxiety. Sodium alone can spike your BP and cause tachycardia, and alcohol just finished the picture.
Hyperinsulemia is a very real problem, and it is often associated with tinnitus in some ppl but so is the PVs and elevated BP.
The only sure way to know ifyou are hypoglycemic and hyperinsulemic, is to test your fasting blood sugar and insulin, or get a glucose tolerance test, even better.
Hyperinsulemia not always related to diabetes and IR, but can be caused by insulin producing behing tumors.
Based on your elevated 4 am BGs, I can suggest that it was gluconeogenesis, which is know to be more prominent in suseptabel individuals, those with higher level of GH- and aka weight lifter. Since GH are released during sleep and they conteract insulin action, it may be very well explaining your higher BGs.
FWIW, my 1st day glucose reading is always higher than any postprandial (2 h after meal) reading. read about Dawn Phenomenon and Somogiy Effect, either one is applicalbe to your problems.
But I agree that eating fast acting and high GI carbs will send many ppl to hypoglycemic territory whether they have diabetes or not, our body is just not used to large glycemic load. having sadi this, it is hard to explain how many cultures that eat carbs a staple do not have similar issues, so I guess it is some genetic defect that some of us have, while other don't.
Also, keep in mind, that finger pricking at night can cause your cortisol to spike, so the reading may be eschewed too, been there and done this too.
Not everything is related to thyroid or blood glucose control, but since these are parts of the same endocrine system, they indeed all interconnected. Since I have been dealing with Bgs control for about 5 years now, I figured that carbs should be never cutted out too low, or liver will go into overdrive, as well as amount of carbs and source they come from can vary from one person to another, but ultimately, they should be always eaten with protein and fat to delayglucose absorbtion.
As for heart not being able to deal with glucose, it is also true, BTW, heart prefers ketones as fuel. But it can also indicate some underlying issues with CAD, healthy heart should not have problem processing glucose if it gets adequate amount of oxygen.
JMO

yes my BG was 53 and this is why I didnlt go to the ER because I knew what was happening. You see this is classic thyroid / adrenal / pancreas related hypoglycemia. I have been severly hyperinsulinemic over the past year. Overall - due to the way I eat - I have very few if any insulin spike throughout the day.

The issue with cardiac function is due to a fast reduction in BG without a concomitant rise in cortisol or glucogon to keep BG levels stable. This is also where the heart pounding comes from during periods of hypoglycemia.

As for the finger prick at noght - I prick my finger sometimes 15 x in a day when I'm evaluating the GI respinse to certain meals. I soemtimes feell like a lab rat. In fact my

Interesting theory about the GH release. I'll have to look into that. I used to use GABA at 5G a night to promote a 500% increase in GH pulse during sleep. I don't do it any longer - however I am probably going to start using hGH in the next 30 days at 2IU's a day. I just got a script for it from my age-management physician. I used it for about 9 months about 3 years agot and have had very good experiences with it at that low dose.

I am really suprised that you prick your finger 15 time daily, even ID diabetics test max 6-8 time a day, your poor finger tips. I test 4 times tops, since I know what food will spike me: mainly sharches, grains, and hidden sugar in the restaurant food ( reason I try to avoid going out and prefer to cook my own food daily).
53 is indeed classified as hypoglycemia, although I recall once testing in upper 50s and no heart palps. But IMHO, pounding heart to the contrary is due to cortisol/ adrenalin spike caused triggered by low BGs and excessive insulin following high glycemic load. I get more heart palps when my Bgs spike higher than I like it, than when it drops, but again, YMMV.
You would know for sure is you are indeed hyperinsulemic if you simply get your 8 hours fasting insulin test and FBG done in the lab. All glucometers are calibrated to 20% error margin, so the numbers can be erroneously high and low.
carl,
not to highkjack the thread, but using GH as antiaging therapy is a sure way to become IR and diabetic, sorry your physician feels otherwise. read more recent studies on GH as anti-aging therapy, the side effects are not worth lean body mass gained.
FWIW, GH are strong insulin antagonist, so the more you have it in your system (naturally raised by low carb diet and weight lifting) or by using supplements ( ouch, those injection can hurt), it will make you even more insulin resistant and hyperinsulemic, not the other way around.
I haqve strong suspicion that your GH use int he past is what made you hyperinsulemic to begin with. My friend has acromegali, a begin piruitary tumor that secrets excessive amount of GH, and she is very hyperinsulemic already not to mention her entire endocrine system being impacted.
But to each their own, and YMMV, good luck with your diet and GH use. Please, keep me posted, you can PM me, I am interested to see what will be your results with GH.
best,
I.
P

