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Is it normal/okay to take Cytomel then falling back asleep?
I'm new to Tirosint (previously on Levoxyl) and to Cytomel. I've been taking Tirosint and half my Cytomel dose together at 7am. I then fall back asleep until 9 am. Is this normal?
I haven't been sleeping well and wake up frequently during the night to urinate. I always drink water then too which is by the bed. Sometimes I can't fall back a sleep from anywhere from a half hour to a few hours. So I wonder if this is why I can sleep after the Cytomel?
I take my next dose of Cytomel at 11 am or 12pm. I've been mistakenly taking this dose with Copper and Vitamin D, but will start taking them four hours apart based on information I just read on another post here.
Is it normal or okay to take Cytomel and fall back asleep for two hours?
I haven't been sleeping well and wake up frequently during the night to urinate. I always drink water then too which is by the bed. Sometimes I can't fall back a sleep from anywhere from a half hour to a few hours. So I wonder if this is why I can sleep after the Cytomel?
I take my next dose of Cytomel at 11 am or 12pm. I've been mistakenly taking this dose with Copper and Vitamin D, but will start taking them four hours apart based on information I just read on another post here.
Is it normal or okay to take Cytomel and fall back asleep for two hours?
Hi KittyCatCove,
If your off Label antidepressant was Adderall then I've taken that and fallen asleep too. I'm also diagnosed with ADHD and begrudgingly agreed to try it five days a week for a month. At the time I didn't know my Hashimoto's had made me hypo (I forgot I had Hashimoto's, but a recent medical record mailed to me showed it was diagnosed over 10 years ago and I forgot/didn't understand I had a diagnosis).
I get warm about an hour or two after Tirosint (recently reduced from 100 to 88) and Cytomel 5, and can be in a 71 degrees house without being cold. I wake up at 7, T4 and half my T3, put on socks, get a blanket and go back to sleep. By 9am, I'm warm and ready to get up and don't need socks. I don't know if that's my booste, but I think so. I have two 8 oz cups of coffee when I wake up. I can do with one, but really enjoy coffee. I get excited easily, but am not a high energy person, so maybe I don't get a booste. I use to spend a lot of the day lying in bed and that has improved a lot. I still need a lot of sleep and tend to fall asleep between 10 and 11 pm.
I was initially upset that my doctor wanted to reduce my meds because of TSH at .006, but he let me stay on my dose for over six months to see if my TSH would go up. Which I appreciate, but it didn't so he reduced my T4 from 100 to 88 last month and I'm feeling fine still. Maybe even better, but I don't know how much of that has to do with summer approaching and warmer weather?
I'm ill now and have recently had a rash on my hand that could be Derrmatitis Herpetiforms (unconfirmed). That's mostly gone away, but I now have oral herpes (inside my mouth) since going to the dentist for a temporary crown. The same thing has happened the last three times I've had dental work since becoming hypo.
But now I think less of my "illnesses" are related to my thyroid as my body has finally gotten some of the T3 it was missing. Cytomel has helped me a lot I think. As for your case, I'm glad you're taking both T4 and T3 at this point and that it's helping you too.
Also check those vitamins as Barb said. I've been low in B12, D, Iron and Copper. All of which can affect your energy levels.
I like your name too as I lurv cat's. My late cat was named Sissaphus and we called her Sissy!
Your late mother's name, Narcissa, is very beautiful.
If your off Label antidepressant was Adderall then I've taken that and fallen asleep too. I'm also diagnosed with ADHD and begrudgingly agreed to try it five days a week for a month. At the time I didn't know my Hashimoto's had made me hypo (I forgot I had Hashimoto's, but a recent medical record mailed to me showed it was diagnosed over 10 years ago and I forgot/didn't understand I had a diagnosis).
I get warm about an hour or two after Tirosint (recently reduced from 100 to 88) and Cytomel 5, and can be in a 71 degrees house without being cold. I wake up at 7, T4 and half my T3, put on socks, get a blanket and go back to sleep. By 9am, I'm warm and ready to get up and don't need socks. I don't know if that's my booste, but I think so. I have two 8 oz cups of coffee when I wake up. I can do with one, but really enjoy coffee. I get excited easily, but am not a high energy person, so maybe I don't get a booste. I use to spend a lot of the day lying in bed and that has improved a lot. I still need a lot of sleep and tend to fall asleep between 10 and 11 pm.
I was initially upset that my doctor wanted to reduce my meds because of TSH at .006, but he let me stay on my dose for over six months to see if my TSH would go up. Which I appreciate, but it didn't so he reduced my T4 from 100 to 88 last month and I'm feeling fine still. Maybe even better, but I don't know how much of that has to do with summer approaching and warmer weather?
I'm ill now and have recently had a rash on my hand that could be Derrmatitis Herpetiforms (unconfirmed). That's mostly gone away, but I now have oral herpes (inside my mouth) since going to the dentist for a temporary crown. The same thing has happened the last three times I've had dental work since becoming hypo.
But now I think less of my "illnesses" are related to my thyroid as my body has finally gotten some of the T3 it was missing. Cytomel has helped me a lot I think. As for your case, I'm glad you're taking both T4 and T3 at this point and that it's helping you too.
Also check those vitamins as Barb said. I've been low in B12, D, Iron and Copper. All of which can affect your energy levels.
I like your name too as I lurv cat's. My late cat was named Sissaphus and we called her Sissy!
Your late mother's name, Narcissa, is very beautiful.
