WHY AM I SO TIRED? (Help for fatigue)

[[tr...]]

 

I found this article a few months ago and while I don't fit all the criteria I still gave it a try to see if it would help me. I'm long past wd and recovery so that wasn't my issue. I could feel a difference after the first night. This may not help everyone but it has helped many people I personally know and it's only 4oz orange or pineapple juice and 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar at bedtime. I thought it sounded too simplistic but it works! 

I did not include the author of this article due to privacy reasons but was written by a medical professional. 

 

WHY AM I SO TIRED?

So you are an overachieving female. All your life you’ve never taken the easy way out and always been someone to be counted on to get the job done. You made it through college or worked your way up in your chosen career, married, have 2-3 kids, you are between 30-50 years old, and everything appears to be going great. You are a trusted employee and the glue that holds your family together. However you have a secret. You’re so tired.

Because you are a strong woman and everyone counts on you, you would never admit this to anyone. But you can’t deny the symptoms. When you sit down it becomes harder to motivate yourself to get up and do anything, even if it is something you enjoy. You begin to wonder if you are getting early onset Alzheimer’s disease because you can’t remember anything and are always in a state of brain fog. You know exercise would help but exercise actually makes you feel worse while everyone else brags about how much better it makes them feel. You are craving sugar which gives you a brief but short lived burst of energy until you crash again. Weight gain around your midsection is becoming an issue regardless of how much you diet or exercise. Your libido is not what it used to be. Even if you sleep through the night you don’t feel rested. It is becoming increasingly difficult to get out of bed in the mornings whereas before you would spring out of bed. Your sleep is interrupted because you wake up and can’t fall back to sleep or night sweats keep you awake. Also, why am I getting anxiety? You ask yourself is this the result of just getting older or am I already going through menopause?

The good news is that your symptoms are likely not from premature menopause or aging, but the result of two little glands sitting on top of your kidneys working too hard. These little glands are called your adrenals and they have been overworked for the last few years and are now rebelling on you. Your adrenals have many functions but one of the primary ones is to release a hormone called cortisol. Cortisol is released in response to stress or a low blood sugar situation. As a general rule, cortisol will raise your blood sugar and give you that get up and go feeling. It is the opposite of melatonin, so cortisol should be high in the morning to get you going and low in the evening. Whereas melatonin is low in the morning and high in the evening to help with sleep.

During the night you will get small amounts of cortisol being released to keep your blood sugar at an appropriate level to keep your brain alive. When the adrenal glands are so beat up that they can no longer produce cortisol, they will release the backup hormones adrenaline and norepinephrine and that is the reason your sleep has become disrupted. So instead of releasing cortisol at night, your adrenals release adrenaline and norepinephrine flooding your blood with glucose (same thing occurs when fighting a tiger, i.e. fight or flight). When this occurs you will wake up and have difficulty getting back to sleep. After you fall back to sleep, the cycle will repeat itself a few more times during the night resulting in you having to drag yourself out of bed in the morning. Since the adrenaline is still circulating in your system, you won’t be hungry either (who wants to eat breakfast while fighting a tiger and with no sleep).

One of the precursors to making cortisol is called pregnenolone. Unfortunately, pregnenolone is also a precursor to estrogen. Because keeping your brain alive is more of a priority than making a baby, your adrenals will “steal” the pregnenolone at the expense of your estrogen. This will result in you getting all the symptoms of an estrogen deficiency. Hence the brain fog, forgetfulness, and hot flashes. In this estrogen deficient state, your body will try to do what it can to produce estrogen. Guess what else can produce estrogen, belly fat. This is why women gain weight after they go through menopause or have their ovaries taken out.

Since your ability to effectively manage blood sugar is now compromised, you are starting to crave sugar for the energy. You are trying to exogenously manage your glucose levels via sugar intake. Eating something sweet will give you a short lived burst of energy (just like cortisol raising your blood sugar) until you crash again and are looking for something sweet. This is why the combination of caffeine and sugar in a soda works well for you, albeit temporarily. The sugar raises your blood glucose and the caffeine stimulates a little bit of a cortisol release from the already beat up adrenals (kind of like beating a dying horse).