I believe it is stricly pancreatic issues, hyperinsulemis occurs only when our cells become resistant to insulin in most cases with the minor exception of insulin producing tumors.
since insulin is major hormone, it impact other hormones and diabetic often Dx with hypothyrodism and adrenal issues. So you may be right it is related, but the real cause is IR and no one knows for sure what is real cause of the problem. I incline to believe it is genetic defect and it can build up for years mostly due to poor ditary choices.
But again, in your case it can be different cause.

Pancreatitis has been show to cause hyperinsulinemia in the absence of insulin resistance - so I have to say that IR is not the only cause of hyperinsulinemia.

The thyroid plays a contributing role in IR. If thyroid hormone is not being metabolized properly due to a reduction in deiodinase for instance one can become hyperinsulinemic. once euthyroid is reached the cellular sensitivity changes and insulin status changes as well. its my belief that women during the peri stage have two different occurrences that lead to poor BG management - the adrenals in an effort to compensate for the lagging production of E by the ovaries become exhausted. The adrenals produce about 10% of total E. Once the ovaries bottom out they take the burnt by trying to keep E levels elevated. they do so for a short while and then the work load becomes too much and they bottom out. The adrenal cortex where both E and gonadal hormones are produced as well as cortisol become fatigued. many physicians discount this concept - that doesn't negate the effects. This creates a lack of response to liberate glycogen from the liver during periods of fasting and BG is allowed to bottom out. This in concert with poor thyroid hormone metabolism as a result of the lack of E's effects on thyroid hormone binding adds to the mix by changing cellular sensitivity to insulin. These combined with a normal functioing pancreas leads to peaks and valleys of BG which eventually leads to hyperinsulinemia. These individuals usually have irregular glucose management which is seen by an unusual postprandial drop in BG generally at the one hour mark. They generally develop - if allowed to stay like this for a long enough period of time - with high circulating insulin levels. This is generally when the symptoms get the worst. After this stage if not corrected T2 diabetes is certain.

In fact there is recent research that points at hypothyroid status as a precursor for T2 diabetes when pancreatic isllet cells are not defective. If you PM me an email Addy I'll send you a few abstracts that show IR is preceded by lowered thyroid hormone / metabolism.

There is another culprit at work here one that is overlooked but also holds keys to correcting some of this - vicious cycle so to speak, the lagging thyroid hormone metabolism leads to lowerd body temperatures - which in turn disrupt the P450 cytochrome enzyme cascade as well as the selenoenzymes cascade which perpetuates a deeper spiral as these enzymes are not produced properly and contribute to dysfunction in important organ systems such as the liver. This then contributes to the clearing of / or not clearing of serum hormones. For instance - the way that estrogen contributes to dyslipidemia.

As for pricking my finger often - I don't do it daily but I view checking BG, blood pressure, PH, etc. like checking the oil in my car. I am alwasy looking for cause / effect relationships with certain foods I eat. I don't do it because I fear that I have an issue - I do it to see how my body responds to different things.

