[Anonymous February 27, 1997 at 9:41 am Post count: 93172]

#1164390

Hi Sue!

I know exactly how you feel, my body is crying out for some decent
sleep but it’s just not happening!
I’m getting to the point where I just can’t function normally anymore.

If you come up with some “magic remedy” that helps please share it with
me.
Good luck,

Shannon.

[Anonymous February 27, 1997 at 9:46 am Post count: 93172]

#1164391

Tylenol PM or just straight Benadryl helped me. I was allowed to take it
with my betablockers. After getting a few good nights sleep, I found
I needed it less and less. The only thing I didn’t like was that
antihistamine hangover… Hope you get sleep soon!

[Anonymous February 27, 1997 at 1:30 pm Post count: 93172]

#1056789

I need help here.
does anyone know how to help insomnia?
i havent slept in over two days now. im wired as heck!
Iven been having this for 5 months now.
i cant get my body on a schedule. it wont let me.
ok enough complaining for today.
see you all later
Sue
daisybaby

[Anonymous February 27, 1997 at 3:40 pm Post count: 93172]

#1164392

Mary Ann an I both had sleep problem while hyper. All of those PM
pain relievers with Benadryl help, but we had the best results with
Xanax (Alprazolam). I could be a salesman for Xanax. Some docs think
its addictive. We both discontinued it use after using it for long
periods with no problem. It was great for anxiety and sleep problem.
Lanny

[Anonymous February 28, 1997 at 6:32 am Post count: 93172]

#1164393

Some strategies that have helped me with this:

1. Apparently, just lying there in the dark, with your eyes shut, is 75% as restful as actually sleeping. I read this in a couple of articles a number of years ago. Knowing this, helped me stop obsessing over the fact that I wasn’t actually sleeping, so I relaxed about it.
2. Having a cup of chamomile tea before bed when this is going on helps, too.
3. Doing a combination of lamaze/relaxation/meditation techniques. I do slow breathing, counting back from fifty with each breath, concentrating on relaxing the muscles that are tense, including the tongue. I usually start from the feet and go up relaxing. And I often add a visualization of a place that I once visited that I found very relaxing. In my case, it’s a beach we visited in the Bahamas many years ago. I spent a couple of hours there, reading in a hammock, slung between two palms. The sun was shining, there was a gentle breeze off the water, and parrots were playing in the trees. I try to put myself back there in my mind. With Graves, I sometimes had to do the count and visualization twice, but it usually puts me to sleep, finally.

I hope this helps. Bobbi

[Anonymous February 28, 1997 at 7:02 am Post count: 93172]

#1164394

Thank you so much Bobbi!
im going to try that tomorrow night. since today has already
flown by!
thanks again!
Sue

[Anonymous February 28, 1997 at 5:35 pm Post count: 93172]

#1164395

There is a neat book called “67 ways to good sleep” I can’t remember the
author. I offers some great suggestions on sleep and sleep patterns. It
is only about 75 pgs long. As, always, everyone is different, but this
book helped me….hope this helps you…..Carolyn

[Anonymous March 18, 1997 at 6:13 pm Post count: 93172]

#1164396

There is an article on the Prevention Home Page that discusses insomnia.
Actually there are different ideas to try. Maybe some of you have tried
them all. Anyway just wanted to share the info. I found the Prevention
Home Page off of Diane’s home page.

[Anonymous April 12, 1997 at 9:37 am Post count: 93172]

#1164397

My daughter has just been diagnosed with Graves’ Disease and I am reading
everything I can find on the subject. I have not yet been able to find
what normal levels of T3, T4, and TSH are. Can anyone help me with that?
Secondly, to my untutored mind, she has all the symptoms of hypothyroidism.
[Forgive me, if I am not using the correct terms and spelling thereof. This
is all so new.] She is exhausted, can go to sleep at any time, has dry patchy
skin and is rapidly gaining weight.

