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Levothyroxine causing insomnia?

Hey guys have a weird situation going on health wise and was wondering if any of you have been through something similar. Recently I have had a very hard time falling asleep. Literally the only thing that will put me to sleep is sleeping medication and sometimes those don't even work. About six months ago I was very depressed and found that hypothyroidism was the cause of it because my TSH was at 14. They put me on levothyroxine and after several weeks on it I found I had some trouble sleeping, but 10mg or melatonin took care of it just fine. After 6 weeks on levo I felt better but sleeping problems persisted. 2 months back they increased my dose from 50 micrograms to 75 micrograms because my TSH was at 5.5. Several weeks after melatonin stopped working and the sleeplessness started. 2 out of the 7 days of the week were sleepless and the rest I would average 2-6 hours a night. I got blood tested again and my TSH is still a little high but I am still dealing with this insomnia. I went to an internist and she suggested taking me off the thyroid medication to see if that is causing my insomnia. It baffles me that my TSH is high yet I show signs similar to hyperthyroidism. Has anyone dealt wit this and does anyone know how long it would take for the levothyroxine to leave my system?
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649848 tn?1534633700
COMMUNITY LEADER
The AACE (American Association of Clinical Endocrinolgists) determined about 10 years ago that the "normal" levels for TSH should be between 0.3-3.0.  Most labs don't go by this.

That said.... TSH should  never be the only test performed when determining thyroid hormone status.  TSH is a pituitary hormone that stimulates the thyroid to produce thyroid hormones.  The problem is, TSH can vary widely, even intraday.

Thyroid 101 -- the pituitary gland produces TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone), and in a perfect world, the thyroid will react by producing thyroid hormones, mostly T4, but also a small amount of T3.  Of the T4, a portion will be attached to protein molecules and will be unusable.  The rest of the T4, which is the "free T4) is available to be converted to T3.  Most of the conversion is done in the liver, but smaller amounts are converted in other parts of the body.  Like T4, some of the T3 produced will be attached to protein molecules and will be unusable.  The remainder (not attached to protein) is the "Free T3, which is the actual hormone used by the individual cells.  

When the thyroid stops responding to the pituitary's demand for hormones, we get sick and that's when we get put on thyroid hormone replacement.

Once on thyroid medication, usually starting with a T4 med such as Synthroid or Levothyroxine, we all hope to get better soon, but unfortunately, that doesn't happen all the time.  As with hormones our body produces, we still have to convert the FT4 to FT3 in order to alleviate symptoms.  Not all of us do that adequately and we have to have a source of T3 added.  

Insomnia is a symptom of either hypo or hyper.  I had it horribly bad when I was very hypo, but I also had it years ago, during periods of what I believe to be hyper.

It really has nothing to do with TSH.  My TSH has been at < 0.01 for the past 5 years and I have still gone through periods of hypo. The way I feel has everything to do with Free T3 (FT3) and Free T4 (FT4), but mostly FT3 levels since that's the hormone used by individual cells. I'm on a T4 med, but have to add a T3 component in order to feel well.

If either of you have Free T3 and/or Free T4 levels tested, please post results and be sure to include reference ranges, as those vary lab to lab and have to come from your own report.  If you haven't been tested for FT3/FT4, you really need to get your doctor to order those tests.

xxeddiemanxx  - if you haven't been tested for thyroid antibodies, you really to have that done, also to confirm/rule out Hashimoto's Thyroiditis, which is the most prevalent cause of hypo in the developed world.  With Hashi's the body sees the thyroid as foreign and produces antibodies to destroy it. The progression often takes years to complete, and as it progresses, the thyroid produces less and less and your medication dose will have to be increased, until eventually, your thyroid will produce nothing and you will be dependent on the replacement hormones.  

The thyroid antibody tests you should ask for are Thyroid Peroxidase Antibodies (TPOab) and Thyroglobulin Antibodies (TGab). You need them both, because both can determine Hashimoto's, but many of us only have one of them, so if you only test for one, you might still have the other and not know it.

Try to get your doctor to order the FT3, FT4, TPOab and TGab.......
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Avatar universal
Hi!
I was diagnosed with Graves' disease (hyperthyroidism ) in 1996 and have been on levothyroxine since spring of 1997.  What I have discovered is that I sleep much better when my TSH levels are between 1 and 2.  I am currently taking 200mcg and have been on that dose for over 10 years.  I know normal TSH range is something like .5 to 5.5, but there is no reason to ever be on the high side.  When I had hyperthyroidism, I had no trouble sleeping.  After getting pregnant, my levels went really high and I got insomnia.  It doesn't make sense but that is definitely how it is for me.  
I think you need a higher dose of levothyroxine if you ask me.  If you can get your levels down to under 2, I bet you will sleep better.  
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