[meemeej]

#1060170

I have always had insomnia to some degree, but omg now its sooooo much worse. i feel like a zombie kinda like im on auto pilot. So i guess what im asking is, is there any sugestions anyone can give me to try and just get alittle sleep? im running on fumes here. ive had about 10 hrs of sleep in 4 days. my mind is racing im so stressed and im so high strung its like i cant get control over my brain, and all i do is cry when my kids arent around i dont want them to see me like this…. if i can just get a straight 5 hrs i would be the happiest woman on the planet.

-MeeMee Needs Some Sleep J-

Diagnosed: Graves disease 8/6/13

[ibminlou2]

#1180933

Hi MeeMee,

I was up at 5 am, I should’ve logged on:). Something that helps me sleep more? I save my house work ( no vaccuuming, but everything else) until right before bed. Generally, if I do it at a furious pace, it will wear me out and and I crash as hard as I can.

Also, in the past, I have used chewable melatonin (an herbal supplement) and a powdered magnesium compound.

I hope this helps!

[Ellen_B]

#1180934

Hello,
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

[meemeej]

#1180935

thank you so much. im going to try cleaning the house right before bed tonight to c if that helps. ive tried a couple of things like taking a really warm bath b4 bed and it kinda works while im in the bath because i have fallen asleep in the tub lollllll! but as soon as i get up back to tossing and turning and thinking to much. my sis is really into herbals so im going to ask her about something to help me sleep thx. i am a heavy sleeper. i havent talked to my dr about the sleep problems ive always just dealt with it but now its becoming too much for me. this morning a ran out and got a soothing sounds cd im also goin to try that. i also think i will call my dr and tell her the issues ive been having as well.. i really do love this forum because ive been in a fog lately and this helps me think straight.

i hope you are feeling better and im sending lots of prayers your way

-MeeMee-
Sleepless In colorado

Diagnosed: graves disease 8/6/13
20mg methimazole 1x day
60mg propanolol 2x day

[adenure]

#1180936

Hi!

I completely understand where you’re coming from. When I was hyperthyroid, I probably slept 2-3 hours a night. I also was homeschooling my 3 older boys and taking care of my infant. Ugh- what a mess. When I was on methimazole, it helped, but I still had a hard time with sleep. I have since had surgery and my sleep is now back to normal! Yay! I still have bouts of rough sleep, but not nearly as bad as before.

One of my friends who has a brain tumor and suffers from insomnia due to it went to a sleep specialist. Here is what the specialist said: make sure you have a routine. Get up at the same time and go to sleep at the same time- especially the waking up part though. Take time to unwind. I drink camomile tea and watch 30 min. of some mindless TV before I sleep. I also take a warm bath or shower. I go to sleep with ear plugs and a mask. If I can’t sleep after 30 min., I get out of bed and read with a low light- that does usually help quite a bit. Exercise (during the day) also helps me sleep better. When I’m very desperate after many days of 2-3 hours, I would take a Benadryl, but if you’re hyperthyroid, you have to be careful with it as it will raise your heart rate. If I take Benadryl now on occasion, I do not suffer from any heart rate issues now that my thyroid is gone. Maybe if you’re thyroid hormone levels are stable, Benadryl would be okay sometimes, but I would
ask your doctor. My doctor was fine with it (even before surgery).

[SueAndHerZoo]

#1180937

You’ve gotten really good advice and suggestions already so I won’t add anything except to let you know that I can totally relate. Before my TT I was wound up and exhausted all day and all night. And every hour that you toss and look at the clock and realize you’re still not sleeping you add more pressure to yourself and that makes it worse. Somehow, you’ve got to try to relax and know that even lying in bed with eyes closed is some sort of rest, even if it’s not quality sleep. Take the pressure off of yourself if you can.

I hope the housecleaning works for you but for me I found that doing anything active before bed made me MORE wired. I needed to chill out for an hour or two before attempting to sleep with either boring TV or reading or ideally meditation.

Good luck.
Sue

[meemeej]

#1180938

well i actually got some rest last night i was 2 tired and felt weak so i didnt do any house work, so all i did was lay in my bed and listen to the cd that i bought yesterday morning the one with the soothing sounds. that was around 10pm last night and next thing i know i was waking up at 5am this morning i didnt even realize i had fallin sleep lol…thank you all for ur help i feel well rested

-MeeMee-

Diagnosed: graves 8/6/13

[snelsen]

#1180929

YAAAAAY!!!! Makes ALL the difference in our world. Sleep deprivation totally sucks and is terrible and awful.
Shirley

[meemeej]

#1180930

‘sigh’ here we go again another sleepless night. This really sucks and head is pounding heart racing. i dnt know what to do

Diagnosed:graves 8/6/13

[popscene01]

#1180931

adenure wrote:

When I’m very desperate after many days of 2-3 hours, I would take a Benadryl, but if you’re hyperthyroid, you have to be careful with it as it will raise your heart rate. If I take Benadryl now on occasion, I do not suffer from any heart rate issues now that my thyroid is gone. Maybe if you’re thyroid hormone levels are stable, Benadryl would be okay sometimes, but I would ask your doctor. My doctor was fine with it (even before surgery).

