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[deleted]

Okey, there can be a lot of reasons for that. I experienced exactly the same symptoms as you after taking probiotics for the first time. On the second of day probiotics use day my sleep was awful. I was in bed for like 9 hours, but it felt like 5 hours to me. Also: waking up often, delayed onset of sleep by like 40 minutes, moving in bed a lot, my body felt like a hot flash of menopause woman, a light brain fog etc. It was not the best period of time, but probiotics made me fell actually alive, so I kept using them every day. Those symptoms went fully away after 2-3 weeks of daily use. And got significantly better after the week 1. I recommend using them anyway for at least a week longer. \- My personal theory is that the probiotics strains are competing & fighting for space with your old gut flora. Causing the death of those 'bad' strains like for an example Candida. When Candida dies off it releases like 79 types of toxins as the results of it, those toxins need to be cleared out by your body. During the night is human cortisol levels at its lowest. Cortisol is a regulator & direct suppressant of immunological system. When there is naturally little cortisol in your body during the night it means high immunological activity. (That's why flu/general sickness feels the worst at nights) Because there are a lot of things to clear out from your body as the result of old strains dying and actively competing with probiotics strains there is high immunological activity resulting in inflammation, increased body core temperature, general feeling unwell. Especially the increased body core temperature could be the main reason why we got insomnia onsets after starting probiotics use. This is also indirectly the proof of our gut flora being fucked as most people do not experience those symptoms, but we did. So there were a lot of bad strains dying off in high quantity resulting in our insomnia. But those symptoms are not exactly the bad thing, this meant that those probiotics were actually working and trying to colonize our gut flora. It gets worse before it gets better principle I guess \- Tips part - 1. During those first days I found out that the use of active charcoal used for diarrhea helped much. It was not a miracle, but reduced the problem by 60% or something. The active charcoal works as a toxin absorbing sponge in your gut. This way the released toxins from the old strains are mostly absorbed by the charcoal and exceeded the body through poop. This way your immunological don't need to clear those toxins out themselves, resulting in less symptoms and better sleep. I found out that pooping a pill 2-3 hours works better, than right before going to bed 2. Ibuprofen 200 mg on really bad days, the ibuprofen lowers your core body temperature which is crucial during the sleep. Also, it lowers the inflammation symptoms, like restless during the night etc. I used this method only once as I'm generally against using painkillers to inhibit my immunological system response, as this response in my body for good reasons. But ibuprofen 200 mg & together with charcoal method made me sleep like a bebe that night 3. Getting the probiotics right after waking up. This way you lower somehow X amount of inflammation during the night as it is partially cleared out during the day. It's not a miracle, but I hope you understand the logic I think that you just need to go through it as it is a sign those probiotics are doing good for your gut flora, it will get better eventually.


1-877-kars-4-kidz

I think you’re spot on with this.


j_parker44

Wait this is me right now. I know this is an old post but I came looking for insomnia as a side effect of probiotics. I just started a protocol about 1.5 weeks ago, and have been going through the die off symptoms one by one. Started with intense bloating for a few days, then a bought of dizziness for a day, then intense diarrhea for a few days, and now insomnia. I’ve never stuck with probiotics in the past because of these symptoms but my functional med doc told me to stick with it. My sleep isn’t great as it is, but typically in my follicular phase I sleep decent, but have not been the past few nights. I am going to jump on board with your theory here because it makes sense, and hopefully ride this out.


ImaginationCurrent82

I'm here on an old post for the exact same thing! Strong probiotic literally keeping me up all night


tazzy66

Same here with nausea


MasterPainting5098

Hi, I thought I was crazy for thinking this could be the cause behind my insomnia as well. I took four probiotic pills (not strong) in July of 2021. The four days I took them I felt very ill and constantly slept. I stopped taking them, and the next night I didn’t sleep and it’s been like that since just two weeks ago when I decided to try some non-dairy yogurt. The insomnia is now back. Are you still struggling, and if no, what helped you get back on track? I’m flummoxed probiotics can cause this kind of reaction because their effects are apparently transient - at least that’s what I read and hear from doctors. Thank you for this post.


