Thyroid preventing quality sleep

[Spirit]

Hi everyone. It's been quite awhile, since I visit the forum. Would like to share this info with anyone with an enlarged thyroid. I was doing really well, my sleep data looked great ! I was improving, excited, happy, Etc..... Then once again, fatigue hit me like a freight train !!!!

My sleep doctor advised me, to seek an opinion for a thyroid specialist, outside the VA system. He was convinced my thyroid was the cause of my fatigue, not breathing properly during sleep, Etc.....

Well last week, I finally got into to see a thyroid specialist, she examined my thyroid, and said it's 4 times larger then a normal thyroid, it needs to come out soon as possible, or I'll stop breathing. So my sleep doctor was right on ! My apnea index was alway's excellent, but the past few months, I've had lot's of hypop's, kickin my AHI way up ! For example my AI: 1.6, hypop's 7.9,. My AHI, has not been below 4.0., Before the fatigued kicked i again, my AHI was alway's below 2.0.,

My thyroid continues to grow, deviating my trachea.

Visiting primary doc on Wendsday, with information from thyroid specialist, look's like I'll be having thyroid surgery in the new year. Hope this helps someone in the future, with a swollen thyroid.

Sleep well everyone

[bayourest]

HI,
this is very valuable info for this forum. Thyroid issues clearly can compromise xpap therapy and you are fortunate to get a good diagnosis on this.
I have thyroid nodules but nothing as serious as what you describe. Recently my doctor adjusted my thyroid medication and at last I began to feel more rested and less fatigued. After much tweaking and learning here on the forum I felt that my pap therapy was good but I still felt like I was dragging and did not know why. There can be other issues affecting our energy levels and thyroid function is one of them to be aware of and to check out if we are not feeling as good as we would like to with xpap therapy.

[Pugsy]

Hi Stranger,
Good to see you again. Sorry it is under bad circumstances again. Seems like if it wasn't for bad luck you wouldn't have any luck at all. At least there is a name and a face to your problem this time with a known workable solution. Here's to hoping you get the needed surgery done soon with minimal issues to prevent you from feeling hugely better very soon.

Hey...I am using a BiPap now. Not because I have to necessarily but because I want to. You know me, always trying something new when I can. I have noted part of my experience here..viewtopic/t71442/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=71 ... te#p656179 I am finally at long last really feeling the good numbers I have had.
I don't know why the difference. Only that I am happy to see it.

[Guest]

Hi! Thanks for your post and welcome back!
I was investigating my thyroid also and had a low TSH of 0.74 which seems to mean that I have too many thyroid hormones. I think it's important to get a T3, T4, and free T4 test also.
How did they diagnose you? was it on ultrasound? I'm also having strange wheezing for 10 weeks now and fatigue.
I think it helps to eat iodized salt and eat a diet high in iodine

[Emilia]

@sickwithapnea17 The American Thyroid Association uses a range of 0.4 to 2.5 as the 'normal' range for TSH. http://www.thyroid.org/patients/brochur ... ooklet.pdf

[Spirit]

There can be other issues affecting our energy levels and thyroid function is one of them to be aware of and to check out if we are not feeling as good as we would like to with xpap therapy.

Hi, paragraph is so true. Sometimes it can be difficult, cause many disorders can cause the same symptoms. Now, the most difficult of all, is trying to convince the doctor something is wrong. My fatigued kicked in 5 years ago, this April and I'm still pushing on. Sleep well friend, thanks for reply.

[Spirit]

@sickwithapnea17 The American Thyroid Association uses a range of 0.4 to 2.5 as the 'normal' range for TSH. http://www.thyroid.org/patients/brochur ... ooklet.pdf

Hi Emilia, excellent link, thank you so much. I'll be doing some reading tonight. According to ATA, I'm hypo. But according to my doctor, I'm normal Will be discussing with him on Wendsday. Sleep well.

[Spirit]

Hi, TSH .74 is on the hyperside. Yes, tests are very important, only most docs/endos don't want to perform.