This is not always the case. There is a causative relationship between muscle free fatty acid content , muscle glucose utilization and disposal and IR in GH supplementation. Also no IR is seen if the GH dose that doesn't not elevate serum levels above 2 ng/ml. One would have to take about 5IU's a day to reach that status. There is much that is unclear about GH and its relationship to IR. Some feel that when a non-bio identical GH with a 192 amino acid peptide is sued - this leads to IR and when a bio-identical 191 AA peptide is used this doesn't cause IR. many studies don't differentiate.

Now that GH is no longer off-label for adults much will be done in this area. One must ask ones self - why aren't we prone to IR when we're in ouy teens and 20's and GH levels are at their highest. I don't believ its GH in and of itself. I can tell you that I did not have IR or any glucose issues when I was using GH.

triceptor -- Thanks so much for doing all the legwork! This internal trembling is what first drew me to Power Surge in the first place. I did the same as you -- searched the web and kept hitting this site. I'll have to pay closer attention to my diet. I had already noticed that sugar caused my palpitations to go nuts -- my favorite, chocolate pudding, became the obvious culprit, but I'll bet anything really sweet would do the same thing. But I hadn't tied the trembling to that as well. I'll watch my symptoms in relation to my diet, and will post again with any helpful results.

I noticed a few of you relating internal trembling to exercise. My muscles always (legs especially) tremble after exercise, but I consider that a good thing. Reason: they seem to tremble in response to how hard I work. If I haven't exercised in a while, they tremble with little effort. As I get used to the exercise, the trembling stops, unless I raise the intensity of the workout. So I don't think it's hormones in this case but rather reaction of muscles that aren't used to being worked.

Carl,
I am sure that we can discuss the IR issue much longer, this is one of my main interests but faulty genes and overconsumption of any food but mostly carbohydrates especially in form of simple sugars, finally will make most of us IR. The idea of high level of GH in relation to IR is not new, but there are way too many young adults and even teenagers with high level of GH according to their age and high degree of IR and even T2 diabetes.
One accute panccreatitis attack is enough to make one T2 diabetic, not hyperinsulemic.
Hyperglycemia - aka "white diabetes", is often a precursor to regular T2 marketed by hyperglycemia. But both takes years to develop, it may take as long as 20 years of wrong diet and sedentary life style, and what is the most troublesome, more teens and young adults become diabetics now, to what used to be known as asult onset desease.
GH is only one part of the equation, and other hormones play role. I believe it is a part of aging, this is how mother nature makes sure that aging humans will have some fat deposits in case they can make kills or will be food deprived by their younger family member,LOL. So in a way IR is a life saving mechanism, allowing humans to survive in absence or scarce of food. But in times of overconsumption of food, it works against us.
The solution- match your food intake with your activity level.
I am not big fan of using armour to treat hypothyrodism, it is made of whole pig thyroid gland, and not only it can cause heart attack because it contains active hormone but one can also develop antibodies to armour.
Low body temperature upon arising is quite normal, and otherwise, is actually abnormal. One can;t be Dx with hypothyrodism when blood work depeteadly tells otherwise. Diabetes is a very complex desease and not very well understood, but there are many culprits and one of them is adrenal insufficiency, but again, it is not the cause, but rather result of chronically elevated insulin level. My take on it: some ppl have faulty genes and have issues with glucose metabolims, not only those who are fat BTW, but also really slim ones.
But other causes are quite real: steroid use, high level of stress, viral and bacterial deseases, no one knows for real what causes it.
Liver is one of the organs that plays major role, once it becomes IR, then communication between liver and pancrease are lost.
Low carb approach is quite usefull for controlling hypo-and-hyperglycemia, but it can also worsen existing hypothyrodism, reduce energy level, and make one really depressed unless a high calories/high fat diet is consumed. Ketogenic diet only will work to your advantage when you eat lots of fat and at least 2000 calories. This works the best for hypoglycemics too, as well as diabetics.
I will pass on discussing GH, Armour, and other "anti-aging" therapies promoted by some physicians. Again, good luck on your path to health. I only know one thing- I did not have any anxiety, vibration, internal shaking, or panic attacks until I reached perimenopause, period.
Best of luck,
I.