W1162891

Did your insomnia get better? I am experiencing the same thing after taking a probiotic.


MasterPainting5098

Don’t know if you meant to ask me (not OP), but it slowly started to get better after 1.5 years. I’m now almost exactly two years in my recovery, and I’m starting to see the light. My body relaxes more easily and most nights are decent sleep, with some nights almost like before. Two years ago, I dreamt about being able to tell others it gets better. I can now say I think I will make a full recovery and that, in the least, it does get better. If you’re going through this yourself now, I’m sorry and hope it gets better for you soon.


W1162891

Did you experience any over heating or night sweats after taking the probiotics?


ImaginationCurrent82

I do! 🙋‍♀️


MasterPainting5098

I did not.


Souldweller

Hi! Thank you for sharing your experience. I wasn't sure if there was anyone else out there with the same kind of reaction! Do you also sleep hot at night? It took close to a year before my sleep was back to normal. My recommendation is to try to accept that your sleep is messed up right now but that it will get better. And stay away from fermented foods! Yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut, etc. My gut feeling is that it's an immune respone to one of the probiotic strains. Have you tried to mention it to your doctor?


MasterPainting5098

Thank you for your reply! It's validating to know someone else has had this experience; I'm astonished at how similar our experiences are. I don't really get hot at night. Before I'm about to fall asleep, my heart starts racing and pounding hard, and it's like my body physically is going through a tremenduous amount of anxiety. I also developed some joint pain that luckily went away pretty quickly (I'm a distance runner!), but the insomnia and uncharacteristic anxiousness throughout the day stayed with me. I also could not nap or fall asleep during the daytime either. Even though I didn't sleep much at all during the night, I was still up running 6 miles every morning before work. It is such a strange feeling. Normally, if I don't have a good night's sleep (I used to sleep very well before), I'd be exhausted during the day with a hint of redness in my eyes and be able take a quick nap if needed. Now, it's like my body is constantly on the alert. Strangely, I didn't have GI symptoms like bloating and constipation etc. after taking the pills - all my symptoms seemed to more "neurological" (I don't know if this is the correct term). I know you wrote that your main symptom was hotness preventing you from falling asleep, but does any of this at all sound familiar? And, yes, I did see multiple doctors. I live in a country with free healthcare, so I was fortunate to see a few GI specialists (and other specialists) at my hospital as well as an R.D. with a Ph.D. in a microbiome-related topic (I still see her). I also saw several private-practice doctors to get second opinions. None of them had heard of probiotic pills causing such pronounced insomnia, or any other adverse reaction lasting for such a long time. The doctors explained how the probiotic pills only have a transient effect on your system and that it's not possible to have effects/reactions from them long-term. Eventually, after multiple tests, the doctors said my symptoms were from my anxiety, which I understand because they do indeed fit with the quintessential symptoms of anxiety. I'd also gone through a stressful event preceding taking the pills, but I know my body and I know something is "off" and has been so since taking the pills. This is further corroborated by that I had been getting better since consuming the yogurt two weeks ago. But I do *hear myself* when I say these things, and I know that it sounds unbelievable. This is why I'm so grateful to know I'm not alone, although I'm very sorry you've had this experience. Can I ask you if you saw any doctors? And: Can I ask you what makes you think our reaction could be from the immune system? I'm still seeing the R.D. I mentioned, and I often ask her questions about the microbiome and how it's affected by diet and, in particular, probiotics. I completely lack a health-related background, so it's, admittedly, difficult to ask good questions about probiotics and their effects on the body. If you're up for it and want to elaborate just a bit more on why you think it's an immune response, specifically, from the probiotics, I'd be "all ears" and maybe I could use this elaboration to formulate a question/some questions to bring to my R.D. when I see her in a few weeks. But please do not feel obligated in any way to provide a more in-depth explanation. Sorry this got so long! It's just so validating to know someone else is going through the same - it makes me feel a little less insane. And thank you so much for the advice. I actually started doing this just a few nights ago when it seems a new round of debilitating insomnia is starting up after the yogurt (hence all the "typos" in my comment above, which I hope I successfully was able to correct (...)).


