Can you die from insufficient sleep?

[peggy64]

Well, I continue in my sleeplessness. I have tried it all, sleeping pills, ativan, and atarax , xanax, ambien, dalmane. Herbal remedies. I've tried the thinking ok, I will sleep all night long, I will sleep 4 hours. The doc office even gave me a shot to knock me out for a while. It lasted 1 hour.

Oh my heavens! I don't know what else to do. I am waking up every 1.5-2 hours. I can't sleep in the daytime. Can you die from no sleep? I am so exhausted, I just about am ready too.

For those of you out that are sleeping right now, "how wonderful"

I am trying to remain positive as I know that that is healthful in itself. But this is getting to be ridiculus.

[Karken11]

This question constantly plagues my thoughts daily. I am only 16 yet have been dealing with insomnia my entire life. Two weeks ago I got a total of 14 hours of sleep. Last week it was down to 12, and this week I've gotten even less than that! My sleeping pattern concerns me tremendously! I know this is not healthy and it appears my health continues to decrease daily. I don't know what to do, I've tried everything and am very scared of what's to come! Any advise would be very helpful

[Suz1982]

I haven't read all the comments but you may need to have labs for your adrenal gland function. I am 61 and had a thyroidectomy secondary to Graves Disease. I went for nine years trying everything to sleep. My doc is the best following a long least of discarded doctors. He put me on hydrocortisone which boosted my adrenals during the day and translated to regulating my sleep cycle. The adrenals are part of the endocrine system that all my other doctors didn't consider.

Finally, I SLEEP!

[nat649]

I to have all the above its been like that for some time now my doctor has given me tamazpam it helped for a little wile but now i need more and he dont want to give them to much 7tabs in a mounth so i just try to manage it awfull the brain fog the next day. I wish i was one of them people that could sleep in the day but can't Yet before the thyriod i use to sleep for england like all night 8hr if not more now i am luckey if i get 3hr.

[lenox2708]

I am thankful to have found this site.  I, too, have had an awful time with sleep, most of the time getting 3-5 hours of sleep per night.  I'm exhausted all the time and can barely keep going.    I participated in a Lifetime Screening event, and the bloodwork came back that I was hypothyroid (TSH 5.3).  I went to my doctor who redid the bloodwork as well as tests for T3 and T4 and it all came back normal.  I have many of the other symptoms of hypothyroidism.  I plan to go back to my GP, although with a normal bloodtest, the nurse said why do you need to come back?    I read that Brewer's Yeast can help.  Has anyone had any experience with that?
I appreciate any info and I also am so very sorry for those of you with even worse sleeping problems than I have.  Hang tough!

[kmlada]

Hi, I am amazed to find someone who has the same problem as me, and to tell you the truth, my problem might even be worse than yours and I hope to the core of my being that your problem is not as worse as mine because I feel no one should go through what I do.  I may also ask if you find that no one truly believes the extent of your sleeplessness because I find that to be the case for me.  Let me first explain my issue(s).  I go WEEKS without sleeping (okay, maybe two hours a night if I am lucky).  I can't fall asleep and when I do I wake up every hour and when I am "sleeping" my mind is engaged and I am having "nightmares" mostly.  I am having what many may call "lucid dreams."  I know our minds are always going, but for most people they are unaware during sleep.  I am aware most of the time.  I have been plagued with this problem most of my adult life.  I am diagnosed with depression, PTSD, anxiety disorder, fibromyaliga and have even had grand mal seizures when I am in these long sleeplessness bouts.  I was once diagnosed with hypothyroidism and took synthroid, but don't recall how it helped with sleep.  I since do not have health insurance and that has deterred me from getting the help that I need.  I have been doing my own research because even when I did have the means to receive medical help I still could not find anything to help my sleep.  Medications (and believe me I HAVE tried it all.... I even was taking a barbiturate at one time and the use caused rhabdomyolysis.  I am thinking that I might become "mad" in the mental health sense of the word if I don't find a solution.  I am going to see if my doctor can find me a specialist---perhaps an endocrinologist to help with the issue because I am convinced of a thyroid problem in this case as I am having weight issues as well (despite eating well and even finding myself not eating at all because of the problem).  Thank you all for sharing your stories because they help to validate me and my situation as well as encourage me not to quit in my quest for a solution to this issue.  Many blessing to all of you!!  

[pinkoiz]

Am going through exactly what u have mentioned !! Its horrible to say the least. For 2 weeks straight i did not sleep for even a hr. I would be drowsy but the moment i would close my eyes my mind would be active. It just drove me nuts!! I seriously thought I would end up with a stroke or something! I got my thyroid tested and I am diagonized with hypothyroidism. My TSH has shot up to 109 !!
I been 2 days since i have started medication & a mild sedative but i am barely able to sleep .

[Dave0272]

Peggy,

I suffered all of last year from no sleep, partial sleep, anxiety, depresion, muscle twitches and fibromyalgia all from Hashimoto's and unstabilized thyroid dosage.  Got hooked on Ativan and relied on sleep meds.  I was in real bad shape.  Lack of sleep is horrible. I sympathize w/ you and no you can't die from sleep.  I went 3 days straight and thought I would die.

I finally realized this was not my life.  I sought out new Endo, switched to Levoxyl, upped the dose to 188mcg, TSH fell to 0.15, took Multi-V daily in morning, Calcium/Mag/Zinc at night and I was able to resolve all issues over time.  

