Eating BBQ gives me weird dreams, insomnia, etc....


 
B

Burtess

TVWBB Fan
Hey there,

I am wondering if anyone else gets these symptoms when consuming a lot of BBQ.

Eating side ribs rubbed with either of the following rubs results in:

<UL TYPE=SQUARE><LI>restless sleep (up from maybe 2-5am)
<LI>freakishly bizarre dreams
<LI>body very hot, feels like I am burning up, but no sweating
[/list]

Best Ribs In The Universe Rub - 1/4 Batch
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1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup non-iodized table salt
1/8 cup brown sugar, dried
4 teaspoons chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground
1 teaspoon granulated garlic
1 teaspoon onion powder


Bill's Butt Rub

8 tablespoons paprika
4 teaspoons salt
4 teaspoons onion powder
4 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons cumin
4 teaspoons black pepper
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

No MSG used in either. I am thinking something else in the rub must not agree with me.

I usually consume a good quantity of beer as well and that should make me sleep more soundly
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Doing chickens on the WSM is fine, but I just use a bottled rub for that, Bone Dust.

What do you all think?

Burt
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What are you using for smoke, Burt?
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Seriously, I have no clue what would affect you like that with either of those rub recipes. Have you tried using your chicken rub on ribs as an experiment?
 
Using some bushy bright green plants that were growing through my fence from the neighbors yard....
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Oak and a bit of hickory....

I will try the other bottled rub on a rack next time and see what happens.

Burt
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I'm no doctor but what you're describing sounds like the effects of oxygen deprivation possibly from heart issues or possibly some sort of blood sugar imbalance. You need to go to a doctor and have your blood tested at an absolute minimum ASAP.
 
When I eat pork I get VERY freaky dreams, I never mentioned it for fear I'd be locked up...glad someone else has this. I'd bet others suffer the same fate yet have not made the connection yet between the smoked food, and or pork in my case and the dreaming.
 
OK, some dumb questions, but playing process of elimination...

1. Do you have the same reaction when using any of those rub ingredients in other dishes? I'm guessing the salt, sugar and black pepper are fine, but the others aren't particularly exotic either. I assume you'd know if you had any allergy/reaction to garlic, onion, cumin, cayenne, or chile powder?

2. I know BRITU rub can be very salty, but Bill's looks less so. Do you use a lot of the rub on your meat, and/or are you applying these to "enhanced" pork (treated with an XX% solution of salt/water/phosphates etc)? My first run at BRITU was unbelievably salty, and I wonder if high salt content is getting to you?

3. Do you have any similar reaction to eating other pork products, either home cooked or in restaurants? I have no clue if it's possible to be allergic to pork, but...

4. Do you use a different smoke wood for the ribs than for your chicken? I believe I've read on here before about smoke wood that grew a sort of powdery mold on it, and someone warned that the mold could cause an allergic reaction. I'm thoroughly uneducated in this and may be totally mistaken, but just a thought.

5. Do you drink any more beer when cooking/eating ribs than on other occasions? Sometimes when I drink a whole lot I feel feverish later, and I also don't sleep well.

6. Ribs normally take a lot longer to cook than chicken... are you spending a great deal of time out in the heat tending the smoker? Sometimes I'll spend all day working in the yard while the smoker chugs away, and by night time I'm absolutely dehydrated (work, sun, heat, smoke, beer, and salty BBQ = one dried out dude). You probably don't have quite the same climate in Canada as I do in Texas, but I'm sure you can get overheated just about anywhere.


None of these are answers, but maybe something will spark an idea for you or someone else...

Good luck to you!
 
I'm no doctor, but you might consider an allergist.
If I had freaky dreams when I ate pork, I'd just eat more pork,but I'm old too.
Do you suffer from allergies that you know of?
 
Mike C., this only happens after I eat the smoker meat, and come to think of it peppercorn steak... Not a bad idea to get checked though, probably could use it...

J Martin, glad to hear someone else with a common reaction, hopefully we are both not just insane...

Benny L.,

1. Come to think of it I do have similar reaction when I consume a steak in a peppercorn sauce, maybe its the black pepper?

2. The pork I use is not enhanced, but the salt in the rub + beer = dehydration is another possibility. Maybe I have to do a smoke sans the beer to test this theory, although this will prove most difficult
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3. No reaction to other pork products; ie: pork roast in the oven, pork chops on the grill, etc.

4. Same wood for both the chicken and pork, although less for the chicken. Also I don't eat the chicken skin so probably remove most of the rub in the process.

5. Beer consumption is steady
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6. Dehydration is possible (see #2)...

Dave/G, I have been tested by an allergist, strongly allergic to shrimp, lobster, crab; carry EpiPen because of this. Don't think they tested for pork, but I can eat other pork product without problem.