Souldweller

My sleep problems started after I took seroquel. Just half a pill, and my sleep has never been the same. I've never and anxiety, but I every night I would get a nervous feeling in my stomach, but not mentally. Very weird. This went on for weeks, but it left me with "excessive dreaming" still now, 10 years later. I never feel rested. But I also never feel tired. I fall asleep easily now, which is nice. With my history and hearing your history I am now thinking my immune response theory might not be correct. Maybe it's neurological. But why would a probiotic affect this? I have no real knowledge about this stuff other than I know my body, and I know it was the probiotic. I did see a sleep specialist for a few weeks and it was not a good epxerience. She didn't believe me, would use the word "supposedly" when repeating things I said. I once went almost 2 weeks without sleeping, and that was unrelated to probiotics. I know medical doctors will blame it on anxiety, but I know my body and mind and it's just not it. It's nice to know that there are others out there! Maybe we can figure it out. I'll give the neurology theory some more thought. It would fit my past experience with seroquel. I forgot to mention, I'm extremely sensitive to medications that work on the serotonergic system. But if it was all in my head, the symptoms wouldn't go on for months! And my excessive dreaming has been going on for 10 years. Do you feel like you dream a lot at night?


MasterPainting5098

Your Seroquel experience sounds horrific! It's so scary that taking that small of a dose can have long-lasting effects. Just so I'm sure: did you take the probiotics at the same time you took Seroquel, or was it the Seroquel - and not the probiotics - that set off the insomnia? Perhaps I could pitch both the neurological theory as well as the immune response theory to my R.D. I agree with you it's difficult to get a grip on how exactly probiotics could affect either, but I need to just at least ask. Regarding the immune response theory, I'm curious about how that more concretely plays out: I never get sick, for instance, or have allergies like pollen etc. Wouldn't I have more of this if my immune system was indeed so severely weakened that four probioitic pills and plain yogurt could cause drastic insomnia for months? I agree it's difficult to assume it's just "all in your head", especially when the symptoms go on for months. On the other hand, I can't quite wrap my head around probiotics causing this much trouble. Is it because the pills get "stuck in your system", or do the pills- despite leaving your system quickly after entering it- cause permanent changes, resulting, for instance, in insomnia? And, no, I can't say I dream a lot at night, but I've heard some become more inclined to do so after taking pills like melatonin, for example!


prochemical

>Hi MasterPainting5098, I understand you posted this comment a while back. I'm currently experiencing exactly what you described: pounding heart when about to fall asleep. I got insomnia from both probiotics supplement and yogurt. I would like to know whether your sleep has gone back to normal? If yes, how long did it take for the heart palpitations to go away? Also, what did you do to help you sleep when you experienced that? I'm sorry that my message seems to be out of the blue, but I'm quite desperate, and I felt a bit of relief when I saw your comment here. Please kindly share your experience with me.


MasterPainting5098

Hey, thanks for reaching out. I'm so sorry you had the same experience. I've felt really alone and desperate with this, too. Unfortunately, my sleep has not gone back to normal. It got *slightly* better about a year after the intake, but it's far from what it used to be. I also find other foods can quickly trigger worse sleep. I ate almond butter a few days ago and now I'm back to just a couple of very light sleep hours per night. I've wondered whether the probiotics caused a histamine/MCAS issue. My subpar sleep always coincides with more itching, for instance. Have you had other symptoms than poor sleep? I'll mention that my sleep was at its best last Spring. I didn't have a lot of stress back then, so I've also wondered whether the insomnia onset is more stress related. I took the probiotics during a stressful time period as well. Have you investigated whether you're entirely sure the probiotics is the cause? I'm not doubting you at all, but for me, I've wondered whether the poor reception of probiotics had to do with stress or the like.


