Guest guest Posted August 27, 2004 Report Share Posted August 27, 2004 Hi all! I've been on Armour for two weeks now. While I have been enjoying an increase in physical activity, I am also experiencing a visit from my old arch-enemy, insomnia. I have been taking my Armour at 9 a.m. and again at 1-2 p.m. It is a low dose of 30 mg., a starter dose, really. As far as I know, I don't have sleep apnea, though I do have sinus trouble. I don't use caffeine, but for the last few days, I've been eating skim milk ice cream bars that contain a little cocoa, so that's suspect. I haven't been able to fall asleep until 2 a.m. for the last week, which has thrown me off during the day. Last night was the worst, though. I went to sleep around 1 a.m., and then woke up every fifteen minutes or so from 3:30 to 7 a.m. I had to cancel my appointment with my therapist, and consequently slept until 1 p.m. this afternoon. Crikey! This is so frustratiing-- I've been drinking warm milk and calcium magnesium before I go to bed. The last time I talked to my doctor (Monday)-- he said something about the possibility of me having " delayed absorption " . I know other people on this group take their Armour at bedtime. I just don't know what to think! I take that back-- I do know what to think. I think I want some sleep! Best wishes-- Courtenay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 28, 2004 Report Share Posted August 28, 2004 What should I do? I'm going to try backing the second dose of Armour down for the next few days until I am taking it with the first dose. It happened again last night. I was perfectly asleep and then BOINK! At 4:30, I was awake. I tossed and turned for the next hour and a half. My legs were twitchy. Luckily, it didn't fully wake me up, but I'm tired this morning. Really tired. It is so frustrating! I was just getting to the point where I had enough energy to get me through the day and now this! Aaaaaargh. Best-- Courtenay. Sounds like your cortisol is staying up and not coming down, even in the evening. 30 mgs is a very low dose, maybe just enough to crank up the cortisol more going t'wd the evening, but not enough to make it " use itself up " . Sort of like a " kindling " effect. This is my best guess, as low as your dose of Armour is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 28, 2004 Report Share Posted August 28, 2004 What should I do? I'm going to try backing the second dose of Armour down for the next few days until I am taking it with the first dose. It happened again last night. I was perfectly asleep and then BOINK! At 4:30, I was awake. I tossed and turned for the next hour and a half. My legs were twitchy. Luckily, it didn't fully wake me up, but I'm tired this morning. Really tired. It is so frustrating! I was just getting to the point where I had enough energy to get me through the day and now this! Aaaaaargh. Best-- Courtenay. Sounds like your cortisol is staying up and not coming down, even in the evening. 30 mgs is a very low dose, maybe just enough to crank up the cortisol more going t'wd the evening, but not enough to make it " use itself up " . Sort of like a " kindling " effect. This is my best guess, as low as your dose of Armour is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 29, 2004 Report Share Posted August 29, 2004 Dear -- Do you think I should move the second dose to later in the day? Right now, I am at 9-10 a.m. and 1-2 a.m. I ended up taking my second dose at 3 p.m. yesterday and I only woke up once last night. Or are you saying that I just need more Armour? I see my doctor on September 9. What's been really nice is that I can feel a little bit of improvement for the last two weeks. I really appreciate your time and energy to this question-- I've been exhausted all week. Best wishes-- Courtenay. I still think that that dose of Armour is too low at this point. IF you have plenty of cortisol to cover it, and you say that you do, I think it's time to bump up the Armour. From the time of morning that you're waking up, I'm still thinking that the cortisol has begun higher production a little before that or around about that time. To me, there is not enough thyroid at this point of the night. If you were low on cortisol, it would be a whole different scenario. My opinion. In a person with normal cortisol production, this would be about the time of morning that it starts into heavier production. I know this is a guess. I think that your Armour is ready to be bumped up a little bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 29, 2004 Report Share Posted August 29, 2004 Dear -- Do you think I should move the second dose to later in the day? Right now, I am at 9-10 a.m. and 1-2 a.m. I ended up taking my second dose at 3 p.m. yesterday and I only woke up once last night. Or are you saying that I just need more Armour? I see my doctor on September 9. What's been really nice is that I can feel a little bit of improvement for the last two weeks. I really appreciate your time and energy to this question-- I've been exhausted all week. Best wishes-- Courtenay. I still think that that dose of Armour is too low at this point. IF you have plenty of cortisol to cover it, and you say that you do, I think it's time to bump up the Armour. From the time of morning that you're waking up, I'm still thinking that the cortisol has begun higher production a little before that or around about that time. To me, there is not enough thyroid at this point of the night. If you were low on cortisol, it would be a whole different scenario. My opinion. In a person with normal cortisol production, this would be about the time of morning that it starts into heavier production. I know this is a guess. I think that your Armour is ready to be bumped up a little bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 30, 2004 Report Share Posted August 30, 2004 I just reread Courtenay's post, and I know it says 1 a.m., but I think she meant p.m. If it is a.m., that's an awfully long stretch, just as it is an awfully long stretch from 1 p.m. to the middle of the night. I have figured out that I have to take it like Topper does, even if my dose isn't as