Sleep disturbance

[Syd35]

Does anyone else have a problem getting quality sleep? I used to be a great sleeper but since having hashimoto's it is terrible. I have a Fitbit which tracks sleep and some nights I can be awake 7 times and restless 30 and it's rare I wake up feeling truly rested. Just another side effect of this darn condition I guess : (

[Kerry1971]

I have a Fitbit and yes my sleep is also not great. Make sure you have it set on normal and not sensitive. I have blue lines all through the night. Smoking and drinking can also make you sleep worse along with coffee. Let me know if you find an answer

[cwill]

Yes I agree with the Fitbit advice as I got a shock the first night that I used it that I thought was quite good and it said 2 hours sleep. My biggest changes in sleep came when I sorted out my gut and my diet: biggest meals at breakfast and lunch, protein at breakfast and eating a light early supper. I was so ill that caffeine and alcohol were out of the question. Now I have used the Fitbit for a while I know that the sleep record means less than my own assessment. Some nights can look restless and short on sleep but I feel ok whereas others that look better have actually felt worse. Keep exploring.

[Treepie]

I think i read a while back that a Fitbit was not very accurate.Probably leads to more anxiety in this instance.

[DellFinium]

Have you considered mild-moderate sleep apnoea? Do you know if you snore? I've not had a clear night's sleep in over 10 years since symptoms developed and assumed it was all part of the problem.

[Syd35 in reply to DellFinium]

Hi Agastache - how would you go about finding out, guessing you would have to undertake a sleep study? I imagine if I mention to the GPs they will say "well you have a young child, sleepless night's are to be expected!". Just that every symptom I tell them of even after diagnosis is attributed to having recently had a baby. The hair loss, tiredness, lack of libido, difficulty losing weight, all because of having the baby, gets quite tiresome going to speak to anybody.

Oops sorry for the rant you merely asked if I had considered sleep apnoea I will look into it

[DellFinium]

First step: do you snore? If not, maybe apnoea's not the problem. You can do sleep studies privately (I've no idea how long it would take to rustle one up on NHS) that give good diagnostics; they ship you a thing like a wristwatch to wear overnight, and you get results back with recommendations within 24 hours of them getting it back: ukcpap.co.uk

[Syd35]

Yes husband has always complained about my snoring, apparently worse when I sleep on my back and definitely worse when pregnant. You may have just hit on something, thank you for the suggestion

[Daffers123]

I too have Hashimotos and suffer with broken sleep. sometimes I'm awake several times and usually involves trips to the loo. I have a Jawbone Up which I got specifically for sleep tracking. Most nights it says I only get a couple hours deep sleep and if I'm lucky 1.5 hrs REM (I understand these to be the important type) - rest is light sleep.

I juggle between half a small Zopiclone, 2 paracetamol, 2 Ibuprofen, or a Sleepeze - every few nights - so at least I get one good sleep.

I think all we can do is manage it as best we can. Did try melatonin but it made me dopey team following day!

[Lynndeb]

Hi Syd, I share your sleep problems. I weaned myself off zopiclone and antidepressants (which were also supposed to help with sleep) a year ago, after learning from a locum that I was over medicated. I did it with the help of sleepio, and I improved my sleep so much that I was getting about 6 hours a night. Unfortunately I went through some prolonged and quite serious stress, which interrupted that and I am now only getting between zero and 3 hours, but it will improve over time. I feel wretched the next day, but I no longer stress about it.

However, my top tip is to use Andrew Johnson's Deep Sleep app. I honestly don't know what I'd do without it.