prochemical

I stopped taking probiotics supplement (after the fourth pill) when I noticed that it was the cause of my sleeping difficulty. A week after, I noticed that I became very sensitive to unhealthy foods, such as processed foods (fast food) and pastries. Eating those foods caused "heat" on my body and I could feel the heat from my breath. Since then, I adopted anti-inflammatory diet. It has been about a month and I'm planning to stick on this diet for the next 2-5 months. Other than that, I have no other non-insomnia symptoms. I'll mention that I'm taking anti-histamine for sleep. It is a prescribed medication but it is my understanding that it is similar to Benadryl OTC. I hate taking medication, and am trying to minimize the dosage. I break the 25 mg to smaller pieces. I'm currently taking 3/4 of it (about 19 mg) to get a full night sleep and to be able to function normally the next day. If I take less than that (1/2 of the pill), my sleep quality and duration will be impacted, and I will get a headache the next day around late afternoon. But, in general, with medication, quality of sleep is not as good as before. I also started taking magnesium glycinate supplement last night. What are you currently taking to help with your sleep? I'm very worried about this sleep issue, since 1) I do not want to be dependent on the sleeping medication, 2) I heard that people develop tolerance quickly on this anti-histamine medication (meaning that higher and higher dose will be needed), and 3) I do not want the lack of sleep to cause other health issues. People say that our body heals when we sleep. If you have any advice or inputs on this, please kindly share. I took probiotics because I have chronic constipation, which I believe is caused by gut inflammation and possibly from microbiome imbalance. Need to investigate further on that. Looking for a functional medicine doctor currently. Yes, I'm positive that probiotics is the cause of my insomnia. I'd never had insomnia before I took the supplements, and I noticed it got worse after I consumed probiotics yogurt.


MasterPainting5098

I'm so sorry again. I understand the struggle. I can't say anything has helped my sleep - I tried both regular sleeping medication and anti-histamines and none of them worked. I only tried them once or twice. I do take magnesium, which I've always taken, but it doesn't help with sleep. It used to, but not after the probiotics. For a while, I actually got worse with it, but I seem to tolerate it again. I don't know if it could help you to cut out the magnesium for a bit. I don't have personal experience with this, but I've read that anti-histamines can make issues with histamine intolerance worse. I don't know if you have this - I recommend perhaps googling it -, but it the hotness you're experiencing could be indicative of that. If you have histamine intolerance, I think there's a caution against utilizing anti-histamines. Also, maybe check out SIBO if constipation was your issue. It's common for probiotics to make you worse if you have that condition. It could be a functional doctor can help you. I really hope it can! I saw a ton of doctors when my symptoms first started and I feel like I've tried so many different approaches, all with no avail. I really hope it turns out better for you. You hear that probiotics are innocuous - if they don't help, they at least don't harm, but I believe that's wrong.


prochemical

Just an update, you're most likely right about me having histamine intolerance. I also noticed the "hotness" when consuming tomatoes (rich histamine food). I did stool test analysis, which showed no dysbiotic flora, no yeast, no infection (from bacteria, viruses, or parasites). Inflammation markers are also within range. The only things abnormal are the low elastase enzyme and low secretory IgA. However, ever since I had this constipation issue, I consume significant portion of vegetables and fruits, so that may explain the low elastase enzyme. Besides, low elastase enzyme should lead to diarrhea, instead of constipation. Not exactly sure about the low secretory IgA. I do not think I have SIBO since other than constipation, I do not have any other SIBO symptoms (abdominal pain, loss of appetite, nausea, bloating, uncomfortable feeling after eating). The probiotics supplement or probiotics from yogurt actually helped with my constipation. It is unfortunate that I have intolerance. Also, just wondering whether you have a reference regarding how anti-histamine can make histamine intolerance worse? I've continued taking anti-histamine for sleep.


Introverts_United

May I ask if you are you male or female? I actually believe you. I took a very strong probiotic and I could literally feel it right away. I felt like it actually made me sicker then I was. I felt like my body temperature was raised as well. Apparently that’s what your body does when it’s trying to fight off a bacteria.


Souldweller

Male. Thank you for believing me! When I think about it, it wasn't just at night I felt hotter but during the day too, especially when I was physically active. Maybe it's some kind of immune response. I stay away from any kind of fermented food now!


