My son is 33 years old and has Down syndrome. He was diagnosed with hypothyroidiism about 2 years ago.?

During that time his dose has been increased of his Synthroid three times. He currently is taking 0.125 mg a day. He weight has increased during that time. He has gained about 30 pounds in the last 2 years. Nothing else has changed. He also has sleep apnea and uses a C-PAP machine every night. Shouldn't the thyroid medication help increase his metabolism? Why is he gaining weight when he is not eating more?

I have hypo too. I take a different medication but my doctor started with 25mcg, no response so we uncreased to 50mcg. I had to make a diet to lose 22Kg. But now, after 6 months without the diet only controlling what I can eat and cannot my weight is stable. You should talk to the doctor about or even look for another one, a second opinion.

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Does Anemia cause you to be sleepy?

& if it does, and I have trouble GETTING to sleep, how can I get a good night's sleep? I've been through a Sleep Clinic, and I DO NOT have Sleep-Apnea…some "Insomnia"…but no Apnea. I've tried L-Trip. and Melatonin…but they do nothing. I don't want to go without sleep until I'm diagnosed (from the bone marrow test). Besides, I don't know if it's a separate problem from Anemia, or part of it. Can anyone tell me?

my mom and i think that i am anemic so i have been doing lots of research on anemia. feeling tired is a symptom and so is having trouble sleeping. talk to your doctor!! also, go to google and type in symptoms of anemia. good luck!

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Insomnia vs Sleep Apnea

How can you tell whether you have insomnia or sleep apnea? Whats the difference?

Insomnia is a broad term that describes trouble going to sleep, staying asleep, or sleeping for the full time you need to in order to feel refreshed. Insomnia, like other secondary sleep disorders, is most often a symptom that some other physical, emotional, behavioral or environmental problem is affecting sleep. Most researchers characterize the different types of insomnia by frequency and length of time it continues. The following are the main forms of insomnia.

- Transient, or temporary, insomnia typically lasts between one and several nights and is usually caused by stress or emotion.

- Intermittent insomnia occurs off and on over a long period of time and is also most frequently a result of stress or anxiety.

- Chronic insomnia occurs on most nights, lasts at least two weeks (and possibly much longer), and may result from one or more medical conditions.

Sleep apnea is a serious, potentially life-threatening condition that is far more common than generally understood. First described in 1965, sleep apnea is a breathing disorder characterized by brief interruptions of breathing during sleep. It owes its name to a Greek word, apnea, meaning “want of breath.” There are two types of sleep apnea: central and obstructive. Central sleep apnea, which is less common, occurs when the brain fails to send the appropriate signals to the breathing muscles to initiate respirations. Obstructive sleep apnea is far more common and occurs when air cannot flow into or out of the person’s nose or mouth although efforts to breathe continue.

In a given night, the number of involuntary breathing pauses or “apneic events” may be as high as 20 to 30 or more per hour. These breathing pauses are almost always accompanied by snoring between apnea episodes, although not everyone who snores has this condition. Sleep apnea can also be characterized by choking sensations. The frequent interruptions of deep, restorative sleep often lead to early morning headaches and excessive daytime sleepiness.

Early recognition and treatment of sleep apnea is important because it may be associated with irregular heartbeat, high blood pressure, heart attack, and stroke.

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Has anyone heard of this type of reflux (also known as secondary apnea)?

The day after I was discharged from the hospital, my 3 day old baby turned blue after a feeding and stopped breathing. It took about 20 minutes to get him to start taking normal breaths. We were admitted to the nicu for a week to determine what the cause of his apnea spell was, but it didn't happen while I was in the hospital of course. About a week after we left the nicu, we had another spell and had to call the ambulance again, but he came around by himself. About 3 days later, his whole head and hands turned completely Blue and I called 911 again. By the time they arrived, everything was back to normal again…I took him to my doctor right away and she referred me to a specialist on Monday. She told me that he has reflux. She said his body is closing off his airways to keep the milk from going into his lungs. I have never heard of this before, so I was wondering if anyone had and if they have an advice for me. We have the angelcare monitor so that we can sleep at night (of course im constantly checking on him) I am also breast feeding, so it's not formula that would be the problem. Also, all of the episodes happened after a feeding and he did burp. We have elevated his bed, and the doctor told us a few other things to do such as keep him from cigarette smoke, burp him over the sholder etc.
Thanks for any help

Yes. I had this when I was a baby. My mother described to me these problems she has had with me exactly as you are describing. You have to keep a close eye on him. These episodes will pass as he gets older. Good luck.

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