I need help with these heart sensations. Ive posted on here before about being told it's anxiety but i still have doubts because i am not a stressed out anxious person. I always seem to suffer when i have an often upset stomach as well. Does anybody have experience with heart palpitations?
Fed up of heart palpitations: I need help with... - Thyroid UK
Fed up of heart palpitations
Written by
scottlayton35
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
30 Replies
•
I've found that giving up simple sugars has helped reduce my palpitations and arrhythmia a huge amount. The speed of my heart has reduced too.
I'm a total sugar junkie, but I've managed to (mostly) stop eating chocolate, sweets, ice cream, puddings, cakes and biscuits. I'm still eating fruit, but I'm trying to lower my carb intake a bit. The improvement in my heart has amazed me.
I should mention that my mood suffered a lot during the first 2 - 3 weeks of giving up sugar. And the headaches were fierce!
Thanks and that's interesting because i also eat far too much chocolate. Ive given up coffee and tea and hardly ever drink alcohol. Maybe sugar is the next thing to go.
Has your doctor checked you over properly, most docs put everything down to anxiety or a virus. My hypertbyroid was originally put down to anxiety and never suffered from stress anxiety. Docs just dont care like they used to.have you got a thyroid condition?
Doctor said it's anxiety. I feel a bit fobbed off.
Hey you could go private and get your own blood tests done for thyroid ithink its medichecks, blue horizon etc and they are quite reasonable in price- have a google. At least it would help foxr you to know.
I'm definitely considering it. Thanks
The doc said no but i dont trust them. My original blood results were poor but they said i was fine and just anxiety.
Haemoglobin 132 (130-180)
Mcv 78.6 (79-100)
Haematocrit 0.374 (0.40-0.54)
Platelet 190 (150-400)
To me all these are low.
From them bloid results that are not thyroid bloids the more experienced regualrs would not be able to help with them results scott, personally i would get my bloids done privatley or do yoyr best and change docs, do you have any other symptons apart from the palps, thyroid would normally come with other symptons depending if you are hyper or hypo and have hashimotos or graves or both. Dont be put off keep pestering its your life and i think we usually have a feeling when something us wrong, i know i did. Have you also had your heart tested aswell, not panicking you but just a thought. X
My other symtpoms are breathlessness and dizziness and fatigue. I have heart my heart checked and everything was deemed fine. I think i may have a private blood test. I certainly see no point in going back to the same gp.
I am hyper with hashis, breathless is one of my biggest sympton. Palps. Trembling, muscle aches the list goes on but waiting for results for graves. I really would get them bloods done and rule out heart aswell. If alls well then you will be fine, its hard when you suffer from panic disorder as no one will say its this and that because they think its you and your anxiety. Panic attacks are horrible ascive experienced a few with being hyperthyroid, but they are getting fewer now thank god.x
Forgot to say i also have very low ferritin levels whixh i am trying desperatley to make them higher as doc refuses to help.
Being coeliac I rarely eat anything sugary, I don’t eat much fruit, low carbs and eat a lot of salads. I have sugar in tea or coffee but drink more milk than hot drinks (A2) suits me better than lactose free). Other meals are cooked from scratch. I still occasionally get palpitations (as yesterday when my heart rate was going up to 120+). With me it’s definitely stress as we have been having a very stressful time recently - during which the arrhythmias and palpitations got worse, things settled down and it improved. Saturday we had a busy day and also some financial stuff to sort out over the weekend. Nothing big, but it doesn’t have to be. It seems that My system can’t cope with even a small amount of stress now - even an argument can kick it off. It’s usually worse the day after but if whatever the stress is goes on too long then I can find myself in bed. It doesn’t help that my OH can be very contentious and argumentative and I always make the mistake of biting back.
One week after giving up chocolate and other treats and my heart palpitations have all but gone (hopefully for good). Thanks for your help.
Wow! That's brilliant!
In my own case I have assumed that my problems with sugar suggest I am developing or have developed insulin resistance, and that type 2 diabetes is on the horizon and coming up fast.
I've paid to have my HbA1c measured, and it was okay, and my fasting glucose looked okay when last measured too. I think I might pay to get my insulin levels measured at some point. I think it might be very high. Diabetes is something I haven't really investigated much yet, and so I don't really understand what goes wrong when it develops. But I think I'll have to get to grips with the subject at some time in the very near future, if I'm going to do my best to avoid diabetes.
Perhaps check your T3/ reverse T3 ratio if it’s less than 20 then you’re clinically hypothyroid. Magnesium threonate helps as does T3. Going towards a higher good fat, moderate protein and low carbohydrate diet is where I’m aiming having already gone gluten, soy and mostly dairy free. Check your mineral levels Dr Sarah Myhill is releasing a new cookbook the PK diet which I’m hoping will be easy to follow.
