How to end Insomnia and wake up refreshed with hypothyroidism.

[shaws]

This link may be helpful:-

tpauk.com/main/article/3663/

[shaws Administrator]

However, I don't agree with this section:-

"T3 has a relatively short half-life, meaning that when you take it, it only remains active in your body for a short period of time.

Oftentimes by nighttime, any T3 you’ve taken earlier in the day is no longer active and your cells become weakened and agitated."

The reason for not agreeing with this is that Dr Lowe stated that one daily dose of thyroid hormones saturates the T3 cells and can last up to three days. I have trialled this myself, and my one dose lasted three days before I began my daily dose again.

[Sybilla14 in reply to shaws]

Hi shaws. Like you, I take my t3 in a single dose (with Levo). Really interested in your experiment - did you feel any different on the day when you didn’t take your dose?

[SmallBlueThing in reply to Sybilla14]

I take Thiroyd plus Levo and have been tested twice, five hours after my dose, and having above range FT3, at around 7 pmol/L. When having a 9am test with the Thiroyd taken 12 hours before, and the Levo 24 hours before, my FT3 was below halfway through the range, at 4.7 pmol/L [3.5 - 6.5].

If I'm taking too much T3, shakiness in my upper arms is the first warning sign, usually occurring in the early evening. After a couple of hours' physical activity I experience "post exertion malaise" but don't have a CFS diagnosis, and it could be due to FT3 depletion.

[shaws Administrator in reply to Sybilla14]

No, I didn't feel different at all but I wouldn't have continued as I know I definitely need the hormones.

[Sybilla14 in reply to shaws]

Thank you. I think this information may be useful for those of us who self medicate t3 and don’t want the GP to see that from the annual blood test. 🙂

[Mamapea1 in reply to shaws]

Interesting link shaws, thank you for posting👍 Yes, I agree re the Dr Lowe one daily dose, and I discovered quite early on that split doses were useless for me. Interestingly though, I previously had terrible sleep apnoea because of being kept hypo for decades on Levo, despite being really thin...they mocked me at the apnoea clinic, and thought I was in the wrong place!😕Things improved greatly on high dose T3, taken in the early morning.

Then one day, whilst still increasing, (take 150mcg now, can manage with 125mcg in hot weather) I was feeling very low and achey in the evening, so I took an extra 25mcg T3 before bed (I realise this may seem like a lot to some people, but I have never felt over medicated, even on 200mcg) and I slept like a log! No waking up every 2 hours in pain, gasping for air, etc.

That was really the end of the severe sleep problems for me, and even now I sometimes take a small amount before bed if I have been overdoing it in the garden (a restored pleasure🐝) or I'm feeling stressed for some reason, and for me it works.

Restorative sleep is so very important in the healing process, and I think it was a turning point for me. I do still try to help adrenals with good quality salt and Vit C, as I know my cortisol was very low when tested, but that bit of T3 at bedtime (usually 12.5mcg) can have a great effect on my sleep, and therefore everything else.

I suppose it's like everything else, we're all different, and what works for one, may not work for another, but there may be some truth in it, especially perhaps if you have some form of RTH, and have found it difficult to sleep through the night. I don't always take it, but if there's any hint of poor sleep/pain, the next night I do, and then I'm back to 'normal'. Just thought I'd share my experience of this. x

[SilverAvocado in reply to shaws]

Mentioning three days is interesting. I've had to come off all thyroid hormone a few times, and I've found around day three I get the biggest crash. I'd suspected it was something to do with T3 being washed out, but haven't heard anyone else mention the exact figure of three days before.

[shaws Administrator in reply to SilverAvocado]

Dr Lowe was a critical analyst and scientist and he was well-versed in the importance of T3 as he discovered as a young man. His father and his father's siblings committed suicide and he began to research about this when he was a teenager. He then found out how important T3 was in our body to function as the brain and heart require the most. Also we do have T3 receptor cells in our body. Some sufferers may not be able to convert T4 into sufficient T3. T4 being an inactive hormone and T3 the active one. He stated the T3 receptor cells have to be saturated and then its work lasts between one to three days.

