[MikeLSU]

in reply to: Migraines #1174019

Carolyn,

I also used to wake up often with migraines and, um, I am pretty sure mine are not hormone related . Mine are usually caused by me getting hot for some reason as I am very sensitive to the heat. Have you tried putting an ice pack on your eyes amd forehead or across your temples? This sometimes completely stops my migraines.

I now do not sleep under a blanket.

Either way, I hope ou find a cure. When worse comes to worse I take Ergotamine which is a miracle drug in my book.

Mike

[MikeLSU]

in reply to: Insomia relief? #1061225

I have been off of the Ambien for about 3 weeks now. The first few nights were non work nights so I could deal with light sleep. I was able to sleep but woke up a lot. I also found I was really hitting the restroom more often than usual. After 3 nights I only woke up twice. Now it is usually once. I am still not back to normal sleep but am close.

I am still on the Atenolol and omneprezone.

[MikeLSU]

in reply to: I really need help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! #1169213

Tootired, as a guy, prior to actually getting this damned disease myself I could have easily written this off as "in your head" without any obvious physiscal symptoms. Sorry, we men are genetically a–holes. You know that rage feeling you get every now and then? Wait until the kids are not around and let it loose on your husband by letting him kmow he is a f$&?ing a–hole and then go see the closest general practioner and get your hormone levels tested and treated ASAP. Your decision making skills are currently likely very poor. Go see the doctor ASAP.

You have got to get treatment. GD is medically manageable but dangerous if left untreated. Please go see a doctor today!

Mike

[MikeLSU]

in reply to: The actual disease #1169162

NZcate, except for the fist 2 months when I was having blood tests my hormone levels have been Euthyroid (normal). I still have many of the symptoms. My least favorite is the heat sensitivity. I get my levels checked every 6 months now. I was having it checked monthly.

This is really a good site for untying this very deep and tight knot called GD. Read and read some more! It is especially good to read when you feel like %^}#. At least twice I found posts of people describing EXACTLY the feeling I was having physically and or mentally at that the time I was reading. I would cautious call this site therapeutic. Actually, no caution needed, it is therapeutic. Thanks again to the admins!

Mike

[MikeLSU]

in reply to: Insomia relief? #1061223

Chaz you are at the 8 week point of no meds for insomnia?I hope it is going well. I am not looking forward to that. I experimented with not taking an Ambien on Friday and Saturday. It took a while to get to sleep the first time and I woke up over and over. Sat I went to sleep faster but woke up several times again and woke up hot and panicky at 7am.

The key difference is I had no breathing issues and could bring it all under control once I cooled off. The stomach meds for indigestion control really helped. Chest pains are gone, inability to take a deep breath is gone, fear of the bed is gone, panic attacks almost gone. I will be moving much closer to where I work soon. I will then completely drop the Ambien as, in case of a bad night’s sleep, I won’t be on a Houston interstate with the reaction times of a drunk when driving home.

I must say Ambien is an amazing thing. Once you get used to it the effect is 100% predictable. I can almast set a 45 second countdown just before i fall asleep (it is the engineer thing…must analyze everything). When I first started the Ambien as soon as I woke up I had to get up as I was immediatly restless. About 6 weeks into the prescription I can stay in bed if I want to. From reading elsewhere I understand this is a signal you can try to stop taking it. My experiment this weekend pretty clearly indicates there are some rebound effects. All day Sat I was pretty tired but Sunday was a little better. I am guessing it will take several days to reset to a semi normal sleep routine. We shall see.

I recently had a full thyroid panel done again. Euthyroid. Doc has me on Atenolol and that massively turns down the volume on panic attacks or even panicky feelings. The weather is also cooling off so it’s just better all around. Retire in Florida? Oh HELL no…Alaska!

Um, gatorgirly, about the LSU vs. Florida game this year, sorry ” title=”Very Happy” />, LSU#1

[MikeLSU]

in reply to: Insomia relief? #1061218

Omeprazole is what I am taking Gatorgirl. OTC twice the dose per doctor recommendation. My breathing distress is gone. I walked about 2 miles today at bootcamp march speed and never got short of breath. Heavenly, i do have a horrible headache from the heat though. Gotta love that part of Graves. Ice pack on my head is doing the trick.

Florida gator? I will not hold that against you. GEAUX TIGERS. ” title=”Very Happy” />

[MikeLSU]

in reply to: Insomia relief? #1061216

Bene,

I hear you, the anxiety got old real quick. It can also bring on stomach issues…

Update as of last post: I had my 30 day checkup with my GP. He extended my Atenolol and Ambien prescriptions. I was in my right mind since I have been sleeping via the Ambien so I was able to ask semi intelligent questions. I mentioned I have had some horrible stomach gas as well as an almost constant inability to take a deep breath. My GP prescribed a strong pill similar to the "purple pill". My insurance balked and I await their approval but i bought a 14 day supply of the generic purple pill. It worked! I have not been short of breath all day! A truly wonderful thing. It supposedly takes 2 days to hit full effectiveness so tomorrow may be even better.