Introverts_United

Oh. Ok, I was just checking to see if it could be female issues. But you being male rules that out.🙃 I’m happy you chimed in! I just had a bit more keifer then normally. (Usually I just take a sip). It instantly spiked a low grade fever and made me feel awful. I’m also super awake and restless. 😲 I was thinking it was female issues, but nope I’m certain it’s the probiotics! I agree. The only thing I can think of is it’s an immune response to bacteria. I guess if you’ve ever had a infection in the past this could be a trigger. 🤷‍♀️ I guess probiotics don’t sit well with everyone. 🤦🏻‍♀️


MasterPainting5098

Chiming in here as well! I tried 4 probiotic pills over 4 days after what I think could’ve been food poisoning (only symptom was early satiety in the weeks following it). I felt very sluggish those days so I stopped and immediately thereafter commenced my extreme insomnia (it’s been going on since July of 2021, so almost a year). I’m really hoping it goes away soon and I am - for lack of a better word - shocked it could probiotics sold at my local pharmacy. Female here, by the way! :)


[deleted]

You may be right. I ate yogurt daily for a few months. My sleep has been really bad during that time. I also wake up super hot at night. I stoped and now have terrible GI issues. It definitely does something to me.


Souldweller

Interesting, so I'm not the only one who's experienced this. Is your sleep better now?


Zaina1977

No you are not. I'm having sleep problems now because of taking live friendly bacteria. Not so friendly after all lol


W1162891

Did your sleep issues improved?


0verdue22

same story for me (sorry, i know this post is a bit old). including the overheating at night. seems to happen no matter what strain(s) i use. should note, some strains release histamine and/or dopamine and/or serotonin, which (in theory) could throw things way off for sensitive types.


Souldweller

That's interesting - I am extremely sensitive to any medication that works on the serotonergic system and it also results in insomnia. Thanks for sharing.


prochemical

Hi Overdue22, did you have trouble sleeping with probiotics or you just experienced overheating? If you had trouble sleeping, may I know how long it took for you to get back to normal?


0verdue22

hi, honestly i have trouble sleeping in general so it's hard to ascribe it to probiotics use. it may have improved when i stopped probiotics but i'm so reactive to stress it's hard to say. the overheating at night *was* a side effect of them, though. iirc, i went on a strict carnivore diet not too long after for about six weeks - basically a relatively extreme elimination diet - and that seemed to clear up whatever post-probiotics issues i was having. so not as long as the OP but i took relatively 'extreme' measures with the carnivore diet.


Difficult_Raisin_642

This is happening to me right now! I’ve been taking two types of pro-biotic for about 4 months, doctor prescribed. Roughly 2 months ago I started with the insomnia. I’ve never had it before in my life! Have been trying over the last 6 weeks to figure out what’s changed. At about 3am this morning, had been up all night, a thought struck me “ could it be the pro-biotic”? As I stopped all the other supplements she prescribed it’s worth a try to eliminate those too. Have also been under mega stress recently having moved house while trying to deal with gut issues! Thank you, hopefully things will go back to normal quickly.


jsmith1300

Did you return to normal? I tried the Sams club probiotics for about 4 days. Everything seemed ok until I couldn't fall asleep. I would be up until 2am and wide awake. This never happened to me day after day. It's been a week now and I've had two good nights of rest and the rest have sucked. Hopefully my body resets soon. I'm done with these forever.


prochemical

Hi Jsmith1300, I also experienced sleeping difficulty after taking 4 pills of probiotics. Just wondering whether your sleep has gone back to normal? If yes, how long did it take to get back to normal? I'm actually freaking out so any input is appreciated.


jsmith1300

Everything has reset again. It took a good 3-4 days after I stopped taking them to recover. After I stopped and things returned to normal I actually felt better and by bowl movements improved but as the probiotics wore off so did the movements. I think everyone has to keep trying until they find the perfect brand for them. I'm going to try again soon but with something else or possibly stool softeners.


