New Guy Here: Apnea and Hypothyroid... Anyone Else?

Hagrid · Post by **Hagrid** » Sun May 07, 2006 12:07 am

Hi all.

New here and to this whole CPAP thing. I was just diagnosed a week ago and last night (Friday) was the first night with my CPAP. I must say that I was VERY surprised at how relaxed I was and how well I slept with my new little friend.

I lurked here for a couple of days and have enjoyed reading the posts. Lots of great data here.

So, are there any of you (men or women) who have Apnea and Hypothyroidism? I was diagnosed with Hypothyroidism last year. Apnea this year. I wonder what's in store next year.......

Both my Endo and Sleep doctors said that many who have Hypothyroidism have Apnea as well.

nanamar · Post by **nanamar** » Sun May 07, 2006 9:11 am

Hi Hagrid....Welcome
I was dx'd with hypothyroidism 4 years ago and apnea last
September....Diabetes in January...When I'm feeling bad it
is hard to figure out which condition is acting up since all three
have similiar symptoms...usually I figure it out and adjust
accordingly....I have read as well that the underactive thyroid can lead to apnea..Hope your doing well.
Mar

path2others · Post by **path2others** » Sun May 07, 2006 9:39 am

I was Dx with hypothyroid last Sept. Doctor thought it was from long term taking Lithium. Never had the problem before and didn't realize apnea was another cause. How did you get your CPAP machine so soon? I'm jealous, I have been waiting for weeks. It should arrive this week. Don

Sleepless on LI · Post by **Sleepless on LI** » Sun May 07, 2006 5:35 pm

Could you tell me, are there any sure tell-tale signs that you have hypothyroidism? Also, is this something that can be detected on a routine blood workup that the doctor does when you're getting a physical or is it a special test you have to have done? Thanks for the info.

nanamar · Post by **nanamar** » Sun May 07, 2006 6:32 pm

Hi Lori....the doctor can take a blood test called a TSH (can't rememember
what the letters stand for) .....the symptoms are always cold,
weight gain, hair loss, edema, always, always tired and no energy, mind
fog, the list goes on and on. Before my doctor DX'd me, she asked if I
snored...I told her yes and very bad....the test came back positive for
an underactive thyroid, than came the sleep apnea....hope this helps...
Take care
Mar

NightHawkeye · Post by **NightHawkeye** » Sun May 07, 2006 6:50 pm

TSH stands for Thyroid Stimulating Hormone, and physicians like to pretend it is the gold standard for detecting hypothyroidism. It isn't. If you are being tested for hypothyroidism, also make sure they test for both T3 and T4. Be emphatic about that also. Physicians are taught in school that testing for T3 and T4 are unnecessary, but just like apnea conditions, there are many variations of hypothyroidism. Make sure that you test for everything: TSH, T3, and T4. It costs very little more to test for all three if you're going to get the bloodwork done anyway.

Regards,
Bill

Hagrid · Post by **Hagrid** » Sun May 07, 2006 7:10 pm

Thanks for the replies.

Mar: Thanks for the welcome. Glad to be here (kinda... ). Would have preferred NOT to have Apnea, but I digress.

Don: Here's my time line... went to my Endo and they referred me to a sleep canter. Had my appointment there on a Tuesday... went in for a sleep study the following Saturday night (not how I had planned on Spending a Saturday night...). Got a follow-up appointment with the sleep doctor the following Thursday; they faxes the prescription for the CPAP machine to a local place. They set me up for the next day and voila!

Sleepless: My symptoms were pretty traditional: weight gain; lethargic; intolerant of cold (and, as it turns out, stupid people... ). Through a conversation with my 'regular' doctor, he screened me for my thyroid. The blood tests taken for my initial screen were: TSH, Free T4, FRee T3, T4, T3 Uptake and T7. Pretty much the whole enchilada. Now they typically check my TSH, T4 and, every now-and-then my T3 Uptake and T7.

NightHawkeye: Spot on friend...

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sun May 07, 2006 8:07 pm

Mar, Bill and Hagrid,

Thanks for the info. I always thought a CBC would include testing for something like this.

chdurie2 · Post by **chdurie2** » Sun May 07, 2006 8:13 pm

lori--

i'm hypothyroid also, but i would not rush to make any correlations with apnea, even though both can involve "slug-mode" symptoms. it's no big deal to ask them to do tsh, t3 and t4 tests with physical or anything else you're there for. but if you want to get some advance clue on whether you're hypo-thyroid, look on the internet for the underarm temperature test. it's pretty reliable. it's been a long time since i've done it, but the basic idea is that you take your temperature in your armpit before even rising for i think 5 days in a row on certain days timed with your menstrual cycle if you have one; if that's consistently under a certain number, it's a pretty good shot that you're hypothyroid, and i think, not hypothyroid, if the numbers are okay. i'm not sure what the traditional medical world thinks of the test now ( i know they used to pooh-pooh it) but holistic and alternative docs used to claim it gave the same results as the lab.

caroline

NightHawkeye · Post by **NightHawkeye** » Sun May 07, 2006 8:20 pm

chdurie2 wrote: . . . i'm not sure what the traditional medical world thinks of the test now ( i know they used to pooh-pooh it) . . .

They still do. The holy grail now is TSH alone . . .

Hagrid · Post by **Hagrid** » Sun May 07, 2006 8:29 pm

Another note on the thyroid front (and not to make this thyroidtalk.com) but I have found that I have a "sweet spot" with my TSH level.

'Normal' TSH is 0.3 - 4.5 uIU/ml. My 'sweet spot' is anything under 3.0. When I get to the 3.3 level (where I was a few weeks ago) I am out of my happy zone and can definitely feel it.

Caveat: This is MY happy zone along with an in-check T4, T3, etc.... YMMV.

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