Apologies for hanging around on here a bit too much recently. After receiving and posting my thyroid and vitamin results here I’m taking action to up my ferritin, D3 and folate (all low) and survived being humiliated and pretty much dismissed by my GP on Tuesday morning. I have Hashis and he grudgingly agreed to try me on 50mcg Thyroxine which I’m starting today.
But I have a question about sleep. I often wake in the early hours with my heart racing and it’s difficult to get back to sleep. Not ideal when I’m exhausted anyway and have a little one to get ready for school...
I have a history of B12 malabsorption (tested negative for PA a few years ago but was supplementing with B12 so the consultant thought I could have affected the result by doing that).
Is this pounding heart and wakefulness a Hashis thing? Something to do with low vitamin/minerals? Anxiety? It’s been going on for a few years now and seems to come and go.
Most importantly is there anything you can suggest that might help?
No scary suggestions please, I am feeling very anxious right now. Thank you!
Anxiety was one of my worst symptoms along with frequently waking in the night with feelings of doom. I suffered the disturbed nights for years but once diagnosed with Hashimoto’s and started on treatment with levothytoxine, I started to sleep much better and the anxiety and feelings of dread eased considerably. Not straightaway but even after a few weeks I was noticing a big difference.
You are right to try and optimise your vitamin levels as I’ve learned here that good levels are necessary for utilising levothyroxine. It is recommended by the experts on this site that you take vitamin K2 and magnesium along with your vitamin D3. Also regular blood tests are wise if you are taking iron supplements as you don’t want to overdose. Many of us use Medichecks for private testing. They often have special offers on Thursdays.
Thanks so much for your reply. I’ve actually had anxiety since childhood and suspect I’ve had malabsorption etc since back then.
My test last week was via Medichecks and they were great although my GP wasn’t impressed...
I’ll order D3 with K2 today and already take a good magnesium supplement. The iron I’ve just started is the oral spray, but I’m eating more iron rich foods too which I’m hoping will help. And the Levothyroxine...
Pounding heart, and sleep problems I feel sure, is due to you not having sufficient dose of hormones yet.
Doctors seem to not understand that thyroid hormones run our whole metabolism from head to toe. We have millions of T3 receptor cells and all need T3 in order for us to function.
When newly diagnosed dose has to be increased gradually and levothyroxine is T4 alone - the inactive hormone and has to convert to the Active hormone which is T3. I doubt doctors know this fact.
I'm sure you will be able to tick off more than a couple of the above symptoms. The fact is that doctors seem to not know any and I think if we keep complaining they think we're hypo-chondriac as they seem to know little about hypo-thyroidism and I doubt know any symptoms. Once upon a time - before the introduction of levo and blood tests - we were diagnosed upon clinical symptoms alone and given a trial of NDT (natural dessicated thyroid hormones).
This is what’s known as ‘progress’ I suppose. It’s insane. My doctor was completely dismissive where T3 is concerned and was, like most, only interested in TSH. And I use the term ‘interested’ very loosely. He just about managed not to roll his eyes at me but spoke to me as though I was a) incredibly stupid and b) unreasonable and demanding.
I’ve been suffering for years and having received advice and support here I’m more confident about cutting my doctor loose if need be. Should the Levo not suit after giving it a chance I’ll have no qualms about sourcing NDT myself.
Being made to feel like a neurotic hypochondriac for years has sometimes left me despairing but I’ve managed to piece it all together and I’m incredibly grateful for this community.
They have had poor training - seem not to realise they are dealing with an essential hormone failure. Doubt if they even know that, but if their wives/girlfriends start to moan about their replacement thyroid hormones, maybe they'll step up and find out the cause. They may even prescribe T3 or fork out the money themselves as many on this forum have. As long as the supplier doesn't mess about with the fillers/binders which can have a bad effect on those who were fine on a T3 previously.
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Advice please. New to NDT and not sleeping
