New to this..

[BeccyD]

Hi,

After a brief stint in hospital this week and no answers as yet, I thought I’d do a bit of research of my own. I have been part of healthunlocked before but not on this platform.

I am Hypothyroide 100g thyroxine a day, my T4/3 is mid range although my TSH of .003 ( which most doctors will have you believe I said overly medicated but I am symptom free so not changing unless I really have too) I suffer with frequent uti’s which I take permanent antibiotic for, an over active bladder (mirabegron) hypertension (8mg perindopril) and hrt.

Around 4 months back I started training to do a walking marathon as I was feeling fitter than I had done in years but noticed that I was starting to get ectopic beats, and was getting really breathless when walking, and it was beginning to happen whenever I wasn’t doing anything. I have had a few over the years but my go said they were nothing to worry about as they were very infrequent. But the weeks went on I was getting worse With runs of ectopic beats that were/are lasting 2 or 3 hours at a time, leaving me exhausted, and light headed with some chest and neck ache, and every now and then wake me at night.

As I had lost my father to a massive heart attack at 62, after a series of them starting when he was just 35, I made an appointment to see my gp. The go said she thought that I was probably ok, but given my family history she would refer me to the Rapid Chest pain clinic for a stress test.

2 weeks on the test showed that I potentially had angina, and they put me on beta blockers and aspirin an said they wanted to do an angiogram, just to dot the i’s and cross the t’s as it were.

2 weeks on and the angiogram showed I had clear arteries but during the text I had a massive run of ectopics and passed out so they had to stop. I wasn’t give any explanation as to why my heart went crazy other than being told it sometimes does that, and they think it’s probably just my blood pressure. Later that day they sent me home with a different blood pressure medication to take alongside the perindopril and told me not to take any more aspirin or beta blockers.

(The next day I suffered a massive Hematoma in my leg and groin, which is still coming out now over a week later).

Having been discharged less than a week by Tuesday this week I was having so many ectopic beats and pain in my chest and neck, I could barely stand without passing out and feeling violently sick so I called my surgery and was given an emergency appointment with the nurse practitioner, she ran an ecg, and told me that she wasn’t able to deal with me as I was outside her skill set and she was getting one of the doctors to see me. The doctor ran another ecg, and the called an ambulance telling them I had what she believed was unstable angina. The ambulance crew gave me aspirin and did yet another ecg, then put on the lights and sirens and rushed me to hospital. After hours of blood tests, more ecgs and lots more I was still feeling pretty rubbish, and had yet to see a cardiologist. Eventually the doctor that was looking after me appeared and said that the cardio unit was happy with my bloods, and that the angiogram I’d had the week before was clear, so it was probably prinzmetals angina at which point they gave me three small pills take ( I have no recollection of what they were) and sent my other half of to the pharmacy for a gtn spray and said I could go home. I didn’t even make it off the edge of the bed before my heart felt like it was about to stop and I started to be lightheaded all over again. At this point they decided perhaps I should stay, and that maybe getting a cardio consult was a good idea, and some time later someone appeared I tried my best to explain what had been happening and he said that he thought he should run some test, so after an arterial scan and a cat scan, they said they can’t see anything wrong with my heart and told me for the millionth time my angiogram was clear, that it was possibly a combination of a virus, and the new blood pressure meds having a bad reaction, to stop taking those and go back to the beta blockers 1.25.

I now have 3 appointments next week at the cardio unit for a 24 tape and an echo, but right now I’m still feeling dreadful and can’t do anything without the ectopic beats starting up and pain and breathlessness being an issue. I have cut out nearly everything stimulating and I’m trying to just do nothing, but I can’t keep doing nothing indefinitely.

Any ideas as to what questions I should be asking next week would be really helpful. Unfortunately when my father passed we never thought to question anything that happened as the trauma of it took over everything at the time.

[bantam12]

I can't give you any answers but I'm going through the same, was diagnosed with angina some years ago, angiogram normal so not angina, ectopics and tachycardia can be bad but not as bad as yours, I'm breathless and lightheaded at times, I had an X-ray last week and waiting for an echo. From past experience the Cardiologists are just not interested and the standard answer to everything is that there is nothing wrong, they think "reassurance" cures the problem ! As women we have a problem as we are not taken seriously, seen as hysterical hypochondriacs !!

[SlowDragon Administrator]

Which beta blocker are you on? Is it propranolol? If it is this slows how we convert and utilise thyroid hormones

Have you had thyroid blood tests since upping your physical activity training for walking marathon.

Essential to test vitamin D, folate, ferritin and B12 plus both TPO and TG thyroid antibodies as well as TSH, FT4 and FT3

Private tests are available. Thousands on here forced to do this as NHS often refuses to test FT3 or antibodies

thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/testin...

Medichecks Thyroid plus ultra vitamin or Blue Horizon Thyroid plus eleven are the most popular choice. DIY finger prick test or option to pay extra for private blood draw. Both companies often have money off offers.

All thyroid tests should ideally be done as early as possible in morning and fasting. When on Levothyroxine, don't take in the 24 hours prior to test, delay and take straight after

This gives highest TSH, lowest FT4 and most consistent results. (Patient to patient tip, GP will be unaware)

If antibodies are high this is Hashimoto's, (also known by medics here in UK more commonly as autoimmune thyroid disease).

About 90% of all hypothyroidism in Uk is due to Hashimoto's. Low vitamins are especially common with Hashimoto's. Food intolerances are very common too, especially gluten. So it's important to get TPO and TG thyroid antibodies tested at least once .

[Saggyuk in reply to SlowDragon]

Medichecks thyroid ultra vit is on offer at the moment for £79

[humanbean]

I think you need to get your thyroid properly tested - TSH, Free t4, Free T3, TPO and Tg antibodies.

You also need to know some of your vitamins and minerals - vitamin B12, folate, vitamin D and ferritin (iron stores).

Ferritin on its own isn't enough to determine your iron status. You could have ferritin which was well in range and serum iron which was below the range, for example. Other combinations of results are also easily possible.

Iron status can be tested with this test (a finger-prick test that doesn't require a doctor to refer you).

medichecks.com/iron-tests/i...

The two things that triggered major heart problems for me was low Free T3 and very low iron. I've also had heart problems from too much Free T3. These issues are all very common in people with hypothyroidism.

I also develop tachycardia (very fast heart rate) if I take amitriptyline or nortriptyline, which were both prescribed for me for chronic pain. I obviously can't take them any more.