We both will appreciate any advice you can give us. Barbara

[Anonymous April 12, 1997 at 12:31 pm Post count: 93172]

#1164398

Hi, Barbara: The “normal” range for lab tests varies some from lab to lab. The best thing to do is to get the values for the specific lab that has done the tests. That said, these are the general ranges that I saw posted once on alt.support.thyroid:

Serum thyroxin: T4 4.6-12
Free thyroxine fraction: FT4F 0.03 – 0.005%
Free thyroxine: FT4 0.7 – 1.9
Serum triiodothyronine: T3 80 – 180
Free triiodthyronine: FT3 230-619
Serum thyrotropin: TSH 0.5 – 6
Radioactive Iodine Uptake: RAIU 10-36%

This information came from a brochure from Daniels Pharmaceuticals.

I have heard that the free hormone levels are a more accurate indication of hyperactivity of the thyroid, because it is the free stuff that activates cell metabolism.

As far as your daughter’s symptoms are concerned, we all vary. I was never one of those individuals who EVER felt energized when I was hyperthyroid. With my racing heart, tremors, weak muscles etc. all I wanted to do was sleep — and I couldn’t sleep for longer than two or three hours at a time, due to those same symptoms. I was exhausted all the time. Weight gain is not unheard of either. While many people lose lots of weight, some of us don’t, some gain.

I hope this helps. And good luck to your daughter.
Bobbi

[Anonymous July 28, 1997 at 6:39 am Post count: 93172]

#1164399

Well i’ve been on the board for two hours and I have had enough now. I’ve posted so many messages I’m almost embarrassed, but there have been a lot of interesting posts. Due to my fatigue you will be spared my awful week (includes crying at work, depression, no sleep etc). I will come to the point:

INSOMNIA! Up til 3am each morning. Feel like s**t. Have tried hot milk, trying to readjust my body clock, relaxation, light reading, listening to music. Have resorted to self-medicating with a muscle relaxant which was originally for my bad back but has the happy side effect of deep sleep. Worked the first night but not the next.

Are there any techniques that you have found useful?

I know a few others have posted similar complaints and I now sympathise.

zzzzzz.

[Anonymous November 3, 1997 at 6:36 pm Post count: 93172]

#1164400

Hello to everyone out there.I am new to this board.I was diagnosed with Graves in September.I have been on Tapozole since late September.Several weeks ago the doctor told me my T4 levels were back to normal.The problem is I dont feel any better.I was starting to feel better a few weeks ago but lately I’ve had really bad insomnia and anxiety. I am also taking Propranolol.Has anyone else experienced a reaction like this?Thanks for listening!Lois

[Anonymous January 2, 1998 at 8:29 pm Post count: 93172]

#1164401

As all of you who frequent this BB, I am a late poster. I post late because I have extreme insomnia, mainly because I am still VERY hyper.
I was asked by someone about how I deal with insomnia so I thought I might post this for someone else who this might work with.

Well, first of all, I lost my job in May, and have not been able to work since.    What I did when I lost my job was enroll at Kent State University full-time, and used financial aid to assist my finances.  This is one reason why I am able to stay up later than normal- I am on winter break.
Here are some of my techinques:
1)  I try to do a LITTLE exersion about one hour before I attempt to go to bed.
2) Sometimes I try a betablocker (something that I can’t take conitnuously) which helps slow me down a little.
3) Once I get tired enough to relax a little, I take a combination of Kava Kava, melatonin, and valerian root.  These can be found at a local Walmart.  Sometimes you can find a company, like Sundown Herbs, that combines these herbs and hormones together and calls it something like “sleeptime”.  These do not effect the central nervous system like regular sleep agents (which is a nono for both hyper and hypo), but they help reduce neurotransmitter action in the brain, and kind of slow you down.
4) after I take these, I turn the lights out and work on the computer or watch TV while I lay down.  Sometimes this takes hours, but I can’t really start it any earlier.

Check with your doctors about this stuff before you try it.

Hope this may help some people.

Ron

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