I have hypothyroidism, I was put on the lowest dose of Levothyroxine. Recently switched to Synthroid due to binders that gave me hives. I’ve been suffering from heart palpitations as well. Saw the cardiologist, ran a bunch of test. I’ve been to the ER several times. I get dizzy, nausea, shaky, of course tightness in my chest. My blood pressure is always normal to low when I’m not having what I call and episode. But when I do have the palpitations they seem to at night mostly and huge blood pressure spikes 178/107. So u are not alone. I seem to feel better and have less episodes when I have less stress, caffeine, healthy meals, less alcohol, earlier bedtime.
Thank goodness im not alone anymore. Had 3/4 of thyroid removed in Oct 2019 since then my heart wont be still. On Synthroid and now a beta blocker but my heart still races. Have been treated like a complaining old woman and am fed up. I hate this feeling I hate being so tired and I have having my thyroid removed. Back to doc on fri am insisting on cardiologist and endocrinologist.....something has got to give!!!!!
Did your endocrinologist who is treating your hypothyroidism test your calcium, phosphorus and PTH levels in your blood, and calcium levels in your urine?Did they run a full comprehensive metabolic panel on you? Was your magnesium level measured? Did the endocrinologist run a full lipid panel on you and order an ECG and/ or stress test or echocardiogram? Did they listen to your heart? Do you have a history of cardiac disease or heart murmur? Are you on medications that would interfere with metabolism of your thyroid meds -perhaps leading to increased levels?All of this should be done .%0mg of levothyroxine is pretty low for someone with a TSH of 12.5 but your dose cant be increased with such heart palpitations. Did they measure your freeT3 and free T4 levels? They might be too high even at the low dose of meds. Please please please go to a physician who knows what they are doing.I feel you deserve medical attention for these symptoms. I hope this helps.
Take care
That dosage seems too low. It is also synthetic. I personally did not have relief of symptoms the entire 27 years I was on Synthroid. I feel so much better on NDT. I have tried several, ALL better than synthetic for me, but am doing very well on WP thyroid. WP is my favorite with the least excipients! Blessings for good health! BTW, I have palps when my dose is too low. I do best with a TSH of almost zero!
When you get results please post them here along with reference ranges and we will be happy to help interpret and advise further.
I have not had that particular problem my self but I have a friend that was showing many signs of it. He was finally able to get in to see an Endo just recently and has started on Armour Thyroid. Although the dose is still too small to really make a difference he says he is already doing better.
There is a lot of scientific evidence that hypothyroidism causes reduced cerebral blood flow, mainly to 4 specific areas. One of those affect motor skills and another affects cognitive ability. Also, while looking for information for my friend I ran across this: "Overt hypothyroidism is well-established as a reversible cause of cognitive impairment, which may sometimes be profound."
My heart palpitations/PVCs started a year after I was hyper and a few months before I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's. They were relatively infrequent for the first few years (but still intolerable!). Now they come much more frequently :'(. Sometimes they're so bad that they keep me up at night because they won't stop. I'm currently unmedicated but I'm hoping to get on medication soon to see if it helps.
Anyone else also suffer from severe memory problems?
I have hypothyroidism and am on Westhroid and I get the pvc's when my dosage is either too high or too low. It's frustrating, but also good to know that in 99% of the cases, per a doctor's website, these pvc's are normally harmless. They can also be caused by lack of sleep and lack of magnesium.
I, too, have the same thing. I didn't know that my hypo was the cause of my palps until she reduced my Levo! Maybe you need a stronger dose. Go see your doc and let her know they subside with stronger medication. Palps are not just linked to Hyper, I have proof of that with my symptoms.
Please create a new thread if anyone have a question. Followup is only useful for a single user. Clubbing all into one is just like adding several patients case history on a single prescription note.
I already responded to your other post on the same information.
Get off the levothyroxine pills. I switched to Tirosint, liquid capsule form, and am feeling so much better. Fillers, dyes, cornstarch or sugar are in the generic forms, Synthroid contains iodine, as do some others. Tirosint is NOTHING but pure levothyroxine.
Just in case you don't hear from posters on this old thread, we will be glad to try and help if you will tell about any other symptoms you have and also list your thyroid test results and reference ranges shown on the lab report. Also if tested for Vitamin D, B12 and ferritin, please post those as well.
What other do you have other than the palpitations?