I do the Benadryl when I am desperate also! LOL I agree, ask your doctor 1st. I know I have to be careful because of all the other medications I’m on for allergies & asthma.

MeeMee it was good to see you got some sleep but I’m sorry to hear you had another bad night. I’ve noticed as far as my heart racing/pounding it’s more right after I wake up & right before I go to sleep. Weird. Mid-day I’m “uppity” but my pulse & pressure are in normal ranges. Because it’s not constant, my docs took me off the beta-blocker. Are you on a medication for your heart rate already? I would keep tabs on your pulse & blood pressure & keep a log (maybe morning, mid-day & night) even if you are on a beta-blocker & discuss it with your doctor.

Otherwise, things that have helped me. Lavender essential oils or products with that in it. In a bath at night, in a lotion on my skin before I go to sleep. I don’t even like lavender! haha But it really does help calm me! Diffusers in my bedroom or a lavender pillow spray might help.

doTERRA also makes this essential oil blend my friend got me called Serenity which is calming & you can either diffuse it or use it topical. It’s expensive but I love it!

I also LOVE Sleepy Time tea before I go to bed by Celestial Seasonings. For some reason, straight chamomile tea bothers me, but this has a bit of mint in it & it really helps calm me too.

Hopefully you’ll find the right thing to get a good sleep consistently!

Amanda

[Ski]

#1180939

Hi meemeej,

I’m glad you got ONE good night’s sleep at least, that’s promising — at least you know that every once in a while, you’re capable of sleeping through the night.

The problem with “our” kind of insomnia (while hyperthyroid) is that it is CHEMICAL. It isn’t just that our mind is racing (even though that’s true), it’s that the gas pedal on our body is pushed all the way to the floor. That means everything that usually works for other people is not likely to work as well for us. It may help, don’t get me wrong, but it may not, and then we tend to feel even more frustrated.

We did have someone speak on this topic at a conference, and I remember it was specifically tailored to “our” kind of insomnia. There are a couple of things that may help — first, don’t attach too much significance to the actual “snore-fest” version of sleeping. Laying down and being still gives our body nearly as much benefit as sleeping. Our problem is that we get frustrated and anxious because we’re not falling off to sleep, so we lose any benefit we might otherwise get from just being still and resting in the dark.

Next, STOP looking at the clock. One look at the clock starts the whole internal conversation — “look at what time it is, S***! If I can fall asleep right this second I’ll only get xx hours and xx minutes worth of sleep before I have to get up, and that’s not enough, and now I’m worried about what I have to do tomorrow,” etc. etc. So keeping that information out of your grasp is better for your state of mind. Do whatever you need to — cover it, hide it, turn it to the wall, but keep those numbers out of your field of vision.

Also, do not look at anything with a bright screen (smartphone, tablet, laptop, TV) — bright lights tell your body that it’s daylight and time to get up, so you’re telling your brain to activate, then trying to lay back down.

The soothing sounds is a really good idea, and if you can get that to “loop,” even better, that way you won’t have to put any brain power into that either (“is it off? did it end? should I start it again? how long ago did it go off? have I been asleep?”).

Finally, if you’re really, truly awake, feeling like you’d just rather get out of bed, then do that, but choose something quiet you can do in dim lighting, like reading an actual book, or the paper, maybe make a cup of tea. Something that’s rather passive, so you can keep yourself in a semi-relaxed state while you do it. Give yourself 10-15 minutes, then head back to the bed and try again.

I know it sucks, I remember it all too well. I hope you find your best way to get rest while you heal and recover!

[amosmcd]

#1180940

I have a lot of trouble with sleep, too. I fall asleep easily, but wake up in the middle of the night and can’t go back to sleep.

I’m able to take Benadryl, it doesn’t affect my heart rate, even when I’m hyper. I think it affects each person differently. I only have to take a tiny bit, like 1/3 of a 25mg tablet, because it tends to make me really sedated. I only do that as a last resort, but that ends up being 2 -3 times a week.

What also helped me was I kicked my 3 cats out of my room (they have gotten over it, but they meowed pitifully outside my door the first few nights) because they slept on my bed and made me too hot. I have always worn earplugs because I’m a light sleeper and work evening shift, so morning noise wakes me up, too. Most of this summer I’ve had to have my bedroom window open, and turning on a small fan made enough white noise to drown out the extra noise from the open window.

I’m still having problems, but my thyroid levels are still all over the place since my TT 4 months ago. I’m hoping once they level out, I’ll sleep better.

Hope you find something that works consistently for you!

Amy

[PolishTym]

#1180941

The air purifier in allergy season and the humidifier in winter helps me because of the white noise.

[Author]

Posts