Sorry carl, I somehow sense that you are indeed trying to market GH. It is rather very expensive and very risky therapy, to my knowledge, and I am in the biotech field and work with companies that manufacture GH, what a coincidence.
The price one may pay for lean muscle and sculptured body can be as high as his own life.
read a little bit before you consider another round of GH therapy. bioidentical or syntetic, does not matter.
http://www.antiagingquackery.com/majormedicalarticles.html

I'm not trying to market it. I am not suggesting it for anyone. I was merely making a statement about my own potential future use. I'll check the link. Thanks.

yes I am in agreement with you about potentially reducing carbohydrate consumption and yet further impairing thyroid function. I think that adequate intake of carbohydrates can be achieved without contributing more to the spikes and lows by focusing on a more paleolithic style of eating. No processed carbohydrates and as you point out - the addition of healthy fats to make up the additional needed calories to keep ones thyroid from slowing down. I think you pointed out earlier that this is used as a cutting phase approach for many athletes. Have you competed in the past?

Since you point out the fact that all of this began in peri phase - have you, or do you currently use and HRT/BHRT?

Any thyroid hormone replacement scares me. Its one of those hormones that has a great deal more gravity when in the wrong amounts or combinations than say a testosterone or estrogen replacement. The whole pig gland thing also doesn't make me feel very comfortable either. Have you seen what they feed pigs lately? LOL I may be crazy but I feel that in the absence of a totally destroyed thyroid - the thyroid is salvageable. At least that has been my experience. Now I'm not suggesting that someone with Grave's disease or Hashimoto's disease ignore medical intervention as those are two extremes that need medical intervention.

A recent study shows that the way anabolic steroids may effect the thyroid is through more efficient thyroid hormone metabolism. When one is on a cycle TSH and T4 are reduced in a dose dependant manor, however T3 remains the same or may even elevate slightly. It appears that target tissue is able to convert and metabolise thyroid hormone more effectively. Coming off the cycle produces a period of hypothyroidism - which ironically can be bridged quite successfully through the use of either Human Chronic Gonadotrophin or a female fertility drug which is a selective estrogen receptor modulator - Clomid / clomiphene citrate. Both have the ability to up-regulate TSH quite quickly and are used as post cycle therapy after cessation of anabolic steroid use as they also stimulate LH production an can help one reach eugonadal state as well.

How exciting that you are in biotechnology. Can you say what your area of focus is?

when I was at my worst I suffered from lower body fatigue. My upper leg muscles always felt as though I had just done a grueling leg routine. As I got better and I was able to train with some intensity - whenever I would push myself I would notice it in my legs first. During an upper body workout my legs would begin to feel rubbery and a mild sensation similar to the RLS I had when I first became ill - would come back - especially in the right leg. Early on I had thought this was evidence of some neuronal damage due to the lack of adequate aromatase enzyme in the brain due to the systematic reduction by the drug I was suing. Once I started to suspect blood glucose I started taking my glucometer to the gym and took my BG before a workout and then immediately when these sensation would occur. My BG did drop but not that much during the workout and I would expect some BG dip during my workouts so that didn't help. I still believe IMHO that it was/is related to muscle glycogen utilization and the lack of adequate replenishment - possibly due to a change in the status of insulin sensitivity of the cells.

This is what I believe it to be - the muscles are not getting adequate glycogen replenishment. It could be due to IR or the lack of adequate thyroid hormone or possibly adrenal insufficiencies which leads to an inability to maintain adequate BG levels or a little of all three - and then there's the liver.

Exercise has been shown to change the status of cells as it relates to IR and efficiency in glucose utilization so keep exercising. Every now and again push yourself into that area where your legs feel funny and see if the threshold keeps moving in a positive direction. Don't adapt to it - make it adapt to you.

