Cytomel sleep starts?

[RBena]

I started taking Cytomel six months ago. I had more energy and occasionally woke up several times in the night or had trouble sleeping. Around two months ago, 2 to 3 times a week. Every time I start dozing off I am suddenly woken with a start. My heart starts racing, my arms, neck and face feel tingly and burning and I occasionally feel nauseous or like I need to run to the bathroom. My doctor had me stop the Cytomel for one week to see if my symptoms went away. She was not convinced it is related to the medication. The episodes weakened and lessened, but I still had them. I resumed the Cytomel at half dose and that first week (back in it) I had almost no episodes. A week after resuming the Cytomel, and the episodes started again. How long does the medication stay in your body? Could there be a delayed reaction? Currently the episodes are worse than ever. I often do not fall asleep until three or four in the morning and only get a few hours of sleep at night. I’m also having issues the past few days with my heart racing, face Tingling and burning during the day, and feeling the urgency to run to the bathroom. My blood work has been good for my thyroid levels. I only need.T3 not T4 so I am completely limited in what medication I can take. At this point I am going to stop the medicine for a longer stretch to see if the episodes resolved. I don’t know what else to do but the nighttime episodes are very stressful and concerning. Thank you for any insight, information, or help!

[Hidden]

Hi RBena

I see you’ve just joined the forum. I’m sure you’ll get some help here 😉

Can you tell us exactly what thyroid meds you’re on? How much T3? How much Levo?

Do you have any recent blood tests you can share?

Are you under any particular stress at the moment RBena?

It’s 4 am here in the UK. Not sure whether you’re in the UK or elsewhere?

[Wetsuiter]

My blood work has been good for my thyroid levels. I only need.T3 not T4

Can you give us your T3 and T4 test results, inc range? Did the Dr test again after you started taking it and/or after you reported you were having problems.

Results, before and after started taking it would be useful.

[Cricket-mas]

I am assuming you felt tired before the T3 meds, so there was a reason the doctor checked your T3 levels. T3 acts pretty quickly and is used up pretty quickly, so you might try breaking up the pill and taking a dose a few times a day. My dose kicks in at about 20 minutes and lasts roughly 6 hours, depending on activity level. If I take too much, at one time, I will have bad attention deficit and a feeling of stress from running in too many directions at once.

Did you sleep well before you took the T3?

It sounds as if you need to monitor your T3 levels until you get your dosage just right, and also keep an eye on your blood calcium. If the parathyroid glands think your thyroid is too active, they will retrieve calcium from your bones to put on the brakes to a hyperactive (high T3) thyroid. Be sure to fast from thyroid meds on the day you get your blood work.