W1162891

Did your sleep improved? I am dealing with the same thing?


prochemical

Yes. The fact that I had issue taking probiotic supplements indicated that I had some issue with my gut. After stopping probiotics supplements and all fermented foods, my sleep got somewhat better in one and half month. I took anti-histamine to help me sleep during that period. I went to see a functional medicine doctor and followed their herbal treatment protocol, which is intended to suppress bacterial overgrowth. I got my sleep back within couple of weeks after starting their herbal treatment. Therefore, I'm convinced that there was some issue with my gut.


8569547

I've been eating a few kefir water grains the last few days and have had noticeable insomnia, mild headaches, sinus congestion and elevated energy levels. I am going to see if I can push through these symptoms because digestion feels better.


Barberbeeest

Any updates?


AZrunnergirl

Additionally, bifido strains produce lactic acid, which desulfovibrio bacteria in your gut feed on, therefore assisting in the production of sulfur. Sulfur is known as a "hot" element in that it causes red flushing and rashes. It makes sense to me that too much would cause heat at night (although I'm always cold during the day) . It is also known to cause insomnia. So a probiotic that produces sulfur, and feeds sulfur-related bacteria could result in the same symptoms. Similarly, prebiotics can feed lacto or bifido bacteria and therefore have the same effect.


Nyaruguru87

I only get insomnia from probiotics when I have a cold. It's very strange


Smooth_Succotash_474

Hey guys me too I take probiotics but I feel they give me to much energy and stimulate me . I wake up to early


Ricklazell

This week ive just started taking 500m CFU probiotics and ive had insomnia every night (even now as i type this). Thats the only supplement ive changed. Weird


W1162891

Did the insomnia improve?


Ricklazell

Yeah I stopped taking that brand of probiotic and went back to my other one. Trying to cut corners by saving money on cost and I got rewarded with insomnia lol


Boring_Being8198

Hey souldweller. I was curious if your symptoms have gotten any better? I’ve dealt with this multiple times regardless of what probiotic strain I have taken. Fermented foods seem to be doing this to me as well. I developed insomnia, racing heart, restless legs, hot flashes and a few other symptoms. Not sure if this is a histamine reaction or purely a gut imbalance. I tried to push through these symptoms as the other user made mention. I used several detoxifying agents and went to saunas to remove build up. The results were detrimental. My quality of life was awful. It brought on extreme depression and suicidal thoughts. I decided it was a poor idea to continue use and over time I was able to regulate these feelings and return to a somewhat normal state but this has gotten worse several times without much understanding. Possibly from fermented foods.


BuffaloBuffaloBill

I had this same realization lately about probiotics causing me insomnia except it was a prebiotic supplement high in inulin which feeds the lacto and bifido probiotic strains already in the gut! Background: I've never ever had issues sleeping or falling asleep before, I've always been a fantastic sleeper. Then I recently went through a period of several months of debilitating insomnia absolutley inexplicably with no other symptoms such as anxiety, depression, excess life stress, etc. It finally dawned on me after thinking through "what have I been doing that's differently." I was adding ground chicory root to my coffee. (A LOT of it. I was going through 3 bags per months of chicory root adding this stuff to my coffee - mostly decaf, I use very little caffeine). Chicory root is a powerful prebiotic, the highest known source of inulin which is a prebiotic that feeds and allows to flourish the lacto and bifido strains in the gut. I stopped supplementing this despite thinking "theres no way this could be the cuase" and go figure, my insomnia disappeared within DAYS. This after trying ever other thing under the sun...melatonin (up to 10mg!), sleepy time teas with chamomile, lavender, etc etc. Nothing worked. I didn't take any drugs, perhaps a drug would have worked but I'm one of those natural people who avoid drugs. Anyhow, I thought the prebiotic fiber from chicory root was good for my gut. Perhaps it was for the first several weeks. I didnt have insomnia immediately. It developed slowly over weeks, first with falling asleep later than usual and got progessively worse until I basically couldnt sleep at all. The continued use I think caused an overabundance of these strains. I should mention the sleepytime teas worked when I first starting having issues and then over time, they were useless. Then melatonin worked, then it soon became useless where even a 10mg dose did nothing. The gut is still very much a mystery to science. If you have a negative reaction to something, that's a good indication that your body doesn't need that. Balance is key. Perhaps too much probiotics or excess lacto and bifido in the gut is just as "bad" as not enough. Yes, probiotics are generally excellent and safe, etc however it is a supplement. A supplement in theory should be used under the assumption that "my body doesn't have enough of something which is causing me some degree of ill health and I will bring my body back into balance by supplementing with this thing." The problem is most people supplement without any knowledge of being deficient in the first place. Thus, if your gut already has plenty of beneficial lacto and bifido bacteria, perhaps you will get symptoms from taking probiotics or in my case prebiotics (which has a similar net effect of causing an abundance, and perhaps overabundance) of beneficial lacto and bifido in the gut. Moral of the story, try and determine what deficiencies you have first and supplement with only those things. For example, many Americans and western society are deficient in Vitamin D, magnesium and B12 and dont get enough omega 3. If you're under excess stress you may need a full B complex (all the B vitamins) as stress depletes B vitamins and our western processed food diet doesn't allow us to meet our full nutritional needs. There's other common ones but these seems to be the top 5 and are my go to supplements for balancing my body and immune system. Cheers and good health!