Thanks for all the ideas gents!!

Burt
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if yer seriouse then most likely you got an allergy. i was getting rappid heart beat, etc until i found that i couldn't use heavy smoking especially using hickory, mesquite. since i use a light smoke of apple or pecan i have been fine. best is to just eliminate one thing at a time until you locate the problem. for sure the beer is definately not helping. been there, done that.
 
I'm betting on the long cook accompanied by equally long drinking time. But I agree, it's worth getting checked out, too. Doing the cook sans beer is a pretty radical variable control; you might want to just take a day you're not smoking and drink all day and see how you sleep.
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The beer you drink...is it mass produced swill? (ie Bud, Miller, Coors) or do you drink good beer? Something that may have more hops in it than the normal beers. Beers with a lot of hops "may" produce some very vivid dreams.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Dudley Rose:
I'm betting on the long cook accompanied by equally long drinking time. But I agree, it's worth getting checked out, too. Doing the cook sans beer is a pretty radical variable control; you might want to just take a day you're not smoking and drink all day and see how you sleep.
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</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Doesn't seem to be a problem with a beer only weekend.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Bill Berg:
The beer you drink...is it mass produced swill? (ie Bud, Miller, Coors) or do you drink good beer? Something that may have more hops in it than the normal beers. Beers with a lot of hops "may" produce some very vivid dreams. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Staples include German lagers, Warsteiner, DAB, Bitburger, and the odd Czech pilsner. The normal Canadian stuff tends to give me a headache.

The more I think of it I am leaning towards the black pepper. Maybe I will omit that from my rack of ribs next time and see how it goes.

Burt
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Burtess, how old are you? Are you on any medication? How hot has the weather been outside? How's the temp. inside the house? What time do you start eating bbq foods? What time do you stop eating bbq foods? What time do you normally go to bed? Do you ever check your blood pressure? Your pulse rate? Sorry for the questionnaire.

Erik
 
Burtress a few more questions. Where do you do your banking? What is your account number? What is you social security number? What is your address? What time do you leave for work? When do you get home? Where do you keep your valuables? Do you own any expensive stereo equipment? How old is you TV? Is it a large screen plasma or LCD? Do you own any dogs? What kind of food do they like? What are their names? What is their favorite toy? Do you have an alarm system? What is the disarm code?
 
What you're describing isn't an allergic reaction at all. I'm sure your Allergist or primary MD, has explained to you the symptoms of an allergic reaction, ie, difficulty breathing,inflammation, rash, high respiratory rate, high heart rate, lightheadedness, etc.

I have experienced the same phenomena before myself, and the only times it has happened repeatedly ( insomnia and weird dreams) was on nights that I ate a large portion of animal protein, and went to bed on a full stomach.

I wouldn't worry too much. If it bothers you, talk to your doctor, but the advice to rush off for blood tests asap, is a bit premature.

It also helps not to take medical advice from a BBQ forum.
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I'm not a MD, but I am a Respiratory Therapist, and I am quite aware of the signs and symptoms of an acute allergic reaction. This isn't one.
 
Plus the high content of fat, along with salt, spices and alcohol might elevate blood pressure with some people. I can tell you that when I eat 3 or 4 lbs of salty, fatty, spicey brisket, I don't sleep all that well.
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I'm not a doctor, but what you are describing sounds to me like over-eating prior to sleep.

My friends and I often joke about getting the "meat sweats" after having too much to eat. The insomnia would be due to your body having to devote so much energy to digesting all that protein that the result would be restlessness or inability to sleep (also would explain excessive dreaming as you are unable to fall into any sort of deep sleep)

If you want to test the rub theory, just give a boneless skinless chicken breast a solid dusting and grill it. Have it with some salad for dinner one night and look for adverse reactions.

I'm fairly confident it's just over-indulging on food and possibly a few too many recreational beverages.
 
I'm thinking in line with others it's the meat, not the rub. You could try doing some ribs with just salt and pepper (S&P) to rule out the rubs.

It's a good 'experiment' anyways ... I love S&P ribs.
 
for all its worth I eat like hell everything before bed because of my schedule and also sleep very well at the same time, every single day of the year. but im only 24. it (only to me) would make more since in my eyes to look at salts, sugars, or like you say pepper, etc. and I can't blame beer for anything personally, its led me through middle school, high school, just been there through it all ....lets leave brew alone here. btw coors, and bud and miller don't count. those could truly make anyone sick, yuk.
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! just jokin. -Dan
 
ok. i see i was incorrect. its a really bad idea to eat heavily before going to bed. i had alot of problems also including feelings of a heart attack. doc told me to not eat anything two hours before going to sleep. problem solved. you had better change cuz yer headed for trouble.
 
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