Holiday has made me feel worse and not better!

[kk12]

Here we go again - just suffered a sleep apnea attack which was very umpleasant - I don't have them very often but when I do then naturally I have difficulty falling back to sleep again

I've come back from my holiday with a cold and sore throat and feel worse than when I went - I went with all my vitamin & mineral supplements and was able to be more active but despite the activity ( lots of walking) have gained more weight!

Just feel that my body is a joke at the moment - want to sleep but can't. My throat is now a dry sore throat, it's too hot to sleep and our fan has stopped working - I have an endo appointment in a few weeks and am already dreading it - I have the saliva adrenal test ready to do but I fear stopping the adaptogens could make me feel even worse - just appears to be a vicious circle.

My field of work involves exhibiting at wedding fayres and I am already dreading the start of the season in September as it has become physically more stressful to exhibit at a show as an early start is involved, getting to the show, setting up, doing the show where you're standing up all the time talking to potential customers and then packing away and driving home - it takes me a week to get over a show and then it's time for another one - I don't want to quit doing the shows, it's my business and I love it but not in the health I am in at the moment

Sorry just had to rant a bit as feel really down about my health and trying to get diagnosed.

[AliLeeves]

I understand how you feel and I am a little further down the line than you seem to be but trust me diagnosis will help and you will start to feel better. No one can guarantee you will feel "normal" again but they can help. I suffer with sleep issues and now use the spoon therapy to help with that. Let me explain!

You start your day with say 10 spoons of energy

Getting up and getting ready to start your day takes 1 spoon of energy.

You work out what you have to do during the day and how much of your energy you will use up! When you get to 2 spoons you make sure you have a 20 minute rest. After every two spoons you rest for 20 minutes. By the time you get to the evening you should have 1 spoon left to get ready for bed. When you get into bed get into a comfortable position and start to clear your head by thinking of say relaxing by a pool or something that relaxes you. I often think about walking my dogs through the woods as that relaxes me.

I know it sounds cheesy but it works there is a full explanation on the internet called spoon therapy!

Try it, you never know it may work. It does not work every day for me but it works most days. I had to give up my job as it was making me so ill so I understand where you are coming from when you say you don't want to give up, it's hard but your health has to come first. I now spend my days at home doing things like gardening, walking the dogs, meeting friends with similar issues for coffee and volunteering in the community. I am busy every day but when I have a bad day now I don't feel like I'm letting my team at work down. You have to come first or you can end up in a spiral of depression, pain and lack of sleep, then you are unable to function properly and this ever ending spiral continues to drag you down.

I hope this helps a bit, it's not for everyone but it works for me I hope it does for you.

Fingers crossed you have a better day today and you start to feel better quickly.

Alison xxx

[kk12 in reply to AliLeeves]

Thank you Alison - that sounds like a really useful method to adopt. I own the business so I do work from home and I also work for my husband's business which is also home based so I do have that luxury that I can dip in and out and rest when I need to but there is more pressure on my business as it is only 2 years old and still building!

People also just do not understand - friends saying you really need this holiday like it would miraculously cure me - well it hasn't and was never going to!

Just sick and tired of feeling sick and tired! xxx

[AliLeeves in reply to kk12]

I totally understand no one understands my conditions and I even get from family and friends "is she really ill or is it all in her head". It's so frustrating especially when you actually can't explain what's wrong and how you feel because you are totally overwhelmed by it all. I'm always hear for a chat if you need. Where do you live? I live in Sussex.

[kk12 in reply to AliLeeves]

I know they are well meaning and all that - I'm in Leicestershire. I think I am having some sort of adrenal crash as have just been asleep for most of the afternoon and had to get a dressing gown on me as felt cold - unusual as I mostly feel warm ( as am only menopausal) definitely one thing is for sure is that I feel worse now than before & have no energy whatsoever - am 46 and feel 86!

[Hidden in reply to AliLeeves]

Here is a link to some more about 'spoons' and invisible illnesses. A friend has lupus (which is where it comes from): en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spoon...