I never competed but I am very interested in human microbilogoy and particulary, endocrine system. I have read many books ont he subject and continue to study in this field.
I was not much into diets and fitness until my late 30s, and decided to concentrate on body building, adopoted low carb diet ( even I haven't had processed sugar since my 20s, I have no sweet tooth and always ate clean and whole foods). So I have read and still reading a lot on the subject, although I drastically reduced my weight lifting regimen from daily 1.5 hours to twice a week short 20 minutes sessions. Instead, I do more gentle exercise: fast walks and swimming, and play with my kettlebells daily for 10 minutes. No longer I lift heavy, my heaviest weight is now #15 pounds dumbells and 18 pounds kettleblell. I figured that log and streneous exercise combined with modified (lower fat) ketogenic diet is not only counterproductive but may lead to adrenal burnout, so I take it easy now. Overexertion not only worsens my anxiety and disrupts my sleep, it also spikes my blood glucose dramatically. Same old: high cortisol ( physical stress) inhibits insulin.

f
Yes, I did for few months, and it messed me up badly, so I am now hormones free and not only stabilized but I see my symptoms somewhat improved, so there is a light at the end of the tunnel.


I am less drastic in thyroid hormone replacement. Thyroid hormone is a major hormone, and if thyroid for some reason gave up, we will be dead without replacement in matter of days, same as with insulin replacement in T1 diabetics. it is indeed a bit crazy to assume that totally destroyed throid can be slavaged, it can't. if the thryoid was surgically removed or destroyed by radioactive therapy, one must take syntetic hormones for the rest of the life, no other options.
I am just against using Armour and any thyroid hormone as anti-aging and weight loss tool. Thyroid panel testing is sufficient to identify and Dx hypo and hyper T, but I know young adults who have intact thyroid that does not produce much hormone, they suffered from high cholesterol, low energy, fatigue, depresseion at young age, and improved marketly by using synthroid, which is biodentical thyroid hormone.
No need to use Armour, which contains FT3, and has effect on human body similar to efedra and cocaine. It was used when no syntetic hormones were avaiable, but it is true that some ppl have liver/adrenal insufficiency that inhibits convertion T4 to T3. But it can be corrected if adrenals are addressed first and insulin/blood sugar is under control. Overall, I won't rush to use Armour or any thyroid hormone without addresssing adrenals first, it may make the matter worse. Our endocrine system is too complex, it is not easily fixable, it is biological and biomechanical machine.
I believe that some alternative and not too decent physicians do encourage patients to use "alternative' route as Armour for thyroid, Cortisol to adreess so called adrenal fatigue withot actually conducting extensive testing first, and this is really scary. Steroid hormones must be used under strict drs supervision and not something one can play so just to get more nergy and lose weight, this can be achieved by diet/life style modifications, exercise regimen, etc.

It is quite clear that steroid hormones even being minor, play big role in regulating our major hormones. One can toy with female/male sex hormones, and this alone can improve thryoid /adrenal function, but there is always a price to pay. Some call it hormones depletion or "glandular shutdown" at the begining of peri and menopause, but I knwo that there is a reason that our body "slows down". Lower level of FT3 is indeed associated with longevity, and our attempts to raise metabolism and lean out, get this 20 yo body back by resorting to GH and steroids use will definetely produce desirebalbe results in a short period of time but in a long term- will impact out health in different ways. It is hardly possible to replace all hormones (more than 50 alone for adrenal glands), not thinking of pituitary, hypothalamus, pacnrease, etc.
So, playing with some, will cause domino effect. IMHO, it is very important to keep insulin /blood glucose at certain range, and this alone will help tremendously with thyroid, adrenals, and even steroid hormones. I also believe that "forever 21' mentality can get one in trouble, and nothing is wrong with aging greacefulyl and gradually, no need to use dangerous steroids, no one will live forever.
I am also a big believer in taking care of our body, and aging process is also a part of it. Instead of thinking of myself as "hormone depleted" I preffer to think that I am "hormone appropriate" for my age. I think it is better to eat right, exericse, and try some natural therapies as accupunture, may be herbal supplements, may be phomorphogens, even soem meds to take care of teh symptoms, but don't mess with syntetic or bioidentical major hormones unless it is really warranted. But again, to each their onw, and some women greately imporved by using BHRT and even syntetic, but I am not one of them, I guess.
To answer your question, I am not a biology major, I am a process engineer for biotechnology but I worked in this field for more than 10 years, so I am familiar with the GH use and piossible side effects.
I have feeling that you are in medical field as well, or very much itnerested in HRT.

