Waking up at 4am

[pennyrose]

Morning all!,

Does anyone have issues with intermittent wakefulness during the night?

I think I might be due an increase in medication but I cant get a blood test booked up until January. My last one was cancelled (nurse was sick). I'm ok, getting by and have split my t3 dose to help with the inevitable crash in the afternoon.

Anyhow for about 3 weeks I've been waking up at pretty much exactly 4am each morning. It's very sudden and I can usually fall back asleep within about 30 minutes. I don't have any issues drifting to sleep at night. I thought maybe it was a haunted house type thing but then realised I don't live in Turn of the Screw.

Tiredness strikes! x

[galathea]

Adrenals. Would account for both the waking up and the mid afternoon crash. The waking up can be when your blood sugar gets too low in the night.., you get an adrenalin surge which wakes you so you can eat something. Not starving hungry when you wake are you? Try having something to eat when you wake.... Sandwich, porridge That sort of thing.

And treat yourself to a saliva adrenal test. Details under testing on the home page. thyroiduk.org.uk......

Xx. G

[pennyrose in reply to galathea]

Psychic much?! Feel like I have a whole in my stomach! I ignore it and then go back to sleep. When I then wake up for work I'm hungry still but take my medication and eat when I get to work. By that point I'm shaky and feel like I've got low blood sugar levels (faintish etc)

Will order that up now. If it's an adrenal thing is it easy to fix myself?

Thanks so much lovely x

[galathea in reply to pennyrose]

It sounds like adrenals... Specially the hunger ad low blood sugar. Fixing adrenals isn't for the faint hearted,,,, I self treated for two years with cortisone.... Was the best move I ever made and would have no hesitation doing it again if I needed to, but depending on the saliva results, you may just need extra vitamins c and b. in the form, usually of nutri adrenal extra... ( yuk... I absolutely hate them)

Don't ignore being hungry.... In fact, it might help to have something to eat before bed.... Something low gi, like porridge...... I found a des of 2.5 mg cortisone was what I needed before bed... But without a saliva test its just guesswork.

Adrenals prop you up for years if the thyroid replacement you take is inadequate or plain wrong. Then they kind of give up, but as you can't see them the doctors don't believe they can go wrong. If you mention them to most ocs they put their fingers in their ears and go la la la whilst you are trying to talk.

Xx. G

[ging in reply to galathea]

I have a problem sleeping as my bladder seems to wake me but maybe I have adrenal problems ?! I am hungry upon waking and I take two low doses of hydrocortisone during the day but my consultant advised me not to take any after 6pm as it would affect my falling asleep. Can't win !!!

[galathea in reply to ging]

Taking a dose of 2.5 cortisone at night helped me massively. I also multi dosed through the day.. The one last thing at night was the very last one I stopped... My adrenal profile originally was high in the morning with a plummet by 11 am and then a flat line all day.

Xx. G

[shaws Administrator]

I did have a period of intermittent sleep but now I am on an optimum medication I sleep well again. I take my T3 in one dose and I have no 'ups or downs' and, thankfully, feel my health is now good. You may find the two questions, January 30, 2002 and December 17, 1997 helpful.

[milupa]

pennyrose - what galathea says! low blood sugar plus low cortisol might equal high adrenaline: wide awake!

a protein/fat snack before bed and a bite of protein immediately after waking were my initial solution. Tiny amounts of topical progesterone, T3 and melatonin at night plus daytime cortisol support are now helping me to sleep without waking up most nights.

Traditional chinese medicin claims that waking at 4 o'clock means the liver is overtaxed, 'cooling' and gentle liver support is recommended.

Good luck finding a way to get that all important uninterrupted sleep back!

[Nickinoo1]

Wow that's me - I just put myself down as a total insomniac - 4 hours sleep was usual until about a month or so ago when I could no longer wake up but beginning to swing back to the 3/4 am awake thing. My problem is once awake that's it I am awake.

Adrenals you say. Off to read more.

[galathea in reply to Nickinoo1]

Look at this site... Its brilliant. adrenalsweb.org/

Xx g

[Nickinoo1 in reply to galathea]

Thank you I will go read. Have to say I started back part time at work last week and lucky if I can stay awake until 7pm now. I'm 47 going on a 147! Raised my NDT as now on week two to 3/4 tablet - a challenge getting it cut up but hoping that helps soon.

[ging]

Thank you.