My thyroid was scanned with CT & ultrasound approx 4 years ago, stating it was massive. Recently thyroid specialist examined my lab reports, thyroid, etc.... Sorry your having wheezing/fatigue difficulty, hopefully soon this can be resolved for you. My throat whistles while I breathe.

Well, thyroid can be caused by various reasons, be careful eating too much salt, which can lead to high blood pressure. A friend of mine thyroid swelled, due to an infection, medications can cause thyroid swelling, Etc..... Sleep well.

[Spirit]

Hi Stranger,
Good to see you again. Sorry it is under bad circumstances again. Seems like if it wasn't for bad luck you wouldn't have any luck at all. At least there is a name and a face to your problem this time with a known workable solution. Here's to hoping you get the needed surgery done soon with minimal issues to prevent you from feeling hugely better very soon.

Hey...I am using a BiPap now. Not because I have to necessarily but because I want to. You know me, always trying something new when I can. I have noted part of my experience here..viewtopic/t71442/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=71 ... te#p656179 I am finally at long last really feeling the good numbers I have had.
I don't know why the difference. Only that I am happy to see it.

Hello dear friend, it's been a long time, hope life is treating you well. Happy New year ! Fatigue really sux doesn't it? Thanks for all you do & warm thoughts pertaining to future surgery. Seems, I'm having surgery each year now. Had strabismus surgery 2010, 2011 and now thyroid 2012,.

Really fantastic news, BiPap is restoring your energy, so happy to hear your feeling good, wishing you the best on BiPap therapy. I'll visit your link shortly. Be well friend.

[67tony]

The thyroid gland is extremely critical, and must be watched closely by someone who knows what they are doing...a competent endocrinologist is preferred. Your typical general practitioner will often not know much about thyroid disease.

My thyroid was overactive, called hyperthyroidism, resulting in uncontrollably low TSH numbers. Eventually I regressed to a thyrotoxicosis state, with a wide variety of unbelievable symptoms such as insomnia, lethargy, heart racing, weight loss, short attention span, tremors, anxiety, and fatigue. I also developed five ulcers, an iron defeciency, and an open sore on my cornea...I was a fockin' mess! Luckily I did not enter the third state, called a thyroid storm, where you convulse and die.

So, my thyroid gland is now gone (thyroidectomy surgery) and I am on a synthetic thyroid hormone, synthroid, for the rest of my life. With my thyroid level stable, and on a CPAP machine, I am finally feeling great again.

[Guest]

Thyroid problems I read can cause sleeplessness. I was hoping to normalize my thyroid levels by eating more kelp.
I have this kind of whistling when I exhale strongly and have had it for 10 weeks now. I also never feel normal, I think it's a hormonal problem. I even tried taking all kinds of supplements but it doesn't help. I take vitamin C, D, B.

[Guest]

can my TSH 0.74 be the cause of my sleep apnea?
are there any other good iodine sources for your thyroid like mussels maybe or mackerel?

[TmjTerri]

Hi Spirit.. I just recently saw a new sleep doctor and he said my thyroid was very enlarged so I had blood work done. I have hypothyroid and when I was 19 I had a HUGE goiter. Medication made my goiter go down. I have been on thyroid meds since I was 19 when they found my goiter and that I had hypothyroid. But I wanted to say that this is a very great topic to bring up in this forum. It is amazing how your thyroid can change everything. Good luck with your surgery. I hope it goes well and you will be back to normal soon.

[bayourest]

one thing that is great about my primary care doctor and thyroid is that even though I tested in the "normal" range on a certain level of thyroid meds (I am hypothyroid) she listened to me saying that I feel a lot of fatigue and she thought that tweaking my thyroid medication might help. I was in the low end of "normal" and she raised the meds a notch and that has made a huge difference. I'll be re-tested next week after being on the higher dose for 3 mos. (I am sorry to say that Its often a surprise to me when a doctor listens and tries to help!! I am looking forward to seeing her and letting her know what a big difference that small change made. )

[Guest]

by the way what were your thyroid levels? my TSH was 0.74 so I'm a little hyperthyroid
can eating seaweed or other thyroid rich foods help?
my memory is so terrible I can't even remember that one sea vegetable that's high in iodine