Carl,
I can attest that weight lifting (heavy and streneous) will raise my BG 60-80 points, and i check my BGs regulary.if you followed very low carb (VLC)regimen for few days, your glucgen stores are completely depleted. Normally, our body can store upt to 400 g glucose in liver and muscles, mainly in legs, since lower body is compsed of the large mucles. it takes on average 36-48 hours on a VLC diet to completely deplete glucogen tank, so you metabolism will switch from glycolisis to lipolysis, meaning your burn fat for fuel and relay on gluconeogenensis for small amount of glucose to support certain cells unable to use ketones and free fatty acids.
So, when you exert yourself on VLCD, and your glucogen is depleted, liver will kick in ( triggered by stress driven cortisol spike) and start "churning" glucose to support your activities. But what is surprising, is that instead of seeing glucose dip, you may see steady number or even spike. The answer is quite simple: there is not enough insulin to cover for liver acitvity. There is a reason athletes drink juice or eat something carby before streneous workouts to avoid gluconeogenensis, fatigue and muscle tissue breakdown. For the same reason, I, being T2, alweays eat something before exericse, or i will end up with sky high blood sugar ( for me it is 180). The good news- BGs dtop sharply after exercise, but i try to avoid Bgs spike in general, so I get some carbs before to prevent it.
If you want to avoid this issues in future, eat some carbs before lifting, it helps a lot.
Liver is a very hard working and busy organ, but if you Dx yourself with being IR and hyperinsulemic, your lvier has lost communication with pancrease, so it will continue to make glucose even if you BG is not low, triggering more insulin release eventually, and contributing to higher degree of IR.

Exercise is the best tool to improve IR in addition to proper diet, but exercise without adequate glucogen replenishing may lead to somewhat opposite. Sterneous exercise require either plenty of glucose or plenty of FFA and ketones, i.e. high fat/high calorie diet. Or you will get this wobbly legs syndrome, but if you push yourself too hard and too often, you wil eventually burn out adrenals, which in turn will inhibit cells insulin sensitivity, and will results in even higer degree of IR. So, it is indeed a very fragile situation, and therefore, most famous BBs and bioncemists ( Lyle McDonald is my favorite) advocate on vreaking the diet and carbing up regulary to avoid this situation.
I am a big fan of Lyle, I have read all his book on diet, exercise, and his book Ketogenic diet is by far the most comprehensive and informative out of all. There is another interesting book by Dr.Lutz, Life without bread, but Lyle goes into a great deal of details on human bichemistry and biology.

Iradan

I only go VLC for no more than three days IF I am doing VLC and then I stay well under 40g a day. On average I eat about 150G to 200G of carbs a day - almost all veggies after noon. My pre workout meal (breakfast) is a eggs (only 1 yolk and 8 whites) and oatmeal and a handful of almonds or similar. I generally eat my preworkout meal an hour prior to training. My post workout meal used to be 50g of whey protein and 40G of simple carbs in the form of single grain rice cereal (baby food). I have since ceased the post workout drink due to my concern with whey protein's effects on insulin response and replaced it with a whole food meal - chicken breast and a medium sized yam - no added fat for quick digestion.