If your doctor is dosing your thyroid meds based on TSH levels, it is unlikely your levels will ever stabilize. TSH is a pituitary hormone that is affected by so many things that at best it is only an indicator, to be considered along with more important indicators such as symptoms, and also levels of the biologically active thyroid hormones, Free T4 and Free T3.
If you haven't been tested for Free T4 and Free T3 (not the same as Total T4 and Total T3), then you should get those done and make sure they are always tested when you go in for tests. Members say that symptom relief frequently requires Free T4 at the middle of its range, and Free T3 in the upper part of its range, as needed to relieve symptoms.
Further, since hypo patients are frequently too low in the ranges for Vitamin D, B12 and ferritin, you need to get those tested as well and then supplement as needed to optimize. D should be about 55-60, B12 in the upper part of its range, and ferritin should be about 70 minimum.
A good thyroid doctor will treat a hypo patient clinically by testing and adjusting Free T4 and Free T3 as needed to relieve symptoms without being constrained by resultant TSH levels. Symptom relief should be all important, not just test results.
I too have been dealing with hypothyroidism for years and can tell when my TSH levels are off. Usually I get the Palpitations (feeling of heart flutters or sipping beats) when I am on too much Levothyroxin and more on the hyper side. Last month I started with the palpitations and thought my thyroid levels were on the "hyper" side again and I was taking too much medication. I went to get levels checked and my TSH was 64. Very Hypo so my doc increased y medication from 112 to 150. I am still getting the palpitations, very frightening sometimes it is so bad I am afraid to go to sleep. I am having another holter monitor done and a stress test just to be sure no other problem and if all is negative She is going to start me on a Beta Blocker. I was taking Inderal because I had Hyperthyroid first which gave me some fast heart beat and irregular heart beats. I was given the radioactive Iodine which got rid of they Hyperthyroidsm but left me with Hypothyroidism. Yes my palpitations or flutters goes on throughout the day. I am praying that once my levels start to normalize they will go away.
I realize I am making a lot of assumptions here, without any lab test results to review, but your story is a familiar one. Palpitations can be related to low levels of thyroid hormone. Just because you are taking a good dose of T4 med does not mean that your body is adequately converting the T4 to T3 which is the hormone used by all the cells of your body. In order to find out if low Free T3 is the problem, you need to pressure your doctor to test for both Free T4 and Free T3 each time you go in for tests. A good thyroid doctor will treat a hypo patient clinically by testing and adjusting Free T4 and Free T3 as necessary to relieve symptoms, without being constrained by resultant TSH levels. You can get some good insight from this link written by a good thyroid doctor.
http://www.hormonerestoration.com/Thyroid.html
I expect that your doctor is reducing your med because of suppressed TSH, with the mistaken belief that low TSH automatically means hyperthyroidism. That is wrong. You are hyper only if having hyper symptoms, due to excessive levels of Free T4 and Free T3.
I know how difficult it is in the UK to get tested and treated adequately. We have had a number of members from the UK. One who was finally successful in getting what she needed told us this.
"What I have learned from my experience is that you have to go to the Dr's office and TELL THEM WHAT YOU WANT and to go backed up with knowledge. You have to tell them that you have done your reading and looked into your condition and care about the long-term treatment of your health and thyroid. If you fight for what you want, you will eventually find someone that is happy to go along with your wishes. But we all have to take charge of our own health, right?"
So when you see your doctor I suggest that you should emphasize all the symptoms you have and the need to be tested for both Free T4 and Free T3. Also mention that if your Free T3 is low in its range, then you will want to consider adding some T3 to your med. Also, since hypo patients are frequently too low in the ranges for Vitamin D, B12 and ferritin, you should push to get those tested as well.
Hi
I was diagnosed with Hypothyroidism in 1993 .
My diagnosis came about from having arrithmia and Palpatations which seemed a little odd at the time as the Symptoms I was having indicated me being Hyper .
So I was put on Thyroxine and tests to see why I was getting these dreadful Palpatations .
But nothing was wrong so I was put on a Fleccanide which seemed to help with the fast heart beat but not with the Palpatations .
However I am still on it today !!
So over the years my dosage of Thyroxine went up and my Palpatations eased when I was on a dosage of 175mcg I felt much better however a couple of years ago it was lowered again to 150mcg where I have been having terrible Palpatations again .
Tests again proved nothing wrong but still these dam Palpatations persist.
