Circadian clock in pancreas directly linked to diabetes

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/20 ... 141627.htm

Found this article while doing research on the connection between circadian rhythm disorders and diabetes.

49er

Thanks for the thought provoking post 49er. I've been thinking all along that the often found phrase 'circadian rhythm' is overused, especially considering the field of inquiry appears to be under-researched. Case exhibit A: Just now, almost twenty years after CPAP's development, the medical establishment is now discovering the causal relationship between one's general health (diabetes, heart disease, neurological disorders etc) when measured against the quality of one's sleep.

I think the human body's implementation of these sleep cycles is not very well understood and this study possibly points to a unique manifestation of circadian rhythms - possibly many different phases related to specific body systems (endocrine, lymphatic, vascular and so on). IOW, I suspect we have a flawed understanding how circadian rhythms really work. Want proof? Sorry, don't have it... just a hunch.

Does anyone besides me, get the willies thinking about those insects crawling around inside their pancreas. It freaks me out, lets name them something soft wzrm and fuzzy. Jim

Coincidentally, it has been reported that the 17 year cycle is manifesting in my area this year.
(or maybe it was infesting--you ever try to sleep on a hot night when those noisy little monsters put on a "concert"?)
I am extremely hopeful that cicadas can not live inside the human pancreas. My tinnitus is bad enough already.

chunkyfrog wrote:Coincidentally, it has been reported that the 17 year cycle is manifesting in my area this year.
(or maybe it was infesting--you ever try to sleep on a hot night when those noisy little monsters put on a "concert"?)
I am extremely hopeful that cicadas can not live inside the human pancreas. My tinnitus is bad enough already.

I falsely thought the 17 year cycle meant they came out in mass every 17 years. I have now realised they are in abundance every year, but every 17 years the infestation is massive. With my tinnitus I get the same sound 24/7!

Thanks for the thought provoking post 49er. I've been thinking all along that the often found phrase 'circadian rhythm' is overused, especially considering the field of inquiry appears to be under-researched. Case exhibit A: Just now, almost twenty years after CPAP's development, the medical establishment is now discovering the causal relationship between one's general health (diabetes, heart disease, neurological disorders etc) when measured against the quality of one's sleep.

Thanks SNO. Unfortunately, the sleep doctors at least in my area haven't gotten the word that about the casual relationship between diabetes and the qualify of one's sleep. It is my fault for being in DeNile and not following up sooner as to possibility of my having metabolic issues which I have some concerns about with high bs spikes from high carb foods. But all the sleep doctors I saw blew off my complaints about feeling drugged after eating dinner which can be a sign of metabolic problems.

Last sleep doctor I saw said attributes loss of memory issues to psych reasons. Very frustrating needless to say.

Last night, thanks to going out with a friend, I was able to stay awake until 10:30pm. But in trying desperately to stay awake later, I had some micro sleeps and when I woke up, my blood sugar felt unsteady so I eat some almonds until I got sleepy again. Unfortunately, my usual pattern of waking up after 3 hours continued and I had to take some Restoril to get back to sleep. Not a very satisfying experience.

I intend to get blood work from my PCP to see if anything is going on that may be impacting sleep.

I think the human body's implementation of these sleep cycles is not very well understood and this study possibly points to a unique manifestation of circadian rhythms - possibly many different phases related to specific body systems (endocrine, lymphatic, vascular and so on). IOW, I suspect we have a flawed understanding how circadian rhythms really work. Want proof? Sorry, don't have it... just a hunch.

Totally agree. I just don't see how sleep doctors can call themselves true sleep specialists without really understanding these issues or at least admitting this is a possibility.

49er

Interesting. My PCP is kind of a diabetes geek.
I should ask him if he considers apnea right away when treating a "new" diabetic.

chunkyfrog wrote:Interesting. My PCP is kind of a diabetes geek.
I should ask him if he considers apnea right away when treating a "new" diabetic.

That would be interesting to find out CF.

