Day 3 of little sleep but not being tired... - Thyroid UK

Thyroid UK

136,961 members160,558 posts

Day 3 of little sleep but not being tired...

Hashoo profile image
6 Replies

Hi, so in the past 3days I've had a total of around 5 hours sleep as have been having really bad chest pains and coughing fits and generally feeling lousy....yes,i know what you're thinking and i have decreased my levo....but I'm still awake 3days later!the chest pains have gone but the coughing continues....my problem is that i went to see the doctor before i decreased my levo and she didn't say a word about decreasing my levo...its only when i put my symptoms into Google that i realised i may have pushed myself into the realms of hyper. My question is how long until I feel tired?surely I shouldn't still be fine...I don't feel drowsy..I honestly feel like I've had a good nights sleep even though I've had 3hours last night...I have hashimotos btw and am now back on 50mcgs levo,i was diagnosed at the end of November and have been told by my gp that they will give me a blood test to check everything again in a years time(not before).

Written by
Hashoo profile image
Hashoo
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
Read more about...
6 Replies
helvella profile image
helvellaAdministratorThyroid UK

That is completely inappropriate treatment by your doctor.

The usual approach upon starting a patient on levothyroxine is to get another blood test in about 6, maybe 8, weeks and review. Adjust dose and repeat as needed. Once finally stable and on a sensible dose go onto less frequent reviews. But even then, many doctors would not leave a new patient full year without a test.

The British National Formulary, which is often regarded as a handbook of medicine, says this:

adult over 18 years, initially 50–100 micrograms once daily, preferably before breakfast, adjusted in steps of 25–50 micrograms every 3–4 weeks according to response (usual maintenance dose 100–200 micrograms once daily); in cardiac disease, severe hypothyroidism, and patients over 50 years, initially 25 micrograms once daily, adjusted in steps of 25 micrograms every 4 weeks according to response; usual maintenance dose 50–200 micrograms once daily;

medicinescomplete.com/mc/bn...

(Free registration is required if you want to use that link.)

(Yes - I do see they say 3-4 where I said 6-8. I think they are right but what I wrote is more common.)

It is very common for people in the earlier stages of Hashimoto's to having a varying level of thyroid hormone. Their thyroids often seem to push out extra hormone - either erratically or for extended periods of weeks or months. So what you describe could well be going hyper. But it is NOT YOUR FAULT. It isn't what you did. It is your thyroid doing what thyroids do in Hashimoto's.

Cutting your dose is entirely appropriate if you have gone hyper but certainly you need to be able to see a doctor and get another test.

I am afraid that you really need to carry on doing what you have done - reading, asking questions, etc. I urge you to get hold of your blood test results (including reference ranges) and post them here. Here is information you might need about gaining access to your records:

thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/NHS_In...

Rod

Hashoo profile image
Hashoo in reply to helvella

That's what i thought!i think its because my last blood test (taken a month ago) showed TSH as being 1.94 range 0.35-5 but I've only had 2blood tests and have only been on levo for just over 2 months...I guess they decided I was stable (I would have thought they should need at least 2 consecutive "normal range" blood results to be able to say that?)i thought it was strange that she deemed it ok to leave me for a year as i've read that you can change from hypo to hyper when you have hashimotos...am just going to have to keep on reading and fighting!thanks for your help! :-)

Hashoo profile image
Hashoo in reply to helvella

Hmmm still haven't been able to get onto the web link you posted,have requested a free trial and waiting to hear from them...anyhow, the main reason for my message is to let you know that because of you know(telling me i wasn't crazy to think a year without tests was a long time at such an early stage of the process) i went to see my gp (granted a different gp and one who is very good at listening and discussing things before dismissing things, well....he's yet to dismiss anything but you get my drift) and said that i wanted another blood test and that I've researched into it and according to the UK thyroid charity website i should be tested every 4-8 weeks for at least the first year and definitely until my tsh is stable and that with only 2 tests done both showing different results there was no way of seeing stability. long and short of it I now have a blood test scheduled for the end of Feb woohoo!!! thanks again!!! :-)

helvella profile image
helvellaAdministratorThyroid UK in reply to Hashoo

You should not sign up for a free trial. You need to do a personal registration here:

bnf.org/bnf/registration.htm

(Trouble is, it has all changed since I first registered quite a number of years ago.)

By the way, you do realise that this forum is a part of Thyroid UK charity?

Hashoo profile image
Hashoo in reply to helvella

Yep yep hence why i said that i researched it on here...thought using the charity website name would be more impressive as legitimate research rather than saying "i read it on the net" ...i find saying that pretty much always gets the response "that's the problem now-a-days people think they can find information on the internet when 99% of it is rubbish...please come back next year"...and yes I have had words to this affect from a gp...and no I"m not with them anymore!...thanks again :-) ...I'll try that link now :-)

helvella profile image
helvellaAdministratorThyroid UK in reply to Hashoo

Understood. :-)

But we have had a number of people not make the connection.

You may also like...

Tired of being tired😯

I had radio active iodine treatment and now I am underactive. On 0.125 levothyroxin and have been

help please im so tired I sleep most of the day

levothyroxine sodium but I still feel rubbish im sleeping all day I have a permanent headache iv...

Frustrated and Tired of Being Tired

suffering with extreme shortness of breath, I feel like I have had a sore throat or there is...

tired of being tired

I have been in thyroxine for the last 10 years taking .50 mg and for the last 3 years I have been...

NDT 3 weeks now, feeling back to being tired again

What's the deal, I felt great for a week and now feeling like a truck hit me when o wake up. Has...