Waking up.... or trying to?

[Tracey76]

does anyone else have problems getting up in the morning? My alarm goes off at 5:45 am (in an attempt to get to work on time) but still get to work late - its like everything is in slow motion in the mornings. Time just seems to vanish!

[rosee]

Yes, always, even if I sleep ok.

I set the alarm about 45 minutes earlier than I need to get up so I've got time to wake up and I have the radio full blast but I still manage to fall asleep again! My kids wake me up (again!) if I'm not up by 7.15! My mind says get up but my body says NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

[Hidden]

Hi,

How is your cortisol level? If it's too low in the morning then you can't wake up. You need a very dark room to make cortisol whilst you sleep.

Have you had it measured?

Nel.

[nanniejan in reply to Hidden]

How would you get that done Nel , by the endo or GP or would that have to be private ? Thanks Jan x

<b>Updated on Jan 25 2011 1:09AM:</b> It would not matter if I went to bed at 8 or 2.30 I would still feel the same , but I always have so could it be that I just don't like mornings or had thyroid problems for years !!

[hypodi in reply to Hidden]

i am exactly the same i go to bed at 8 pm sleep all night and cant wake up at 6am

[Tracey76 in reply to Hidden]

I've never had my cortisol checked... I usually "wake up" in the evening... its just mornings have never been a strong point of mine

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

just order from genova diagnostics uk...... it's £75.... here's the link and you don't need any sort of referral.....

gdx.uk.net/index.php?option...

Nel x

[donna]

You do well to get to work at all! you can get your cortisol level checked by Genova diagnostics..info in the thyroid uk pack..its well worth doing.if you 9like myself cant wake in the morning ) when is your "time " l wake up and have a bit more energy in the eve at about 8pm! and have done for years..and the test readings backed that up..PLEASE get yourself a copy of Dr Barry durrant peatfields book..he explains how the cortisol levels effect your body and your adrenals..best wishes.

[elainewwjd]

Hey i totally understand you. Waking up for me is a nightmare. Not to mention i seem to do everyting in slow motion no matter how hard i try to speed up. I cannot ever wake up before 11am. Ive had to end up working part time in the afternoons.

When night time comes i have a little bit of energy and better concentration at around 7 or 8pm. The problem is that i cannot fall asleep for ages until about 1am...then i wake up about 2 - 6 times a night to go to the toilet with massive pressure on my bladder. And offcourse in the morning it all begins again.

I have told my doctor and endo no one seems to thick this is possible. I have had cortisol checked. Its come out high twice and then normal but on the higher side. My ATCH level has come out low three times even with normal cortisol levels...ive had the tests done at about 9 to 11am. I had a dex supression test but it came back normal. So ive been ignored.

Ive just come back from a heart EP study in the UK i had tachycardia and arrythmia. They couldnt find the extra pathway and no one knows why i had the abnormal tachycardia.

i have autoimmune hypothyroidism. What can i do now ????? Ive put on 12 kilos in one year.

[RedApple Administrator in reply to elainewwjd]

Frequent urination, tachycardia and weight gain can all be caused by inappropriate levels of thyroid hormone i.e. both too much and too little can cause these symptoms. So maybe you're not on the correct dose of thyroid medication, or the type you are taking is not working for you. You might find cutting down dramatically on your carbohydrate intake will help with the weight issue. Lowering carbohydrates seems to help many people with hypothyroidism.

[elainewwjd in reply to elainewwjd]

thanks for your reply

Ive never ever felt well on my thyroid meds no matter waht the dose. Problem is my doctor goes by my labs and he wont change my dose or even think about changing my meds. He said i need to see a phsycologist im stuck like this and im only 25

[perks]

Yes and MORE YES... I have autoimmune hypothyroidism.. Firstly Graves then Hashimoto's.. For many years getting out of bed has been so very difficult hence turning up at the school gate still with my PJ's on under my coat!..

I have recently had a Levo increase to 125mcg which I now take at night as it seem's to work better for me than taking it in the morning and I don't feel SOOoooo exhausted first thing only half as bad as it was..