The body is also very reliant on cortisol production for effective exercise. Therefore when you do exercise hard you are once again calling upon the adrenals to fire and beating the dying horse again. Replacing the glycogen stores in your muscles is impaired causing you to have a hard time recovering from exercise. This is why exercise makes you feel bad but everyone else feels good.

So now that we know the cause of your issues how can we help it? One of the best things that has worked over the years to help heal adrenal fatigue in about 80% of the cases is the following concoction: mix ½ teaspoon of cream of tartar with a ½ cup of orange or pineapple juice and drink at bedtime for eight weeks (I would recommend pineapple juice over orange juice if you have an acidic stomach). Cream of tartar is actually the residue found in the bottoms of wine barrels and has a high potassium content. Potassium has a net positive effect of helping to heal the adrenal glands. The orange or pineapple juice helps to stabilize the blood glucose levels at night to inhibit the release of adrenaline and norepinephrine. After five to ten days of doing this you will experience that you are waking less at night, having less night sweats, and waking more refreshed. After two weeks, generally your energy and endurance will begin to improve. This cream of tartar mixture works remarkably well.

Since chronic stress is the main reason your adrenal glands have become fatigued in the first place, anything you can do to reduce stress can help. Studies have shown that deep breathing and meditation can help. When you take a deep breath, oxygen reaches into the lower parts of your lungs to stimulate receptors that feedback to the adrenals telling them to relax. When stressed, your breathing is shallow and the receptors in the lower parts of your lungs are not stimulated. There is a plethora of meditation and breathing techniques but I like to keep it simple. I’m a fan of six second box breathing in which you inhale deeply through your nose for six seconds, hold it for six seconds, exhale for six seconds, and hold again for six seconds before repeating. This works quite well and can be done for a few minutes daily.

The above approach won’t work for everybody but does work for the majority. Adrenal fatigue can get very complicated and sometimes requires supplemental interventions to help move folks to better health. But give the cream of tartar mixture and deep breathing a try and see what it does for you.

 

[[Pa...]]

Hey @[tr...], here you are coming to my rescue once again, you held my hand through recovery and now this!  I've noticed some of these issues, mornings used to be my best time of day but lately, I'm dragging myself out of bed. And sleep, well, it's never been my best subject (hence the Klonopin) but lately, its been worse and I've been drowning every night with the sweats.

I'm going to give this a try, thank you! 

Pamster

[[dj...]]

I don’t fit the criteria of being a woman but it might be worth a try!  

[[tr...]]

1 hour ago, [[P...] said:

Hey @[tr...], here you are coming to my rescue once again, you held my hand through recovery and now this!  I've noticed some of these issues, mornings used to be my best time of day but lately, I'm dragging myself out of bed. And sleep, well, it's never been my best subject (hence the Klonopin) but lately, its been worse and I've been drowning every night with the sweats.

I'm going to give this a try, thank you! 

Pamster

Hi @[Pa...], I hope it helps you as much as it has me! When I first read the article I didn't think it could actually help but so many people that I know said it helped them I felt I had nothing to lose.  I think pineapple would be the best choice since it works on inflammation so well and has less acid but I’m highly allergic to it so it was orange juice for me. 

Let me know how it works for you, I always like to hear the results! 🥰

[[tr...]]

45 minutes ago, [[d...] said:

I don’t fit the criteria of being a woman but it might be worth a try!  

I definitely think it’s worth a try! 🙂 I have heard of men trying it and some said they had good results, I hope it works for you, too.  It’s only a small amount of juice and cream of tartar so it can’t hurt. If you don’t see results right off don’t give up on it, go the full 8 weeks. I still do it a couple times a week just as maintenance. 

[[Zi...]]

I think I might try this! Sounds very basic and it could help. Worth a shot, eh?! 

[[be...]]

I had luck with half of a nut butter sandwich, and half glass of OJ at bedtime, it really helped the cortisol rise in the mornings. It also helped to level off my BS and I did not have a spike in it first thing in the am. I read it many moons ago here on BB, and for me it worked using this recipe. Of course one must not be allergic to nut butters, I used PB. Thanks @[tr...] for helping others navigate through benzo tapering and wd. 💖Peace and Healing.

