Thyroid?

Well, by now you all know that I have been having the most ACTIVE heart issues lately (except when I have the holter monitor on, of course) than I've had in years.  It is interrupting my life and I can't figure it out.  I've also had several other health changes lately and when I was Googling my hair problems, hypothyroid came up.  I know I'm a nurse, but you can't know all the symptoms of every disease, so naturally I was surprised to find out I had 14 of the 15 symptoms of hypothyroid.  I've had several TSH tests that were all normal, but I can no longer ignore these hallmark signs.  What I don't get is that PVCs and palpitations are indicative of hyPERthyroid, not hypo.  Just wondering if anyone here has hypo........?

[jkfrench]

I just had to comment because I was thinking the same thing.  I have been having hair problems too.  You should see the amount of hair on my bathroom floor every morning.  
However my doctor dismissed the thyroid problems because my blood work was also normal.   He says it is menopause or peri menopause.  I googled my symptoms and menopause and powersurge has topic after topic of women dealing with pvc's and hair loss during menopause.  I also seem to have sore joints and am tired due to lack of sleep.
So I don't know if I have hypo.  What blood test are needed to find out.

[is_something_wrong]

What my cardiologist said was: Both hyper and hypothyroid can cause premature beats.

I can't say I completely understand why.

I guess the symptoms of both hyper and hypothyroid are nonspecific. If TSH and FT4/FT3, anti-TRAS and anti-TPO are within normal limits I think I would trust that. On some days I have almost all the symptoms of hyperthyroid, some days I have almost all the symptoms of hypothyroid. My FT4 is 19 and my TSH is approx. 2.

I think the best advice is to take all the tests, not only TSH. I think you can have hypothyroid with normal TSH.

[Mom2four85]

I've been reading alot lately about thyroid also; you can have TSH normal levels, but it's your Free T3/T4 TPo that count most; unfortunately some doctors will not use these and only rely on TSH - which has been debated about as much as benign pvc's.

ask for what Is_something_wrong says - my gyno (dx me back in 1998) made sure my primary was doing the right tests this time, now if the nurse can just find my stinkin veins lol I can have my blood done again.

My last dr would not do a FT3/4 since he considered that "normal" [1.0] - [5.0] even though I had been treated previously with synthroid; my tsh should stay around 1.0 - 1.5 [grumbles about dr's] and I had a 4.91 TSH.

Here's a link to the Thyroid Foundation of America's Hypothyroid List:
http://thyroid.about.com/cs/basics_starthere/a/hypochecklist.htm

I checked off what I had, copied & pasted it into word format and took it to my dr with dates of onset; documented by whatever dr notes I had from previous visits; which was helpful.

Here's some great info from ATA about the tests: http://www.thyroid.org/patients/patient_brochures/function_tests.html

"The free T4 fraction is the most important to determine how the thyroid is functioning."

If your doctor won't do them and you an afford it; there's a service called Health Check USA where you can order a thyroid panel and they send you a script then you go in to a local lab and get your blood done and then send you the results. It's pricey though $85; others in the thyroid forum have used them so I saved the website just in case my dr wouldn't do them =)

[Mom2four85]

sorry just a followup - if you go to Retail me Not, they have coupons for Healthcheck USA 10 - 13% off thyroid panel: http://www.retailmenot.com/view/healthcheckusa.com

I use the coupons often and tried the one discount code and it worked - instead of $85, it would be $76.50.

[RNRita]

I have been chasing the menopause thing, as that was the first thing they talked about.  However, once I saw all the symptoms associated with hypo, I realized that I can no longer overlook this possibility.  I did some research and you absolutely CAN have more PVCs with it because it lowers your heart rate (remember when I was talking about my HR going to 60 for no reason and staying there?) and this will cause you to have and notice more PVCs.  

I also saw that you can fluctuate between hypo and hyper in rare cases.  I think panic attacks are associated with hyper, but if you are getting awful symptoms with hypo, then you can still have anxiety and panic.  

Since the joint pain is sudden and just as new as the hair texture change, I will pursue this till I get an answer.......and I'm SURE I will get one, just like with my PVCs....*holds breath*

[bridgeovertroubledwater]

Hello,  I too have been dealing with this Thyroid issue that has been causing me issues surround the heart.  Since my trip to Bellevue, WA. my heart rate when they measured it seemed to be pretty low.  At that time I was around 60 and for me it was low.  I am normally around 70 and again at that time I was having some anxiety about visiting this Fibro & Fatigue Center and unsure of what I was getting into.  I did have minor panic attacks at night when I woke up, however managed to keep slowly breathing and stay calm and did not require an ativan for this.  I really don't like taking that medication cause of the following day drowsiness.  Now about the Thyroid thing,  I have had the Free T3 and Free T4's done along with the TSH and also tried different medication to see if it would help out with the symptoms.  I'm back on strictly Synthroid and awaiting test results from this doctor in WA.  He did a reverse T3 and apparently this could show that the body has become thyroid resistant if I have this right.  I'm also dealing with issues that I thought were menopause and they are clearly related to the neuroendocrine system and this is why I sought out treatment for the Fibromyalgia cause it affects all the systems in the body, which I've been told is also related to Lyme.  Currently I'm on injections that are to help give me energy and boost at the cellular level the mitochondria.  It's scary for me to do these injections as I have to mix three different vials into one syringe, but I am doing it.
I will let you know what the test results show as I will be speaking to the doctor about these results on March 15, 2011 at 9:30 a.m. is my appointment time with him over the phone.  Hope some of this information helps.  Balancing the Thyroid is not quite so easy.

