trouble sleeping : Hey guys my name is Juan... - Thyroid UK

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trouble sleeping

JuanGonzalez profile image
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Hey guys my name is Juan Gonzalez im an 18 year old male and I've wanted ask a question , I sleep really late , I live in the USA so the hour/time is different over here , I used to sleep at around 10 or 11 pm and wake up at around 6 , now I go to sleep at around 3-5 am and wake up around 11am-1pm , I really don't know if there's something wrong or I just got used to sleeping at that time as If it where my hours to sleep , all this throws me off track as in like on the days , I kinda forget what day or time it is but because of bad schedule time , I'm hypothyroid and I'm currently on 75 mcg levothyroxin , any one have an opinion or know something , I get dizzy a lot , i have brain fog , and the brain fog causes me to be slow on things I slur my speech a little and basically zone out here in there , and today I've only slept for 5 hours ? Please help

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JuanGonzalez
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20 Replies
Clutter profile image
Clutter

JuanGonzalez, can you post your thyroid results with the lab ref ranges and members will be able to advise whether you are optimally medicated on 75mcg. It sounds as though you may be undermedicated.

Try re regulating your sleep habits by going to bed an hour earlier every few days until you get back on 11pm-6am schedule you used to have.

JuanGonzalez profile image
JuanGonzalez in reply to Clutter

I really don't have any recent blood results , since the first of week of February I got moved to 75 mcg and havnt gotten any blood work done since or this dose , my last blood results are from almost 4 month back , and I think and I'm pretty sure I can go back to my schedule but sometimes I really don't wanna sleep till I get tired , unless it's just me and its a habbit , which I'm pretty sure it might be , but I just really want to make sure , I have missed my appointment , it was on Tuesday , I really don't have a lot of money to pay the bill of the docs appt

Clutter profile image
Clutter in reply to JuanGonzalez

JuanGonzalez, the sleep thing will become a habit if you continue as you are and don't correct it. Look up sleep hygiene online and you'll find tips to help you prepare for sleep and regularise your hours.

I'm sorry you had to miss the doctor's appointment. Please reschedule it as soon as you can afford to pay the bill. It is important that you are on the right dose.

shaws profile image
shawsAdministrator

I think you might be due for another increase in levo. Usually, an increase is given every six weeks. I understand if you cannot see a doctor to get blood tests but if you feel any overstimulation reduce your dose down slightly.

What you are experiencing is common i.e. insomnia, not sleeping at the usual times. I hope it settles quite quickly. Clutter has given good advice.

JuanGonzalez profile image
JuanGonzalez

I think I do need a higher Dose and we'll idk if it is insomnia or I'm just used to sleeping that late now since I'm always a bit active but then again before I had thyroid issues I used to sleep at the same time , I think it's a habbit but then again I can't fall asleep , I sleep about 7 hours but in a different schedule

I have similar symptoms to you and found the advice given by Jamie Bowthorp very helpful ------

Three Sleeping Issues you might encounter as a Hypothyroid Patient September 14, 2013

stopthethyroidmadness.com/2...

The responses are also very useful.

I also admit to taking a rice cake with a little peanut butter with a warm drink .

Have also passed on this information to my sister-in-law who has hypothyroidism and had the same problems as you and I.

Also have a look at sleepfoundation.org/insomni...

I symathise with you so much.

Hope this helps

greygoose profile image
greygoose

Juan, I think you need to get your adrenals tested. A 24 hour cortisol test would tell us a lot about how you're functioning.

If your adrenals are fatigued, as often happens with hypo, they struggle all day to make a decent amount of cortisol, and only manage it in the evening, when you really Don't want it. It stops you sleeping. And then you Wake up late because you haven't got enough cortisol to Wake you up in the morning.

This is treatable, so ask your endo to test your cortisol. :)

JuanGonzalez profile image
JuanGonzalez in reply to greygoose

I think it might be my adrenals because I do feel all that and very slow and stuff , I sleep about 6 hours a day and we'll idk I don't want to go to sleep and I start feeling dizzy and stuff , also I have really low sex drive , I feel so awkward saying this but is that bad ? Can that also be low cortisol ?

greygoose profile image
greygoose in reply to JuanGonzalez

That can be low hormones in general - Don't feel awkward! I think 90% of us on here can say the same thing! That's how it gets you. For one, thing, we Don't have the energy for sex, usually.

