Ellen_BHello,
The right amount of sleep is so important. It enables you to feel well and function well. Many Graves’ patient suffer from insomnia. The cause is too much thyroid hormone. The nervous system is over stimulated and does not slow down. Your body is in an exhausted state and desperately needs the sleep. Being anxious and irritable are expected results.
There are many ways to calm the body down. Everyone is different? Finding what is right for you is important. What kind of activity makes you feel calm? Something you like to do? Gentle exercise (swimming, for example) music, reading, listening to a radio program on a subject you are interested in? Some people find going to sleep with a radio on for a short time helps them to get to sleep. You may need ear phones on so as not to disturb others in the room.
Have you heard of Dr. Herbert Benson who is considered a pioneer in the field of mind-body medicine, and has done a great deal of research on stress and health? He gave a presentation at the Foundation’s 2011 patient conference in Boston, MA. The title of his talk was Thyroid Disorders and Relaxation Response. He found that stress makes Graves’ worse. He believes we all have an inborn relaxation response. He discusses possible ways to tap into this response.
A video of his presentation you can find by going to this link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mea202U9wgQ
Are you a light sleeper as well? Do little sounds wake you up? Ask your doctor for help with this? Does he know anything about sound transmitters that help? What kind of pharmaceutical approach does he recommend?
If too much thyroid hormone is your problem, what is being done to get them back to normal?
It is good to see that you are speaking out and letting others know how you feel. That in itself should make you feel better and can help you to find out solutions to your sleep problem. You are asking for a few more hours of sleep a night.
I wish you success and soon. Please get back to us and let us know how you are doing?
Ellen