cytomel and insomnia

I have a slightly underperforming thyroid and was put on synthroid which made me nauseous, even when the dosage was lowered. So I have now been put on 25mcg of cytomel and am having real trouble falling asleep. My doctor told me to half the dosage but I still cannot sleep and am now taking sleeping pills as well. I usually take the cytomel in the morning and I read somewhere that it can help to take it at night, which doesn't make sense to me.

I have been having pretty bad insomnia and anxiety after starting the Cytomel. Does anyone have advice on taking Synthroid with armour. I am afraid to switch completely off of Synthroid because when my T4 drops I get really achey. I also know that there is less T4 in armour or the dessicated version. Does anyone have suggestions so that I can get my extra T3 needed? I do not convert on the Synthroid alone. My last test results were: Tsh .999 (.45-4.5) Free T3 3.3 (2.0-4.4) Free T4 1.

Hello All, For those of you who have made the switch from Synthroid/Cytomel combo to Tirosint: I was on originally on 50mcg of Synthroid (not feeling well at all) so added 5mcg Cytomel (feel better with a little T3) but not great (think it is the binders/filler in Synthroid). Just started on 50mcg of Tirosint (on it for 4 days) and am having insomnia. I haven't even added my 5mcg of Cytomel yet for fear of worse insomnia/hyper symptoms. Should we have started me at 25mcg of Tirosint?

Hi, Hashimoto's for 18 years. Fluctuating TSH and on different Levothyroxine doses (never based on FT3 or FT4). Last labs: FT4-0.97 FT3-2.2 Taking .112mcg Levothyroxine. Just started Cytomel 5mcg (split in 2 doses am and pm) because I was having intense brain fog, fatigue, lethargy and weight gain. I'm having palpitations, insomnia, headaches and feel pretty anxious while taking Cytomel. The great thing is that brain fog is gone and I have more energy. Let me know what you think.

Dr wanted to start me back on a low dose 25 of synthroid. Started about 3 weeks ago and since then I have had bad insomnia. The weird thing is though...I have taken synthroid for 2 years and had no problems. I have taken all doses 25 through a 100 so I haven been exposed to the fillers before. Also.....I have lost weight only after 3 weeks but no other hyper symptoms. Dr checked labs although it has only been 3 weeks....tsh and all other ranges were the exact same as before meds.

I just picked up a 25mcg prescription of Cytomel. I already take 100mcg Synthroid in the morning. What's the best time of day to take the Cytomel? My dr. said in the evening, but I heard it causes insomnia if taken that late. Also, should I take the whole dose at once or split it in half?

Synthroid, levothyroxine, cytomel and Armour are not all the same meds and are not interchangeable!! Levothyroxine is the generic for synthroid, which is a T4 med only - those 2 can be interchangeable, but some people do better on one or the other. Cytomel is a T3 only med. Armour is a natural thyroid hormone which has both T4 and T3. T3 is a very short lived hormone - only lasts a few hours and often works best to split the dosage over the day.

I have brain fog, memory issues, depression, fatigue and at times insomnia. I am getting very frustrated. My Endo has not even checked my T3 levels. I have done lots of research and am reading alot about Cytomel. I need to find an Endo in NJ, who for one will check my T3 levels but also prescribe me Cytomel at least on a trial basis and see if my symptoms improve.

I have now been prescribed a lower dose of synthroid (100mcg) once a day, and 5mcg of cytomel 2x a day since my conversion was not doing well. My question is how do people take cytomel twice a day when you also have to take iron and calcium? I can take the first dose in the morning on an empty stomach with my synthroid and wait half an hour to an hour before breakfast. I usually take my iron at lunch an calcium at supper.

So we cut it to 2.5 twice daily, mostly only once a day. I found increased anxiety, insomnia and irritability somewhat tolerable, although uncomfortable and was striving to deal with this. But, after a month, I recently noticed a serious increase in weight (8 lbs and a full bra size larger ) and a swollen throat, with difficulty in real difficulty swollowing.

Are those T4 and T3 results you mention Free T4 and Free T3, or Total T4 and Total T3? What symptoms do you have other than hair loss?

I am on 137 Synthroid and 5 of Cytomel twice a day. I take first Cytomel at 10 and second at 3. I was recently tested on the adrenals by salivia and they are: 7 am 7.9 (8-15) 11am 4.3 (3-7) 2pm 3.3 (2-4) 8pm 2.0 (<1.5) What does this mean for my adrenals? I tried cortef and it made me so exhausted that I stopped taking it. I also craved salt really bad on cortef. I am also extremely low in progesterone. I have a supplement for that and will start days 21-28 of my cycle.

generic Levothyroxine and 25 mcg. Cytomel......this stopped the depression and panic attacks within 3 days, when no anti-depressant (including Wellbutrin) helped at all. I now take 100 mcg. levo and 50 mcg. Cytomel, and just raised the Cytomel by 12 and 1/2 mcg without experiencing the symptoms you describe.. The dosage is highly individual and depends on where your levels are in the FREE ranges. Because my TSH was "normal" (but NOT for me, now it's below .

