Palpitations and increased heart rate on Levo?

[GMason]

Anyone else had issues with Levo that made them have palpitations? Was only on 25mcg dose but heart rate was speeding up

[Clutter]

KittyJump,

Low heart is a symptom of hypothyroidism so it usually speeds up when taking Levothyroxine. Levothyroxine increases metabolism which can cause palpitations but they usually settle down once you are optimally dosed.

[GMason in reply to Clutter]

According to the docs though my heart rate is currently normal so won't it speed it up too much? Also I am constantly hungry so my metabolism being sped up may make that worse?

[Clutter in reply to GMason]

KittyJump,

Normal heart rate is 60 - 100 bpm in adults. Levothyroxine doesn't usually speed up one's heart too much unless one is overmedicated.

Speeding up my metabolism hasn't made me hungry.

[GMason in reply to Clutter]

Yeah mine is that normally but was going up to 120 when on meds

[Clutter in reply to GMason]

KittyJump,

It would probably have settled down in a few weeks. It does take a while to adjust to meds.

[GMason in reply to Clutter]

Did you have side effects to start with?

[Clutter in reply to GMason]

KittyJump,

Situation was different. I had a thyroidectomy and was switched from Liothyronine (T3) to Levothyroxine (T4) after RAI. Dose was 200mcg to quickly suppress TSH. I felt poisoned. I tried different brands and doses for 15 months but became more and more unwell. I spent six months selfmedicating and eventually felt well on T4+T3.

[Kazbe in reply to GMason]

Hi I've had awful palpitations when starting Levo but it did settle down after a couple of weeks I've just increased and it's not as bad as when I first began ! Hope that reassures you take care x

[jgelliss]

Iron factors in too . Check your Iron panel/ferritin if low you might need to take some iron to calm the palpitations . Also you might have allergies to this particular brand levothyroxine that might cause you to have palpitations . Changing brands with less fillers or dyes can help .Adding some low dose T3 or NDT can help too .You might need to support adrenals too . Vit"C" and B-5 are very beneficial for adrenals as is Celtic sea salt if you don't have high blood pressure .