COMMUNITY LEADER
I'm not sure what caused the "switch" to go off when you suddenly felt better, after taking the synthroid for one day, because it takes synthroid 4-6 weeks to build in your system, so it wouldn't work that quickly.
No, I don't feel a "bump" when I take my T3 med in the morning. I don't get the immediate "high" that many people indicate. I'm only on 7.5 mcg T3 and I take 5 mcg in the morning, and the other 2.5 mcg around noon. I still don't get a "bump" from the noon dose, either, but it does help get me past the need to nap every afternoon.
I've been on T3 medication for over 3 years. Was on it it for several months, before my FT3 actually began rising. FT3 often lags behind FT4.
The idea is not to get a "bump" when you take the medication -- it's to keep your levels steady over the course of the day, so you have neither peaks, nor valleys, just steady energy.
If you're that tired on 25 mcg cytomel, maybe you need to look at other causes of fatigue, such as low vitamin B12 or low vitamin D, diabetes, etc.
It would be helpful if you'd please post your actual thyroid levels, so we can better assess your situation. Be sure to include reference ranges, since those vary lab to lab and must come from your own report.
No, I don't feel a "bump" when I take my T3 med in the morning. I don't get the immediate "high" that many people indicate. I'm only on 7.5 mcg T3 and I take 5 mcg in the morning, and the other 2.5 mcg around noon. I still don't get a "bump" from the noon dose, either, but it does help get me past the need to nap every afternoon.
I've been on T3 medication for over 3 years. Was on it it for several months, before my FT3 actually began rising. FT3 often lags behind FT4.
The idea is not to get a "bump" when you take the medication -- it's to keep your levels steady over the course of the day, so you have neither peaks, nor valleys, just steady energy.
If you're that tired on 25 mcg cytomel, maybe you need to look at other causes of fatigue, such as low vitamin B12 or low vitamin D, diabetes, etc.
It would be helpful if you'd please post your actual thyroid levels, so we can better assess your situation. Be sure to include reference ranges, since those vary lab to lab and must come from your own report.
I didn't quite get it right. I went from 50 mcg. of generic synthroid daily to 25 mcg. of Cytomel daily because I'd begun being tired again. The doctor at first had me stop the Synthroid and JUST take the 25 mcg. of Cytomel. I took this for a week. For several days I DID take it first thing in the morning but NEVER got the bump I wanted. I was extremely exhausted continually. I got so little done I couldn't believe it. I stayed in bed a lot. I then asked my doctor if I could add back half of the Synthroid, and she said: Sure. And I did. And the next day, a switch went off. I was SO much better. I got SO much done and have ever since. I often respond differently to things than others. I was prescribed something for depression years ago, that in hindsight I'm sure had to do with my underactive thyroid, and not the usual Zoloft and stuff you're seeing on TV all the time, something off-label - and was ASSURED it would be stimulating - that everyone who took it found it almost speedy - I slept all day every day for a week on that stuff. I stopped taking it and didn't try anything else. I got over that spell, but, that's another story. Do you feel a bump when you take Cytomel first thing in the morning? Or do you stay tired for awhile? Another thing, I don't wake up EXHAUSTED now. Before
COMMUNITY LEADER
Cytomel is T3 med, which is pretty fast acting and doesn't stay in your system for very long... most of us on T3 med find it advantageous to take 1/2 in the morning with T4 med, then the other 1/2 about mid day.
Unlike T4 meds, such as synthroid, cytomel and generic T3 meds do not have to be taken on an empty stomach; they can be taken with or without food.......
If you split your cytomel dose, you might be able to skip the afternoon tiredness. Recommended not to take cytomel/T3 med after around 3:00 pm, as it may interfere with sleep......
Unlike T4 meds, such as synthroid, cytomel and generic T3 meds do not have to be taken on an empty stomach; they can be taken with or without food.......
If you split your cytomel dose, you might be able to skip the afternoon tiredness. Recommended not to take cytomel/T3 med after around 3:00 pm, as it may interfere with sleep......
I know that it's a while since you posted this, but I only just saw it. Your nickname reminds me of my late Mother, Narcissa who was called Sissy. I like that. I started taking Cytomel with Synthroid about a week ago. I'd been taking 50 mcg. of Synthroid. Now I take 25 Synthroid and 25 Cytomel and I take them BOTH at about 4 in the morning and go RIGHT back to sleep. That way when I wake up around 8 I can take whatever vitamins or what have you I want and eat, too. I have been getting sleepy around noon, but a cup or two of a caffeinated beverage keeps me going until night, or I go ahead and take a brief nap. Also, I haven't been getting quite enough sleep because I'm busy, and that might well be why I'm sleepy. I don't sleep very long during the day anymore and I wake up ready to go again. I don't know if this is RIGHT, but I absolutely feel better than I used to, and that's what matters to me. I hope that you're doing better now, too. It's been several months.
ouch... im not switching again for a long time. im sticking to this naturethroid stuff, if it doesnt work im going to have my thryoid removed and start over. no more switching for me. im on a straight path :)
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- It kind of comes down to whatever works for you. Some people take T4 meds before bed and it makes them sleep better. Thats kind of the opposite of what most would assume. Never heard of the same result with a T3 med though.
When I was very hypo, I could sleep like a rock for a few hours, then layed there with my eyes closed for the remainder of the night till the alarm went off.
There is the thought that unbalanced hormones contribute to throwing the bodies circadian rhythm out of whack. As you know, insomia is increased when someone's hypo. Anxiety levels are also increased when hypothyroid. Could be that fast acting cytomel is instantly calming your bodies need for more thyroid hormone; in turn helping you sleep better.