big as hers. Somehow, that seems to work best for me at present. Some people's own thyroid production may be kicking in at night a little, and it may be the ONLY time theirs has a good part of it's own. I think mine is different in that, I may not need as large an overall dose, but I seem to need it more often. My former healthy body must have been in naturally high production to make it run right, all the time, either that, or I have a higher cortisol production than I have thought that I have, especially during the day. We're all so different. I have to have it in small increments ALL the time, but I don't mind, as long as I can remember it. I've forgotten it at work on occasion because of the unpredictable nature of the work, lol! For instance, I may have been at the nursing station just thinking about taking it, then I hear a noise in a patient's room, go check that out, then forget by the time I'm back again. Re: insomnia and armour? Sometime when you don't have to get up and go to work in the morning, you might want to try taking your second dose close to bedtime. It is counter-intuitive, but then a lot of good stuff is. . . . Courtenay wrote: Do you think I should move the second dose to later in the day? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 30, 2004 Report Share Posted August 30, 2004 Dear -- I figured as much on the low dose-- after my debacle with increasing my meds (Levoxyl) too quickly, I am learning to be patient with my dosing. It's only been two weeks. I know my dose is too low, but the doctor and I have agreed to wait until my next set of blood tests in another two weeks to see what happens. Even when my TSH started to climb after I detoxed off Levoxyl, I did not feel nearly as bad as I did when I was taking it. And now that I'm taking the Armour, I feel pretty darn good-- not great, but good. I am so hopeful! There was an engineer who posted on the thyroid.about.com website, who figured out some exact timing measurement for figuring when to take his Armour. I may look up that post. Today, I took the second dose at 4 p.m. and promptly took a nap... I'm afraid to split the dose any smaller because I'm only taking a quarter pill per dose-- they're kind of fragile. And I want to make sure I'm exact in my dosing. Maybe when the doctor titrates it upward, I can ask him to give me a lower dosage pill so I can split it and take that throughout the day. Hmmmm. Even though the last week has been tough, I am grateful that this medication is working and that I have had only low-grade side affects. I never want to go through what I went through with the Levoxyl. Thanks so much for your thoughtful advice! Best-- Courtenay. My best guess Courtenay is probably both. How long did you say that you've been on the Armour? I was thinking that it can't be more than a few wks or so, but, as I said, 30 mgs is too low a dose for most people, just enough to lower production of the thyroid gland I'm thinking. Also, I know that I've got to have a dose right before bed. Ove the past few wks, I've even got mine split into 6 doses, all the way from when I first get up clear to the minute I fall into bed. Yes, it's difficult to remember, but it is worth it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 30, 2004 Report Share Posted August 30, 2004 So sorry about that -- I take 30 mg overall. I split a 60 mg pill in half and half again, so that I can take 15 mgs between 9 a.m.-10 a.m. and 15 mgs again at 1 p.m. Today, though, I took it at 4 p.m instead of 1 p.m. I really, really hope to sleep tonight. If this keeps up, I'm going to have to take up some sort of craft. Macrame... decoupage.... knitting... Any suggestions? I am so glad your progesterone cream has started working and that you are able to sleep. I am sending some good vibes your way, in the hopes that the medication keeps doing what it is supposed to do. I didn't know you were a nurse! That's so cool. Best-- Courtenay. I just reread Courtenay's post, and I know it says 1 a.m., but I think she meant p.m. If it is a.m., that's an awfully long stretch, just as it is an awfully long stretch from 1 p.m. to the middle of the night.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 30, 2004 Report Share Posted August 30, 2004 So sorry about that -- I take 30 mg overall. I split a 60 mg pill in half and half again, so that I can take 15 mgs between 9 a.m.-10 a.m. and 15 mgs again at 1 p.m. Today, though, I took it at 4 p.m instead of 1 p.m. I really, really hope to sleep tonight. If this keeps up, I'm going to have to take up some sort of craft. Macrame... decoupage.... knitting... Any suggestions? I am so glad your progesterone cream has started working and that you are able to sleep. I am sending some good vibes your way, in the hopes that the medication keeps doing what it is supposed to do. I didn't know you were a nurse! That's so cool. Best-- Courtenay. I just reread Courtenay's post, and I know it says 1 a.m., but I think she meant p.m. If it is a.m., that's an awfully long stretch, just as it is an awfully long stretch from 1 p.m. to the middle of the night.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 30, 2004 Report Share Posted August 30, 2004 So sorry about that -- I take 30 mg overall. I split a 60 mg pill in half and half again, so that I can take 15 mgs between 9 a.m.-10 a.m. and 15 mgs again at 1 p.m. Today, though, I took it at 4 p.m instead of 1 p.m. I really, really hope to sleep tonight. If this keeps up, I'm going to have to take up some sort of craft. Macrame... decoupage.... knitting... Any suggestions? I am so glad your progesterone cream has started working and that you are able to sleep. I am sending some good vibes your way, in the hopes that the medication keeps doing what it is supposed to do. I didn't know you were a nurse! That's so cool. Best-- Courtenay. I just reread Courtenay's post, and I know it says 1 a.m., but I think she meant p.m. If it is a.m., that's an awfully long stretch, just as it is an awfully long stretch from 1 p.m. to the middle of the night.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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