Just to add - I split my activities into smaller bites than Alison suggests, and give myself more 'spoons' - 16. I rest for half an hour between each pair, rather than 20 minutes.

Which is all to say - make a rough calculation of your own spoons and rests. Everyone will be different I suspect.

Basically, we thyroidees need to pace ourselves.

[kk12 in reply to Hidden]

Thank you - at the moment all I can do is just rest. Have zero energy and just want to sleep so giving in to it and hope I feel better.

[BadHare]

Hi KK12,

I thought I was suffering from sleep apnea as I frequently wake up gasping for air.

My GP explained that people are not aware of having this, & suggested I had air hunger. One of several causes of this is hypothyrodism.

L*

[kk12 in reply to BadHare]

Hi Leverette - I am aware that sleep apnea and being hypo are linked - my attacks aren't that frequent but last night was particularly scary as I couldn't catch my breath for ages

I don't know how you can't be aware of not having it when you wake up gasping for breath and hyperventilating!

[BadHare in reply to kk12]

Just passing on what my GP said, & that sir hunger wakes me up gasping for breath.

Two people I know were tested & diagnosed with sleep apnea after complaints from their partners about snoring & grunting noises. The people who had sleep apnea were oblivious, aside from extreme fatigue. Best speak to your GP.

[kk12 in reply to BadHare]

I do snore. I have had a constantly clearing my throat thing and a raspy voice for years which I also know is thyroid connected.

Maybe as you say it is air hunger then as I thought sleep apnea would wake you up.... I will speak to the endo about this.

[BadHare in reply to BadHare]

Can't type: AIR hunger.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dyspnea

facebook.com/ThyroidDisease...

[Barb1949 in reply to kk12]

KK2 I have been diagnosed with sleep apnoea for about 6 years and had it for a number of years before then. This is when you actually stop breathing while asleep and may wake up. You are not gasping for breath, although it seems most people will take a deep breath when they do start breathing again, this is not like gasping. Many people have no recollection of waking up as it is not full awareness. In fact I rarely wake up, despite stopping breathing for up to a minute and a half. I do, however, snore very loudly and grunt a lot. I have been told it sounds like a herd of wild animals! It is not something that you have occasional attacks of, unfortunately.

I have to say that my snoring has improved considerably since I have lost quite a lot of weight. It is often the weight that causes the apnoea in the first place. My consultant told me that if I ever do get my weight back to a 'normal' level the apnoea will probably disappear. He does realise how difficult this I for us hypo's though.

Barb x

[BadHare in reply to BadHare]

ps I put 10lbs on in 4 days last year, only 2 could be attributed to pizza!

[kk12 in reply to BadHare]

I was on a cruise but definitely didn't overeat, yes I did drink alcohol a bit more than I usually do but seem to have put on half a stone in a week despite walking a couple of miles a day every day which would usually counteract any extra calorie intake - indeed I have been on cruise holidays before and not gained any weight but lost it!

[faith63 in reply to BadHare]

no, it's fluid, not possible otherwise.

[greygoose]

Well, if - as seems probable, but difficult to say without your FT3 and the range for the FT4 - you are hypo, all that extra activity was bound to make you feel worse, wasn't it. Activity uses up your T3. Therefore, it's not surprising that you've put on more weight. Why did you think it was going to do you good?

[kk12 in reply to greygoose]

Greygoose - I knew I was always going to struggle going on holiday and that it probably would make me feel worse etc despite taking my supplements but you should hear people around me that clearly do not understand what being hypo involves when they say ooh you really need this holiday well yes the change of scenery was indeed breath taking (Norwegian Fjords) but coming back ill as now made me realise that maybe I need to rethink our actual holidays and that lying on a beach may actually be better for me.

I have my NHS endo appt on the 16th July - I am not holding out too much hope for that as I am well aware that it may be a recipe for more frustration on my part!

[greygoose in reply to kk12]

Well, the ray of hope is that your over exertion on holiday has raised your TSH. But do ask him to test your FT3. It would be good to know what that is.

