I was wondering if anyone had developed sleep apnea and could link it to anything to do with their thyroid condition?
I had my thyroid removed 7 years ago. In the last few months I’ve been waking myself up multiple times during the night with ‘snorts and gasps’ like snoring but literally just one time. From What I’ve read this could be sleep apnea. I wake up with an extremely dry mouth and my tongue feels enlarged and has ‘scalloped edges ‘ Just trying to establish if they are linked!
additionally. The don’t know if it’s linked but Ive been getting bad acid reflux at night. Every time I roll into my left hand side it happens and just exacerbates the broken sleep.
It sounds like you might be under replced, or havent yet optimised your vitamin levels so that your thyroid hormone can work as well as it should.
Do you have a copy of your latest blood results that you can share with us? You are legally entitled to a printed copy of your results, ask at GP reception. In England you can get the NHS app and ask for permission to see your blood results on that by asking at GP’s reception.
When hypo we get low stomach acid which means we cannot absorb vitamins well from our food, regardless of a great diet. For thyroid hormone to work well we need OPTIMAL levels of vitamins.
Have you recently or could you ask your GP to test levels of ferritin, folate, B12 & D3? Private tests are available, see link for companies offering private blood tests & discount codes, some offer a blood draw service at an extra cost. thyroiduk.org/testing/priva...
There is also a new company offering walk in& mail order blood tests in London, Kent, Sussex & Surrey areas. Check to see if there is a blood test company near you. onedaytests.com/products/ul...
Only do private tests on a Monday or Tuesday to avoid postal delays.
It's ideal if you can always get the same brand of levo at every prescription. You can do this by getting GP to write the brand you prefer in the first line of the prescription. Many people find that different brands are not interchangeable.
Always take Levo on an empty stomach an hour away from food or caffeine containing drinks & other meds. Many people find taking it at bedtime works well for them.
Do you do tests as per the protocol recommended here?
Recommended blood test protocol: Test at 9am (or as close as possible), fasting, last levo dose 24hrs before the blood draw & no biotin containing supplements for 3-7 days (Biotin can interfere with thyroid blood results as it is used in the testing process).
Testing like this gives consistency in your results and will show stable blood levels of hormone and highest TSH which varies throughout the day. Taking Levo/T3 just prior to blood draw can show a falsely elevated result and your GP/Endo might change your dose incorrectly as a result.
I had a whole raft of blood tests about two weeks ago due to all these symptoms and generally feeling rubbish. From looking at them on the NHS app I can only see the TSH and Ferritin were tested that you have mentioned above
TSH 1.69 (0.38-5.3)
Ferritin 85 (11-307)
Ferritin isnt too bad. Optimal said to be around 90-100, BUT you can have good ferritin & poor serum iron. To check that you need an iron panel which either GP can do or you can buy a test privately.
Your TSH is well over 1 where most people feel well. NHS often dont test FT$ & FT3 as well which is what we need for the full picture of your thyroid health.
You could push GP for an increease on a 'trial' basis which often goes down better. Likely you still have hypo symptoms at that level.
For vitamin levels, if GP hasnt tested folate, B12 & D3 then suggest you ask them, if not then buy a private test. Start a new post when you have the results.
at bedtime works well for them.
When hypo we get low stomach acid which means we cannot absorb vitamins well from our food, regardless of a great diet. For thyroid hormone to work well we need OPTIMAL levels of vitamins.
Have you recently or could you ask your GP to test levels of ferritin, folate, B12 & D3? Private tests are available, see link for companies offering private blood tests & discount codes, some offer a blood draw service at an extra cost. thyroiduk.org/testing/priva...
There is also a new company offering walk in& mail order blood tests in London, Kent, Sussex & Surrey areas. Check to see if there is a blood test company near you. onedaytests.com/products/ul...
Only do private tests on a Monday or Tuesday to avoid postal delays.
Next step to optimise both thyroid and vitamin levels.
Sounds like you need dose increase in Levo or vitamin levels are off
You need to get FULL thyroid and vitamin testing
Request GP test B12, folate and vitamin D
Enlarged tongue common when hypo and/or low B12
Just testing TSH totally inadequate
You need TSH, Ft4 and Ft3 tested together
Request GP do this
Or test privately
Which brand of levothyroxine are you taking
How much levothyroxine are you taking
Recommended that all thyroid blood tests early morning, ideally just before 9am, only drink water between waking and test and last dose levothyroxine 24 hours before test
This gives highest TSH, lowest FT4 and most consistent results. (Patient to patient tip)
Testing options and includes money off codes for private testing
Only do private testing early Monday or Tuesday morning.