[[dj...]]

12 hours ago, [[t...] said:

I definitely think it’s worth a try! 🙂 I have heard of men trying it and some said they had good results, I hope it works for you, too.  It’s only a small amount of juice and cream of tartar so it can’t hurt. If you don’t see results right off don’t give up on it, go the full 8 weeks. I still do it a couple times a week just as maintenance. 

Thanks.  It really can’t hurt.  And I’m sensitive to lots of foods/meds/supplements.  I had a heavy morning cortisol surge today. 

[Guest [...]]

This sounds good and I’m going to give this a try. Boy I need this. 
this is the first time in awhile that I read, I’m so embarrassed but my reading is super slow. 😂 

thank you TropicalSoul.♥️

[Guest [...]]

I'm interested in this as well, fatigue is on the top of my list as a physical symptom that's the most debilitating. I've suffered from chronic fatigue 25+ years now with no relief.

[[Pa...]]

24 minutes ago, [[S...] said:

I'm interested in this as well, fatigue is on the top of my list as a physical symptom that's the most debilitating. I've suffered from chronic fatigue 25+ years now with no relief.

Hello Sunflower1819, welcome to BenzoBuddies,

I'm sorry to hear about your fatigue, I didn't suffer with this but my friend did and it was awful.  

Are you currently tapering, or are you benzodiazepine free, we're interested in hearing more about your situation.  Please feel free to start a thread on the Withdrawal & Recovery Support - BenzoBuddies Community Forum.

We're glad you found us.

Pamster

[Guest [...]]

I am interested in this however I just realized I'm on Spironolactone which contains potassium. I have to be very mindful of my potassium intake while taking this medication.

[[tr...]]

3 hours ago, [[S...] said:

I am interested in this however I just realized I'm on Spironolactone which contains potassium. I have to be very mindful of my potassium intake while taking this medication.

I understand your concern with Spironolactone and potassium, I know someone that also takes that med. A half teaspoon of Cream of Tartar has 247.5 mg of potassium, you may want to half that if you think it might be too much. 
Chronic fatigue is one of the worst, just getting through the day is exhausting and painful. I hope this can help you. 
 

[Guest [...]]

Thank you! I'm on other meds too so I'm always making sure before I start anything new there is no contraindication. I have a follow up with my Lyme physician in October, I can always run it by her or shoot her an email. I'm desperate to have energy. I work with people well into their 60s and 70s that have more energy than me, same with my parents.

[Guest [...]]

Hi TropicalSoul, well I’ve come to let everyone know that I’ve been drinking this cocktail for 5 weeks now and it works. It worked for me anyway.

I started waking up with energy and began exercising and walking miles every day for the last month or so. I walk anywhere from 6 to 10 miles a day. I know that sounds like a lot but I have so much energy now and get windows while I’m walking too so I look forward to it  everyday. 
 

how many times a week do you take it after the 8 weeks is over? About 3 or 4 times a week for maintenance? 
 

thank you tropical soul, you came to my rescue too. 
♥️💙💜

[[Pa...]]

Thanks for bumping this thread @[Ja...], I want to share my results too.  

I’ve been drinking this for almost 2 months and am happy to report that the night sweats I was dealing with have disappeared so I’m sleeping better!  I feel better than I have in months, and while I’m not sure I can attribute this to the juice, I’m just happy to be here now.  

I had been thinking about seeing someone about taking hormones so I’m very happy I don’t have to go down that road.  I’d like to hear what @[tr...] has to say about maintenance too. 

[Guest [...]]

6 hours ago, [[P...] said:

Thanks for bumping this thread @[Ja...], I want to share my results too.  

I’ve been drinking this for almost 2 months and am happy to report that the night sweats I was dealing with have disappeared so I’m sleeping better!  I feel better than I have in months, and while I’m not sure I can attribute this to the juice, I’m just happy to be here now.  

I had been thinking about seeing someone about taking hormones so I’m very happy I don’t have to go down that road.  I’d like to hear what @[tr...] has to say about maintenance too. 

