Anyone with Hypothyroid know about narrower guidelines?

[quote="snoozie_suzy"]Thanks you guys, the support here is great!

I have been a long term anti depresant user, and they consider that to have hindrence on my sleep architecture, but going off that is not an option anymore because I tried it for 4 months this summer and went into a huge depression.


Suzy, I just wanted to add that I have struggled with depression for many many years and starting thyroid hormone helped relieve that depression immensely.

I had a chronic low-to-mid grade depression or dysthymia. This horrible malaise and loss of interest in things I used to enjoy which would get much worse in the winter. Occasionally I would have real depressive episodes (uncontrollable crying, etc) but mostly just felt blah. Antidepressants would help briefly and then stop working.

I would just keep it in the back of your mind to follow up on your thyroid at some point if your depression sounds simliar to that.

I really commiserate with your sleep struggles. Mine are different then yours, but boy the bed is like a monster to me some nights. Jenny

snoozie_suzy wrote:Hello!

My last TSH and T4 bloods were what I thought normal, TSH 4.0 and T4 .89 but my mom pointed out that some doctors are treating patients as hypothyroid with "narrower" standards instead of the old 0.5 - 5.0 now using 0.3 to 3.0.

Is anyone else aware of this? My new doctor doesn't believe I warrant to be on synthroid, but I can't get to the bottom of why I am still so tired. my B-12 is normal, Ferritin normal, I'm not anemic.

Help!
Suzy

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I can hear you loud and clear! My TSH went from 1.8 - 3.5 in one year and nobody seemed concerned. I have read they "lowered standards" somewhere around 2002, and also read that they upped them again to over 5.0 (which is what most labs use). I agree with the poster who said they should at least monitor your TSH every 3 months. Mine is staying at 3.5 which is up two points in a year. Funny note: the PA at my ENT's office used to work at an endo's office and she was quite concerned when I told her my numbers. She said the top range had gone up to 5 again, but I should insist on a TSH test every 3 months. She agreed that a 2 point jump was way to much in one year. Seems like they shoud at least be checking yours every 3 months, IMHO. I'd ask for a copy of your results every time you have blood work done.

What do they consider your ferritin to be "normal?" For RLS - my doc wants mine to be at 60! Mine, with Slo-Fe (iron supplement) went to 30, back down to 22 and is now at 26. My doc has me on requip .25 mg and it is helping trememdously with my RLS. He started me with the sample pack to titrate me to 1 mg., but the side effects took over so I asked to drop back to .25 (which is doing beautifully.) Good luck and keep us posted.

Jenny and Sleepyred

You guys bring up a good point.....I will just ask to be tested again at the first of the year, if it has again increased, but still what that doctor considers to be "normal" I will know that its time to find a new doctor. My thyroid shouldn't be increasing at spikes like that in one year.

who knows, it might not have any bearing on my lousy sleep architecture, but having hypothyroid, even if its low to mild hypo, can't be helping my crappy feeling this past year.

thanks again.
Suzy

I am so glad someone is finally addressing this issue of sleep stages. I just had complete bloodwork done and like you, Snoozy, I thought my thyroid may be off but my TSH is 1.30 so supposedly that is good. But I recently had another titration study with Bipap and as in my first ones, I had no stage 3/4 sleep and REM was only 8% this last time (it was even less the first 2, but I don't remember right now what it was). I had 84% stage 2. Had no scorable PLM's. Arousals and awakenings except for obstructive respiratory events were listed as unknown. Summary report just states that Sleep architecture was fragmented with reduced slow wave and REM sleep. (Just picked up a copy of my results at Tuesday's appointment.) And even tho some of the time my AHI's have been fairly good I still feel rotten, depressed and constantly ache. Have yet to waken even one am feeling rested and well. I will say that I no longer have the terrible headache every am and I am able to keep my balance most am's. These 2 things that had been an every morning occurence, only happen occasionally now. So I can see some improvement. But I have not been able to understand why I do not have the same rested, energetic feeling that most of you describe having after going on cpap. So, in reading your posts, it occurred to me that very possibly this is why I am still feeling so lousy. Why doesn't the MD consider this when you tell him that you still are feeling terrible???
I have been on cpap since late Feb. of '05 so am getting very discouraged.
I am getting an auto Bipap next week and was expecting great things from it but taking this into consideration, I still may not feel much better, eh?

Well, thanks for considering my ramblings, (I am tired). At least now maybe I am getting somewhere in finding a reason why I am not feeling better. So next step is finding a solution.

Thanks to you all!

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EllieJose,

I am sure that my meds play a HUGE part in the sleep fragmentation. However going off my Effexor, I have found out from trying this summer for several months, is not an option. Some here on the forum, were diagnosed as depression only to find out it was the untreated OSA and could then go off the meds, however mine is biochemical, and my father is bipolar, and depression runs high on his side of the family.

I do wonder if at my appointment next week they will consult a pharmacologist or psychiatrist to see if I could try different SSRI's and find one that doesn't fragment my sleep as much. Of course finding a good antidepressant is hard though. I have been on Celexa for 2 months and am now switching back to what I was on before the summer because the Celexa isn't cutting it for me. So finding an SSRI that helps me emotionally and DOESNT fragment my architecture might be a slim chance.

It doesn't seem that the sleep people are seeing this as an obstacle for me, the lack of sleep stages. As I posted earlier, one of the docs emailed me and wants me to up my pressure.

Very frustrating. If I come to some kind of answer with this you can bet I post it.

Suzy

suzy:

Have you tried Rozerem? It sorta works like melatonin, but it is prescription, not only does it reset your nocturnal clock it promotes deeper sleep without the side effects of other sleep meds. That seems to be what you need, deeper sleep. Deeper sleep would give you more Stage3/4 and REM.

http://www.rozerem.com

Might be worth asking about and getting a trial sample. There is prescribing information on the website, be sure to read the drug interactions listings with other meds.

Thank you snoredog!

I just got a new prescription for Lunesta which I haven't rec'd in the mail yet (order mine online) after using ambien cr for 3 months, that didn't seem to help.

Perhaps if Lunesta does not help I will try that next. thanks again.

Suzy