newbie @ 72 has low BP and pulse on 100mcg T4 for 4 wks

[jzg]

My Blood pressure is averaging 110/60 with a pulse of 60. I'm on levothyroxine.
Is this a problem? I have 4 weeks till I see Endo again.

[Barb135]

You should probably talk to your doctor about your bp and heart rate, but after 2+ yrs on thyroid med, my HR is still often in the 50's.  

I'm not really sure of the correlation between "blood pressure" and thyroid issues; I know thyroid controls heart rate, but that's not the same as blood pressure.........for instance, there were times when my heart rate was extremely low (in the 40-50's), but my blood pressure was high (up to maybe 150/70 or something)......  in other words, blood pressure and heart rate do not always go hand in hand (as in, if bp is low, hr will be low).

Your Free T4 is still low, which could account for the low heart rate......you really need the FT3 test to tell you what's really happening.  

I had a complete heart work up and discussed the issue of my low heart rate with my cardiologist - who better to talk to about that?  -  he said that having a low heart rate is not necessarily a bad thing.  He said that athletes very often have extremely low heart rate; at the time, I was exercising regularly, plus my job keeps me very active - my cardiologist thought that was a good thing, but he also thought that when my thyroid levels get right, my HR will come up as well.  

You should talk to your own doctor about it to make sure you have no other issues.

[jzg]

currently @ 100 mcg , no other meds
T4 from .25,.50,.88,.100
June Blood tests: TSH 1.14, free T4 .99, Will request free T3 for next blood test in Aug.
antibody <.9 and peroxidase .8 (both ok)
Oral Temp. @ 97.3
Surprised when on meds that BP & P remains low.
Currently BP averaging 114/60 w pulse @ 54

[Barb135]

Did you know that being hypo also raises your cholesterol?  

My doctor(s) wanted to put me on Crestor because mine was high; but once I got on thyroid med and my levels started coming in line, my cholesterol came down.

I'm not sure I understand - you were put on 25 mcg in Jan, then increased from 88 mcg on 6/29: were you bumped from 25 to 88 all at once?  What is your current med?  

What are your latest thyroid test results?  TSH, Free T3 and Free T4?  Can you post them, along with the lab's reference ranges, since these are lab specific and must come from your own lab report?  

[jzg]

thanks for the comments :-)

Contributors to my low BP are  Doxazosin (BPH help); I'm also going to begin to gradually ease off the 4 mg of Doxazosin.

and  PHYTOSTEROL ( CHOLESTEROL lowering pill (over the counter made by the makers of BAYER aspirin) I recently discovered it is also a BPH drug. I stopped taking it yesterday.

[jzg]

I started T4 on Jan 1,10 @ 25 mcg, t4 increased from 88mcg on 6/29/10
I don't recall previous BP, but was readings were higher

[Barb135]

When I was dx'd hypo, my bp was running both low and high, with very low pulse rate (30's while I slept per holter monitor).  My pulse rate still stays pretty low (often below 60).  It's common when hypo to have lower heart rate, as your thyroid controls heart rate, body temp, metabolism, etc.   My blood pressure often is as low as 95/50's.  

According to my doctor, normal heart rate is between 60-100.  

If you've only been on the med for 4 weeks, it won't have had time to reach it's full effect yet.  If you are concerned or have symptoms (dizzyness, light headedness, etc) call your doctor - don't wait the full 4 weeks until you see him.

[LazyMoose]

Just answered your shorter post.

That would be great BP and pulse for most people.   ......BUT are you 72 years old? Then I suppose it looks a little low maybe.

Some get low BP and pulse when they are still a little hypo, however I , as well as some others, are the opposite,  BP and pulse go up when hypo.

What was it before you started Levo, and when was that?