Early-morning waking - managing the morning cortisol spike

[Altostrata]

The Wikipedia article on cortisol has these suggestions (go to the article to see the footnotes):

 

Factors generally reducing cortisol levels

• Magnesium supplementation decreases serum cortisol levels after aerobic exercise,[69][70] but not after resistance training.[71]
• Omega 3 fatty acids have a dose-dependent effect[72] in slightly reducing cortisol release influenced by mental stress,[73] suppressing the synthesis of interleukin-1 and -6 and enhancing the synthesis of interleukin-2; the former promotes higher CRH release. Omega 6 fatty acids, on the other hand, have an inverse effect on interleukin synthesis.[citation needed]
• Music therapy can reduce cortisol levels in certain situations.[74]
• Massage therapy can reduce cortisol.[75]
• Laughing, and the experience of humour, can lower cortisol levels.[76]
• Soy-derived phosphatidylserine interacts with cortisol; the correct dose, however, is unclear.[77][78]
• Black tea may hasten recovery from a high-cortisol condition.[79][80]
• Regular dancing has been shown to lead to significant decreases in salivary cortisol concentrations.[81]

Factors generally increasing cortisol levels

• Caffeine may increase cortisol levels.[82]
• Sleep deprivation[83]
• Intense (high VO2 max) or prolonged physical exercise stimulates cortisol release to increase gluconeogenesis and maintain blood glucose.[84] Proper nutrition[85] and high-level conditioning[86] can help stabilize cortisol release.
• The Val/Val variation of the BDNF gene in men, and the Val/Met variation in women, are associated with increased salivary cortisol in a stressful situation.[87]
• Hypoestrogenism and melatonin supplementation increase cortisol levels in postmenopausal women.[88]
• Burnout is associated with higher cortisol levels.[89]
• Severe trauma or stressful events can elevate cortisol levels in the blood for prolonged periods.[90][91]
• Subcutaneous adipose tissue regenerates cortisol from cortisone.[92]
• Anorexia nervosa may be associated with increased cortisol levels.[93]
• The serotonin receptor gene 5HTR2C is associated with increased cortisol production in men.[94]
• Commuting increases cortisol levels relative to the length of the trip, its predictability and the amount of effort involved.[95]
• Stimuli associated with sexual intercourse can increase cortisol levels in gilts (a young female pig that has not produced her first litter).[96]
• Severe calorie restriction causes elevated baseline levels of cortisol.[97]

[dalsaan]

Hi everyone

 

Seeking some collective wisdom here. Can anyone tell me if rhodiola I'd activating? I've heard it helps with stress but wondered if it was stimulating at all. I don't want it to interfere with my sleep (wi probably take it in the morning)

 

Any advice/reflections on experience most appreciated

 

Dalsaan

[Altostrata]

Years ago, I had a very bad experience with rhodiola, did some research, and found in low doses it is a stimulant.

[primrose]

I bought ashwagandha which addresses cortisol and banishes those horrible mornings.

Look at the reviews on "planetary herbals ashwagandha" in amazon and you will see loads of happy customers.

Same for L-theanine, I have that on the way.

[annej]

I bought ashwagandha which addresses cortisol and banishes those horrible mornings.

Look at the reviews on "planetary herbals ashwagandha" in amazon and you will see loads of happy customers.

Same for L-theanine, I have that on the way.

 

There is a member on a benzo tapering forum who was not on any psychotropics and took ashwagandha who reports she experienced a severe withdrawal syndrome after coming off of it. I don't know whether or not she has recovered yet.

[Barbarannamated]

I spoke too soon. Woke about an hour ago with heart pounding, hot (not sweaty). Still trying to calm down. I increased my hydrocortisone dose (Addison's disease/adrenal failure) last night so suspect that caused the change this morning.

 

It does seem counterintuitive to be taking cortisol when I'm having cortisol mornings.

[npanth]

I called it the "Paxil Alarm Clock". It didn't matter how late I went to sleep, I would wake up at 4-5AM. I would start out of bed with a pounding, irregular heartbeat, dread, and overwhelming anxiety. As I changed over to a slower tapering schedule, it slowly went away. I don't get it anymore, thankfully. I think I got it because of my too-fast taper last fall.

[strawberry17]

Reading this has reminded me of how absolutely bloody horrible those mornings were a few years ago, I would just literally not know where to put myself, had often not slept well either.

I still get this but it's soooo much milder now and I am grateful for that.

[Nadia]

I am really looking forward to being able to sleep normally and not wake with horrible anxiety. Two weeks of normal sleep in July was pure heaven. Oh, please come back to me!

 

I've been curious to try ashwaganda... scared, too. Have not dared.

[music321]

I am in the midst of prozac withdrawal symptoms. among other things, i wake in terror at about 3:30 every morning. So far as I can tell by looking online (and i might be wrong) this is a response to hightened levels or cortisol.

 

However, a quick search of the net indicates that Prozac raises cortisol levels. if this is so, then withdrawal should lower levels, right?

