I really struggle with energy. Walking has become hard for me. Doing anything sustained is hard for me.
Yesterday I met with an agent and walked a 22.5 acre field with him (family needs to sell some land). The sun was out, it smelt lovely, it was wonderful to be in my Wellies again and walking in that field. By the time we had circled it and got back up the gentle slope, I was pretty weak feeling. I felt a bit shaky and needed to sit down. I don't think that was a blood sugar issue as I had eaten a good quality breakfast of fats and protein before I set off to meet the agent.
Today I got up and went to the loo at 8am and when I got back into bed my heart beat went into some kind of arrhythmia or palpitations (not sure what the difference is to be honest). I do get atrial fibrillation from time to time, perhaps it's that. But it's more gentle. Really its shallow, fast heart beat and a bit wobbly at times. The AF I have had has been violent and terrifying. Like a box of angry frogs in my chest.
Could this be a sign of low thyroid hormones? Could it be that I overdid it yesterday? It felt so lovely. And now I'm stressed and anxious and tearful.
I am currently taking 125mcg Levo and 12.5mcg T3 daily. I have 4 more weeks before I test again. I'm working on vitamins and minerals. My temperature is good. Although I feel hot on my skin surface, I'm 36.8C. I'm also menopausal and on HRT but not balanced yet.
Written by
FancyPants54
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
I think, when symptoms return, that a blood test is due.
Considering that thyroid hormones are needed for our body to run smoothly - from head to toe - and that our millions of T3 receptor cells need optimum T3 as heart and brain contains the most receptor cells. We struggle if we're not on an optimum dose of hormones.
I note you're working on your vits/minerals.
I used to get palpitations when on levo and I improved when on T4/T3 but recovered on T3 alone. I don't think many doctors are aware of how the hormones work in our bodies. However, it is trial and error. Some members don't improve on NDT some do. It is a weary time when we are trying to guess what our body's needs are.
I hope you feel well soon as you will be nervous of talking another long hike. We don't like horrible symptoms. I will also say I'm not medically qualified but I think the majority on this forum have had a long journey to wellness. It's good when it arrives.
I am not medically qualified but at the time we don't think our energy will dissipate so quickly as you normally have had long walks thousands of times without effort.
However, T4 is an inactive hormone - it has to convert to T3 and, as I'm sure you know, that T3 is the Active Hormone and it has to enter our T3 receptor cells. If we don't have sufficient our body wont perform the same. If you test both Free T4 and Free T3 (following the advice of the earlest time etc etc) both should be nearer the top of the range.
Sometimes, I think that if the companies make a small change in their product (hormones) that it can affect us by creating symptoms we didn't have before. It is a quagmire right enough and some have more difficulties than others.
Perhaps think of Thyroid hormones as like water trickling into a container. (A bath is a good image) We don't want too much hormone pouring in so that it overflows, but also, especially if we start being more active we don't want the water to run out, if we use too much in one go
Very important to have some exercise.....but not too much
Thank you. I just needed someone to say that. I hate these heart beat issues, they depress me so much. I can't believe so little could have such a profound effect on me. I get almost no exercise because I'm so fatigued. But yesterday I didn't feel that way, which is why I was glad to go.
Hi FancyPants54 , sorry to hear that you paid for your lovely walk in the sun with these symptoms. I agree with SlowDragon , it sounds very familiar to me too. Even just misjudging a walk a little bit often means I need to sit down, have something to eat and do nothing for a while before going on to something else -- and like you, I used to walk for miles and miles no problem. Still get it wrong plenty mind you, especially on glorious, sunny spring days
Hi FancyPants54. I’m sorry you have had those awful symptoms but I do sympathise and for the last few months I have had almost identical symptoms when I try and walk too far. These are: quite profound weakness in my legs, hypoglycaemia symptoms despite eating well with fats and protein, palpitations and generally weak and shaky and foggy headed. Luckily our dogs are ancient terriers so they are not too bothered about long walks! I have unmedicated autoimmune thyroid disease and Supraventricular tachycardia. I have just done a Medichecks test for TSH, FT4 and FT3 as I am so sure this is thyroid related and awaiting results. I have no diabetes as I check my glucose regularly (hubby has a monitor). I hope you can get to the bottom of your symptoms and that your medication will eventually improve things. I will probably post my results for help and support on this wonderful forum. I just don’t want to feel panicky now every time I try and go for a walk ! Wishing you well.