I'm a big fan of carb cycling to lose fat and not sustained carbohydrate restriction. I eat lots of carbs in the form of spinach, broccoli, green beans, oatmeal, (grits on occasion - hey I live in the south right now LOL), yams etc. No breads and no processed cereals

There's a lot pf information about the paleolithic diet that I like. The phasic style of eating , etc. But mostly - the gravitation to raw unprocessed foods.

I do lift very heavy but when I am training that heavy I tend to only train every third day to allow my body and CNS time to recover. When I was at m worst a hard training session would contribute to my sleep disruption - as you pointed out.

I have to say that I feel great right now in general. My strength has come back and I am training regularly. I agree with you that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. I think the most important thing that anyone can take away form these posts is - you have to be tuned into what makes your body feel better and what makes it feel worst. The journey back to health is different for everyone with the exception of being aware of what causes which symptoms to get better/worst. If you fine tune your attention and treat this a bit more like you would a project - you will find the answers for what works best for you to help lead you back to health.

Just for the record - I took doctor-prescribed GH injections for over a year because I'm Growth Hormone Deficient due to a past pituitary tumor. I am no longer on it because, as the name says "Growth", it encouraged my kidney cancer to grow, too.

Dangerous stuff, even for those who need it. Definitely risky for people who are trying to stay young forever.

When I looked back at my symptoms over the past year:
[list]
[*]A constant vibrating/tremor feeling that runs through my whole body – from the insteps of my feet to all of my facial muscles
[*]Periods of low body temperature
[*]Awakening in the middle of the night, heart pounding, sweating and my body vibrating like a guitar string that had just been strummed



Triceptor, you describe exactly what happens to me during the night. I wake with a start felling the pulsing tremors, I become incredibly HOT, almost feel as if I'm burning up and my heart pounds like crazy. I shoot out of bed instantly and have to walk about to cool down. I also feel faint. It has been thought for years that I have nerve damage from a trapped nerve root but the sugar levels/thyroid involvement sounds far more likely. I have fibromyalgia for many years so my sleep pattern is disrupted and the melatonin level is all over the place. Magnesium was suggested to me years ago but I have IBS and Mg makes it worse. I need to find a type that doesn't do that or a natural source. My diet is very low in Magnesium.
I'm going to my GP with a precis of your ideas and will ask to see an endocrinologist.
I dread going to bed and mornings are hell. I had stopped eating anything before bed because of the IBS but I will try eating low GI and see if it makes any difference.
Thank you for doing this research and explaining so well. I truly think you are on to something.
I used to have Bowen therapy for my nerve pain and after he treated me to clear the liver and pancreas I noticed the tremors were much reduced.

After 4 years of this internal pulsating driving me utterly crazy, I need to that you from the bottom of my heart. It's early days yet but after reading your research I thought I fitted the description; waking during the night with heart racing, sweating, burning up and the terrible vibration so I decided to try some of the suggestions. I got an immediate response and I've just had the best two nights' sleep ever.
I ate a bowl of low GI cereal just before going to bed plus increased the amount of magnesium rich foods in my diet. For two days now I've had no internal vibrations ( well just a tiny bit) and NO waking with the racing heart. best of all, because there has been no adrenaline rush, I haven't been troubled by the terrible bowel urgency.
I can't believe this ; it's like a miracle.
I'm going to ask my GP to send me to an endocrinologist to get this mineral/hormone balance sorted out. Even the agonising pain from a trapped nerve root has improved.
I am certain you are right about a shortage of magnesium and about the hypos during fasting periods. Our diet is seriously lacking magnesium. My husband is diabetic so I will from now on be checking my blood sugar levels with his meter so I have proof to take to my GP.
I had read , many years ago about a connection with magnesium, calcium and fibromyalgia and after this I am convinced. I had seriously been on the point of wanting to get a knife to cut myself open to see what was causing the twitching