Next week I am due my yearly blood test so small hoping that it will go back up to 175mcg as I am convinced it's what the problem is as I am tired my joints are painful I am breathless and Palpataions getting worse .
22 years of this crap and still feel no better than I did when first diagnosed and no one listens .
But I did have a few years when I felt good and that I am convinced was down to the higher dose .
Unfortunately in the UK we don't get a choice in what we are tested for you have to try and convince the GP .
Xx
Hello Kodifik,,
New to this but I have been placed on 50mcg and now 75mcg in last 6 months
by my GP was diagnosed with Hashi last June. I do now have these palps and it is scary, had to let you know I tried movement and it worked for me the other day and plan to continue. However, with all research I have done I feel
the Levo is the cause and have app with endo and will ask to go on Armour.
Do not want to risk these palps from throwing a clot into blood stream as this can certainly happen. Thanks for your input!
...almost forgot, also have irregular heartbeat...misses then hits several quickly.
My HB's running about 105 regularly
and my tsh was tested at 3.84. (age 60 male)
(on diltiazem 60mg slow release, which seems to be keeping my BP down)
other symptoms - out of breath quickly, dry skin on hands and heels, a few times I've had depression moods in early morning that go away quickly once I'm up and going.
Does this seem to be hypothyroid?
Throughout the internet, hypo people are asking the same questions. I've been hypo for almost two years. My VA doc doesn't seem too "on" about this and I have had to do my own research and implementation. The VA ONLY prescribes levo, not Armour/NDT, etc... The levo made me sicker and the lower the dose, the sicker I'd be. All of the classic stuff - weight, flu feelings, migraines, heart stuff...BAD heart stuff...terrible experience!!!
So I insisted on Armour - I have to pay for it. 2 days after being off levo my 24 hr migraines disappeared. Now, 8 months later and my weight is at 182 from 206... I'm only taking 1/2 grain per day but am bumping it to 3/4 today because of heart palpitations and upper valve issues probably from hypo...
I believe that we are not educated properly, do not know what questions to even ask, and are essentially relying on our dr's to be HELPING us. NOT!
They are too busy running us thru like cattle every 15 minutes all day so they can make pmts on the Jag and their country club dues.
YOU need to be your own lab rat!. I am 67 yr old male... male thyroid is not that common, comparatively. So my stuff may be different, but generally the same. Don't be afraid to bump up the doses to see if it makes an improvement in your condition. Generally the dr's will keep you on too low of a dose and then forget about you. Get a blood draw every 6 weeks. I usually have to remind them and they say "OH YEAH! You're right!" WTH are computers for??? Take your (hopefully) armour/NDT by dissolving it under your tongue. It's not bad - just kinda chalky. You'll get used to it and it goes to work better. You'll peak in about 4 hours, so break up your doses thru the day. My doc wants me to take mine all at once, once per day.... thats BS. Then I get a let down in the afternoon... TAKE CONTROL! It's YOUR body and YOU are the one feeling like crap! Some of the forum people have been sick for 20 years!!!!!
NO THANKS! If you can't get to feeling better, see another doc or a naturopathic person. And lastly... Treat yourself as if you were your own only child! It really helps to love ourselves! Honor your ill feelings if you're not feeling "right"... Listen to others (including your doctor) with a bit of skeptical acceptance. You WILL get better!
Doctors like to think that TSH accurately reflects levels of the biologically active thyroid hormones, Free T3 and Free T4. In reality TSH cannot be shown to correlate well with either Free T3 or Free T4, much less correlate well with symptoms, which should be the priority.
When already taking thyroid meds, TSH is basically useless as a test. Many hypo patients taking adequate levels of meds to relieve symptoms, find that TSH becomes suppressed below range. That does not mean hyperthyroidism, unless hyperthyroid symptoms are present due to excessive levels of Free T3 and Free T4.
A good thyroid doctor will treat a hypo patient clinically by testing and adjusting Free T3 and Free T4 as necessary to relieve symptoms, without being constrained by resultant TSH levels. You can get some good insight into clinical treatment from this letter written by a good thyroid doctor for patients that he sometimes consults with after initial tests and evaluation. The letter is then sent to the participating doctor of the patient to help guide treatment. In the letter, please note the statement, "the ultimate
criterion for dose adjustment must always be the clinical response of the patient."
http://hormonerestoration.com/files/ThyroidPMD.pdf