Tips on how to do DIY finger prick test
support.medichecks.com/hc/e...
If you normally take levothyroxine at bedtime/in night ...adjust timings as follows prior to blood test
If testing Monday morning, delay Saturday evening dose levothyroxine until Sunday morning. Delay Sunday evening dose levothyroxine until after blood test on Monday morning. Take Monday evening dose levothyroxine as per normal
Monitor My Health (NHS private test service) offer thyroid and vitamin testing, plus cholesterol and HBA1C for £65
(Doesn’t include thyroid antibodies)
monitormyhealth.org.uk/full...
10% off code here
thyroiduk.org/testing/priva...
Blue Horizon Thyroid Premium Gold includes BOTH TPO and TG antibodies, cortisol and vitamins
bluehorizonbloodtests.co.uk...
Medichecks and BH also offer private blood draw at clinic near you, or private nurse to your own home…..for an extra fee
Hello Trying - To - Juggle :
Just for reference a fully functioning working thyroid would be supporting you on a daily basis with trace elements of T1. T2 and calcitonin + a measure of T3 at around 10 mcg + a measure of T4 at around 100 mcg - with T3 said to be around 4 x more powerful than T4.
T4 - Levothyroxine is a pro-hormone and needs to be converted in your body into T3 the active hormone that runs the body and in order to utilise and convert well T4 into T3 we do need to maintain optimal levels of ferritin, folate, B12 and vitamin D.
Some people can get by on T4 only - Levothyroxine.
Others find that at some point in time T4 seems to stop working as well as it once did and that by adding in a little T3 - likely at a similar dose that their thyroid once supported them with - they feel better and their thyroidal hormone balance restored.
Others can't tolerate T4 and need to take T3 only as you can live without T4 but you can' live without T3.
Whilst others find their health restored better taking Natural Desiccated Thyroid which contains all the same known hormones as that of the human thyroid gland and derived from pig thyroids, dried and ground down into a powder, medically graded, and made up into tablets and or capsules, and the original treatment for hypothyroidism used successfully for over 100 years.
Currently your primary care doctor can only prescribe T4 and you will need a referral to an endocrinologist for any other thyroid hormone replacement and it has become something of a post code lottery due to ICB/CCG restraints with some hospitals facing financial constraint and endo's working to guidelines rather than patient medical need.
Obviously if you can go private all treatment options are available and Thyroid UK the charity who support this forum hold a Patient to Patient list of recommended thyroid specialists NHS & Private which you can assess by contacting admin @ thyroiduk.org requesting same.
So - in the first instance in order to know if these symptoms are related to your thyroid health and thyroid hormone replacement -
we need to see how well you are able to convert the T4 into T3 and so need a thyroid function test to include a TSH + Free T3 + Free T4 blood test result and range -
it should be an early morning by around 9.00 am fasting blood test and having left around a 24 hour window from your last dose of T4 - so we measure what your body is holding rather than that just ingested-
ideally if your doctor will run the vitamins and minerals as well, this completes the jigsaw and possibly it may just be a case of ' juggling in ' some vitamin or mineral supplements to improve your health and well being.
If taking any vitamins and minerals that you are testing - stop for around a week before the blood test so we measure what your body is working with and if taking anything containing biotin again stop the week before as biotin is known to ' mess ' with the assays used in some Laboratories.
A year ago you posted re high cholesterol - also indicating not on high enough dose Levo
You had very Low Ft3
thanks all for your comments and advice. I currently take 100mcg five days a week and 125 twice a week. I take in the morning on walking but am not always great at waiting to eat or drink so perhaps changing to bedtime may make a difference.
I still can’t believe e how everything is so linked. I’ve not had my cholesterol tested since that previous post when I went to the GP and had ‘proper tests’ done much they said were ok and not as high as the finger prick test had indicated.
This sleep stuff is fairly new and concerning me. The noises I make that I take me up scare me and my tongue just feels three sizes too big for my mouth!!!
I’ll try and get an appointment at GP and push for those tests or look into a private one but not a fan or doing a finger test myself. !!
my tongue just feels three sizes too big for my mouth
Ah, the other thing you might want to check out then is what your B12 levels are like (and folate too).
Being undermedicated for not having a thyroid can lead to gut absorption issues, including not absorbing enough vitamins and minerals from your food, no matter how healthy your diet.
And B12 deficiency can sometimes result in having that feeling that your tongue is too big.
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