[RNRita]

OMG!  What a challenge!  Well, I know I am up against the same kind of thing.  I also know I have fibromyalgia and still wondering how all my symptoms are related.  One day I WILL figure it out..or I'll call Gregory House....or I'll call one of those docs from Mystery Diagnosis.

[mrcoop]

Rita, I'll tell you my story maybe it'll help, maybe not.  Iam 44 and have had problems with pvc's and pac's.  They occurred when I was 20 but only happened when I was under great stress...no stress, no pvc's...IMO, the stress releases hormones, not sure which ones, but some how it affects the heart beats in some people, like me or you.

Now these were never a real bad issue until about 7 years ago.  I had them bad, I bet a skip every few beats for real no apperent reason, along with very high blood pressure, super fast heart rate and a feeling thats very hard to describe, almost like a flush/rush feeling, maybe from adrenalin, which that in itself made it almost impossible to sleep...it was not anxiety, I know that feeling and it was not that!  This went on for a week and I said to my wife, we need to go the ER now, I can't take it and somethings not right.  They checked my heart and decided to check my thyroid thinking I may be hyper...low and behold, I was very hypo...its weird, cause all the symptoms I had were hyper, but I was actually hypo.

Since I have been diagnosed being hypo, my skipped heart beats, even with the medicine, have improved but I still have periods where the pvc and pac's are off the chart.  I had 6 months of nothing but just last week, Iam now experiencing severe bouts.  I still get my thyroid checked, but I need to get my free t3 and free t4 checked, which I have never done.

I know I have been to the docs several times where they have needed to increase my dose...I had those adrenalin rush feelings, along with many skipped beats and went back and sure enough, I needed more thyroid.  

This happened three times and each time I went back I needed more thyroid, I was still hypo and after I take the med, it would gradually subside in a few days.  The third time this happened was 9 months ago....but the strange thing is that I started again with severe pvc's and pac's, but this time without the adrenalin rush feelings a couple months so I figured I needed more thyroid or maybe Iam getting to much...well, the doc said my tsh was @ 1.5, so no adjustment.  Well the pvc's went on for 2 months...maybe 2 skips every minute, non stop, so off to the heart dr....he says everything structually with the heart was fine and said not to worry...he seemed a little confused as to how many Iam having, which the holter picked up but still said not to worry.  Well come August, they ended gradually, not a sudden stop, but gradually and within a week...they were gone and not to be heard from until last week!  So Iam going back to the doc and getting a free t3 and free t4, never did this, as well as a tsh test.


To make a long story short...I know for a fact, its hormone related...ever since I have been diagnosed with hypo, I have had issues and continue to have issues...I swear, when the thyroid is screwed up, it'll screw with the rest of the hormones in your body.  I don't care what the docs say...Severe pvc's and pac's occur for a reason...I think its probably more related to a swing of hormones in the body rather then any other causes.

Get your free t3 and t4 checked...I know Iam now...I usually get just the standard, but will be requesting the ft3 and ft4 for now on.

BTW, those 6 months when I had no skips was the best I felt in years...I felt happier then ever and had a great feeling inside, hard to describe but a kinda a high on life feeling which I never had before...even when I had other times when I was I free of skips for extended periods of time...in fact, I told my wife, this is the best I have felt in years...2 weeks later, that feeling dissapeared and then the skips...BIG TIME! IMO, HORMONE SWINGS because of that stupid thyroid!

[goingcrazy1029]

Well all this could explain a few things that are going on with me. I was diagnosed back in the early 90s with fibromyalgia after a myriad of tests. I have been able to live with this syndrome but the symptoms are so varied, it is difficult to figure out if the fibro is causing them or something else. About 7 years ago, I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism and began taking synthroid. When the PVCs started, my endocrinologist tested the thyroid levels and mine were okay. Meanwhile, I checked the symptoms for fibro and palpitations can be a symptom. I couldn't understand how though after almost 20 years I would develop palpitations as a fibro symptom so I dismissed that thought. Now I am just wondering if the PVCs could be caused by the fibro or the hyothryoidism. But of course, no doctor will ever make that determination.

[RNRita]

I absolutely KNOW that hormones play a big part.  I really am tired of not living life as I could because of these things.  Doesn't matter how much I am told they won't kill me.  Sometimes I'm not afraid of that at all. They just FEEL bad, or maybe the accompanying feeling feels bad, or maybe something is wrong to make me FEEL bad and then the pvc's start.  No one knows.  I am not sure we will ever know anymore, but I can't stop hoping.  I can't.  

And last year when I hardly got any for about 8 months was the best I've ever felt, too!