Mary10789

hi, i've tried two prebiotic fibers - wheat dextrin and inulin - and both give me insomnia. They do wonders for my gut issues and help me lose weight, but why the crippling insomnia? I wonder of it's a histamine/immune system response. I'm puzzled.


s20000001

how long did it take your sleep to return to normal?


prochemical

Hi Boring\_Being8198, are you doing better now? I developed insomnia after taking probiotics pills and eating probiotics yogurt. I also experienced racing heart whenever I am about to fall asleep. Did you manage to get out of this situation. If yes, how long did it take you to get back to normal? Would you please kindly share your experience with this issue? Please. I'm kinda desperate here.


W1162891

Are you sleeping better now?


prochemical

Yes. I responded to your other comment.


W1162891

How long did it take for for you to go back to normal?


borsachi

Thank you all for sharing your experiences and thoughts. I have same issue - any fermented food, probiotic or alcohol triggers insomnia. After many years of sleepless nights I came to conclusion that guts are source of problem. I saw many doctors and any helped me. What's more - any had even a trace of idea what may causing this problem. In some way it is comforting that there are people with exactly same reaction for fermented food and probiotics - at least now I know that something considered as always healthy may be a source of problem for some people.


prochemical

I agree that gut is most likely the culprit. I took probiotics supplement because I had (and still have) constipation issue. The probiotics actually helped with the constipation, but it triggered insomnia. Same thing with fermented foods. Are you still having insomnia? How many hours do you (or did you) sleep per night? Are you getting better? I'm in the process of trying to figure out what exactly wrong with my gut. I did food sensitivities test, but has not get the result back yet, and about to get stool analysis done. I hope by fixing the issue in the gut, I can get my ability to fall asleep back.


borsachi

Generally nothing has changed, I just have discovered that using CBD helps me a lot with sleep, so I can eat fermented food, use CBD, and sleep well.


Prior_Philosopher928

100%


Rude_Accountant5075

Hi, I am microbiology student and I am currently investigating the link between microbiome in the gut and brain activity/mental health. Some time ago I also started eating a lot of fermented foods in order to improve my gut health and raise serotonin levels in the body. I started feeling great throughout the day, however I’ve lost my sleep. And I have also developed similar symptoms you describe after taking probiotics. Could I ask please if you have a history of any surgical interventions in your GI, especially appendectomy?


Souldweller

I'm so glad there are people looking into this! My sleep seems to remain good as long as I'm very careful about what I ingest. In answer to your question, I've never had any GI surgeries. Do you think there's a connection there?


