Hypothyroidism and Sleep Apnea

I have read that there is a causal relationship between Hypothyroidism and Sleep Apnoea. I have also read that low or high cortisol can be a factor that causes sleep deprivation in Hypothyroid sufferers. Can anyone enlighten me? Reliable medical evidence would be appreciated.

[gabkad]

No sure what you mean by 'reliable medical evidence'. You could just google 'hypothyroidism + sleep apnea' and you will get reliable information as to why this happens.

[Hidden in reply to gabkad]

The reason I require "reliable" information is because my doctor will not take notice of anything unless it is from an academic medical research paper that can be verified. I have discovered that many GPs simply do not have a clue about such matters, but will not listen to information presented to them from the unqualified like myself. They even ignore reputable medical evidence when it is presented to them, if it does not suit their own pre-conceived belief.

[Jackie]

Hi I have both but in my case the sleep aponea is caused by my heart.There is a link to weight, if over weight more likely.

Jackie

[Treepie in reply to Jackie]

I was mega snoring and had sleep apnoea .I had a dental fitment that brings the lower jaw forward and opens the airway .It certainly helped for £300 ! You can get a better one for £1000.

Then I was diagnosed as hypo and thyroxine stopped the mega snoring and apnoea.

[Jackie in reply to Treepie]

Hi You are lucky as normally in the throat. I have a CPAP, nasty things!

Jackie

[Hidden in reply to Treepie]

Unfortunately, according to what I have read, having thyroxine does not necessarily fix the problem. My hypothyroidism was not diagnosed for years because my TSH was upper end of the range. It was not until I insisted upon a thyroid antibodies test that the problem was solved. I have had dry eyes for at least 10 years and about 6 years ago (on my initiative) had a serum B12 test. The result showed I was dangerously deficient. I now know that both can be symptoms of hypothyroidism. I find the doctor's insistence that the TSH test is "The gold standard" extremely infuriating, because it condemns many to years of distressing symptoms usually treated with anti-depressants like mine were.

[pattilovestrolls1 in reply to Hidden]

This very same thing happened to me

[Hidden in reply to Jackie]

I have Hashimotos but my sleep apnoea is not taken seriously because I do not fit the regular profile (I am not male and fat!). It seems that most GPs do not know the causal relationship between hypothyroidism and sleep apnoea!

[Jackie in reply to Hidden]

Hi Make sure you see a specialist and have the night tape ( at home). A specialist referred me as he believed me. Everyone, including gP said No as I am thin. In fact sleep clinic said the worse case ever.

Good luck!

Jackie

[Hidden in reply to Jackie]

I live in NZ where free public health services are severely underfunded due to our Neo-Liberal government's policies. My GP told me that as I did not fit into the usual sleep apnoea profile, it was unlikely that I would be seen in the public system. She suggested I go to a commercial sleep apnoea organisation and pay $190 for the hire of a monitor I could use at home. The company would then analyse the results.

Fortunately I live in Dunedin where we have the country's only dental school (University of Otago). So I decided to contact an aquaintance who is a dentist and chief of the oral surgery department at this university. Having explained to him how desperate I was, he agreed to see me. At that meeting, He said he would arrange an appointment for me when his technician got back from holiday, do an examination, and take measurements for a mouth splint to allow an unobstructed airway during sleep. He has referrals sent to him by the hospital specialist who could not see me because I do not fit into the usual profile! Having circumvented the system, I am relieved and very grateful.

[Jackie in reply to Hidden]

Hi I am sorry you are having such difficulty being diagnosed. it can be very dangerous. keep fighting.

Best wishes,

Jackie

[Treepie in reply to Hidden]

I was told by GP that he had a 15 page NHS guidance of what had to be done before an operation including lose weight,cut alcohol,dental fitments.This was

Nearly 2 years before I was diagnosed as hypo by which time I had many other symptoms. The snoring was the first symptom. I was sleeping in another bedroom to my wife.

But yes there are other causes.

[ceejayblue]

I have sleep apnoea and use a CPAP machine, mine is caused by having a congenital problem with my airways (that I didn't know about till I was nearly 50!) and being overweight. If you think you have sleep apnoea you must get it checked out and diagnosed and you must inform the DVLA and your car insurance company too, or risk a big fine! Don't take any chances, see your doctor and get a proper sleep trial done and get treatment.

[stuartwwhouse]

Funnily enough I'm hypo (hashis) and I have sleep apnoea too

I'm on cpap and I'm not over weight by any means (6ft and 85kg)

There are lots of medical links if you google it ...my doctors were scratching their heads at the sleep clinic until some wise old owl consultant stated they are directly linked and could be caused by a swelling of the back of the tongue and soft tissue inside the throat when asleep

[Angel_of_the_North]

How do you know if you have sleep apnea?

[maxwellous in reply to Angel_of_the_North]

Hi, my husband has this, it took me ages to get him to go see Dr. Then trip to sleep apnea clinic were they diagnosed it. He has been using a cpap machine now for years & it has saved his life , I think. He had an obstruction at back of throat. I used to stay awake at night worried to death cos he would hold his breath, not being able to breath & went blue on occasions, then gasp for breath & snore. This could go on all night every night. If not treated its possible to have a stroke, because of the strain on heart. So please go see your GP asap. You may not have this of course but better to be safe than sorry. Good luck Angel_of_the_north. Smiles to you. :-).