But still... even though I am physically out of bed and upright, I have to force my body to do the most basic tasks.. Untill about 11am I am when I start to be more mentally alert, hoepfully I can remember my name etc.. By about 2pm I am starting to go down hill and need to nap by 4pm.. Working part time is draining, being a single parent to three teenagers and living in a village 6 miles from the nearest shop makes life very very difficult and excruciatingly tireing.. SLllllooow motion is how my life feels, wadeing through treacle is another way to describe the tiredness.

[Hidden in reply to perks]

Hi,

The slow to wake, afternoon nap are classic low adrenal symptoms....

What you need to do is get a saliva test fopr adrenal function from Genova diagnostics.... and treat if they need it..... but you're on your own for this..the docs don't know or care....

gdx.uk.net/index.php?option...

Nel.

[Julia]

Ah yes, waking up is such a nightmare, I have to set the alarm an extra hour as always feel unwell on waking, then gradually start to feel better after about an hour, so get up 2 hours before setting off to work! Now I have got another kidney problem, protein in urine (kidney infection I guess) 2nd time since Xmas and 2nd lot of anti-biotics, I cannot understand why, I have completely cut out the odd glass of wine since Christmas, so have decided alcohol is completely banned now for the rest of my life. I also cannot get to sleep until after midnight, then wake several times, then once asleep cannot wake up!

Does anyone out there who are under active thyroid suffer with kidney problems like this? Im becoming rather worried, thanks

[Tracey76 in reply to Julia]

If i don't drink enough water I get cystitis... then need strong antibiotics.

I can't drink because I get ill from it... one sip of wine and I'm green for hours! (thats a thyroid thing)

I too cant get to sleep earlly, which sucks!

try drinking plenty of water and try cut down on fruit juice, coffee and tea... usually helps me

[donna in reply to Julia]

l have fowlers syndrome, and have a sacral nerve implant to make me pee..(as well as catheterising..and have suffered from constant urine infections since the birth of my daughter (22years ago) ..so constant antibiotics( which along with penicillian l am allergic to so that doesn't help)..l wont bore you with the rest...BUT ...

l went to see a private Dr for my hashimotos..he also diagnosed leaky gut and candida..l started the candida diet ..erica whites book is worth a read.. he prescribed

lactobascilius (tablet form is better than those actimel drinks as the bacteria lives longer) and grapefuit seed capsules..l am still in the same catheterising reguime but my infections are few and far between..

you get in a bad cycle of infection then antibiotics the good bacteria in your gut gets eradicated and yeast over growth takes over..

the nails on my big toes were badly affected but have now become like new..

candida also causes BAD brain fog and thyroid like symptoms ..l must say as well, l could at one time drink with the best of them!! then one evening 4 years ago had a glass of wine which left me in a state, as if l had drunk 2 bottles! l dont drink at all now and have stuck to the diet ( as now l am also allergic to many foods and if l eat them l am ill) SO l try to help my symptoms and myself...

[donna in reply to Julia]

Me again!

please any one ..if you think you have a Urine infection ..get your Dr to send of a Urine sample to the lab EVERYTIME you get an infection..it doesn't matter if they give you antiboitics to take before the test results come back (sometimes your in so much pain you need them ) its just that if the Dr treats it with out a test and then you get in a cycle of more infections...the bacteria doesnt always show up, if you have taken the antibiotics recently, and you could be told ,even though you have LOADS of symptoms, that you haven't got a urine infection ! ( a bit like you haven't got a bad thyroid!) bestwishes....

[jugemvicsar]

Yes, I have to set the clock for at least two hours before I have to be anywhere, my body goes at its own pace and not how my mind is telling it. My adrenal function is almost zilch which I am trying to improve. My joints are sore and aching, walking downstairs is comical to say the least, I have to laugh or I would cry.

Wellwisher

[nanniejan]

OMG Tracy 76 look what you have started ! just show's how many of us are either still suffering or just plain lazy

I set my clock and then snooze it 20 times then my husband phones me , lucky if I answer 1st or 2nd time , and still find its sooooo hard I always thought that was just me it kind of helps that you really are NOT alone xx just wish I could sleep as well at night !!!!