49er

Overview of sleep certification exam
http://www.abim.org/pdf/blueprint/sleep_cert.pdf

Jay Aitchsee wrote:Overview of sleep certification exam
http://www.abim.org/pdf/blueprint/sleep_cert.pdf

Thanks, Jay. That's interesting about the scope of the exams. Intimidating for many students I'm sure - there are so many types of sleep disorders that for me it's shocking to see them all listed one after another, and those are just the routinely accepted ones.

49er wrote: Unfortunately, my usual pattern of waking up after 3 hours continued and I had to take some Restoril to get back to sleep. Not a very satisfying experience.

49er. Doesn't ambien (generic: Zolpidem) work for you? I should think it would provide you with better sleep architecture since it doesn't hook into the GABA receptors in the lower half of the spine like true Benzodiazepines tend to do. I think it's half-life is four hours. I know some people can't use it because they sleepwalk, sleep-eat or sleep-text or whatever but I don't think that is overly common.

Jay Aitchsee wrote:Overview of sleep certification exam
http://www.abim.org/pdf/blueprint/sleep_cert.pdf

Thanks for posting that Jay. If I am reading this right, sleep medicine doctors in order to be board certified need to be aware of areas outside what we could consider to be the "normal" area of sleep medicine even though it doesn't look like that is a big portion of their exam. Anyway, it is very interesting.

Sir NoddinOff wrote:

49er wrote: Unfortunately, my usual pattern of waking up after 3 hours continued and I had to take some Restoril to get back to sleep. Not a very satisfying experience.

49er. Doesn't ambien (generic: Zolpidem) work for you? I should think it would provide you with better sleep architecture since it doesn't hook into the GABA receptors in the lower half of the spine like true Benzodiazepines tend to do. I think it's half-life is four hours. I know some people can't use it because they sleepwalk, sleep-eat or sleep-text or whatever but I don't think that is overly common.

Unfortunately, ambien has given me about 1 hours additional sleep when I take it after waking up prematurely. When I took it before going to bed, it didn't lead to increased time on the mask during the few times I tried it.

I had meant to ask this guy about ambien CR but he greatly angered me that I forgot to do so. Maybe PCP would prescribe it.

By the way, I have tried several meds that didn't work and I suspect that due to following asleep quickly, they have a parodoxical affect.

Thanks though for the suggestion.

49er

There is something similar with regard to insulin sensitivity that's sort of like this. Insulin sensitivity
also follows a 24 hour period. In healthy non diabetics they are most sensitive to insulin early in the AM
but as the day progresses they become a little insulin resistant. By night time they are a lot more insulin
resistant. But diabetics become a little less insulin resistant as the day goes on so by night time they
handle carbs a lot better. Almost like this is out of phase about 12 to 18 hours as compared to non diabetics.

Woody wrote:There is something similar with regard to insulin sensitivity that's sort of like this. Insulin sensitivity
also follows a 24 hour period. In healthy non diabetics they are most sensitive to insulin early in the AM
but as the day progresses they become a little insulin resistant. By night time they are a lot more insulin
resistant. But diabetics become a little less insulin resistant as the day goes on so by night time they
handle carbs a lot better. Almost like this is out of phase about 12 to 18 hours as compared to non diabetics.

Thanks Woody. As an FYI, when I ate fruit flavored oatmeal in the AM, it spiked up to 189 after an hour. And when I ate a cupcake around 1pm, it was 176 about 2 hours after eating.

Hopefully, I am getting more strips today from Target (can't buy them online which is frustrating) so I can do more extensive testing tomorrow. I don't think I would qualify as a diabetic even by non doctor standard since fats and protein do not cause severe spikes. But obviously, I need to see exactly what is going on with various foods before things get alot worse.

Interestingly, I stuck to a practically zero carb diet yesterday and didn't have the normal drugged feeling after dinner. It was still a big struggle to stay awake until 9pm and unfortunately, only slept 4 hours

Have appointment with PCP on Wednesday to rule out issues that could be interfering with sleep before I plot decide next move. I know it is unlikely I would be even diagnosed with pre diabetes because doctors for various reasons use looser standards. But I want to make sure nothing else is going on like thyroid issues. I also want my vitamin D level checked.

49er