Hormones all work together, so when one of them is off, the others tend to get wonky, too. Hopefully, when you are optimally treated for the hypo, the other hormones will fall into place again.

I really think your next step should be to get your adrenals tested, because it really could be the problem. And if they aren't producing enough cortisol - or too much - your body won't be able to use the the thyroid hormone you're taking.

JuanGonzalez profile image
JuanGonzalez in reply to greygoose

Wow that sounds perfect you explained it well , and we'll yah I have low sex drive but for the fact that I feel exhausted and feel like I'm too tired , I feel the hormone the hormone there but I just don't know why , and we'll how can I get the cortisol test

greygoose profile image
greygoose in reply to JuanGonzalez

Perhaps you can ask your endo for a 24 hour saliva cortisol test. That's the best way to measure it, but I Don't know how easy that is to get in the US. It would be next to impossible here in France! But if he won't do it, you could have it done privately.

JuanGonzalez profile image
JuanGonzalez in reply to greygoose

How can I get it privately?

greygoose profile image
greygoose in reply to JuanGonzalez

I am sorry, I cannot answer that. I live in France and know nothing about the system in the US.

Why Don't you post another question asking just that, and members that live in the US will be able to answer you. :)

SilverAvocado profile image
SilverAvocado

Juan, I've had a similar issue to you with my hypothyroid. I can find it very hard to get settled in the evening, and often don't feel any more 'tired' than I did all all day. I think is also a mixture of trouble concentrating / lack of awareness of time.

I now do a few few things to make it easy for me. I have an alarm on my phone each night for when I want to get ready for bed. I take some some melatonin then (I need this, otherwise I'll just wake up a few hours later). Also, if I'm watching TV or reading earlier in in the evening, I tend to do it in bed, and get into my jammies early. The worst thing I can do is set up on the couch downstairs, because then going to bed also requires getting up and moving, which is another barrier.

Like another poster said, there are lots of lists around of sleep hygiene. Get hold of of them, I've found there were several things I was trying to do that didn't work.

Another useful thing is to listen to audiobooks or podcasts whenever I can't sleep or don't want to sleep. Then can don't have to worry I can't sleep, I'm just there to listen to a story. A good audiobook option is to get a free sample from Audible and and choose the complete Sherlock Holmes - it's 47 hours long!

JuanGonzalez profile image
JuanGonzalez in reply to SilverAvocado

Wow it sounds a lot to do but worth it , have you tried on taking other medication for this ?

SilverAvocado profile image
SilverAvocado in reply to JuanGonzalez

I do now take melatonin. It actually works fantastically for me, as I often sleep all the way through, not even waking to go to the toilet! I take 3mg when my alarm goes off and I start getting ready for bed.

Fruitandnutcase profile image
Fruitandnutcase

Have you got your bedroom completely darkened?

I bought curtains with light proof linings that make the bedroom totally dark and that has made an enormous difference to my sleep. If I forget to pull the curtains (I have a blind as well) I always waken up in the night and have to go close the sustains.

Also agree with the person who takes the rice cake. I have a very fine line between eating too much - wakes me up - and being hungry - also wakes me up so sometimes I have a little snack - slice of toast or something like that. Same with heating the room, too hot and I can't sleep - too cold and I can't sleep either. I try not to use my iPad /Kindle just before going to sleep, I think if you look up sleep hygiene on the Internet and work in the tips you get there it will make a difference.

Good luck, it is horrible when you can't sleep during the night then doze off just when you ought to be getting up.

JuanGonzalez profile image
JuanGonzalez in reply to Fruitandnutcase

Thank you so much for the tips I'm going to try the websites

Fruitandnutcase profile image
Fruitandnutcase in reply to JuanGonzalez

Should have added that I got rid of the TV and I've turned the clock round so that I don't see the glow in the dark. I'm like the 'sleep police' my husband hates sleeping in total darkness but I win on this one because I have to sleep or I'm grouchy in the morning 😊

SilverAvocado profile image
SilverAvocado in reply to Fruitandnutcase

These are great tips, I also can't sleep when when it's too warm. My curtains aren't great, so I often have a folded blanket over my eyes as it starts to get light. I'm used to it now, and find it comforting. Means I can manage to sleep when I travel, as well.

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