Hi thoughts on this please, under active for 14 years, apx 8 yrs ago upon reg. checkup slight increase in BP, sent into the system! ( which I am grateful for) Lots of checks nothing shows up, but I am given meds. Then they stop not needed, but by this time whenever I,m asked to go for check re BP I,m anxious, Dr thinks white coat syndrome I agree. I buy a BP machine and check, mostly I,m fine but throws up random high measures. After becoming ill on holiday a few years ago I return after flight and really distressed, my BP is ridiculously high, see GP he puts me on Lisinopril and still taking now?.I had call last week from the surgery to say Hypertension review due, so I made App. Which was this morning turned up and the HCA says its your annual review, takes blood to test thyroid (if I,d known would not have taken thyroxine) then does BP it was 214/104 I said I didn't beleive was true reading, and she did take again using the old fashioned method 140/90, her comment which bothered me was that even though it dropped dramatically I should be asking the GP what the danger is at this reading, as if I could have a heart attack on the spot if it suddenly jumped up to this sort of measurement, if only for a couple of minutes. Its bothered me all day and I have seen these numbers before but usually at the surgery or hosp. and not at home! I suppose what I,m saying is that by asking me to go to the surgery for a BP check up is clearly not in my best interests, or can you have a heart attack if your BP shoots up quickly?.
Health care assistant has worried me!! - Thyroid UK
Health care assistant has worried me!!
Thank you for your reply, Its difficult I,m so wound up when I visit for this type of thing. I had taken the medication over an hour beforehand I don't understand why it doesn't work on these occasions, regardless of wether I need it or not. I should look up Adrenals thanks again
Hi Alelphi
This is a link re high blood pressure, and you will see that it can go hand in hand with hypothyroidism.
stopthethyroidmadness.com/b...
You say you're GP reduced your medication as you were over medicated. Did you feel over-medicated or was it just adjusted due to your TSH level? This is a link and go to the date to read the answer
web.archive.org/web/2010103...
This is another link and this is an extract (the date is January 25, 2002).
Dr Lowe: Your observations don’t suggest to me that your pituitary gland isn’t functioning properly. In fact, your observations are consistent with what science tells us about a patient's T4 dose, her TSH level, and her metabolic health or lack of it. If the goal of a doctor is metabolic health for his patient, he has no scientific basis for adjusting her thyroid hormone dose by her TSH level. If the doctor is going to make the imprudent choice of treating the patient with T4 (rather than T3 or a T3/T4 combination), he should be aware of the relevant physiology and treat her on the basis of it. Otherwise, he's likely to ruin her health, as your doctor appears to be doing to yours.
web.archive.org/web/2010103...
If you didn't feel over-stimulated on your dose before the adjustments GP shouldn't have adjusted your meds due to the TSH. He may only be doing this as your blood pressure is higher at times.
Ask your GP if he will drop your T4 by 50mcg and add 10mcg of T3. This can help many feel better. Dr Toft of the BTA says some of us need a very low or even suppressed TSH or the addition of T3 to feel better.
Hi thanks, my meds reduced because of TSH level, I actually thought I was under and had symptoms of it, couldn't believe when he said I was over and reduced by 25mg I had been on 150 for the best part of 12 years. I was retested six months later and it was still slightly over but he agreed to leave it at 125mg. I forgot to put in my hurried original message that I also have PA. I will check out your links many thanks..
The surgery gets extra funding for hypertension - as do they for getting you in for a "check". Bear this in mind as they would be really keen for you to have a high bp. Could you get a 2nd opinion outside the nhs? As you say, when you did it yourself you were mostly fine - it is not unusual to have fluctuations.
And I thought they were just keen to look after me! I feel like stopping this BP med for a while to see whats happens and monitor it myself, thanks for your reply
Hi there,
I think that if you are not consistently showing HBP readings then it may be a good idea to stop taking meds that are supposed to reduce it at least for a while. It was fashionable to hand out meds like sweeties in the 90's to prevent long term problems and of course there were bonuses given to GPs. As you say monitor you BP over a week to see how you do without the HPB meds.
