Hi Snippy,

I went through that for so long when my levels were too low. It can happen both when we are too high or too low.

Eventually I found my best solution was taking calcium and magnesium about 30 min before bed. On a bad night I also added one Tylenol PM. I think the bottle said to take two, but I was only willing to use one, since when our metabolism is not working right, extra drugs are just more for the poor liver to process.

Trouble with Advil ( ibuprofen ) is it is hard on the liver and also can raise blood pressure. So be aware of that.

The ingredients is the Tylenol PM and Acetaminophen and Diphenhydramine HCl.

The Diphenhydramine HCl is the same as Benadryl, commonly prescribed for new Graves' patients as they start the itching and hives, when they are on too high of a dose of their ATD and their thyroid levels are dropping too fast.

Here's the Tylenol PM site...
http://www.tylenol.com/product_detail.jhtml?id=tylenol/pain/prod_pm.inc&prod=subppm#

And Benadryl
http://www.webmd.com/drugs/drug-1428-Diphenhydramine+HCl+Oral.aspx?drugid=1428&drugname=Diphenhydramine+HCl+Oral

Calcium and Magnesium work together, and with vitamin D... I'm sure you have seen this discussed before. I realized this was part of my problem when my leg aches got worse and I started getting charlie horses in the middle night... just like long before when pregnant. THEN I remembered the cal/ mag trick. These are a smart supplement for all of us since the hyper state has reduced our reserves. And since they have a calming affect, taking before bed is perfect. Sure worked for me.

If you have time during your appointment Wednesday, this would be a good question, since the doctor knows all the other meds you might be taking and your history.
She could tell you if the Ty PM is okay..and be sure you tell her you are taking the Advil.

I can't take tylenol so the doctor put me on the ibuprofen. I try and make it a habit not to take but 2 in am and 2pm if needed. This reminds me of being hyper. Guess I will find out Tuesday. As of right now I have been up 21 hours and not sleepy man I hate that cause it makes me I'll as a hornet the next day. Now is not a good time since we have extended family living with us right now.

Hi again Snippy,

Boy.. if that drop all the way down to 5 mg was too much too soon.. it just might be that you have gone a bit too high. If so..what a shame. You were so badly overdosed for so long. Maybe it should have been 10 mg.. a gentler drop ?

Well, you will soon know, and this time the dose is changed I pray it is only changed a little bit..and they don't force you hypo again.

It really should not be this difficult.

I'm very happy to hear your doctor has the Advil thing in mind. Good job !

Extended family staying.. yikes ! Difficult when something like this is going on. Somehow they need to understand that your ill right now, and it is their job to take care of things and give you extra rest. Easy to say.. but I know my family is best loved from a distance. LOL Good luck with that.

Back when I couldn't sleep one thing that seemed to help was I laid down and pretended to sleep...I laid there and worked to relax my body.. one foot.. two feet, then each leg, then the hips, and on and on...it was a way to help my mind to slow down.
I kept tensing up.. so relaxing.. and working to breath slower.. .

I did feel better when I did that, and even if I only actually slept a hour or two..the time spent doing my 'pretend' sleep added to it, was better that without the pretend sleep.

The calcium and magnesium is still a good idea.

I wondered what was in benadryl that everyone keeps recommending, in the uk it dosent contain diphenhydramine, but I bought a product that did contain this and this was the only drug that relieved my itching and helped with my sleep problems, so it does help,

good luck snippy
vicki :)

So how Cal. And may. Ro you taking cause I'm gonna try this as well as my husband he has restless legs at night and hated the medicine cause it affects his well side(know what I mean)

Darn I typed that wrong sorry haw much of the supplements are you taking at night.

I would just take the one and see if it helps, sometimes I would take two if needed but beware when I took two I felt really tired the next morning

vicki :)

I'm talking about the calcium and magnesium how much as for the advil pm very rarely I will take one when I do I wake up with a really dry mouth and a headache it dries me out to bad.

I take a 400 mg of magnesium and a 600 mg of calcium at night. I can't take the benadryl either, makes me groggy the next day. Doesn't help me sleep either. Oh well...if this doesn't work there's always l-theanine and relora. They suggest these on a radio holistic healthline.

Have you been tested for restless leg syndrome?

Interesting link about the Restless Leg Syndrome when thyroid levels are too low and Estrogen Dominance.

http://www.restlesslegsyndromecure.com/hairthinning.html

{{{hugs}}}

No I haven't been tested but endo appt. Is Tuesday afternoon go a ask about that and testing antibodies.

Hi Snipppy !

You asked how much calcium and magnesium.
Had to look it up to be sure I remembered right. LOL

As of 2009, the recommended daily allowance, or RDA, for magnesium is as follows:

-310 mg for females age 19-30, and 320 mg for females over age 30
-400 mg for males age 19-30, and 420 for males over age 30

The RDA for calcium is as follows:

-1,000 mg for females age 19-50, and 1,200 mg for females over age 50
-1,000 mg for males age 19-50, and 1,200 for males over age 30

Note that you do not need to take magnesium and calcium in the same supplement for your body to absorb calcium. The minerals, though, must each be present in the body in adequate amounts in order for you to use the calcium.

This is a site I trust
http://www.livestrong.com/article/29275-calcium-magnesium-side-effects/

Now there's a lot of information there, and the Too much and too little side effects are mixed throughout, so it's a careful read.

With Graves' cal and mag are such a common deficiency, because when we were hyper the body used up the reserves, then if we are send to the hypo side of things, the metabolism is messed up once again, and we don't absorb nutrients from our food like we would when at normal thyroid levels.

And... thank YOU for the timely reminder. I have been out of my
cal /mag vitamins.. I remembered to purchase more yesterday ! In fact that was sort of weird. I've always bought these sorts of hings at my neighborhood shops. This was my first time dealing with the department in a big box store. No idea if what I got is a great product, but I'm sure it good enough for the couple months it will last.

Linda,
Ever heard of Spring Valley or Nature Made brands ?
Am I gonna die ? LOL
Sure bargains though, I have to say that. Tight budget here.

I have bought Spring Valley (Walmart) and and the other one in a pinch, they seem to work fine, but I usually get them from an online store like Swanson and Vitacost.(good prices and quality I feel) Yes, MM, I have heard of the restless leg thing with low levels of thyroid hormone too.Docs would just throw you another prescrip med than to try to find out WHY you have it. Just push the drugs, right?

So I'm not gonna die ! Thanks Brans. :)

Yes, it was Walmart. I only go in there a couple times a year for something I can't find elsewhere, so there I was.. thinking "Oh yeah..I need cal and mag". Then I found a huge bottle of D3. It's the same Spring Valley brand. The capsules look the same as other brands, the clear gel outer with the oil inside.

I've just been in the habit of walking up to my posh, hippy, dippy grocery store when I'm out of stuff like this. They have a huge area set aside for such things and carry tons of very good brands.
I may not be able to purchase 100% of my food there, but we need them in the neighborhood, plus they support of good friend of mine that grows plant starts. So I stick with them for the supplements, dairy, the bakery and splurge now and then in their gorgeous produce section. Thus this Walmart experience left me wondering. I'm so fortunate to have places like this locally. I know many don't.