McKayla Maroney has revealed her battle with debilitating insomnia, saying she only slept a total of ten days in three months before discovering she has a histamine intolerance.
The retired Olympic gymnast opened up about her “crazy health issues” on her “Glowy” Instagram account on Tuesday — her first post on the wellness and beauty page in almost a year.
“Hope you had a hot girl summer, because I certainly didn’t. I’ve had a summer of severe insomnia,” Maroney, 27, wrote at the start of the lengthy caption.
‘In three months I slept a total of ten days. I’d like to say it was a nightmare, but you have to sleep to have nightmares.’
McKayla Maroney, 27, opened up about her battle with debilitating insomnia on Tuesday in a post shared to her ‘Glowy’ Instagram page
The retired Olympic gymnast added footage of herself crying due to her lack of sleep. “I’m so tired of not sleeping… Like I haven’t slept in a month,” she admits in the emotional video
Maroney shared photos of herself having blood drawn and taking a food sensitivity test, as well as images of herself crying because of her insomnia.
“I’m so tired of not sleeping… Like I haven’t slept in a month,” she admits in the emotional video.
Maroney also included images of the list of symptoms she had saved on her cell phone and text messages about her sleepless nights.
She explained that she has “visited tons of doctors,” but that she has “only just begun to figure out the root cause of this health spiral crisis.”
Maroney said she finally found out she has histamine intolerance, which occurs when there are high levels of histamine in the body.
Histamine is most commonly associated with allergic reactions, but it also sends messages to the brain and causes the release of stomach acid to aid digestion.
Too much of the naturally occurring chemical can affect regular body functions Healthline.
Histamine intolerance is thought to result from a deficiency of the enzyme diamine oxidase (DAO), which breaks down the chemical in the body.
Maroney (pictured at the 2011 World Gymnastics Championships) explained that she has “been to countless doctors” but has “only just begun to understand the cause of this health spiral.”
‘In three months I slept a total of ten days. I’d like to say it was a nightmare, but you have to sleep to have nightmares,” Maroney wrote (photo in July)
Maroney shared photos of herself having blood drawn as she tried to figure out what was wrong with her
Maroney said she finally found out she has histamine intolerance, which occurs when there are high levels of histamine in the body.
The athlete has since cut out foods high in histamine and started taking a diamine oxidase (DAO) supplement to help treat her insomnia.
It can cause a variety of symptoms, including gastrointestinal problems, itchy skin, headaches, fatigue and insomnia.
Maroney said her histamine intolerance led to a “huge adrenaline problem.”
In her post, she included text messages documenting her sleep problems
“When it got really bad, high-histamine foods made me itch internally, like I was being bitten by mosquitoes all night,” she recalls.
Maroney explained that she only recently made the connection between her health problems and her high histamine levels.
She has since cut out foods high in histamine and started taking a DAO supplement to help treat her insomnia.
‘I went back to sleep. PRAISE GOD,” she wrote. ‘Can someone give me a round of applause, because I barely survived this one. I still need to figure out what causes histamine intolerance, but this is a good start for me.”
Maroney noted that she is also anemic and that recently discovered foods high in oxalate, such as spinach, almonds and potatoes, cause her to suffer from “tremendous fatigue” and “weird neuropathy issues” that negatively affect her sleep.
“I’m still a little embarrassed about all my crazy health issues and food sensitivities,” she admitted at the end of her post.
Maroney noted that she is also anemic and recently discovered high-oxalate foods cause her to suffer from “tremendous fatigue” and “weird neuropathy issues” that negatively affect her sleep.
“I’m still a little embarrassed about all my crazy health issues and food sensitivities,” she admitted in her post
Maroney, who has written down her tips for insomnia, said she has finally started sleeping again
Maroney said she’s still unsure what caused her histamine intolerance, which can lead to a variety of symptoms, including headaches, fatigue and insomnia.
“I hate how much maintenance they put on me when I just want to be normal, but it is what it is. I’m just going to share about it and hopefully help someone!!
“My next posts will be more helpful, I promise – this was more of a trauma dump.”
Maroney was just 16 years old when she and her ‘Fierce Five’ teammates took home the gold at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.
After she won an individual silver medal in the vault event, a photographer captured her “unimpressed” face, and the image quickly went viral.
Maroney announced her retirement from gymnastics in 2016, and a year later she became one of the first gymnasts to speak out against convicted sex offender Larry Nassar.
The former USA Gymnastics doctor will serve up to 175 years for abusing hundreds of female gymnasts, including some of the country’s top athletes.
In January 2021, Maroney launched her Glowy (originally Glohe) Instagram page, where she writes about wellness, beauty and mental health.
The Olympic gold medalist’s latest health update marks the first time she has posted to the page in almost a year.