 

what do you think is going on here?

[music321]

i took it for 2 yrs, and went cold turkey

[shriraj]

cold turkey..is not a good option .but however past is past..you said you are in the midst of withdrawal means that you feeling recovery..that is a gud news.now your answere for cortiasol level....if you feel that your symptoms are more severe in the morning and it gradually comes down throughout the day...and nearly vanishes at night..then there is a great possiblity that what you doubt is true ..you give me further details about your symptoms so that i can be more clear

[Altostrata]

Withdrawal syndrome raises cortisol to much higher levels.

[Jemima]

I am in the midst of prozac withdrawal symptoms. among other things, i wake in terror at about 3:30 every morning. So far as I can tell by looking online (and i might be wrong) this is a response to hightened levels or cortisol.

 

However, a quick search of the net indicates that Prozac raises cortisol levels. if this is so, then withdrawal should lower levels, right?

 

what do you think is going on here?

 

This is due to elevated cortisol levels and it's a fairly common symptom during withdrawal from antidepressants. Often it results in severe insomnia, so the fact that you can sleep at all is a good sign.

 

Here's an entire topic on the subject:

 

http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/33-early-morning-waking-with-panic-or-anxiety/

 

And there is a lot more information in this section, mostly under Sleep Problems:

 

http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/604-important-topics-about-symptoms-including-sleep-problems/

 

Darkening my bedroom and wearing a sleep mask helped me quite a lot. Once I was able to get a decent night's sleep, a lot of other symptoms began to subside.

[Barbarannamated]

Just out of curiosity, how long ago did you go cold turkey? And when did the sleep trouble start?

My cortisol is high and I have trouble sleeping... waking in the middle of the night. It used to be with terror (would also feel terror or extreme dread if I tried to nap), it has improved. I also CTed, btw, but after about 16 years of AD use.

 

Nadia,

How do you measure your cortisol levels? I think saliva strips have been mentioned, but thought I'd ask.

[Nadia]

I had my serum cortisol tested by a blood test at 8am.

[music321]

Day 28:

 

Not waking in terror at 4 am; instead, waking with calm mind at 6 am.

 

Libido: 5%

 

Burning headaches much less in intensity, frequency, and duration

 

Occasional dizzy spells

 

still on 20 mg/day

[Altostrata]

I am thinking long hours crunched up in front of the computer has affected me in a lot of ways that haven't been good, including crowding my internal organs, vagus nerve, and adrenals, besides poor circulation.

 

Standing and stretching out seems a very good idea!!!!

[music321]

To answer the question of a previous poster, I started having symptoms about 2 weeks after going cold turkey.

 

I reinstated, and symptoms have lessened a LOT. I was in a metaphorical "hell" at the height of the withdrawal, now I'm just living a frustrating life

 

I am trying to document this entire experience here so as to help others. I hope to continue to do so until I have recovered fully. In this way, when recovery is slow in coming for someone else, they will be able to look at this timeline of frustration, and see the light at the end of the tunnel.

 

Update: 44 days since reinstating prozac. Don't wake up in terror. Do wake up about 75% of days at 4-5 am. I stay awake, and become tired again around 9 (when it's too late to go back to sleep). I regained libido about 10 days ago, and thought I was back to normal. However, the libido vanished completely within a day of getting it back, and has yet to return. Burning sensation is just as severe as always, just less frequent now. I tried drinking a cup of coffee, which caused a real marked increase in burning sensation. Today, I drank a quarter cup of coffee without adverse reactions. Best of luck to everyone!

[Narcissus]

I must say that I prefer cortisol mornings to cortisol nights.

[Barbarannamated]

I must say that I prefer cortisol mornings to cortisol nights.

 

How do you experience 'cortisol nights'?

[Narcissus]

I'm assuming that the arbitrary and totally unprecedented episodes of strain and anxiety that I've been having are cortisol related, and for me they alternate between mornings and nights. In the morning, I find that once I get past it I have the rest of the day to recover. This leaves me feeling more or less hopeful about my recovery at the end of the day. When they take place at night, however, I generally end the day feeling much more distraught. It tends to be at night that I reflect about the state of my life (or in this case my withdrawal), and so having episodes at night tinges my reflection with hopelessness, which then goes on to affect me for days afterwards. The episodes are getting less intense in general, but a miscalculated dose of Effexor set me reeling again recently.

[Sally3]

I just wanted to add to the topic of the phosphotidylserine....I had read this post a while ago and ordered some Seriphos....I took it for 2-3 nights and noticed that it made me more depressed. I cannot absolutely say it was from the Seriphos but I stopped it.

What I have found that is helping me, and it's only been a week is Vitamin C - I take 500 mg at night at bedtime and 750 mg during the day....I am sleeping better and wake with no cortisol rushes most of the time. Just one morning woke with my chest going like a jackhammer - and it eventually stopped after an hour or two. But the other days and it's been a little over a week, I've awakened very smoothly. What a blessing!

Sally3

[Altostrata]

Yes, I found citrus to be calming.