Today when driving home I had a "in touch with my femnine side" moment and started crying when I realized my breathing had been normal all day. I think the heat induced anxiety caused a lot of stomach unrest and that turned into extreme acid reflux and gas. The gas and bloating puts pressure on the heart physically and causes breathing stress. My GP agreed.

Oh thank goodness for real progress. The Atenolol and Ambien are crutches.

My GP took blood again to check my thyroid again just to see if I am starting to go hyperthyroid.

Thanks for all your replies. They have all been helpful directly and indirectly. I’ll keep updating as things move along.

Mike

[MikeLSU]

in reply to: Insomia relief? #1061214

Why not to have a snack 30 min befor an Ambien.

After taking this stuff for about 1 month (I have 1 left and appt with GP Wednesday) I have a routine I usually follow. I did not take my acid reducer pill before a snack this time and paid formit. I took my Ambien and a gas pill. The gas pill lost the battle. Mega bloat and now the Ambien wants to start the sleep up. It is true a full stomach dimenishes the effect. I would have serious difficulty writing right now on an empty stomach dose. Now, I just see two of all works as my eyes are crossing a lot. So, off to bed. As soon as I laid down the burp attack hits. You know the one, it is there, you know it is there but it holds on tight. Several gorilla scale burps later and I feel muuuch better. I must say the fear of sleeping with that kind of gas in unnerving.

"Kimberly":28ih4njv wrote:

Hello – Is your doctor testing Free T3 and Free T4 in addition to TSH? Since you are still experiencing symptoms, it would make sense to check those levels just to see where they are. Also, keep in mind that the “normal” ranges for TSH, FT3 and FT4 are fairly wide. Some patients feel better towards the upper end of “normal” for FT3/FT4, while others feel better closer to the middle of the range. Some doctors assume that anything in the “normal” range is fine – when the real goal should be to find the levels that are OPTIMAL for you.[/quote:28ih4njv]

Hi Kimberly,

Yes he checks T3 and T4 also. I get my results on my iPad with my lab’s ap. (File is called Gazell FYI). T3 T4 normal.

Except for the first time I was tested in 2009, I have been normal but antibodies remain high. How would you test for optional? Light dose for increases and some sort of chemical scrubber/binder for lower?

Have a good evening,

-Mike

[MikeLSU]

in reply to: Insomia relief? #1061207

Atenolol/ambien cr week 4 update.

I am now starting the 4th week of my course of 2.5mg Atenolol in the morning and Ambien to sleep.

When I get a little hot I can feel the nervousness trying to build but it simply stops at a level almost comfortable. I say almost because the feeling is still unnerving but it goes away fast as soon as I take steps to cool off. I can feel the panic attacks trying to set in as before but they do not hit like they did pre Atenolol. I have not had a panic attack like described before in the last 3 weeks. I have had my heart rate spike once or twice but it dropped off fast back to normal.

The Ambien works like a clock. Take it, get in bed. ~30 minutes i can sleep. If I try to stay up after taking one it is a fight to stay awake at the one hour point. At 1.5 hours my wife says I am entertaining to talk to. My short term memory has returned and I can "learn" new things. My energy levels are much higher. I think if I stopped the Ambien I would not sleep very long but could get some sleep. I suspect I will have to have some neurological scans and an apnia (spelling?) test to make sure I do not have some complicating issue.

I still do not have a feeling of normal. I do feel better though. I suspect I am just recovering from the panic attacks. I am able to keep a very calm train of thought from my military training. Even in the panic attacks I typically was able to analyze what was happening but knew this was just about as much fun as being shot at; but in this case, there was nobody to shoot back at. I can REALLY say the panic attacks and resulting fear of immenent death are #%^}ing horrible.

This is a strange thing to be worried about but I used to have migraines anytime it got hot. I have not had a migraine since my insomnia kicked in.

I am hopeful I can start exercising soon. I suspect that will help my mental strength as right now I have zero stamina compared to 7 months ago. I can still walk 2 miles at high speed but forget anything strenuous or longer term.

I will update again in a week or so.

Mike

[MikeLSU]

in reply to: Insomia relief? #1061206

Although a brief description insomniagal it sounds identical.