Dr L prescribed NDT for his hypothyroid patients and T3 alone for those who were 'Thyroid Hormone Resistant' i.e. they needed T3 alone and usually at a higher dose than normal. He himself took 150mcg T3 in the middle of the night so that nothing interfered with the uptake.

I wonder how many 'depressed' patients get their thyroid hormones checked, i.e. FT3 in particular? Just to exclude that the T3 might be too low (I am not medically qualified and this is a guess).

[Mamapea1 in reply to SilverAvocado]

Yes I agree about the three days...and it also seems to take three days for a particular dose of T3 to have a real effect, although for me some things are almost instant, like the lovely warmth it brings, but there's definitely something about three days that works both ways...as you say, the worst crash ever on day three without T3. x

[shaws Administrator in reply to Mamapea1]

Dr Lowe stated that T3 has to saturate the T3 receptor cells before it begins its work by 'sending out waves' that lasts between one to three days. If you haven't read the following, it may be of interest.

naturalthyroidsolutions.com...

[Mamapea1 in reply to shaws]

Thank you shaws👍 x

[SilverAvocado in reply to Mamapea1]

For me it takes weeks for a dose increase to fully settle, although it might be I notice the first tiny benefit within three days, probs the first week or so.

[Mamapea1 in reply to SilverAvocado]

Yes, I think for me it takes 3 days to feel the real effects of the dose, and then about 3 weeks for that dose to become as good as it's going to get. This is just according to my diary, as I still have a very poor memory! 😊 x

[Lora7again]

I always wake up refreshed ... I am wide awake now and walking around my house looking for stuff to do that doesn't make any noise ... even my typing is noisy!

[Newday64]

We are all so different. I tried taking all my t3 in the morning for a week but had to discontinue as I felt absolutely terrible - heartburn, palpitations, upset stomach. I wish you could take it all in one go for convenience & because it makes the timing of iron & calcium supplements tricky.

I take most in the morning (15mc), more at midday (10mc) to avoid an afternoon slump in energy & then another dose (5mc) before bedtime. The one before bedtime definitely helps me sleep.

[shaws Administrator in reply to Newday64]

I wonder if sometimes it could be the fillers/binders in the hormone replacement rather than the hormone itself that affect us badly.

[Margo]

Thank you shaws

[tzracer]

Thanks shaws an interesting article. Given that I think sleep issues account for a large part of my symptoms now, definitely worth trying. I was splitting my T3 but struggled of an evening, I have been taking levo at bedtime and all T3 on waking which I think helped through the day, but may trial a small dose at night again. Doctor had given me a trial of melatonin but haven't noticed much different in sleep. My basic fitness tracker has indicated poor deep sleep continuity from the day I put it on and breathing issues. I have a sleep clinic appointment to so will be interesting to see their findings. Going to try the orange juice and salt, my sister had suggested that cocktail some time ago to help adrenals in afternoon.

[silverfox7]

Thank you for posting!

[plantLove]

Hello. Thanks for the information on insomnia. I will try it.

[scorpiojo]

Thanks for this Shaws - As usual everything including sleep is blamed on the menopause & this maybe worth a go the salt in Orange Juice... Not sure where I’d get a paper bag these days... This bit I found intriguing “ (Warning: It’s important that this is done properly. Some people respond negatively to T3 due to certain nutritional deficiencies and in this case, T3 can make you more sensitive to the effects of adrenaline, which will have the opposite effect on your sleep.”” I have the B12 deficiency so is that on of the things that makes this suggestion a non starter for me? I’m actually getting my t4 with no issues atm from the hospital as he took it over from the repeat prescription from GP🙄... Any thoughts would be good & the best part is that I hadn’t linked my sleep issues & thyroid combined so I’ll definitely think past it being my menopause... 🙂

[shaws Administrator]

I love T3 as it resolved all my clinical symptoms. I also have P.A. I had severe palps on levo plus felt very, very unwell.

Even research has shown that many feel much better on a combination of T4/T3 but unfortunately T3 was removed without notice and members on it were in a panic. It's not right that people should have to source their own.

Big Pharma has caused the situation by charging, what seems to me, to be exorbitant prices and we (members) were hopeful when we learned that two other suppliers were going to prescribe but disappointed that one pack was around the same price in all three of them.