Hi Pamster, I’m so happy to see you here. I have missed you like you wouldn’t believe. You’re the one that kept me going with hope the first 7 months of my taper or maybe longer. I wanted to thank you for always encouraging and giving me assurance the whole way.  I’m not going anywhere so don’t get too happy, 😆 

I’ll be staying in touch with you while I continue my taper and when I get off successfully, hopefully I’ll be able to help others. 

anyway this cocktail worked for me.  I’m in shock bc if you knew how exhausted I was, there are no words that I could find to quite describe that kind of benzo w/d exhaustion.  Beyond comprehension. So I’m very thankful that Tropical Soul told me about this, oh I’m so thankful. 
 

I walk everyday for miles and miles with a smile on my face. And All my symptoms improve when I’m exercising. The best medicine there is. 
 😎♥️
 

[[tr...]]

On 03/10/2023 at 19:38, [[J...] said:

Hi TropicalSoul, well I’ve come to let everyone know that I’ve been drinking this cocktail for 5 weeks now and it works. It worked for me anyway.

I started waking up with energy and began exercising and walking miles every day for the last month or so. I walk anywhere from 6 to 10 miles a day. I know that sounds like a lot but I have so much energy now and get windows while I’m walking too so I look forward to it  everyday. 
 

how many times a week do you take it after the 8 weeks is over? About 3 or 4 times a week for maintenance? 
 

thank you tropical soul, you came to my rescue too. 
♥️💙💜

Hi Jacky, I’m so glad this is working for you! You sound great and I’m amazed at your level of exercise, that’s quite an accomplishment! 
This is what the author has to say about maintaining….’Drinking the 1/2 cup of juice at bedtime sans the cream of tartar will help to maintain it after the eight weeks. Maybe throw the cream of tartar in temporarily if you are going through a stressful stretch.’

I understand your concern about the sugar content of the juice but it’s so worth it! It’s 12 grams of carbs in 4 oz of orange juice, try to work around it the best you can. 
 

TS 

[[tr...]]

14 hours ago, [[P...] said:

Thanks for bumping this thread @[Ja...], I want to share my results too.  

I’ve been drinking this for almost 2 months and am happy to report that the night sweats I was dealing with have disappeared so I’m sleeping better!  I feel better than I have in months, and while I’m not sure I can attribute this to the juice, I’m just happy to be here now.  

I had been thinking about seeing someone about taking hormones so I’m very happy I don’t have to go down that road.  I’d like to hear what @[tr...] has to say about maintenance too. 

Hi Pamster, 

I had to go back and find the article and here’s what he recommends for maintaining…Drinking the 1/2 cup of juice at bedtime sans the cream of tartar will help to maintain it after the eight weeks. Maybe throw the cream of tartar in temporarily if you are going through a stressful stretch.’ 

In the main article (see my first post) he talks about how this helps hormones, etc. I had forgotten that part of it, when I reread it tonight I was pleasantly surprised. I do believe this is what helped me level all that out. It’s hard to believe that something this simple can have such dramatic effects. I’m happy that you are having success, too! 

[[el...]]

On 04/10/2023 at 15:00, [[P...] said:

Thanks for bumping this thread @[Ja...], I want to share my results too.  

I’ve been drinking this for almost 2 months and am happy to report that the night sweats I was dealing with have disappeared so I’m sleeping better!  I feel better than I have in months, and while I’m not sure I can attribute this to the juice, I’m just happy to be here now.  

I had been thinking about seeing someone about taking hormones so I’m very happy I don’t have to go down that road.  I’d like to hear what @[tr...] has to say about maintenance too. 

 

Great results! Please keep us updated. When it comes to medications, I always make sure to check all the information about them on the Canadian Pharmacy website. It's very easy to find a detailed description of a particular medication and ask any questions about it to the pharmacy's customer service.

 

Edited October 29, 2023 by [el...]

[Guest [...]]

