I have an underactive thyroid which was diagnosed shortly after the birth of my second child about 8 years ago. Hypothyroidism is an extremely common ailment, more usually amongst women rather than men, & often does strike after childbirth. My underactive thyroid is a result of Hashimotos Thyroiditis, where my own body basically attacks the thyroid gland, resulting in me having to take levothyroxine tablets to control my metabolism.
If you're reading this the chances are that you'll be aware of the more usual underactive thyroid problems, e.g. weight increase, hair loss, fatigue, gravelly voice, thickening skin, intolerance to cold, but you may be, like me, unaware of the link to insomnia.
Recently I've been having trouble sleeping, if I wake up in the night there is just no way I can get back to sleep, heart palpitations & what I can only describe as mild anxiety attacks about stupid things (when I'm lying in my bed unable to sleep!).
Now, I was thinking that perhaps I was overdosing on thyroxine & my thyroid was going into overdrive, hence the palpitations, sleeplessness, etc, but I reasoned if this was the case then I would be experiencing hyperthyroid symptoms & I wasn't losing any weight at all, alas! Interestingly, what I've found out is that in some cases of hypothyroidism sufferers have what is termed a thyroiditis attack, the common symptoms of which are anxiety, panic attacks, heart palpitations, swelling in the thyroid area, problems swallowing, and frequently, problems sleeping.
Also, thyroiditis attacks classically happen during the night!
The thyroid itself become inflamed & pain can result too.
Suggested treatments are taking ibuprofen as a pain killer & for its anti-inflammatory properties & calcium/magnesium for sedative effects before going to bed which I have been trialling for the last few weeks to gauge efficacy. I'll be posting the results on my blog.
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