I will be posting on this again, as I have finally (April 2016) learned what is wrong with me and am taking dietary steps to correct it !!!
For many years my life has been made extremely miserable due to burning hot feet. My feet are fine during the day, but anywhere from ten minutes to a couple of hours after going to sleep they become fiery hot. Once I put the thermometer between them and it registered 101 degrees F. This makes it impossible to sleep after the first couple of hours of exhaustion. I had tried everything: leaving them completely out of the covers even in the coldest weather, a fan blowing on them, washing them, soaking them in cold water, sitting with my feet on a cold floor, pacing the concrete outside. Sometimes my hands will also be unbearably hot and that is even worse since it's hard to keep them outside the covers. Very often my torso is freezing and I have to pile 2 or 3 blankets on that part of me, more in winter.
On a scale of one to ten, with ten being the worst, they are usually between 7 and 9. I can sleep when they are a 7, unless there is anything else stressful keeping my mind active, but even sleeping they are uncomfortable enough to make me restless. Anything over 7 and sleeping soundly is almost impossible. Alcohol makes them worse, pills are addictive and make me depressed. I have tried herbal remedies, calcium, magnesium, anything that promised help, to no avail. Even after the first couple of hours sleep, as soon as they become uncomfortable I start to thrash about.
I have been to the doctor, but he ruled out any medical reason (diabetes being the most likely).
Finally some help - my daughter has recently been going to a naturopath and asked him. He said that it was likely due to adrenal exhaustion. Apparently the adrenals become exhausted when there is a lot of stress in your life, and there has certainly been enough of that in mine.
After hearing this and giving it some thought, I decided that a cure might be found if I could just sleep, as that would cut down on the stress. Insomnia feeds on itself since one becomes more stressed without a good night's rest. I am one of those highly strung types and when I can't sleep I fall apart ! For some years I have restricted everything in my life, including going out in the evening, since I do better after a quiet time at home and an evening walk. Even going on vacation is not something I like to do. I find it best not to use the computer after 8 p.m.,and instead watch or read relaxing non stressful shows/books. It also means being very careful of diet, including chocolate and things like hot peppers, curry in the evenings, cutting out most sugary foods.
As a general way to boost my health I also avoid microwaves, plastic containers especially when anything warm/hot has been placed in them and most particularly not in microwave ovens, aspartame (under its many guises) and chemicals wherever possible.
At last I think I have found an effective remedy. I got some thin white kitchen towels (white so there is no dye) and as soon as I am woken by my feet I go to the bathroom and wet one, squeezing out the excess water. Then I wrap one foot and turn on my side with the wrapped foot on top but resting against the bottom foot to help cool that. I also tuck under the end to keep it more secure, or one could sew an elastic band and have that somewhat loosely over the towel so it is less likely to come loose. When I wake I wrap the other foot and turn the other way. If you try this you might want to put a waterproof pad or plastic sheet over the
mattress to protect it from damp. By the morning the heat is such that the towel is almost
dry !! I am happy to report that after 3 nights of this treatment I did not have hot feet last night !! Early days yet but I couldn't wait to post this in the hope that it might help others with this ghastly problem.
