Hello I had a total thyrotecomy in December 2021 due to suspicious nodules which later turned out to be a micro papillary carcinoma. I was placed on levothyroxine 100mcg daily.
Been having trouble sleeping since. Fragmented light sleep. I don't get any deep sleep at all. I wake up tired and unrested as if i hadn't slept at all.
My bloods are all normal within range
I don't get any quality deep sleep and I wake up very tired and miserable. I've Changed endocrinologist for a second opinion who incorporated t3 and lowered my t4 dose to 75mcg.
I don't think it's helped much.
Doctors have convinced me it could be underlying stress. I've tried both sertraline (worsened insomnia) and mirtazapine but they havn't helped. I've seen a sleep specialist who is going to perform a sleep study for underlying restless leg syndrome or sleep apnea.
Has anyone experienced anything similar following a thyroidectomy.
It has been the hardest 7 months of my life.
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Sam3tu
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Ferritin measures the inactive iron stores. It possible to have low ferritin but high iron. If supplementing iron it would be best to test iron profile.
When thyroid levels abnormal it’s quite common to have low / deficient nutrients.
If nutrients are poor they can cause lots of symptoms often compounding low thyroid level as well as affect health in other ways.
It’s also why mono T4 wasn’t sufficient. If nutrients not optimal (not same as in range) the body can’t convert it well to T3.
Your last results show:
FT4: 17 (Range 10 - 20) 70.00%
FT3: 4.3 (Range 3.5 - 6) 32.00%
Looking at results like this you can see FT4 is good but FT3 is low. This is why FT3 has been added.
Hopefully the FT3 will have improved. Most feel well if FT4 top 3rd of range FT3 at least 50%.
What were your thyroid results prior to thyroidectomy?
It sucks when the Drs don't listen and want to put it down to stress. Most Drs just test the TSH which doesn't give you an accurate picture of what's going on. in the last year, I went for a sleep apnea test, and a hearing test and saw a physiotherapist for vertigo. Just to prove to them, it was my thyroid up the wall. ( Why I bothered when I knew different God only knows). It's your body and you know what's going on. Stand your ground. Tell them it's stressful when they say it's stress without looking at your overall health and well-being.
Disturbed sleep, vertigo, deafness, stomach upsets, muscle aches and pains, blood pressure, cholesterol, etc are some of the lesser-known symptoms of thyroid disorders. The issue was I was trying to get the NHS to help me and sadly the DRS has very little training in thyroid problems. Find a private Dr that specializes in thyroid who will not necessarily be an endocrinologist.
Until you find a real solution. If you have Alexa try listening to 'ocean sounds' when you're sleep is disturbed or any kind of meditation app. They will help you get back to sleep. hope you start feeling better soon.
Thank you so much!You're so right about everything.
I do suffer vertigo and tinnitus.
I didn't know I had a thyroid problem because thyroid function was normal, although I did develop hashimotos after having my baby.
So these nodules were an incidental find when I was getting my ears checked.
The doctors rushed me to remove the whole thing instead of taking a watch and wait approach. I feel like i wasn't educated enough with research and the slow growing nature of this cancer.
I felt so much better before this TT.
I guess I'll have to keep looking around until I get answers.
hello there, I had a total thyroidectomy almost a month ago due to graves disease.I am having a totally different experience to you in that I am sleeping better than I have done for tha last 4 years.I have deep restful sleep and awake early but refreshed.I take 50mcg thyroxine mon and fri and 100mcg the rest if the week.I am due my post operative check in a couple of weeks when they'll do a blood test to see if my dose us ok or needs altering.I suppose in a way it is difficult to compare our experience as graves does cause insomnia and poor quality sleep, so anything was bound to be an improvement for me.Hope you find a solution to your problem.
I developed sleep apnea once my thyroid problems started, I sleep with an auto-cpap and I wake up refreshed. Your problems may also be due to insufficient dosing. For example, if I reduce the dose, I sleep worse and wake up during sleep.
I'm so sorry your having these issues with sleeping. Not fun. I too had TT and find if my T4 dose is not high enough for me I can not sleep. You might need T4 dose increase.
I've Changed endocrinologist for a second opinion who incorporated t3 and lowered my t4 dose to 75mcg.
I'm guessing, but I assume the endo reduced your Levo when adding T3 because your TSH is under 1, and he'd prefer that you feel like shit for the rest of your life rather than "risk" osteoporosis and heart disease.
This is a load of bunk. It is based on the theory that people with hyperthyroidism are at greater risk of getting heart disease and osteoporosis than healthy people. Yes, they have extremely low TSH, but they also have extremely high Free T4 and Free T3. It isn't the TSH that's the problem. It's the high Free T4 and Free T3 (and of those two the T3 is the bigger problem). But you don't have extremely high Free T4 and Free T3 - they were both well in range and your Free T3 was actually low in range.
So, your endo should have just added the T3 and left your T4 dose alone. But they can't stop banging on about the damn TSH.
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Questions around thyroxine/life after total thyroidectomy, 4 days post-op !
Total thyroidectomy 
I can't sleep