Best Wishes
Hello,
All of the above, plus this: I found that when I added 400 mg Magnesium Citrate--NOT the oxide, the citrate---my heart racing went away very shortly, within a day or two if I recall, maybe even sooner, but give it a couple of days. Also be sure you are not overmedicated, as people have said above. My situation with the heart was terrible and I had even gone to cardiologist; the cardiologist suggested the magnesium after doing a total workup complete with treadmill tests and all. This was in the US where they run many tests as soon as you walk in the door, hah. Well, as long as you have good insurance!
The palpitations can be so annoying, but they can also be a danger sign, so please do take care.
--A.
SlowDragonAdministrator
You may not be on the right level of Levo
If you post your most recent thyroid results including ranges and also vitamin D, folate, ferritin and B12 results
Very important to know if you have high thyroid antibodies, this is Hashimoto's also called autoimmune thyroid disease
Sounds like you might if gut is affected
If you have Hashimoto's it is likely hidden food intolerances can be causing issues, most common by far is gluten.
Changing to a strictly gluten free diet may help reduce symptoms. Very, very many of us here find it really helps and can slowly lower antibodies.
thyroidpharmacist.com/artic...
thyroidpharmacist.com/artic...
amymyersmd.com/2017/02/3-im...
chriskresser.com/why-changi...
scdlifestyle.com/2014/08/th...
All thyroid tests should be done as early as possible in morning and fasting and don't take Levo in the 24 hours prior to test, delay and take straight after. This gives highest TSH
Low magnesium is common when hypo
For me, it's a sign of under-medicated hypothyroid. I had palpitations before being diagnosed with Hashi's and they improved significantly on starting Levo. However not all my hypothyroid symptoms went so in the past month I have stopped Levo and am building up taking T3 only. At the start, the palpitations returned, but as soon as I have T3 they settle. So I know what the connection is.
In your case, could also be thyroid issues. You mentioned having an upset stomach. One of the symptoms of an underactive thyroid is low stomach acid, which present with exactly the same symptoms as high stomach acid. So, would be worthwhile having your thyroid hormones tested if you haven't done so. I also notice you posted a month ago re having low folate/ferritin/B12. Both those can result in poor utilisation of your existing thyroid hormones even if you have normal levels, and they need sorting out asap. Vit D needs testing as well if you've not had that done.
It's far easier for a doctor to slap on the 'anxiety' and 'panic attack' labels rather than looking more deeply for the root causes, so don't be fobbed off by that.
I see you've mentioned being a chocoholic. I can relate! (although now hardly ever eat any at all). Chocolate contains theobromine, a stimulant. Too much could also be having an effect and giving you palpitations.
Rmichelle in reply to
Yes way too complicated for the medical profession, its anxiety or a virus- where have all the good old docs gone!!
Hi scottlayton35 .
I understand that you like chocolate....me too! 
I used to really pig out on chocolate and suffered the consequences. However, have you tried dark chocolate? It needs to be around 75-85% cocao ( I have the 85%) and it does take a little bit of getting used to, it seems very "dry" because it is not nearly as sweet as milk or plain chocolate. It is actually good for you and has received many plaudits......here is one:
healthline.com/nutrition/7-...
Two squares is enough to satisfy even quite fierce chocoholics! I now find normal chocolates dreadfully sweet.
Most of the supermarkets have their own brands. Lindt make a nice one but is a bit expensive as you would expect compared to the supermarket own brands.
Enjoy. 
Yes i like dark chocolate but for now i'm going cold turkey. Thanks
Hey, so I am in exactly the same situation as you. I am hypothyroid as a result of hashimotos and got diagnosed 9 months ago. My levels aren't too terrible at the moment but my resting pulse is usually at 65 and recently it keeps going up to 95 mark. I get palpitations too. I hate it. I strongly believe it's either because of the levothyroxine (but obviously the Docs think there are "no side effects" to levothyroxine. ) Do you take a thyroid medicine? OR because I am hypo.
I have seen several doctors and now an endocrinologist and all of them (bar 2) have put my heart beat down to anxiety!!!!
I've never had anxiety before I got diagnosed....
managed to live 29 years without anxiety and the moment I get hashimotos my heart does this.....
But it's "not hypothyroidism or levothyroxine i clearly have an anxiety disorder."
It's laughable.
Like said above definitely get blood tests and shop around for a different doctor. I've seen about 8 GPS and only 2 of them have been even slightly helpful on this. Good luck x
I went back and looked at your previous posts and found these results :
serum ferritin is 89ug/l(30-400)
serum folate is 4.6ug/l(3.9-26.8)
serum b12 is 249ng/l(197-771)
Your ferritin (iron stores) is not great. The consensus of opinion on here is that ferritin should be roughly mid-range or a little bit higher which, with the range you have given, would mean you need a level of approximately 210 - 230.
