Sleeping all the time

I was put on meds eight years ago and now they don't think I ever needed it. I've come off two thirds of what I was on and the results were good, but this drop has been really terrible. My results were only borderline years ago so I could have probably continued without being medicated. Doctors never listened to me when I went back many times saying I felt worse on the meds

Hi Caz. It's Trixie again. I'm still off work but feeling a little better every week. I've found being really careful about pacing myself is working. If I overdo it I really suffer. When I'm ok but not great I do something small like hang out the washing then make sure I sit down for 15 mins. In this way I can actually get through quite a lot without tiring myself out. This week I'd planned to meet a friend for an hour and took it really easy in the morning and made sure I laid down afterwards. I feel I'm gradually building my stamina back up. Ive got my first endo appointment this week so will let you know if he's got any other advice. I only dropped 25mg and can't believe it's taken so long for my body to get used to it. Almost eight weeks now. Def on the mend though. Do you have good days or good spells in the day?

Hi trixie,

I try to pace but difficult with work etc when it's always so full on. Glad you have managed to find a good balance. I find it easier at the weekend when I have a bit more control of my day. I know what you mean, it takes me at least eight weeks to feel any better after a reduction. I had to try dropping by 12.5 because I had to take a couple of weeks off work the last time I tried dropping by 25, it was too much for me.

Hi dave, it's come to light many years later than I was only borderline when I was diagnosed with no confirmed cause of hypothyroidism. So my endo ran other tests and said I was almost certainly taking too much. I had worsening symptoms after I started the meds but lots of doctors ignored this and told me my results were normal. I was on 150mg and now Im down to 37.5, but feel it has got too low now and I don't want to drop anymore because the constant drops are ruining my life. (they wanted me to spend the next year doing this)

Hi Caz, it occurred to me that as you are going through a reduction in thyroxine this will affect your metabolism and your ability to get the nutrients you need from food. The important ones are : iron, ferritin (which your body makes from iron and is fixed by taken iron tablets - ferritin needs to be 70+ to process thyroxine properly), vitamin B12, vitamin D, calcium, selenium, magnesium, potassium. Your GP may not be able to test for all these. Whether you can get tested or not, it will probably help to take a multivitamin that covers a wide range -theones aimed at age 50+ ones are good. I take one called multivitality gold. Hang in there, you've already managed a huge reduction. Best wishes, Barbara

Hi Barbara,

Thanks for this info. My metabolism has definitely slowed because I put on about half a stone in two weeks without changing my eating habits. It hadn't occurred to me that I may not be getting the nutrients. I had the above tested before I did the reductions and they were all fine, but I think you are right that they may be too low now. I am taking vitamin D supplements anyway but might take a multivitamin to cover the rest of the above.

Thanks for pointing that out, it hadn't occurred to me that I might not be getting enough nutrients at the moment. Xx

Hi cat, it's funny isn't that we don't spot this stuff in ourselves? My daughter pointed out that I might be low in salt because I don't eat any foods with it in, due to my allergies and intolerances I am only eating fresh meat and vegetables and I dont add salt. Although I'm taking a multivitamin they tend not to include salt as people usually get more than enough from diet. With regard to weight, I've found that when my thyroid levels are low I crave carbohydrates, yet the don't make me feel better when I eat them and they just cause me to put on weight. I know it's a hassle, but try making bone broth soup by boiling up bones for 24 hours (using a slow cooker is ideal) and use the strained liquid added to steamed vegetables (not potatoes) and blended to make soup. I add herbs such as bay leaf to the bones as they cook. This soup is nutritious and low in calories, so it helps stop the cravings without piling on the weight. Xx

Hi Barbara, thanks for the tip! Yes sometimes it's difficult to see the wood for the trees when it's happening to yourself. My cravings went up too and I've just felt hungrier in general. Hoping to find some sort of normality in the next few months. I don't think the doctors understand the hell you go through when they reduce thyroid meds X 

Hi Caz, I completely agree re side effects of reducing meds being hell. That's why I always did it by a quarter of a 25mcg tablet at a time. I think some people are more sensitive to a reduction than others. It's amazing how far you've managed to reduce your dose. You've managed it by 75% so far - you're nearly at your holy grail of zero!

Hi Barbara, Yes I took your advice and did it really slowly but it still affected me like this - some people seem to be OK dropping 25mg in one go.

Yes I've come off quite a lot, but the ultrasound said my thyroid was very small (probably damaged by the high doses of medication) so they said it may not be possible for me to come off the whole lot. Would be nice, but at least I've got a big chunk of it out of my system x

Hi Caz, your thyroid may be small, but it must still be working a bit for you to be able to reduce your dose so much. So there is hope it will recover. X