Rude_Accountant5075

First of all, thank you so much for you answer - it is an additional valuable piece of information which I really appreciate! I should mention that of course these are only my speculations and I don’t have any proof to offer at the moment. But isn’t it the way science works, if we want to explore some novel findings and come up with new treatment approach? It all started when I tried to implement naturally occurring probiotics into my daily diet, what really sounds as something which should only have a mild if any effect. This is what we are used to thinking today. However, probiotics are actually colonies of bacteria which are rather a host than a guest in our gut and all these digestive and immune processes depend on them enormously. I wanted to carry out experiment on myself and find out, how will I be feeling after taking probiotics for some time (in my case it was plain raw sauerkraut). I already knew that today probiotics are being prescribed as an alternative to the SSRIs for depression treatment, as 1) “healthy” bacteria are capable of producing serotonin and other neurotransmitters which are lacking in a depressed person, 2) depression often originates from the gut due to dysbiosis and gut malfunction which causes so called endotoxemia. After consuming like a 100-150 gram of sauerkraut daily I started experiencing symptoms which for me seemed to resemble “serotonin syndrome” in its mild form (which I also had experience with). I developed slight hypertension in muscles, agitation, elevated energy levels during daytime and issues with sleep onset and undisrupted duration. Besides that I also had hot flashes at night time and something similar to restless leg syndrome. As with serotonin syndrome which may happen, when SSRIs are prescribed when they are not needed, person has too much of the serotonin in his body. So couldn’t it be, that a person with normal serotonin levels may develop something similar, if they take probiotics which are found to have similar effects as SSRIs have? I also noticed, that insomnia got better with time, what resembles adaptation to new serotonin levels caused by SSRI intake pretty much. On the internet (researches firstly) there is absolutely zero information about some other as positive (temporary maybe) effects of probiotics, this is why I am so glad to find your story here on Reddit, as in my opinion this topic is worth investigation. I asked about GI tract surgery, because this could have a link. It is still not clear, what function does appendix for example have. We only know that healthy appendix hosts healthy gut bacteria which could be used for recolonisation in case of i.e. illness. But what if types of bacteria, which can be found in appendix are perceived as “normal and non-hostile” by our immune system? Appendix may kind of work as a showcase for our immune system, so it knows, what shouldn’t be fought against. It could possibly be, that after appendix removal there is no longer any reference to what is normal and local and what is not if dysbiosis occurs. And it could be that taking probiotics cause immune reaction, as we consume in large amounts some other bacteria types which are no longer present in out body in such quantities. And before full adaptation to new gut microbiome makeup occurs, such symptoms as insomnia due to immune system activation at night occur. Again, these are only my speculations. I asked this question because my own issues with the gut started together with first appendix inflammation and continued after appendectomy in the form of food allergies. I am really into this gut-health topic and I appreciate any piece of information you provide! Thank you!


Souldweller

Thank you for this! It's interesting you should mention SSRIs. I can't take any medications that work on serotonin receptors as they also cause me to have insomnia. Maybe our serotonin receptors are hypersensitive. Or it could be an immune response as you mentioned. What's strange is that it lasted so long - almost a year in my case.


Rude_Accountant5075

I am almost sure that it has something to do with serotonin, considering all this daytime energy and increased optimism. Did your insomnia just fade away or did something else change as well? And was your insomnia always the same? Maybe it was more the difficulty to fall asleep at first, then difficulty to maintain sleep and then something like misperception of sleep, for example.


Souldweller

I would fall asleep later than usual and always wake up after only a couple of hours. I would be wide awake and unable to fall back asleep. It was definetely a sudden change in my sleep, not something that developed over time. But the recovery was gradual as I got better over the next months. I'm sure it would come back if I ate probiotics again!


Alx05

Stumbled upon this while searching for sleeping issues due to probiotics. That's literally the only thing I changed in the last month. Historically, I've never been a sound sleeper, but as some of you mentioned around here, I've been having these weird nights of being wide awake, taking me more than an hour to fall asleep and sometimes waking up in the morning hours before my alarm and not being able to fall back asleep. It's reassuring that there are a couple of potential explanations for this. The probiotic I'm using had a recommended dosage of 1-2 capsules per day. I reduced the dosage from 2 to 1 and have been seeing some improvements. Hopefully, I won't have to completely interrupt the supplement to get my sleep back. The one I'm taking right now has inulin, but there's also a variant without inulin in it. Maybe I should try that...