Today I take no sleep aids, fibro gone, exercise regularly, sleep straight through the night w/ deep vivid dreams.

I think the biggest difference came from the Multi-V and definitely Calcium at night.

I really hope you resolve this issue.  Try the calcium.


Dave


PS   Please be careful w/ ativan and any benzo drug.

[LazyMoose]

I get insomnia at times also, well less than you though.

I agree those natural remedies dont do much.

So if I absolutely have to get sleep.....this is not the best advise but it works for occasional use, I take a swigg of nightime cold/cough syrup. Even this sometime results in only some sleep on the worst nights, but I feel relaxed without the zombie feel the next day.

I do drink straight lemon juice before bed, this works a little. I laughed when I read about that till I tried it.

LM

[peggy64]

Thank you for commenting. I already take melatonin. Have built up to 20 mg. did nothing. and the dr has me on BHRT.  I really think after all the research I have done that it is the adrenal thyroid problem and I don't think that until the adrenals are repaired or on the way, there is going to be much sleep. At least that is what all the research and what everyone that I have talked to with this says.

[MANmom]

Do you excersize?  You might try it.  A good three to four mile walk after dinner or after breakfast might get you tired enough to sleep.  I am so sorry, that must be miserable!

[anca77]

Before I was diagnosed with hypothyroid I start taking bioidentical hormones for menopause (estrogen and progesterone). They relay helped me with the sleep, no more sleepless nights.
Maybe you should check your hormones.
Melatonin can help in a way.

[gimel]

I'm late to this party.  LOL  Just wanted to ask if you would post whatever thyroid tests results (and reference ranges) you have from those done to determine your meds and dosage.

[peggy64]

well, here it is months later, and still waking up every 2 hours...with adrenaline surges. On armour thyroid, and BHRT. exhausted months ago.....

[peggy64]

That ativan and atarax did me the same way, plus it did not work....

[Totie]

I think that is what my dr. gave me last time. I will check when i get home and let you know. I only took it once, it made my body jerk.

[peggy64]

dr just called and is giving me seroquel. I only got 10 of them filled as I have BOTTLES of sleeping meds that have been tried and did not work.

ok, I am like so sleepy, I feel drunk,  but this was cheaper....ha ha ha ha

[peggy64]

you never get tired....how awesome is that to someone that is totally fatigued!!

I have gone undiagosed with hypoT for so long. It is irritating when you don't know if the problem is from the medicine or the disease itself.

My issue is if its the medicine, and I change that will be good, but if its the disease, I change meds, the synthroid does not work, then I have to start back over on armour.

this decision, in addition to everything else is enough to drive you mad!!

[Totie]

I have never tried armour. I have been on Synthroid ever since the TT. I was on 200mcg for about 13 yrs, then for some reason they dropped dosage to 125mcg. I have never had problems with it that I can associate with Synthroid. I do get my levels checked every 1-1.5 yrs. The reason for the TT was because of graves/hypthyroidism. We tried the RAI, but it did not work. My body was to far gone before they finally figured out what was wrong with me. They kept treating me for depression/anxiety, never took blood work. It took another dr. about 20 seconds to dx me. My regular dr. was out and my neck had swelled so much. Went in for CT Scan, and was admitted right there and then. You would have thought my weight loss was a sign, but they never looked at that. I was down to about 85lbs, but ate non-stop. I still eat non-stop and have lost weight in the last 6 months, but that is a totally different issue, or at least they tell me it is not thyroid related since i do not have a thyroid...I think the graves disease did a number on my body since it took them 6 months to figure it out, by then my organs were affected...

The kicker is I never get tired, NEVER!  I know I need to let my body rest, but it won't.

[peggy64]

I used to sleep like a baby until this thyroid decided it was having no more of that.

Do you ever feel tired? Are you synthroid or armour?

[Totie]

I am like you except every little thing keeps me from sleeping. I am a light sleeper to begin with. My brain does go a 100mph as well. I get up to go to the bathroom, I wake up because of night sweats, sometimes i get up to drink cold orange juice, sometimes i get up to find something to snack on. I use to lay down at 10pm, but it would be 12am before i would dose off, and i would be up in an hour or two. I have talked to my dr about this and all they can do is give me different sleeping pills to try, i finally gave up 3 years ago on taking anything. It does not seem to affect my daily activities so the dr. just says that is the way I am wired. I did not become this way until my TT, so I do believe it has something to do with that.

[peggy64]

AM, how are you doing these days? I hope you are doing well....

[peggy64]

hi, AMT, good to hear from you again. I am still in my none sleeping mode. Still exhausted.

totie,

That is horrible.  I hope that that is not the case. If so, then I have got to find some way to adapt. I am just pure exhausted.

[Totie]

I have not slept more than 2-3 hrs a night straight since '94 after my TT. I too have tried all the methods mentioned above all to no avail. I have decided this is how my body will be for the rest of my life. I however, do not have the exhausted, fatigue, feeling. I still get up and go to work, and continue with my normal activities. I do not get sleepy during the day nor do i need naps. I have always had this and do not see it going away.

Could be due to our metabolism.

[amtlmn]

hi peggy!

I have not been on this site much in the last couple of weeks but you continue to be in my thoughts and prayers. How are you doing with your sleeping situation?