I was having manic episodes and had insomnia I decided to stop one of the Cytomel and bump myself back to 150 of Synthoid. My Free T3 got lower, but I could sleep again and not feel manic. I have suspected for a while that it may be my adrenals. I had an elevated test that indictaed non classical adrenal hyperplasia, but the ACTH came back normal. I found out later though it was not done correctly. It is supposed to be done by IV and mine was injected. I do not tolerate T3 well.

t done well on Levothyroxine. For the previous 8 months I was taking generic 137 mcg. I developed high blood pressure and insomnia with the occasional anxiety. Two months ago I started taking Tirosint at a lower dose 112. Blood pressure better but recently have been prone to extreme panic attacks. They have gotten so bad I have developed agraphobia. I recently had T4 & T3 checked but are at a normal level. Is there anything else I can do?

In addition, there has been a shortage of Armour lately and the formula has changed in the pill, so my DR wrote me an RX for cytomel 5mcg twice in the AM and levothyroxine 0.05MG one in the AM as a back up ( in case I cant get my Armour RX filled ) Is it OK to switch from Armour to the cytomel/levothyroxine and is the dosage equivalent ? I notice when I take my Armour, I feel very hot/warm and somewhat irritable afterwards for a few hours. Is that a normal side effect?

I did take cytomel with ERFA but i seemed I was getting too hot on the combo before I could feel any effect of the cytomel. So out came the ERFA to try to increase the cytomel due to my low T3. But its not working either. I'm still dizzy from increasing the dose and I think I will have to go back down in order for this to go away.

I feel that I do not convert well and that I would like to drastically lower Synthroid and possibly up the Cytomel by 2.5 MCG or so. Would this work to bring up TSH? Obviously I will be consulting a physician on this, but my endo never calls me back… and then when he does, he says quit Cytomel. Anyway, I'm worried in the meantime, because I am having chest pain and anxiety and such. So… Is it okay to stop Synthroid for a few days? Should I also stop Cytomel for a few days?

First, when you were diagnosed as hypothyroid, what was the identified cause? Second, when you take your Cytomel, do you split the dose and take half in the morning and the other half in the early afternoon?

I take my levoyxl at 5 am, I guess I can add the 5mcg of cytomel then and take the other 5mcg of cytomel at 2pm like you suggested. Do you think that would be alright?

Thanks, Barb! My actual Frees were normal range last I checked and my TSH was suppressed to 0.01. I know that taking more T3 might be what I need... But I think I was having a reaction to the Cytomel? I've been off for two days now, and the palpitations and "grit my teeth" feeling has subsided. I'm also able to sleep again. I'm not sure how that is when my labs were in range...but perhaps I was spiking too high when taking the cytomel? Can't figure this stuff out yet.

How would one know if they're getting too much Cytomel (T3) ? Are there things to watch for before I get my next set of Blood tests done? How long should I give T3 before I give up? I'm so darn tired I just want to crawl in a hole. I'm currently using 12.5mcg of Cytomel and .75mg of Synthroid since July 14th. Help!

I have been on a Synthroid/Cytomel combo for 10+ years, and it has worked great for me. The only possible side effect was that my resting heart rate was running 90-105 for the last few years. Over the last year, I've been slowly building up with new hyper symptoms and annual lab tests confirmed that my T3 level was too high. Most frustrating symptoms are heat intolerance, insomnia, and lifestyle-altering anxiety.

Oh and also, armour has T3 in it, which if in too high of a dose can cause insomnia and heart racing. or with the 2 combined, may be too much stimulation.

m in the normal range. Doctor just put me on Cytomel for insomnia and fatigue. For several days I felt awesome for the first time in years but am but I am starting to feel even more awful then I first did. Could the Cytomel dosage be too high? Has anyone ever experienced this. I'm almost tempted to start cutting my pills in half to try to see if a lower dose helps like it started to.

77) I am being told I could bump up the T3, but I am having terrible insomnia and anxiety. I stopped taking 1 of the Cytomel last week and now I am starting to feel achey and irritable. I want to switch to armour or the compounded version, but I am scared it will not give me enough T4. My last doc said that armour does not contain enough T4. What does anyone think about this? I do not convert to T3 well so I know I need it.

Cytomel and insomnia

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