[donna in reply to nanniejan]

My Adrenal test showed that l have no cortisol on waking in the morning...

when most people have their highest level ,as they have slept and replenished their reserves and wake up full of beans and energy HA!

my cortisol then rises at 6 pm ish and peaks at 8-9 pm ish ,though when l say peak it doesnt ever reach the normal persons morning level..

so the normal persons result graph shows a high in the morning which trails off to low in the evening ,as they are winding down and readying for bed relaxed LIKE!

mine starts low and raises in the evening so thats why l have a little more omph!

and cant switch off and SLEEP....

l have been like this since l was a teenager (its a joke in my family ..they called me the insomniac!) lt was great to show them my chart and say HERE IS THE REASON!!!

the process can be reversed ..adrenal support tablets ,liqourice tincture, cortisone tablets...( dr peatfields book tells you how )

though for me its a NO GO as l react to the tablets...as well as the thyroid support now so havent taken any thing since SEPTEMBER>>> bestwishes

[nanniejan in reply to nanniejan]

Hi Donna , not even thyroid tablets !! and how do you feel now any better ?

Jan Xx

[LouiseRoberts in reply to nanniejan]

Just a little note, if people are ordering from Genova, you cannot order online without a practitioner code. Please follow this link thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/pages/...

to our information on ordering by telephone, this will also help raise funds for Thyroid UK.

Louise

Charity Secretary

Thyroid UK

[donna in reply to nanniejan]

Sounds daft l know....l feel like .c..p.. and poorly at the momment BUT that is better than how l feel when l take my meds..l was feeling awful with no sleep ,hot eruptions ( l cant call them flushes) going from hypo to hyper ,and l was hurting and aches ALL over..my arms the worse...all the time ..do you know when you trap air in the end of a ballon and there is more preasure there ?thats how my hands/fingers and arms felt..

but now that only returns when l try and take a tablet be it armour/hydro cortisone or any thing..l dont even take a whole tablet ..

at the momment it is just my joints ( knee's ankles wrists and fingers) ,feet ,hands ,

that give a burning pain and lock ,this can last for a short while or a day but every day is different...so really to answer your question l feel poorly in a different way which is preferable to the way l was feeling on the tablets..NOT that l like feeling poorly anyway so prefer is probably the wrong word...l have written a new blog post that might be clearer ...hope your ok? donna x

[smudgerthepainter]

I have to get up at 6 am to sort the children out for school (they catch the 7am bus) I struggled like mad to wake and get going until I changed the time I took my T4. Now I take it at bed time around 10.30 pm which is 4 hours after my last meal. this works a treat I feel much more able to cope in the mornings now. (but feel knackered by 2pm-- Thank goodness for T3 taken at 4 hourly intervals from 6 am. The last dose at 2pm gets me over this problem).

I have also had the genova adrenal stress tests on 2 occassions which show my cortisol level is "within range " in the morning but off the bottom of the chart the rest of the day. I have taken the results to my GP and the Endo but they both dismiss the results as irrelevant and meaningless 1) because they are not familiar with the lab (and because they haven't initiated it fear it is some cowboy outfit) 2) there is no "stressor" to force an adrenal response making the results meanigless. So the short Synacthen test is the only test they recognise. The one I had when feeling at my best in 2007 was fine, the 2 genova tests done in 2009 and 2010 and my response to stress and general poor response to t4 meds after a period of sustained stres suggest otherwise. But will anyone listen???? No! Apparently i'm using the low thyroid and symptoms as an excuse for other psychological and physiological problems which require solutions other than medication. Great. So the fact Im scouring every resourse, taking supplements, doing exercise, changed my diet and lifestyle to find a solution without constructive input from either the GP or Endo counts for nothing. Ha Ha! whoops, sorry for that wee rant! I get so frustrated with the professionals lack of interest in optimising my recovery and Know so many other folk out there are suffering in a similar way. Their not very professional attititude seems to be: tough, you have it (i don't) learn to live with it.(I have no idea what you are going through and I don't care as I have another patient to see) Come back (and moan) again in 6 months (but I may well cancel that appontment at short notice and make you wait a further 5 months for your routine followup regardless of how often you ring my secretary begging to be seen sooner) AAAAAAAgggggghhhhhhh! Thankfully I still retain a sense of humor.