I do know what you mean about other people, though, to celebrate my 60th birthday, l went on a once-in-life-time trip to Egypt - very energetic siteseeing! And when l got back people were saying oh, l bet you feel so much better for your holiday! No, l felt like death! l was on T4 plus T3 at the time and it really didn't agree with me and l missed a couple of trips because l just couldn't get out of bed! l wouldn't have missed it for the world, but it certainly didn't do me any good physically.

[kk12 in reply to greygoose]

Indeed the GP I saw - finally agreed that I needed to have the other tests done by the Endo but he couldn't do them (not sure why but hey ho) I don't know what my T3 is or my RT4 or RT3 - all I know is that I feel like hell & that a simple cold shouldn't make me feel like this!

[greygoose in reply to kk12]

No, it shouldn't. But whilst you're hypo, it will.

There is no rT4. And rT3 is never tested by the NHS. I Don't see that it makes all that much difference at your stage, though. What you need to do first is to get started on some Levo, and work the dose up before you start thinking about things like that. One step at a time!

What you need first of all is your FT4, FT3 and antibodies : TPOab and TgAB. Plus vit D, vit B12, folate, iron and ferritin. If you can. Doctors Don't Understand the roll minerals and vitamins play in all this, so we have to ask them for the tests, then probably supplement ourselves.

Have you tried taking large dose of vit C for that cold?

[kk12 in reply to greygoose]

All I am missing from the above tests is the TgAB and FT3 - all the rest have been done, the TPOab showed negative for antibodies but of course that's not to say that TgAB won't be the same (don't know why it wasn't done at the time) and I was low for vit D, Vit B12, folate and ferritin so supplementing them all and also taking 1000mcg of Vit C a day, seemed to be high enough for me at that level as otherwise get too loose!

Taking echinacea to try and ward off the cold symptoms at the mo.

There is no doubt that I was feeling better on all the vitamin & mineral supplements but now feel like I have gone backwards

[greygoose in reply to kk12]

Ecinacea is not recommended for hypos - can't remember why, but that could make you feel bad, too.

The NHS neve tests for Tgab, don't know why. But then they don't consider antibodies to be ofany concern, anyway.

[faith63 in reply to kk12]

Often, when you have autoimmune disease, which is the main cause of Hyposthyroidism, you have a flare up of poor health upon over exerting yourself. You need to find out if you have Hashimotos.

[Hidden]

I have a problem that seems almost identical to yours. I have Hashimotos and for years had a severe insomnia problem. I also snore and wake up with a start during the night. My adrenals wake me up at around 3am every morning. I did not do the saliva test (unavailable in New Zealand except in Auckland and expensive!). However, an early morning blood test showed my cortisol levels well above the 'normal' range. The endo was very dismissive as they only recognise the extremes (Addisons and Cushings).

However, I do now seem to be getting on top of the problem. I take the following supplements: vitamin B complex, vitamin B5 (adrenal support), vitamin C (500mg), magnesium, zinc, selenium and vitamin B12 (nervous system support), vitamin D3 (colcalciferol) and vitamin K2. Both vitamin D and K2 are for bone health. The B12 is in sublingual form. Most importantly, I take 5mg of melatonin every night. Do not expect instant results from melatonin, it is cumulative and takes time. Lastly, since I too have abstructive sleep apnoea, I made an appointment with the orthodontic department of the local dental school to have a mouth splint made to wear during the night. This has the effect of pushing the lower jaw forward thus opening the airway. They can also make a device that depresses the tongue that works in a similar way. Once you fix your sleep problem, you may find that no more stress from sleep deprivation will help heal your adrenals. I am now able to sleep for 5 to 6 hours without waking up. You may be able to buy melatonin over the counter in the UK. In NZ it is only available on prescription. Do not let your doctor fob you off with a lower dose than 3mg (5mg is the optimum). Oh...also your adrenals need salt. Buy the natural kind with minerals. I use Himalayan (pink) rock salt.