Latest blood results Inc ft3 this time

[130396]

Had results back of blood tests.

I'm on combo 100mcgs t4 and 25mcgs T3

Results are

Tsh <0.03(0.35-4.74)

Ft4 12(9-19)

Ft3 4.5(2.6-5.7)

Still having some problems though with heart pounding hard.

Pulse at rest evenings 82-84

Difficulty getting off to sleep

Don't feel tired

Feel I'm on a boat sensation

Hot flushes

I've had most of the above for 2 years.

I do have high cortisol.

Are these thyroid symptoms or high cortisol?

Any advice please or shall I leave things as they are????

Thank you

[Clutter]

130396, FT3 is good now, just shy of the top third of range. Symptoms can lag behind good biochemistry by a couple of months and there may be improvement but the symptoms you are experiencing don't seem typical of low thyroid.

Resting pulse 60-100 is normal and pulse and heart rate may increase an hour to an hour and a half after taking a T3 dose and should normalise within another couple of hours.

Hot flushes may be due to menopause in which case HRT or folic acid may be helpful.

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/252...

_______________________________________________________________________________

I am not a medical professional and this information is not intended to be a substitute for medical guidance from your own doctor. Please check with your personal physician before applying any of these suggestions.

[130396 in reply to Clutter]

Hi Clutter

I.have been through menopause about 15 years ago.

My heart starts beating hard early afternoon. It doesn't tie in with after taking a T3 dose.

It goes on well into the evening and it's hard to get to sleep with the hard pound of each beat.

Taking my afternoon t3 dose doesn't change it.

I do still have these high cortisol levels that I'm trying to bring down.

I brought my beta blocker forward to 7pm from.10pm in the hope it would calm.this heart beat down but it doesn't.

In the mornings it's beating not so hard.

I've read pounding heart is symptom of hypo. If this is the case is it likely to abait in maybe a month or so?

My friend has this pounding heart and has just had her levo raised.

What should I do regarding my levo and t3.?

I take my t3 usually about 3.00.

There was an 18 hr gap since t3 day before blood test and 25hr gap from last t4 dose prior to test.

Thank you

[Clutter in reply to 130396]

130396, pounding heart can be a symptom of undermedication but you aren't undermedicated because TSH is suppressed and FT3 is good and as you left 18 hours between last dose and blood draw FT3 is probably closer to 5.0 maybe even a little higher.

I think you should continue taking T4 and T3 as you have been.

Hopefully reducing evening and nighttime cortisol will relieve the pounding heart.

_____________________________________________________________________

I am not a medical professional and this information is not intended to be a substitute for medical guidance from your own doctor. Please check with your personal physician before applying any of these suggestions.

[130396 in reply to Clutter]

Thank you Clutter.

Appreciate your thoughts.

Yes hopefully reducing cortisol will stop the pounding heart.

I've had this pounding for months since July 2015.

Rose 🌹

[130396 in reply to Clutter]

Hello Clutter

It has been suggested that I may actually have RT3 and possibly had it for a while since going back onto levo especially as I haven't been converting properly for about two years.

Would you think this is possible and the reason for the heart pounding.

As you know I have high cortisol 3 times a day and maybe it is this which has given me conversion issues.

Do you know of a lab that will test ft3 and RT3 only???

Genova do test them as part of a package but extremely expensive. I wondered if there is somewhere that will just test the two.

Thank you for your help

[Clutter in reply to 130396]

130396, It appears your heart pounding is worse at the times you have high cortisol. Maybe reducing cortisol will help. Perhaps you could post asking what symptoms members have with high cortisol and how they treat it.

The only way to know whether you have high rT3 is to test. I'm not aware of testing other than via Genova and Blue Horizon.

[130396 in reply to Clutter]

Thanks Clutter

I did wonder if it's to do with high cortisol.!!!

Then someone said about RT3

Shall I do a new post to ask about pounding heart and high cortisol.

This is something I found on a search

The principal physical signs and symptoms of cortisol excess after several consecutive days are,  cardiac erethism (heart pounding in chest) and or anxiety.  When this effect persists, we can see swollen hands and feet, swollen face especially around the eye lids, elevated basal blood pressures are very common as well.  After several weeks to several months of chronic cortisol elevation we commonly see, excessive weight gain, frank morbid obesity, ecchymosis or easy bruising of the skin, petechiae (tiny skin hemorrhages). "

My skin on my hands get bleeding underneath

[Clutter in reply to 130396]

130396, you're more likely to get advice from someone who has high cortisol if you post a question.

[130396 in reply to Clutter]

Is it possible that the pounding heart will stop when thyroid levels have remained as they are for a little while?

I know you've said symptoms can lag behind

Would you think I'm overmedicated? no matter what my ft3 level had been, even as low as 2.9 I've still had this banging heart.

Thanks Clutter

[Clutter in reply to 130396]

130396, If the heart pounding hasn't improved since FT3 was 2.9 and is now 4.5 I doubt it is thyroid related and think you should consider that it may be due to high cortisol. You aren't overmedicated.

__________________________________________________________

I am not a medical professional and this information is not intended to be a substitute for medical guidance from your own doctor. Please check with your personal physician before applying any of these suggestions.

[130396 in reply to Clutter]

Thank you Clutter.

So shall I stay on what I am? No increase in t3?

Glad you said I'm not overmedicated

Thank you

I am treating high cortisol with holy basil but it's taking a long time to shoe redults

[Clutter in reply to 130396]

130396, If you still feel hypo you could increase either T4 or T3. FT4 is still low in range so increasing T4 dose will also bring up FT3.

___________________________________________

I am not a medical professional and this information is not intended to be a substitute for medical guidance from your own doctor. Please check with your personal physician before applying any of these suggestions.

[130396 in reply to Clutter]

Hi Clutter.

I wondered if you could explain this

When I was on 100mcgs only of levo my ft4 would be 17-19 but now I'm on 100mcgs levo plus t3 my ft4 comes in at 12.8. How does that work when the levo dosage is still the same??

I don't know if I do have nypo symptoms Clutter as I don't know what my symptoms relate to. I'd always assumed my weird symptoms were all due to low ft3.

I'm worried that if I increase either my levels will go too high. My tsh is now only <0.03. You said although my ft3 came back as 4.5 it was probably 5 as there was an 18 hr gap before blood draw

I suppose if I were to increase either it would be easier to increase t3 as it would show quicker and if the wrong thing to do then it could be reduced quicker

My remaining symptoms are:

Never feeling tired.

Difficulty getting to sleep

Hot flushes especially evenings

POUNDING heart

I keep reading pounding heart is hyPO.

But with the high cortisol now in the mix who knows.

[Clutter in reply to 130396]

130396, FT4 is usually lower when on T4+T3.

Those symptoms aren't typically hypo. Fatigue, weight gain, musculoskeletal pain, cold are typically hypothyroid symptoms.High cortisol at night will make it difficult to get to sleep.

It may better to stick with your current thyroid dose until cortisol is lower.

_________________________________________

I am not a medical professional and this information is not intended to be a substitute for medical guidance from your own doctor. Please check with your personal physician before applying any of these suggestions.

[130396 in reply to Clutter]

Hi Clutter

In all the 28 years Id been hypothyroid I've never had typical symptoms as you mention above.

Always size 10. Plenty of energy. Never felt the cold. No pains etc etc.