Could it be a thyroid problem

[Tony]

For years I have been falling asleep afetr meals - even while on Atkins. Yesterday, I was reading his new book and he says low thyroid has many of my symptoms. I iwll use his test to see if I do. Has nayone else suffered from sleepiness, mood changes, depression etc from thyroid?

[agonycat]

Tony have you seen a doctor about this? It may be you need medication to correct it.

[Tony]

Thanks for asking. I haven't seen my doctor yet. For years I have been falling asleep during the day and having mood swings, goggyness etc. My doctor finally tested me for apnia and narcolepsy but just dropped it when the tests were negative.

While reading Atkins new book, I notices that the symptoms for low thyroid match many of mine and Atlins suggests you take your temerature 4 times a day for 4 days. If it averages less that 98, you may have a low thyroid. I have take it 3 times and so far, all under 98. I will continue the test andthen consult my doctor with the rsults. Atkins also recommends nutients for this. My doctor probably will tell me that I am wrong, so I may try the nutients and see fi ghey help.

[doreen T]

Reactive hypoglycemia will also cause the same symptoms you describe .. especially since you experience this after eating.

When you eat, it triggers the release of insulin to deal with any carbs that may be present. For sensitive individuals, even though the carb intake may be low, the hormonal response to eating is the same as if a larger amount had been eaten. The excess insulin will cause what little sugar there is to be moved into the cells, thus making the blood sugar very, very low. And at the same time, there's still extra insulin floating around. The symptoms .. extreme fatigue, tiredness, sleepiness, nausea, headache, chills .. some people even throw up, or faint. Some people even have the same reaction to zero-carb foods with artificial sweeteners, since the sweet taste triggers the insulin release.

I don't have Dr. A's newest book, but I know he devoted an entire chapter to hypoglycemia, insulin and diabetes in his other volumes. It's such an important issue, so I'm sure there's discussion of it in the latest edition.

In general, to relieve the symptoms of hypoglycemia ... eat smaller meals more frequently. This will help to avoid the big surges of insulin, and long stretches between meals where the blood sugar can drop too low. As well, never eat carbs, or fake carbs alone. Always have some protein or fat with it, to slow the absorption and thus again, prevent a spike of insulin. And preferably, avoid all sweets completely, including artificial sweeteners, since they can trigger insulin just the same as real sugar.

Do have things checked by the dr. though. Hope you feel better soon :)

Doreen

[shaz]

Hi Tony, I was diagnosed hypothyroid last year and am still in the process of getting the medication stabilised.

For me, symptoms were feeling constantly tired and down (and needing a couple of naps a day), headaches, weight gain which could not be reduced by more than 1-2 pound despite weightwatchers and 5 days a week down at the gym and feeling cold a lot.

Even going onto meds did not make any difference to losing weight until I began the Atkins scheme.

A simple blood test at the doctors will assess your levels. If you want to talk more about this, you are welcome to message me on yahoo (my address is on my profile) as I don't think I can pm on the group yet.

Good luck with it.

Shaz

[Tony]

Thanks for telling me that. My symptoms are being tired a lot and falling asleep afetr every meal. I cannot drive safely without my wife. Also mood swings and depression. I never thought about thyroid but in Atkins new book he mentioned it. I am trying his test of taking my temperature 4 times per day. So far I am averaging about 97 degrees and especisally when hungry. I am seeing my doctor next week but he usually tells me I am nuts. I have been trying to solve this problem for 20 years, so i suyre hope this will help.

Tony

PS I couldnt find your email address. Mine is tony~salesco.net

[Glenda]

Tony, you say your doctor tested you for sleep apnea and narcolepsy. What kind of tests were done?? Did you go to a sleep clinic and stay overnight?? It hink that is the only way to really tell. My husband was diagnosed with sleep apnea and restless legs syndrome. He used to be so tired during the day all the time. The restless legs were the most interesting fact. He moved his legs an average of 17 times per minute when asleep. The CPAP machine does not help the restless legs, but at least when he is asleep, he is sleeping well. Now he is much better, although not 100%.