 

You might want to try extended-release vitamin C as well.

[bruno2016]

Ok so i recently discovered grounding and feel as though it really helps me. Basically, you make bare contact with the Earth's service...thats it. You can even measure the electrical current in your body using something like a voltmeter and when you are grounded, it goes to zero.

 

Anyways, i go to the park, take off my shoes, and walk around the fields barefoot. I then lay down for 20 min. Once I get up, I have a sense of well being. I feel relaxed, my mind is clear, and all in all I just am at peace. So, I have been doing this often and am finding it so helpful that I am going to get a grounding pad for sleep and hope lightning doesnt strike my home.

 

I looked further into grounding and found some really interesting studies on the effects of grounding, including its effects on cortisol. So, I figured that using a grounding pad for sleep couple possibly help with the cortisol spikes associated with withdrawal syndrome. It could be worth a try my friends: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15650465

 

Here is a site with a list of studies and articles: http://www.groundology.com/scientific-research

[Altostrata]

I would think the benefit of grounding would be being out in nature and feeling that natural energy, fresh air, and peace. I'm more than a little skeptical that this can be packaged.

[fefesmom]

Any ideas about dealing with early-morning awakening would be appreciated.

I have no trouble falling asleep or going back to sleep after getting up to use the bathroom.

But at about 3 a.m. I wake up and cannot go back to sleep.

Have tried Trazodone (awful and stopped after two nights it didn't help at all) and Ambien (same thing - no help so I quit that too).

Any suggestions???

Thanks,

FM

[alex]

Hello Fefes, this is what I am doing:

 

I go to bed and watch TV until 12.30 or so;that means that in 5 and half hrs the nite will be over.In other words, try to make the night hrs shorter.

 

Sleeping aids:Supplements: 1 hr before bed, Linden Flowers tea, Valerian Tincture, 100mg Phosphatydilserine.

Med.0.25mg Xanax. I was on 0.50, now I´m down to 0.25 I need it.And I use a fan as a white noise aid

 

Oh, and mid afternoon I take 225mg Magnesium.

 

And A LOT of PATIENCE, HOPE and COURAGE.

[Barbarannamated]

Hi Fefesmom.

 

Are you waking up to go to the bathroom (ie. Is your bladder waking you?) ? Is this new? If so, are you drinking more fluids or doing anything differently?

B

 

EDIT: I just re-read your post and think i may have misunderstood.

[tezza]

Hi fefe,

 

Have you ever tried magnesium? I think I left it off last night and woke up more.

 

I'm so sorry this is happening now. Hopefully it's a bad wave and will level back out soon.

 

I've seen posts about some who are using glycine and it seems to be helping Them. I plan to get some and try it, (I'll try just about anything that's presumed to be safe )

[fefesmom]

Thanks all! I was taking magnesium a while (long while) ago and will go back to it again.

FM

[Altostrata]

This is such a good question, I made it its own topic.

 

What we want when we wake in the wee hours is something that will gently help us get back to sleep and not trigger the alerting reaction.

 

Things you might try when you wake up in the wee hours:

• Magnesium citrate or other absorbable form other than carbonate
• Fish oil
• Baby aspirin (take with food or fish oil to coat the stomach and protect it from the acid from the aspirin)
• Milk peptides (Lactium) -- very mild
• Glycine
• Magnesium glycinate -- combines magnesium and glycine
• Arginine (not too much! try maybe 5mg-10mg at first)*
• Homeopathic sleep remedies, such as Calms Forte*
• Holy basil*

At first, try one at a time to see how each affects you, then mix and match.

 

Use Search in this forum to find topics on each of these options.

 

* Use occasionally, effect tends to wear off if used for nights in a row

[peggy]

thanks for that list Alto! I can see my bedside table littered with little bottles ready for the early morning wake up LOL

[Jemima]

And remember the sleep mask. This was tripping me up for weeks until I realized I was waking in response to longer daylight hours.

[GiaK]

I meditate...I wake up almost every morning at that time and generally am able to get back to sleep...sometimes it takes meditating for a good hour...I often also get up and do something for a bit before returning to bed to meditate...(I meditate lying down, but I do full on paying attn to what is going on in my body etc)

The other thing I do and I really love them is listen to meditative sound CDs while I meditate...

I uploaded them to share in a post I wrote about insomnia...

I'll share the links here you can download them...I have found these really helpful...they're no longer available for sale so I figured I'd upload them.

VERY IMPORTANT -- USE HEADPHONES

 

See this post below:  http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/3916-getting-back-to-sleep/?p=103339#entry103339

they're really fantastic and now they're free...

Edited March 24, 2017 by ChessieCat
* added note about link

[compsports]

And remember the sleep mask. This was tripping me up for weeks until I realized I was waking in response to longer daylight hours.

 

Unfortunately, this not an option right now because I have to wear a full face mask for my pap therapy. But if I can switch to a nasal pillow mask (a whole other post), then I would definitely give this a shot.

 

Glad it helped you.

 

CS