hashimotos and deep sleep

[ianskelly]

hi all , I am currently on 100 levo and 25 t3 (and have felt much better in the 7 mths since i started taking the t3) but still feel tired upon awaking even though I do my best to get 8 hours a night, last night I "borrowed" my wifes fit bit and when she saw the results she couldn't believe it, it showed I only have 8% deep sleep which is for less than she gets and on my results is said the light sleep i get is good for restoring the body but not good for memory (I forgot I had one of those ) and mood. is this a hashi's side effect ? any ideas how to improve my sleep quality?

thanks Ian

[SlowDragon Administrator]

When were vitamin D, folate, ferritin and B12 last tested?

What vitamin supplements do you currently take?

Low vitamin D and low B vitamins can affect sleep

Both very common with Hashimoto's

[ianskelly in reply to SlowDragon]

hi slow dragon not tested for a while last time they came back fine and since then I have started making more of an effort with my diet and take nutrello vitamins (very expensive vitamins made from "whole food")

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to ianskelly]

Suggest you get retested soon

Vitamin D at least around 80nmol and around 100nmol may be better

Folate at least over ten

B12 at least over 500

Ferritin at least half way in range

Selenium can improve conversion of FT4 to FT3

Magnesium often helps with sleep

How do you take your T3

Many of us split dose and taking 5mcg before bed can help improve sleep

Soya free including avoiding soya lecithin.

[ianskelly in reply to SlowDragon]

forgot to mention i take selenium in the day and magnesium at night 30-45 mins before bed, i don't want to get tested through my doctor as he doesnt' know iv'e started taking t3, (is their a particular medichecks test you are aware of ? if not i'll have a look later,i take my t3 whole as i feel it seems to work better than splitting (i used to take half first thing and half around 2pm) i havent tried taking 5mcg before bed , i may either try an extra 5mcg or just 20mcg in the morning and 5 before bed (how long before should i take it? ) thanks again sorry for the questions!

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to ianskelly]

is their a particular medichecks test you are aware of ?

Cheapest way to get vitamins tested is with a thyroid/vitamin bundle with either Medichecks or Blue Horizon (Medichecks tends to be the cheapest unless BH springs a random good discount).

Medichecks Thyroid Check ULTRAVIT medichecks.com/thyroid-func... You can use code THYROIDUK for a 10% discount on any test not on special offer

or

Blue Horizon Thyroid Check PLUS ELEVEN bluehorizonmedicals.co.uk/t...

Both tests include the full thyroid and vitamin panel. They are basically the same test but with the following small differences:

For the fingerprick test, Blue Horizon requires 1 x microtainer of blood (0.8ml), Medichecks requires 2 x microtainers (total 1.6ml)

Blue Horizon includes Total T4 (can be useful but not essential). Medichecks doesn't include this test.

B12 - Blue Horizon does Serum B12. Medichecks does Active B12.

Serum B12 shows the total B12 in the blood. Active B12 shows what's available to be taken up by the cells. You can have a reasonable level of Serum B12 but a poor level of Active B12. (Personally, I would go for the Active B12 test.)

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to ianskelly]

Well we are all different.....what suits one doesn't necessarily suit another

I take 5mcg T3 at 11pm along with most of my Levothyroxine (100mcg)

I take 10mcg T3 at 7am plus 25mcg Levothyroxine

5mcg T3 mid afternoon- approx 3pm

When getting bloods tested split T3 day before so that last 5mcg is 8-12 hours prior to blood test and last Levothyroxine 24 hours prior to blood test

Medichecks Thyroid plus ultra vitamin tests TSH, FT3, FT4, both TPO and TG antibodies, vitamin D, folate, ferritin and B12

TSH is almost always suppressed on any dose of T3. Most important results are FT3 and FT4

[hipolion]

Try CBD-oil...and I think you need to increase a little bit your T4 dosage.

[ianskelly in reply to hipolion]

i could try increasing a touch as i have a bit of a surplus so could potentially try for a couple of weeks and see, i dont know anything about cbd oil, when i typed it in amazon hemp oil came up, is that what you use?

thanks

[hipolion in reply to ianskelly]

No, it's not hemp oil, it's not the same. I don't think you will find it on amazon, it is sold in specialized stores. There are many studies that show benefits of CBD. More about this you found here; restartmed.com/cbd-oil-hash...

[ianskelly in reply to hipolion]

do you take it ?if so have you noticed a difference in sleep quality? and where do you get it?

thanks

[hipolion in reply to ianskelly]

Yes, I take it(twice a day) and my anxiety has reduced, also I sleep better. Should be dosed depending on potency.

[ianskelly in reply to hipolion]

where do you get it from?

[hipolion in reply to ianskelly]

It depends where you live, there are many online stores where you can order.

Important is to be as pure as possible with thc to zero. For ex. I trust in Dutch and USA producers, they are good.

greenflowerbotanicals.com/f...

[jimh111]

Hypothyroidism does reduce deep sleep, see my comments on this webpage ibshypo.com/index.php/subno... . The referenced sleep study is behind a paywall but I have a printed copy of the full paper and it shows that in hypothyroids stage 3 sleep is reduced from 9.6% to 6.9% and stage 4 from 7.0% to 4.4%. (deep sleep reduces as we get older). I have found that if I get my L-T3 dose right I fall asleep reasonably easy and then have deeper sleep with more vivid dreams, I am then more refreshed the following day.

Do you have TSH, fT3, fT4 figures from when you were first diagnosed? If I understand correctly your TSH was 8.42 when diagnosed. This is not consistent with the extent of your symptoms. Either your TSH is performing subnormally or there is some other problem. With your symptoms your TSH should have been much higher if the problem was simply primary hypothyroidism. Your blood results at diagnosis, or during the early days of treatment might help understand what is happening.

I don't know anything about fit bit but I believe they monitor heart rate. I can't believe this gives an accurate measure of sleep stages, otherwise there would be no need to develop those fancy monitor things they stick on your head to measure brain waves. Perhaps it gives an indication. I would pay more attention to your sleep quality and cognitive function, I think these are more reliable than looking at heart rate (from a sleep quality point of view).

[ianskelly]

thanks i'll see if i can post m results, the reason I tried the fit bit was although i sleep 7-7.5 hrs a night i cant physically sleep longer yet wake up extremely tired and struggle concentrating when you say l-t3 dose do you mean levo to t3 ratio? thanks

[Nico101 in reply to ianskelly]

Have you had your cortisol levels checked? Adrenal problems and thyroid problems often go hand in hand. Your cortisol may be low in the mornings and too high during the night (as mine are currently).

I take cannabis oil at night - the real stuff, not CBD - and that used to knock me out, but even that stopped helping. Then someone on here recommended Holy Basil (also known as Tulsi powder) for lowering nighttime cortisol and I sleep much better. It's amazing stuff and I make a tea with it - it tastes a lot like green tea I find. It's so good I have to be in bed within about 15 mins of drinking it, as I go out like a light.

[SmallBlueThing]

A sleep study to check for sleep apnoea? Your GP would get you to complete the simple Epworth Sleepiness test, and refer you if necessary. You'd be sent home from the hospital department with chest straps, pulse oximeter and a box of tricks, which would need returning the following day, with a CPAP machine being supplied if your results are bad enough.