Glenda

[Tony]

Thanks for your interest. Yes, I went for the big sleep test overnight at a clinic. They said I do not have apnenia or narcolepsy. I asked what else I could have but they said that is all they test for. So I am left to keep trying to solve this mystery myself.

Thanks for your interest.

[shaz]

Hi Tony,

Couldn't email you as addresses can't be shown on the site.

Regarding the blood test we were talking about - you just need to ask the doctor for a thyroid function test (a little blood and a couple of weeks later the results are back).

If they are negative (within 'normal' parameters) you can discount it as a possibility, if they are outside normal you can arrange treatment.

It is so frustrating when the doctors don't listen about how you feel!

There is loads of thyroid information on the net - check out a good site by mary shomon - there are lots of symptom lists etc.

Hope you are doing ok

Shaz

[BaileyWS]

Tony,

Your symptoms sound serious enough if you can't drive without your wife in the car for fear of drifting off ... If your doctor doesn't take you seriously, you might consider seeing another doctor.

Ask for the thyroid function tests -- THS, T4, T3 ... that should relieve your suspicion. The symptoms you mention could very well be hypothyroid, but they could be pointing to a number of things as well.

I am hypo thyroid ... and, actually, I'm scheduled to have my thyroid removed on Wednesday, Feb 6. I was feeling tired all the time and not sleeping well ...

If the thyroid tests come back outside the normal range you can expect to take medication to bring them into the normal range ... but even if you test normal, the thyroid could be off ... the "normal range" is quite a range ... it could be that although you're testing "normal" it's still not normal for you. As someone already mentioned ... there is lots and lots of good information on hypothyroidism on the web ... do a search.

[ruby]

Hi,
I'm hypothyroid. Before I was diagnosed I gained 20 lbs, was sleeping 11 hours a night and still tired during the day, and, particularly, I kept the heat in the bedroom so high my husband complained it was like a sauna. In fact, for a whole year he kept saying the apartment was way too hot. It was two years later I was diagnosed with hypothyroid. And my body temperature was always 97 degrees.

I'm now medicated, not cold anymore, not sleeping so much, and still struggling with weight, but my endocrinologist says the weight is unrelated to my thyroid since I'm taking medication.

If you feel parti. cularly sleepy in the mid afternoon, say 3:00 pm, that could signal hypoglycemia. I have that also. And you can get very sluggish and dazed, cloudy thinking, and sweats and tremors from it. The test for that, fasting glucose tolerance test, is pretty awful - at least I felt very shakey when I did it -- because that's how a hypoglycemic reacts. You go in fasting from the night before, they give you a very sugary orange drink, and you stay there for five hours while the nurse draws blood at half hour intervals. In the fourth hour mine was very low. My doctor said my reaction was extreme and was stunned I could cope with that. (i'd have chocolate bars throughout the day, is how I did it. And I don't even like chocolate but it was easy to purchase, readily available and always did the trick.) She recommended protein, many mini meals - as much as 17 a day!, (I never do this) but manage quite well on 5 or 6). BTW,
Atkins totally takes care of the hypoglycemia issue. I don't have those surges and shakes.

Hope this helps,
Ruby :wave:

[Melberry]

Tony
You will be relieved to know that you are not the only one. My partner has been through numerous sleep tests after falling asleep all the time (very dangerous considering he was a learner driver instructor). Eventually they ruled out sleep apnoea and narcolepsy and, like you said, the doctors just dropped it when it wasn't one of those. Now, 6 months later, we finally find out from a naturopath (although his doctor disputes it but he didn't do the T3 & T4 test) that his thyroid is very low. It is interesting that this could be the cause of the sleep problems.

I believe that Tyrosine & Iodine can help improve your thyroid and that is what we are trying at the moment.

Good luck Tony

Melberry :)