On 04/10/2023 at 23:24, [[t...] said:

Hi Jacky, I’m so glad this is working for you! You sound great and I’m amazed at your level of exercise, that’s quite an accomplishment! 
This is what the author has to say about maintaining….’Drinking the 1/2 cup of juice at bedtime sans the cream of tartar will help to maintain it after the eight weeks. Maybe throw the cream of tartar in temporarily if you are going through a stressful stretch.’

I understand your concern about the sugar content of the juice but it’s so worth it! It’s 12 grams of carbs in 4 oz of orange juice, try to work around it the best you can. 
 

TS 

Hi tropical soul, I hope all is well with you and that your extreme fatigue is manageable or gone.

im past the eight week mark for this nighttime cocktail and I wanted to know if I should continue with the cream of Tartar and orange juice for a longer duration?  Im worried that the extreme fatigue will return with a vengeance if I stop.  I’m still walking 8 to 10 miles a day and it’s the only time I feel good. 
please get back to me as soon as you can. 
also give me an update on how you are doing.

jacky ♥️

[[tr...]]

On 03/11/2023 at 12:07, [[J...] said:

Hi tropical soul, I hope all is well with you and that your extreme fatigue is manageable or gone.

im past the eight week mark for this nighttime cocktail and I wanted to know if I should continue with the cream of Tartar and orange juice for a longer duration?  Im worried that the extreme fatigue will return with a vengeance if I stop.  I’m still walking 8 to 10 miles a day and it’s the only time I feel good. 
please get back to me as soon as you can. 
also give me an update on how you are doing.

jacky ♥️

Hi Jacky, I'm doing well and staying extremely busy, especially this time of the year when something is always going on. 

Congratulations on walking 8-10 miles daily, that's quite an accomplishment! Here is what the author of the article says about maintenance..."Drinking the 1/2 cup of juice at bedtime sans the cream of tartar will help to maintain it after the eight weeks. Maybe throw the cream of tartar in temporarily if you are going through a stressful stretch." 

You are doing so well that I would be hesitant to change it much. I would keep drinking the orange juice at night and maybe drop the cream of tartar. I know you are concerned about the carbs in the orange juice but I feel that drinking it at night helps keep cortisol levels in check and, for me, that outweighs the concern of the carbs. Take care and keep walking!

TS

[Guest [...]]

23 hours ago, [[t...] said:

Hi Jacky, I'm doing well and staying extremely busy, especially this time of the year when something is always going on. 

Congratulations on walking 8-10 miles daily, that's quite an accomplishment! Here is what the author of the article says about maintenance..."Drinking the 1/2 cup of juice at bedtime sans the cream of tartar will help to maintain it after the eight weeks. Maybe throw the cream of tartar in temporarily if you are going through a stressful stretch." 

You are doing so well that I would be hesitant to change it much. I would keep drinking the orange juice at night and maybe drop the cream of tartar. I know you are concerned about the carbs in the orange juice but I feel that drinking it at night helps keep cortisol levels in check and, for me, that outweighs the concern of the carbs. Take care and keep walking!

TS

Hi TS, I’m happy to hear your busy bc busy is very good while having withdrawal symptoms. I’m not worried about the carbs anymore. I do plenty of walking so that’s not an issue. I will continue with half a cup of orange juice and a tiny dab of cream of tartar. To be honest the last 3 days I’ve experienced this exhaustion again but I’m sure getting my period played a part and stressful life situations that arose. 
im always so happy to hear from you and happy that your busy and productive. 
jacky ♥️

[[sh...]]

On 12/08/2023 at 17:58, [[t...] said:

When the adrenal glands are so beat up that they can no longer produce cortisol, they will release the backup hormones adrenaline and norepinephrine and that is the reason your sleep has become disrupted

Hi Tropical soul, thank you for your post but I am a bit confused… my blood lab showed a much too high cortisol level. And I am still very often agitated. At the same time I am very exhausted as I still don’t sleep well. Problems to fall asleep, night sweats, once fallen asleep waking up after 1-3 hours, very often in chemical fear and pain… do you think your drink could still help me? thanks 🍀

[[Al...]]

Hi shamrock4, what was the name of the blood test that measured your cortisol level?  I did a saliva test, all within normal limits.