Blood results; experiencing palpitations, any suggestions please?

[superb_lulu]

Hi Clairebear, Here with ranges. Thanks, Louisa

Serum T4 16.5 pmol/L

Range is 7.9-20

Serum free T3 4.5 pmol/L

Range is 3.8-6

Serum TSH 1.01 mu/l

Range is .34-5.6

I am Graves post TT 2.5 years

[Clarebear]

Hi superb-lulu - do you have the ranges to go with those results please? It is hard to interpret them without the ranges, as they vary so much by lab. xx

[nobodysdriving]

Hi superb Lulu

are you able to tell people a little more?

what medication are you on?

have you had an increase or decrease in medication in last 4 months and if so when and by how much?

anything else you think has changed in your life in last 4 months? ie: how you take your meds, what you eat and so on

also have you had in the last 4 to 6 months these checked by your GP:

vitamin B12

full blood count

ferritin

vitamin D

folate

renal function

liver function

bone profile

(last 2 less important)

if not can you ask your GP to do these blood tests? they will help you, do not take any supplements (ie vitamins) for a good 5 days prior to these tests.

and lastly: does your GP know you are having palpitations? have you told him/her? what does your GP say to this?

if your heart beat is 'irregular' (ie you feel like it is skipping beats) or fast when you rest (especially if over 100) or you feel breathless at rest then it is very important you get checked out asap, please ring NHS direct 0845 46 47

thanks x

[superb_lulu in reply to nobodysdriving]

Hi there. Thanks for your thorough reply. I made a previous post but didnt follow the thread! I have lost about 7kg during the last three months (through dieting). That is the only change. The palpitations are regular, not over 80 but hard beats that stop me sleeping. The GP knows about them but has completely 'dissed' them as unimportant. However, they are new to me and distinctly unerving and keep me awake. My initial post ran along the lines of 'should I reduce levo if I have lost weight?' as I thought maybe the weightloss would result in needing less levo? I take 100 plus 125 every fou rth day. I weigh 67kg; I did weigh 74 kg. (I am Graves postt TT 2.5 years and been 'ok' on levo for about the last 10 months (till now).

Can I request the blood tests you suggest from my GP? Or do I have to seek them privately? Louisa x

[merissa in reply to superb_lulu]

You can request blood test from gp.there shouldn't be a problem. Good luck, I have had missed beat and palpitations for a while on and off.

[rosaann52 in reply to merissa]

Unfortunatly not all GP's are the same...trying to get my GP to do a full blood test is like talking to a alien....he just dos't think I need it as long as my TSH is within range he say's that should be sufficient....

[Heloise]

Hi lulu, after many people reporting strange heart sensations, and I also had them, the ones that come about during sleep and feel like your heart is working hard to pump seems to be due to low thyroid. It's usually low at that time anyway and if you are undermedicated, it becomes worse.

Now, if you are experience rapid, heartbeats during the day or after taking meds containing T3, that might account for a slight rush but if it's during a large part of the day and you feel breathless as well, that sounds like overmedication.

If you want to try to raise your dose slightly, it would probably work fairly quickly if it is due to undermedication.

[Jackie]

Hi It can be the meds, too much or lack of them. or the other things mentioned. Did you go up on the meds very slowly? Did you have problems on a lesser dose? If you cannot find what it is. It may be Atrial Fibrillation ( A.F) very common but needs diagnosis and drugs. Thyroid disease, any sort, can bring on an early onset of this common condition. An ECG will not show it. The medical diagnosis is on heart rate ( pulse) readings for a week or two, Manually, 3 times a day and chart, especially when "off", it will swing if a problem very noticeably. If that looks like it, take to GP and ask for a 24 hour, or better 7 day home monitor, it does tiny ecg`s all the time , so catches anything. If comes back from the Lab positive , you need to see a cardio, one specialising in electrics. Regarding the graves, you need to be under a good Endo, not GP or private doc. Tell them what is happening.

Best wishes

Jackie

[Hidden]

I find if I am too low, I get "hard" heartbeats, without any rise in heartrate... similar to being too high, but usually not fast, and no increase in body temperature.

Looking at your numbers you certainly aren't too "high" (T4, and definitely not T3) with T4 at that level, maybe not converting as well as you could be, but certainly not that bad either.

With your TSH at that level, I know the problem of getting more levo, or having T3 added (probably a better idea), although many people don't feel right until their TSH is a fair bit lower than that.

Clearly getting vitamins etc. right, as has already been mentioned by nobodysdriving, is a good idea, I would be particularly thinking electrolytes too (it all links in with Vit D etc. too anyway) such as calcium, potassium and particularly Magnesium might be well worth having checked out. Clearly not everyone has a GP that will go along with ANY of that, but I would suggest not randomly supplementing potassium and calcium unless you know you are low, (diet is easiest and definitely safest way to get calcium and potassium anyway) but a *small* amount of magnesium supplementation is often a good idea as so many are low, especially if you have a high salt diet, as most people do, as sodium can displace the other electrolytes.

If you are digesting poorly (many hypo are, it means low stomach acid for some) or on some drugs (eg. PPIs, acid suppressing drugs), this is even more common. My partner had arrhythmia due to Omeprazole, remedied (no thanks to Cardiologist!) by supplementing Magnesium, Folate and Vit B12.