I seem to wake up with a very fast pulse and feeling as if I have had a sudden shock - this is when wake naturally so not the result of hearing an alarm. Does anyone else experience this?
I do worry about taking my thyroid meds when my pulse is over 100 yet don't want to miss the morning dose or I don't really get going.
Do you have recent blood results ? could you be overmedicated ?
That's an interesting question. My TSH is suppressed but my T4 and T3 are low mid range! So some say over medicated others say under treated. I'm just confused!
It is only first thing too when presumably my thyroid hormones are at their lowest or at least it is the time farthest from my last dose.
Hi sandi. If your T4 and T3 are low-mid range it is unlikely that you are over-medicated.
If you are undermedicated you can get episodes of racing pulse for periods of time, I have found from personal experience that as your medication gets closer to optimal levels it reduces in severity. I used to get a pulse of 180 for as long as 40 minutes, but recently it might happen for 5 minutes or less and it is no higher than about 105. I reduced my T4 for a few days and immediately after 2 days I had another severe episode where my heart rate went up to 147 for 15 minutes.
It is quite scary because you are afraid to over-stress the heart, I have been told I have a faulty mitral valve and after seven years of inadequate medication it is also enlarged, but even so, it has proved to be the case that the racing has reduced, much to my relief.
I have looked at previous blogs and I see you are on NDT. When do you take your last dose? Is it last thing at night? If you wake during the night do you have the same problem, or is it just first thing in the morning? A possible solution could be to take your first dose earlier,or perhaps if you put your dose times on here, someone who takes NDT might be able to give you some helpful suggestions for timings.
Hope this can help
Marie XX
Thanks Marie
I split the Erfa between first thing (7ish) and early afternoon (I have to say that the actual timing of the second dose varies quite a bit depending on what I'm doing)
Until recently I also took 25mcg levo, which I had at night, however I began to have sleeping problems again which resolved when I stopped the levo last thing. A relief - only tried it as a last resort after the dr prescribed anti-ds for the sleep! The weird thing about this is I had originally moved the levo to late because doing that improved my sleep!
I suppose, given your experience, it could be that not having the nighttime dose means I drop quite low by morning and this causes the racing pulse?
I can't take the Erfa late because the T3 in it means I have very exhausting vivid dreams!
I seem to remember I did at one stage get a similar thing during the night - waking as if I'd just had a real shock and feeling like I had adrenaline buzz but I've not had that for a while.
Taking my Erfa when I have the high pulse really worries me but leaving it later means I struggle and feel out of balance all day - and obviously affects the timing of the next dose.
My pulse hasn't got as high as yours has, that must be very frightening.
Because the suppressed TSH worries all the drs I've seen I am scared that I am doing damage to my body but at the same time I worry that the low T4 and T3 might also be damaging my body. I want to feel well now but not create new problems which is why I have stayed in this limbo of low levels rather than self-medicate to raise the hormone levels. I sometimes wonder if I did the right thing to start medication all those years ago when I knew very little about the subject (before coming on this site!). My TSH reduced but so did the T4 - hardly surprising I feel little better?
Sounds like you have had a pretty hard time too, so sorry that anyone has to struggle like that.
The suppressed TSH may worry the doctors but they are quite happy to suppress the TSH when someone has had their thyroid removed because of thyroid cancer. Double standards or what?
The only possible danger with TSH suppression is that the parathyroids might be suppressed, too, leading to reduced bone density, but that is not the most difficult thing to check and also not the most difficult thing to compensate for. It is also not a certainty.
The consequences of under-treated thyroid deficiency, however, are a certainty.
I had a suppressed TSH for 23 years before my GP panicked and reduced my thyroxine to 'normalise' the TSH. In all those years I never had any evidence of bone loss - in fact, I have so far never broken a bone in my life, despite the fact that I have Graves' and was extremely overactive from the age of 13 to 37, hence an undetectable TSH (though they never even measured it then - only the T4 and the T3!). From the age of 37 to 60 I had an almost undetectable TSH as I was on thyroxine 150mcg.
As soon as the doctor reduced my thyroxine to so-called 'normal' levels, I started to suffer. You can read my story on the main TUK website, under 'Get Involved - Case Studies - Success Stories - Marie's Story (at the bottom)'
Please believe me, when I tell you that if your T4 and T3 are low, and you still have hypo symptoms, there is more danger in that than in a suppressed TSH.
Marie XX
Snoring or Sleep apnoea? (blood pressure high in the morning too?)
Hiya Sandi,
It could also be related to adrenals, have you had a 24 hour saliva cortisol testing done?
thanks.
No I have to admit I haven't had that. I have had the short synachten test which was ok. Are the adrenals likely to be high in the morning? Do you know what that would mean? It's an area I'm quite confused about.
Mine were extremely high in the morning and I would wake with jittery/shaky feelings, overheated and sometimes I had a thumping heart which would all go after a few moments.
I also had high at night so found it hard to go to sleep and would wake up many times in the night.
When you're on thyroid meds, low and high cortisol can cause issues with conversion of T4 to T3 (as well as low iron/ferritin and low Vit B12 etc) so it's essential to have them tested for lows and highs.
Mine were mixed and only slightly dysfunctional so I had a mixture of treatment available to me which seems to have worked. The other issue I would have was being unable to increase my dose and also I had to take it (2 grains) in 4 halves during the day or I would get the same reaction.
Now I've fixed them, I have increased and I've reduced my dose to twice a day and I don't get any negative reactions.
Can I ask how you fixed your adrenals? and did you do it alone or with specialist help? I must admit it's not an area I have grasped much about.
Hi Sandi,
I took Ashwaghanda and Zinc for a few months to help my high night time cortisol (Zinc also helps convert T4 to T3 I believe).
I had also low cortisol at noon, which is about when I used to run/cross train, I only walk now.
I've not retested but I feel loads better. I sleep through the night now, feel rested when I wake up and don't have the afternoon slump I had after running.
Thanks so much for this. I even think I have some Ashwaghanda tincture somewhere from previously. I'm very impressed with the running - since getting ill that's an impossibility for me although I do walk most days.
Enjoy the weekend sunshine!
This is my theory and I'm not a doctor but in my experience, when my blood pressure is too low (which is common with hypo) my pulse goes up, I don't know if it's trying to raise my pressure to more normal levels or just sustain it. I found this when I used my monitor for BP and pulse. If you are hyper, you would have other symptoms besides palpitations. If I can locate the information I'll post it to you.
Paul Robinson recently posted an interesting blog on his website re fast pulse - might be worth a look:
Pounding pulse wakeup
Temp & Pulse
Low pulse? 