[GERALDDAVID in reply to Angel_of_the_North]

If you don`t sleep straight through, don`t get REM sleep, you may have sleep apnea. You have to go to a sleep clinic. I now sleep with the aid of the c-pap mask, saved my life. Also lost a lot of weight. Had to have oxygen till I got the c-pap. Had TT 3 and a half years ago during parathyroid surgery.

[Angel_of_the_North in reply to GERALDDAVID]

I don't sleep straight through (except a few nights a month), but I do dream (that I remember) most nights, so I assume I'm getting REM sleep. So probably not sleep apnea.

[GERALDDAVID in reply to Angel_of_the_North]

Take about 5 hours to get deep or rem sleep. I didn`t think I had it either till things got really bad. A lot of people have it to some degree.

[stuartwwhouse in reply to Angel_of_the_North]

My Gf told me I stop breathing and gasp for air and snored heavily , I would wake with headaches too

Symptoms are similar to thyroid , tired etc

If u have a partner it could be worth doing a little test with them , get them to set an alarm that won't wake you and get them to observe you sleeping for a short while

My gf took a video to show my gp and then got refferred to sleep clinic for further studies

[Angel_of_the_North in reply to stuartwwhouse]

Sadly, the cat is not really qualified to comment. I do sometimes wake up with headaches and I am always thirsty in the morning. Always tired.

[gabkad in reply to Angel_of_the_North]

There's an iPhone app for monitoring sleep.

[Angel_of_the_North in reply to gabkad]

Android? But isn't it unhealthy to have a mobile on near you when you are asleep?

[gabkad in reply to Angel_of_the_North]

I don't know what all is involved.

Being part of the 1% (no not THAT 1%) I don't have any mobile phone or whatnot. I see too many people doing stupid things with their mobile phones and don't need the temptation. What on earth could possibly be so important that a person walks into traffic while texting? Or doing so while driving? I think that could be significantly more damaging to health, self and others, than having a mobile phone turned on in the bedroom. Risks are relative.

But I digress. I have Terminal Old Fartism.

[Angel_of_the_North in reply to gabkad]

I have to have one for work. It goes off after office hours. I do have a personal one also, but I can't imagine why you'd want to text or call while walking - what's wrong with standing still?

[gabkad in reply to Angel_of_the_North]

Asking me? LOL! Why text at all?

Emily Post is rolling over in her grave.

[gabkad in reply to Angel_of_the_North]

Why drink or eat while walking? People these days do all sorts of rude things. Like pull out a hamburger and eat it on the elevator when other people are standing right there. Or taking out a container of food on the transit, put it on their laps and eat supper in front of dozens of commuters.

We have degraded beneath the level of animals. The human animal is now like a city pigeon.

[gabkad in reply to Angel_of_the_North]

That doesn't mean anything at all. One of my friends who now uses an APAP used to get terrifying dreams during her apnea episodes. So she WAS dreaming. But she's an exception in having so many bad dreams associated with sleep apnea. Most people haven't got a clue, unless they sleep with someone who notices, that they have apnea. In fact, there is a greater chance that someone with apnea actually gets more deep sleep and REM sleep than someone with hypopnea. The hypopneics are the ones who complain the most of having non-restorative sleep. The brain in hypopneics does not allow itself to go into stage 3. So these people oscillate between stages 1, 2 and arousal most of the night.

Other things can cause sleep disturbance as well. Like pain. That's what I have and it was demonstrated on a sleep study that I was not sleeping most of the night even though I was, subjectively, unconscious. Without the relaxed phase of sleep, my muscles just could not heal and the pain became an ever greater problem as time went on. I take a sleeping pill which helps with muscle relaxation and stops the pain so I can get 7.5 to 8 or even 9 hours of sleep. The drug wears off after 6 hours and sometimes I'll take it an hour or so before I go to bed just so I can move around relatively free of pain and stiffness which is not nearly as severe as it used to be. But it's still a problem some days.

Neurological problems can also prevent sleep. This is why Alzheimer patients wander around at night.

[Hidden in reply to Angel_of_the_North]

You cannot get a good night's rest, keep waking up, nodding off during the day and as a result of sleep deprivation, feel like crap!

[Hidden in reply to Angel_of_the_North]

You cannot have 7-8 uninterrupted quality sleep, wake up suddenly and often during the night, doze off frequently during the day and after months of sleep deprivation feel like something the cat has dragged in!

[John-D]

I have just watched these videos on sleep etc. A bit slow to begin with but stick with them all the way and makes perfect sense.

drgominak.com/

I found this on the Thyroid patient site

tpauk.com/forum/content.php...

[jezebel69]

I stop breathing during sleep because of the horrendous over-production of mucus which literally drowns me. And yes I have tried dairy free. And no my GP wont connect it to my thyroid. I was sent to an ENT consultant who put me on long term antibiotics to clear the sinus infection (its a perfect breeding ground for bacteria) but gave up on me after that. And what should I do with the hearing aid that doesnt help my tinnitis??

[Hidden]

I have referred myself to the local dental school at the university. The head of the oral surgery department has arranged an appointment to have a dental splint fitted. This will push forward my lower jaw while I sleep and clear the airway.