Relaxation, moderate exercise, reduction of salt and counselling to try and work out what psychological stress you experience are the four main ways of managing BP. Weight loss helps, if required, but hey we are hypothyroid! Once you have established if BP is reasonable then try not to measure every day. Anxiety can make BP shoot all over the place hence the "white coat" fear. Constantly measuring BP can induce the same response. I guess you can have your BP measured at the gym or by a nutritionist.
Possible the GP reduced your thyroxine because he/she was concerned about HPB. I think it would take more than your previous dosage to cause problems. It all depends on where you are with the amount of T4 you naturally produce. Ask him/her about T4.T3 conbo orT3 alone as it is thought to help with generating good muscle function in the heart (important for everybody). There will be concerns because T3 is a more powerful stimulant than T4 but then we need less. There is plenty of anecdotal and published evidence on this forum to help him/her become more aware. Finally ask to see an endocrinologist and if really worried a cardiologist. These referrals should help to put your mind at rest.
Regards
Lin
Hi thanks, Sensible advice, If we need T3 why is is not given originally, I basically go along with what the GP says, I will bring this up at my next app. the thyroxine was reduced because of the T4 level on a routine blood test. There is so much I don,t know, about this but then ignorance is bliss..
Its around £40 per test that the GP gets and more for a clinic! I used to go to the yearly check up 'healthy heart' until one day I asked why people were given statins and there was NO investigation as to why their cholesterol suddenly went up... I was told that the cholesterol naturally went up after a certain age// What rubbish!!
A former GP refused to use the automatic machines because he said they were unreliable. He always used the old fashioned method.
And it's possibly a bit irresponsible for the HCA to tell someone they think has high blood pressure that they might die on the spot. There are more sensitive and less stress inducing ways to say that she thought more investigation or monitoring needs to be done or impart her lifestyle wisdom.
Hi thanks she certainly did imply that, I took my BP later on in the day and it was fine, her parting words, its borderline (I didn't ask what for?) another two readings like that will require further investigation, You will be asked back in six months.. Great so looking forward to that day! I can confidently predict it will be just as high again..as some of friends say once they,ve got you in the system its hard to get out,
I always have a good blood pressure and have taken magnesium for years. Also bear in mind being under medicated can cause palpitations. Mine went away when my thyroxine was increased.
I've been doing a breathing relaxation, and it works wonders for me whenever I feel myself getting at all stressed. Sit upright, but comfortably, with nothing tight around waist etc. Breathe in through the nose for 4 seconds, then arrange your mouth as if you are going to whistle forcibly through pursed lips. Breathe out, feeling the restriction that the breath is under as you push it out through the tiny space, but try to breathe out for longer than you breathed in, say for 6, or even 8 seconds. Then repeat.
A variation that I do - but which is not recommended for anyone with heart or blood pressure problems - is to breathe in for 4, hold for 4, and then breathe out for the 6 or 8 through pursed lips as above. My yoga teacher sometimes has us doing this in class, and people regularly nod off. I also do either of the above to help me sleep, and it works miracles, although I tend to breathe out through the mouth more normally (although keeping the exhalation longer), as the pursed lips thing is a bit noisy, and my chap is a very light sleeper. This exercise - but with the normal, but longer, outward breath - is also great for doing at the dentists. I loathe lying there with my mouth held open, while they do unspeakable things to my teeth, and this helps me to stay calm and get through it.
I was doing this in the GPs waiting room a few weeks ago when there was a big backlog, and I was waiting for some results - I could feel everything, calming and slowing.
Hi thanks, I will try this out..
If you are undertreated, then your BP would be up. I think they should give you a home monitor and then it would be a much truer reading.
Please also check what your BP meds leaflet says about pancreas damage!
It states inflammation ! Moderate to severe stomach pain 1/10 in 10K users
Just be careful I know of someone who's pancreas was severely damaged by BP meds, unfortunately don't know what make or strength or whether they survived. 
Hi, I did go through all those checks a good few years ago, the consultant said there was nothing sinister in any of tests I had and he had no definitive answer for the at that time a slight rise in my BP, he asked me if I would like to take a water tablet to see if that would help,I agreed and took for a couple of years, then I decided I didn't need. over the next few check ups/annual reviews etc. I continued to give high readings at the surgery resulting in the current meds. I,m really not sure wether I need or not but 3/4 years down the line I,m reluctant to give up just in case,! Thanks for your reply
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