The problem is that supplementing iron without knowing anything about your serum iron level and your saturation level is not a great idea. You might get away with it, but there are risks. There have been cases of people whose ferritin was quite low and they started supplementing, but their serum iron was already high and they didn't know it. They made themselves ill before they found out, by which time their serum iron was sky high.
Low iron can cause palpitations, tachycardia (fast heart rate) and breathlessness. Before supplementing it would be best to get a full iron panel done if you can. Your doctor might do it for you, but if not it can be done privately with a finger-prick test.
medichecks.com/tests/iron-s...
And if you wanted a really full picture you could get a Full Blood Count as well (another thing your doctor might do if you asked) :
medichecks.com/tests/fbc-fu...
When doing tests for iron, stop all iron supplementation for 5 - 7 days before the test to get the most accurate idea of what iron your body is hanging on to. If you get an iron panel done, (and an FBC if possible) then post the results, you can ask for feedback. There are quite a lot of options available for getting iron levels up. You can even buy the iron supplements that doctors prescribe, without a prescription, if you know what to ask for (and it interests you).
Regarding your B12 and folate, personally I would want these higher. I try to keep my folate in the top half of the reference range, and I do this with a good quality B Complex supplement. The B Complex products sold as B-100 or B-50 are NOT good. There is no justification for taking something with 100mg or 100mcg of every B vitamin - that is just a marketing gimmick. And taking high dose vitamin B6 for a prolonged period of time isn't a good idea because it has toxicity effects.
If you read Replies (not Posts) by SeasideSusie you can read her advice on the subject of vitamins and minerals that she gives to people.
healthunlocked.com/user/sea...
Fantastic info many thanks.
I forgot to mention... Testing for iron-related things should be done after an overnight fast (apart from water), as early in the morning as possible, just like thyroid testing.
scottlayton35
My sympathy to you . Having had myself palpitations for 23 years I can tell it's very frightening and extremely debilitating . I was afraid to leave the house for the just incase moment that it could happen . What helped me was checking your full iron panel with ferritin. You might just need to some iron . When you take iron take it with vitamin "C" for better absorption .Gentle Ferrous Bisglycinate is none constipating form . Taking Magnesium Taurine is very good for palpitations . Omitting stimulants like coffee chocolate sugar that can cause palpitations . I was on T4 only and adding a minute amount of NDT for my T3 mix made the big difference too . It seems that the heart has receptors and low dose T3 is need it . Check out your adrenals for insufficiencies . Testing for adrenal/Cortisol levels is through saliva . DHEA-S should be checked out too .
Wishing you success in your next steps .
Thankyou. I will probably get a private blood test but first i'm giving up chocolate and paying close attention to what i eat. Ive already given up tea n coffee.
Heart palpitations. Sometimes caused by a lack of vitamin B1, take 50-100 mg when occurring usually stops 15 minutes or so later and heart returns to normal. If associated with uneasiness, fear, disquiet or outright panic it usually means the thyroid is beginning to move into the fast zone. (Normal thyroid= slow thyroid=fast thyroid. A slow thyroid always precedes a fast thyroid.) Those on the cusp between fast and slow can experience symptoms of both. Heart palpitations, unnatural fear/uneasiness etc. begins when the thyroid starts to become fast. If unchecked it can lead to full blown psychosis. Vitamin B6 is vital to the thyroid. Babies use up a great deal of Vitamin B6 in the womb so thrush which develops when B6 is low is very common in pregnant women; it's lack is also responsible for caries (holes in teeth) developing then, so 12 months free dental care is given after pregnancy. The lack of B6 is also the main cause of 'baby blues' and the severe depression that can come after pregnancy which can lead to outright psychosis. Vitamin B6 psychosis is identical to fast thyroid psychosis thus psychosis is not really a mental illness at all but a physical one of thyroid disruption. B6 (50mg) needs to be taken with magnesium(500mg) and 15mg zinc. Iodine, vitamin A and E are all also essential to prevent thyroid psychosis. It is a fearful and terrifying illness. Hope this helps - Maje
Not what you're looking for?
You may also like...
Palpitations / heart thumps
I don't think these palpitations are a sign of hyperthyroidism as I still have hypo symptoms, ie...
Heart palpitations and Hypo
intermittent daily heart palpitations for a few months now . Recent blood tests have shown i’m...
T3 advice - heart palpitations
up in the morning still very hard) but main concern is I’m having heart palpitations, not all the...
Heart palpitations and weight gain.
75mcg but it gave me heart palpitations. He thinks adding T3 will make me anxious. Any advice ?
Need help heart palpitations
So for the last 9 days I had constant ectopic heart beats. I normally only get 1-3 a day sometimes...
Heart palpitations and feeling dizzy
Heart palpitations 
Palpitations, racing heart, what’s going on?
Fed up, worried and just plain fed up!