Atenelol and Ambien…still working. Texas heat, still kicking my…teeth in. I took a 15 minute nap Saturday without drugs. Small but significant progress. Ambien is about to flip my switch, have a good evening.

[MikeLSU]

in reply to: Insomia relief? #1061202

Wow Denise, I am so sorry you have been struck so hard. ” title=”Sad” />. Biiiiiig ” title=”Sad” />

I hope you can get relief somehow. Have you tried the hypnotic therapy per the gentleman that posted earlier?

General update: the Atenolol seems to be working nicely on controlling the onset of minor or major panic attacks. It is still over 100 every day in Houston and I was out in it a lot today. The feeling now is far more relaxed than it was a week ago. I am taking a 25mg pill in the morning. The Ambien works like a charm for now. We will see what happens when I try a night without the Ambien.

[MikeLSU]

in reply to: Insomia relief? #1061200

I went to a new GP today who is closely tied to an endochronologist who I will be switching to. He (the GP) prescribed Atenolol generic and Ambien CR generic for 30 days. At the end of 30 days I will try coming off of the Ambien. The Atenolol is a beta blocker known to help lessen or prevent anxiety attacks. Ambien is a non addictive sleeping pill of which I had some samples and know it works well. When they say take it just before getting in bed they mean it.

I asked if the doctor would recommend an exercise regimen to get back in shape. He said to hold off on that until 30 days is up. :p

If after 30 days things are not improved I will be having a neurological sleep study.

Fingers crossed. At least i will sleep for the next 30 days.

HonestBabe wrote:Hi Mike,
Re your insomnia. I listen to quieting music before sleep time; maybe some camomile tea. Ocean waves is a good repetitive rhythm that brings all my energies down a notch and with hyperthyroidism, every notch counts. Watching ocean waves on a DVD or VCR tape (yeah, I still have a VCR) is really good because it focuses the eye and the mind and hearing on relaxing and after 20 minutes, the eyelids drop and you’re off. On those nights that I’m really keyed up, I take some passion flower and lemon balm, but to be safe, check with your doctor or a naturalist to see if herbs like this are okay for your condition. Here’s a CD that has music that creates ‘stillness’ and it really works. "Sounds of Stillness" by Sounds True (Onespirit.com) I absolutely love it! All the best.

I just noticed I missed this post. Thank you for the recommendation HonestBabe. Strangely, a different kind of music distracts me from the attack – metal guitar. I watched the movie Wanted Sunday while still recovering from pretty much an all day Sat anxiety attack. At the end of the movie the metal guitar played during the credits pulled my mind out of that blurry anxiety feeling. Violins do the same thing. Why? Because I can play both and listening to Either brings visuals of playing. I may need to go invest in another guitar ” title=”Very Happy” />

Thank you for replying.

Mike

[MikeLSU]

in reply to: Insomia relief? #1061199

Bobbi wrote:Hi, Mike:

Heat intolerance is sometimes a sign that our thyroid levels are too high. Ditto panic attacks. If you haven’t had your levels checked recently, you might want to call your doctor and arrange for a blood test.

I recently had them checked (July 2011) and all were normal. Every time I have had them checked I have been Euthyroid. I was right in the middle of a really bad bout of insomnia and heat stress last time I gave a sample and the levels were normal. Antibodies were still high by hormones normal.

[MikeLSU]

in reply to: Insomia relief? #1061197

SharleS,

Thank you for your reply.

How did you locate your hypnotherapist? Is there one type or classification for sleep disorders?

Unfortunately, I am taking medication. It works well but I am worried it is a hard road to stop driving on. The one I use most often is Unisom (Doxylamine Succinate). It seems to be the best for sleep and a lack of sluggishness the next day. I also have a prescription for Atenalol to preempt migraines (my blood pressure is normal, no hypertension).

I have found that a big aggravator to my insomnia is the heat. Houston is over 100 daily right now. My wife noticed I was sweating during a 3am panic attack/wake-up. I sprayed myself down with water and stayed near a fan. It really clobbered the panic attack. Unfortunately, getting back to sleep after a full panic attack has not happened often.

My long term plan is to get into better shape and exercise more in hopes that will help my heat intolerance and make me more tired at night.

Mike

[MikeLSU]

in reply to: RAI – Septic tank & Well #1061066

Hi Chillborn,

Iodine 131 is what I think is used on RAI. Iodine 131 has a half life of just over a week (8 days). That means in a month its radioactive potential will be 1/16th of that it was when injected for the RAI. Because of this you have little to worry about. The iodine will dilute in the septic system quickly. By the time it runs through the tank it should have decayed several half lives.

Now, if yesterday’s lunch grows legs, glows in the dark and stares back at you, I recommend running for the hills. ” title=”Wink” />

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