McKayla Maroney’s famous “unimpressed face” is now a look of relief.
The 2012 Olympic gold medalist revealed this week that she suffers from “severe insomnia”, but the 27-year-old former gymnast has finally gotten to the root of the problem.
“Hey girl. It was forever,” she wrote on Instagram on Wednesday. “I wish it was a hot summer for a girl, but it definitely wasn’t for me. I had a summer of terrible insomnia.
“I slept a total of 10 days out of three months. I’d like to say it was a nightmare, but you have to sleep to have nightmares.”
Maroney shared a photo of the merry-go-round that included several medical tests, a list of symptoms, and a text message detailing her sleep deprivation.
She visited many doctors to find out the cause of her problems.
“Thankfully, I finally found out that I had a histamine intolerance. That was causing me big adrenaline issues. And when it got really bad, when I ate high-histamine foods, , I felt itchy inside all night like I was being bitten by a mosquito,” she said. she wrote.
Now, with a diagnosis and a DAO supplement to help her “break down excess histamine,” Maroney is finally back to sleep, but she’s not out of the woods yet.
“I still have pretty severe anemia (from an iron deficiency) that I’m trying to improve. And foods high in oxalate (spinach, almonds, potatoes, etc.) make me feel really tired and have a hard time at night. I find that it causes strange neuropathic problems, and it also disrupts my sleep,” she said.
Maroney was a member of the Fierce Five gymnastics team, which boasted overwhelming strength at the 2012 London Olympics, and became a hot topic for the “unimpressed” expression she showed after winning a silver medal in the vault.
Maroney was also one of hundreds of gymnasts who accused Dr. Larry Nassar of sexual abuse for which he was convicted in 2018.
Maroney feels it’s “high to maintain” and hopes sharing her health status will help others, even though she hopes to “become normal” .
“I still feel kind of embarrassed about my strange health issues,” she said. “I’m going to share about it and hopefully help someone!!”
