T4 And Trouble Falling Asleep

[pyttsan]

I feel a lot better when taking T4 (usually 50 mcg) and I seem to sleep better on it (less problems with high cortisol and waking up at night I think).

However, falling asleep is much harder, I feel the pressure at my skull and feel wide awake having trouble calming myself down.

Has anyone else experienced this and found a solution?

 

[John Frusciante]

T4 alone, especially in that concentration, is likely to suppress the thyroid so that's probably why you have troubles falling asleep

 

[sweetpeat]

Have you experimented with taking it at different times?

 

[marsaday]

T4 should be taken at bedtime or a bit earlier. It fits in with when we naturally make our own thyroid hormones. TSH is highest when we go to bed and we then make thyroid in the first half of the night. The second half of the night we make cortisol and this amount is related to thyroid production. So thyroid patients tend to have lower levels of cortisol on waking because thyroid production is lower.

Because you are now supplying T4 at bedtime this will help as you mention with the issue with adrenal activity. You mention cortisol spikes, but it is actually adrenaline. We have these energy systems, thyroid, cortisol and adrenaline. Healthy people will get most energy from thyroid production. These people have a natural high metabolism. Our aim is to replicate this.

Your issue with falling asleep can easily be rectified. It is normal that T3 provokes what you are experiencing, so always best to take T3 in the morning. T4 is usually ok at bedtime, but it can cause issues.

So the thing to do is take the T4 4-5h's before official bedtime. Dr Blanchard in the USA recommends all his thyroid patients to take T4 at this time. I used to take my T4 at bedtime because it is so much more effective as described earlier. But i now take my T4 around 6pm and this still gives me the good effects of bedtime dosing. I do this because i have found i have more energy in the evenings and so it aids my sports activity much more.

T4 dose timing is critical to better health. The docs just recommend a generic morning routine, but there is so much more we can achieve by altering the dosing of T4. You can also multiple dose the T4 and see how this works. e.g., Try 25 T4 at 6pm and then 25 T4 at bedtime.

T4 dosing and timings are crucial to optimising thyroid health.

The only way to find what suits you is trial and error. You will certainly see an improvement.

 

[pyttsan]

T4 alone, especially in that concentration, is likely to suppress the thyroid so that's probably why you have troubles falling asleep

No, it's because I'm slightly hypothyroid that I'm having trouble sleeping.

T4 should be taken at bedtime or a bit earlier. It fits in with when we naturally make our own thyroid hormones. TSH is highest when we go to bed and we then make thyroid in the first half of the night. The second half of the night we make cortisol and this amount is related to thyroid production. So thyroid patients tend to have lower levels of cortisol on waking because thyroid production is lower.

Because you are now supplying T4 at bedtime this will help as you mention with the issue with adrenal activity. You mention cortisol spikes, but it is actually adrenaline. We have these energy systems, thyroid, cortisol and adrenaline. Healthy people will get most energy from thyroid production. These people have a natural high metabolism. Our aim is to replicate this.

Your issue with falling asleep can easily be rectified. It is normal that T3 provokes what you are experiencing, so always best to take T3 in the morning. T4 is usually ok at bedtime, but it can cause issues.

So the thing to do is take the T4 4-5h's before official bedtime. Dr Blanchard in the USA recommends all his thyroid patients to take T4 at this time. I used to take my T4 at bedtime because it is so much more effective as described earlier. But i now take my T4 around 6pm and this still gives me the good effects of bedtime dosing. I do this because i have found i have more energy in the evenings and so it aids my sports activity much more.

T4 dose timing is critical to better health. The docs just recommend a generic morning routine, but there is so much more we can achieve by altering the dosing of T4. You can also multiple dose the T4 and see how this works. e.g., Try 25 T4 at 6pm and then 25 T4 at bedtime.

T4 dosing and timings are crucial to optimising thyroid health.

The only way to find what suits you is trial and error. You will certainly see an improvement.

Thank you very much for such an informative post!
I've been taking it in the morning but will do as you say and see if there will be a difference. Maybe this way I can up the dosage to 100 mcg (I feel better on this dose but it made falling asleep impossible).

 

[John Frusciante]

No, it's because I'm slightly hypothyroid that I'm having trouble sleeping.

The T4 will make you even more hypothyroid, with more trouble sleeping. People should understand that T4 can act in the opposite direction in many situations, Ray's made it clear many times.