no sleep with new medication what can i do ?????????????

[lola1956]

borderline under active since 2009, doctor just recently told me?? diagnosed 3months ago after huge weight gain in months, feel awful very depressed, memory bad, aches all over no zest for life anymore, doctor after much pushing put levo up from 50 to 75 now i cant sleep, have been waking up every ten mins, i am so tierd and this is all so hard and too complicated for my brain to take in , thought i would feel better but i am worse

[Maggiet]

Morning Lola. A lot of people on here will empathise with your symptoms. I was borderline for a long time and it was only when I went to my gp, broke down and said it wasn't normal to sleep at 10am that he put me on Levo. I can't believe that he left you borderline for so long - that's appalling. There are a lot of people far more knowledgeable than me that will be able to help from this site, but until then I'm sending gentle hugs over the airways from bonny Scotland xx

[lola1956 in reply to Maggiet]

thank you maggiet, xx

[shaws Administrator]

Hi Lola,

You are very new to thyroid gland medication and it does take a while to settle into it. Some of your symptoms above are clinical symptoms of hypo too.

When you next get a blood test always get copies for your own records, complete with the ranges as labs differ, and you can post them on a new question if you have a problem.

I wonder if maybe you took 50mcg and 75mcg on alternative days for a little while to see if that works you.

Your GP should do another blood test soon, and you can post these results for comments.

[lola1956 in reply to shaws]

hi shaws, yes i keep copies of blood tests now , tsh 4.61 mu/l (0.27-4.2) t4 14pmol ( 10-24) next test in 6 weeks

[lola1956 in reply to shaws]

i will try alternating medication

[tegz]

Just a well founded suspicion , Lola- but the longer you've been subclinical [as I was too] the harder to get the body back to a routine.

T4 only seems unable to regulate well alone, which is why so many get T3 or NDT added after a long struggle with medics -and this seems to work well from reports on here.

It's too early in for you and me, both- but I can confirm that feeling rough [and little better most of the time] is 'par for the T4 course' -when starting out, for many weeks .

Iron may help plus Vit B12, selenium & zinc all matter in conversion to T3.

[lola1956 in reply to tegz]

hello tegz, thank you for your kind reply i am now trying to get help with my vitamins as think my b12 far too low and am i right in thinking i will not absorb the levo if its under 500?

[tegz in reply to lola1956]

Low B12 is serious in its own right . I'm not sure about the levels for optimal T4 use. From what I've read it seems Iron, Zinc(+ Copper) and selenium [all minerals] are involved in T4 to T3 conversion- so are probably most important and easily missed.

Iron needs Vit C with it to be absorbed well, too. I take B12 by under tongue Methylcolbamin.

Good B12 level has been stressed as important many times on this site along with folate to work with. I have over limit folate, which is odd ,and may mean I'm not utilising B12 well.

It all gets a bit complex and no doubt your head is spinning with the info that piles in- but at least you and others here have a lively interest-unlike too many GPs,looking at their watches half the time.

On that- just build up a background awareness of what are important factors. None is generally more valid than another- as we all differ.

If you are closer to deficiency, as you seem to have been, then that is a general health question which should have been addressed.

Optimum nutritional status enables illness, like thyroid problems, to be better approached.

It's a long haul- so don't expect overnight results.

If you get to see Dr D-P he will no doubt answer many of your very valid concerns but it will take time for T4 to settle in.

[lola1956 in reply to tegz]

hello, i must admit it has been a learning curve and when you are this low hard to take in but im slowly getting my head round it my blood counts came back with three ,abnormal yet doctor has not said anything to me haemoglobin 121gl ( 125- 165) also haematocrit and erythrocyte sedimentation abnormal too, can not wait to see dr p as this does not seem right,

[lola1956 in reply to lola1956]

should also say tegz i am vegetarian as well

[tegz in reply to lola1956]

Me too- but eating small amounts of fish has kept my B12 off the rocks! +Eggs butter & Cheese...Could not do Vegan, though.

[Duchy82]

This might sound a little odd but have you tried taking you levo at night before going to bed i found i started sleeping a lot better when i started taking it at night

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to Duchy82]

For me, one of the very first effects of taking levothyroxine - which I have always taken at bed-time - was improved sleep. I had been waking between midnight and 02:00 and finding it difficult to get back to sleep.

Yes - lot's of people think it seems odd. Though certainly not that unusual.

Have a read of the comments here:

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

Rod

[lola1956 in reply to Duchy82]

will try thank you

[KennyGee]

It has taken me many years to realise that there is no silver bullet for thyroid problems. You have to find out what works for you. I have often found that after new medication I feel worse before I feel better. Also, T4, thyroxine, which is the only thing that GP's will prescribe is often in itself insufficient. After consultations with Dr P. and blood, urine and saliva tests it was apparent that I was not processing the T4 efficiently and my adrenal glands were stressed. After taking an adrenal supplement and T4 plus some T3 I started to slowly improve until I now finally feel almost normal. I have had a thyroidectomy and radiation treatment over the years and it was only relatively recently that I decided to take control myself by researching on the internet and taking non GP advice. Don't give up but experiment until you find what works for you; it will happen!

[lola1956 in reply to KennyGee]

hello kennygee, thank you for your reply, yes i am now taking it upon myself to research my illness,i have been keeping all my blood test results.as suggested by the kind people on this site, realising yesterday that although i was told recently was borderline under active since 2009, it was in fact the start of my illness and of course has now got a lot worse, i have just filled in a questionnaire for doc p and will try get an appointment soon with him but could you tell me is he very expensive?

[KennyGee in reply to lola1956]

Around £150 for the initial consultation which I found very comprehensive. Follow up consultation is around half that and even less if you book a phone call. Well worth the investment. You may also have to have some tests (saliva, urine) which are between £75 and £100 with a private laboratory. I also found Dr P's book extremely interesting and only wish that I had had that information before.

[lola1956 in reply to KennyGee]

thank you for the information

[spm1]

Please could you post a link to Dr Ps book? Thanks

[Hidden]

It's the 9th one down on the list

"Your Thyroid and How to Keep it Healthy (2006)"- Dr Barry Durrant-Peatfield

available to buy or borrow through Thyroid UK

thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/suppor...