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I felt like you. Everybody just said to get over it. Blood work fantastic.
My thyroid levels were almost normal. I had the worst symptoms though. Worse than people with horrible blood work. I slept and slept and slept. Always tired. Always cold. Sweating. Dry hair. Aching joints. I thought I am nuts.
Finally found the right doctor, after 10 years!!! My sleep lab test said that I am a super sleeper. I am on low Thyroid meds now. I am still more tired than others but not as bad as before.
My first thought is thyroid especially when you said your face is puffy. However, sleep apnea doesn't only affect overweight people. I was diagnosed with it when I was 128 pounds. Do you have joint pain? Fibromyalgia causes me to never wake up feeling refreshed, however no matter how tired I am, I cannot fall asleep in the middle of the day to take a nap.
I have already had tests done. Everything came back fine - the only thing that was low was my vitamin D levels (only a little low). My doctor suggested I take a vitamin D and a vitamin B supplements. It helped a *tiny* bit but honestly no where near enough. I am still exhausted everyday despite getting enough sleep. Last night i probably fell asleep around 11:45/midnight and woke up at 8 AM for work. But i am EXHAUSTED. shouldn't that be enough sleep? meanwhile my boyfriend came to bed around midnight and got up at 6:30 AM for work and was totally energized. I am at my wits end with this. I'm so tired of being tired. one of my thyroid levels came back at 2.4 (maybe t3? i forget) and i was reading online that despite the upper limit being 4.0, some doctors treat hypothyroid at levels above 2.0. could it be that?
What other options do I even have at this point? I exercise 4-5 times per week, i have a relatively healthy diet, i eat mostly real whole foods with a little bit of treats mixed in, i'm 130 pounds at 5'5" so i feel like i can rule sleep apnea out of the equation.... i just don't know what else to do. Could it be depression? The only thing causing me depression is being SO tired all of the time otherwise i don't feel depressed.
help ...
Sleep apnea is not yet ruled out.
Feeling tired like that could be caused by not actually sleeping well at night even though you don't remember waking up. You can actually stop breathing many times a night. Your oxygen levels are too low and when that happens the brain tells you to wake and take a breath. If you do this up to 100 times a night and don't realize it you won't know there is a problem except you are always very tired and puzzled about it.
It is not caused solely by being overweight although being heavy exacerbates the condition. Snoring is a sign but a lot of people who snore do not have sleep apnea. Most people do not know they snore unless someone tells them they do.
The only way you are going to find out is getting examined by a sleep clinic. They will give you a monitor to take to bed with you and have you wear those clear plastic oxygen nozzles in the nose and a pulse clip on a finger while you sleep. Then they can tell you from their office whether you snored and how many times. And what range your oxygen levels were throughout the night. If the results are something to be alarmed about then you get to spend an overnight at the clinic.
Feeling tired like that could be caused by not actually sleeping well at night even though you don't remember waking up. You can actually stop breathing many times a night. Your oxygen levels are too low and when that happens the brain tells you to wake and take a breath. If you do this up to 100 times a night and don't realize it you won't know there is a problem except you are always very tired and puzzled about it.
It is not caused solely by being overweight although being heavy exacerbates the condition. Snoring is a sign but a lot of people who snore do not have sleep apnea. Most people do not know they snore unless someone tells them they do.
The only way you are going to find out is getting examined by a sleep clinic. They will give you a monitor to take to bed with you and have you wear those clear plastic oxygen nozzles in the nose and a pulse clip on a finger while you sleep. Then they can tell you from their office whether you snored and how many times. And what range your oxygen levels were throughout the night. If the results are something to be alarmed about then you get to spend an overnight at the clinic.
So you do a test in the comfort of your own home first?
That was my question also. The first sleep test I had was probably about 14-15 years ago and I had to go to a sleep clinic which isn't great when you already have sleep problems. Then they scrubbed my head in different places with what felt like a brillo pad, dabbed it with alcohol (ouch), then attached all kinds of electrodes to my head, face and I think my chest. Then a technician watched me all night from a room next door with a glass partition.
Definitely have B12 checked, but make sure they use MMA (Methylmalonic acid) test since serum levels can be normal, and even high, but still have a deficiency. My blood levels were high normal, so my functional B12 status went undetected a few more years while I got more and more tired. I was in mid-to-late 30s at the time. I was certain it was a thyroid issue, but it tested fine.
Maybe run a 23andMe DNA test (they have a sale that ends today). You just need the cheapest "genealogy only" test. Take the raw data and run it through something like genetic genie or stratagene. It might show where you're out of balance, but you'd ideally want a doctor who understands that kind of stuff to help interpret it for you.
That was my question also. The first sleep test I had was probably about 14-15 years ago and I had to go to a sleep clinic which isn't great when you already have sleep problems. Then they scrubbed my head in different places with what felt like a brillo pad, dabbed it with alcohol (ouch), then attached all kinds of electrodes to my head, face and I think my chest. Then a technician watched me all night from a room next door with a glass partition.
Have they changed the procedure?
That sounds terrible ! How do they even get a good reading if you are SO uncomfortable? i have always wondered that. If it's the way you describe it i would lie there all night not sleeping and they wouldn't be able to get any kind of proper results from me lol. but having some kind of device at home as a starting point would be really nice and a lot easier.
That was my question also. The first sleep test I had was probably about 14-15 years ago and I had to go to a sleep clinic which isn't great when you already have sleep problems. Then they scrubbed my head in different places with what felt like a brillo pad, dabbed it with alcohol (ouch), then attached all kinds of electrodes to my head, face and I think my chest. Then a technician watched me all night from a room next door with a glass partition.
Have they changed the procedure?
I had it 6 years ago. Same procedure. I had no problems sleeping, because that was the reason I was there in the first place.
I had to be there at 9pm. I could hardly stay awake that long and arrived there, half asleep. They woke me up at 6 am and then for five times I had to sleep every two hours for 20 minutes. A normal person can't do that. I feel asleep in an average of 5 minutes.
I already posted about the importance of iodine for the thyroid, but I had one more thought along those lines. Do you use iodized salt or sea salt? Most of the sea salt sold today does not contain iodine. There has been a strong push for using sea salt over the past few years, and I see that creating a nation of people with low functioning thyroids. Since iodized salt seems to be the greatest source of iodine for most, you need to make sure you are getting enough to make your thyroid function properly. You can also get iodine by adding kelp to your diet if you don't want to take a supplement.
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otherwise i don't feel depressed.
