Sleeping more with levo, is this right?

[Satva]

I take my tablet early morning, around 6-ish when I wake up, its too early to get up these dark, cold mornings so I go back to bed, but then sleep until 9.30/10.30!!!

I'm sleeping around 11/12 hours - Is this a 'normal' side effect? I don't sleep in the day and must admit am starting to have more energy and have even lost a few lbs in weight. I feel better for cutting out wheat and sugar (apart from natural sugar in fruit/veggies). I've reduced my carbs but not cutting them out altogether, just no junk foods or naughty treats!

Take care everyone!

B

[jrbarnes]

I'm quite envious of all that sleep and your energy! It may be helping you sleep more soundly. Without recent lab work it would be hard to say if you're under treated.

[Satva in reply to jrbarnes]

Hi! If you look up my first post on here - "Just Been Diagnosed - help!" you can see my first lab report. I'm having my next blood test on 6th January so that should show more, I hope! Thanks for your response.

take care. B.

[jrbarnes in reply to Satva]

So you're still on 50mcg, which is your starter dose. As you increase you may find yourself sleeping less. That's normal. Most likely you'll be moved up to 75mcg after your next test.

[Satva in reply to jrbarnes]

PS meant to say, I've never had problems sleeping, but not normally this much!!

[tattybogle in reply to Satva]

I'd relax and enjoy it... it is winter after all, (unless you live on the other side of the globe ) and i'm sure humans are designed to sleep more in the winter. It's only extravagant use of electricity that means we think we should be awake after 9pm when it's been dark for hours. If you feel a bit better , keep on doing what you're doing and see what the spring brings

[tattybogle]

What's "Ironing" ?

[fuchsia-pink]

The trick with non-iron shirts is not to tumble-dry them, but hang them up straight from the washing machine (as soon as the cycle finishes) neatly on a hanger on a drier. I've not ironed shirts in DECADES

[fuchsia-pink]

No - much easier just to hang things up and let them dry naturally - and cheaper too. But you do need a decent spin cycle on the washing machine to get most of the water out

[fuchsia-pink]

Spare bedroom? if you have one ...

[humanbean]

Have you thought about taking your Levo in the evening just before bed? Many people find evening dosing works well for them.

It does mean that you need to eat and drink early enough in the evening not to interfere with the absorption of the Levo. And for the last couple of hours before bed you could only drink water. But if you can do that then it might work well for you.

Some people who always get up to pee during the night will take their Levo then.

[Satva in reply to humanbean]

Hi! Humanbean. I have thought about it, but the length of time between food and taking the tablet is probably not long enough, especially if I eat out! Also, I don't get up in the night. Am having a tel consultation with my doctor, but not until 18th Dec!!

[Satva]

A dehumidifier is a good way to remove the damp and dry & help dry the washing.

[Bearo]

I’ve had the opposite effect since starting levo in January. My sleep has deteriorated through the year. After about four hours I wake up and can’t get to sleep again. I only sleep 4-6 hours a night. The titration of levo has been too slow. I started on 50, now on 75 and next blood test booked. I recently started supplementing magnesium and that’s helped my sleep slightly. My B12 is quite low.Sorry, not a helpful post for you!

[helvella]

Not much of an answer to the Original Poster, but...

Prior to diagnosis, I'd usually fall asleep OK but then wake up sometime like 01:00.

Having woken, I would remain awake for hours. Sometimes falling back to sleep just before the alarm.

Almost as soon as I started levothyroxine, this slowly started to improve. I rarely have any sleep issues now - though sometimes another hour or two seems very appealing when it is dark and cold outside.

That is, I believe wrong thyroid hormone levels can have a big effect on sleep. But changing from one level to another, which might itself be closer to optimum, can take a bit of time to have its full effect.