Would be best to have your adrenals checked. I have discovered my weakness and heart palpitations are due to adrenal insufficiency. Cortisol saliva testing showed mine up.
Well i have just asked that very question. Its a new direction for me. I have ordered thorne adrenal cortex and stress b complex. I also use progesterone cream. Im in a very shaky place cant do much, very weak, adrenaline seems to be keeping me going. I just hope someone on here can help.
Hello FancyPants54. I hope you get well soon. If you are on Levothyroxine and taking the suggested dosage by your doctor and still feeling shaky and heart palpitation, I suggest that you seek your own feelings. I have been on Levothyroxine for the last 20 years and during this period, I have learnt that doctors depend on computers readings to be in range or out of range. This is the problem. If Doctors see that the computer is giving them the perfect range, they assume that everything is ok with you and they do not care about your actual feelings. If you are still feeling sluggish, tiered, fatigue myalgia and weak. I suggest that you increase your dosage a bit. Maybe your body is suffering from T3 deficiency. Good luck and I hope you feel better soon
I do not think I am the right person to help you, but when my heart started beating a bit fast, they did a thyroid test and told me I was having too much thyroxine and decreased my dose from 125 mcg to 100 mcg. It helped me but I do think you should talk to your GP regarding same and not experiment by yourself.
Thank you. I can't really talk to them about it because I have added T3 myself to their Levothyroxine. And I don't want to admit that yet. I need to get it right first.
My heart beat is still not in a normal rhythm, but it's calmed right down and isn't far off. I'm hoping it will revert this evening or over night. Then, based on advice here, I'm going to miss my medications tomorrow and then start up the day after and drop a 1/4 T3 tablet. See how that goes. I can see were a potential over-medication might have occurred. Silly me, I missed a test out that I should not have missed. It means I have a bit of data missing.
You may be taking too much meds.how tall and how much you weigh can be a factor in deciding how much thyroxine you take.Get your doctor to do blood test! Check your T3 and T4–and check with ECG your heart. You may have murmur?
I can only share limited knowledge with you. And I am a male. My hypothyroid condition started when I was given a vaccination (one of them), to children in Britain - Northern Ireland - in 1948. Whichever one it was, it affected my thyroid gland, and stunted my growth. Normally, hypothyroidism affects more women than men.
Being a woman (I'm guessing your age is 54), have you ruled out menopause as being the cause?:
Physical signs and symptoms may include:
Hot flushes (occurring in approximately 60% of women)
Sweats (often at night)
Tiredness
Headaches
Joint and bone pain
Palpitations
Unusual skin sensations
Vaginal dryness, incontinence and infections of the urinary tract and vagina may occur due to the thinning of the vagina and bladder walls
Psychological signs and symptoms may include:
Anxiety
Reduced interest in sex
Irritability and mood swings
Difficulty concentrating
Loss of confidence
Forgetfulness
Difficulty sleeping
Depression
MHT
Oestrogen and progesterone MHT may possibly increase breast cancer risk in some women by 1 additional event per 1200 women per year after 5 years of treatment after the age of 50 years. Risk returns to baseline a few years after stopping MHT
Oestrogen only MHT does not increase breast cancer risk
If you definitely have a hypothyroid condition here is good advice from Dr. Isobel Wentz: s3.amazonaws.com/product-dl...
'shaws' Administrator is giving you good advice.
I see you are on the synthetic Levothyroxine. I live in New Zealand and I buy Thyrovanz natural desiccated thyroid from New Jersey. If you need natural thyroid.
Thank you for your thoughtful reply. You are right, in that menopause is a big issue for me at the moment but I am under a specialist for that and receiving HRT which has helped some symptoms and certainly helped my anxiety and fears. You seem very well up on menopause, your information is up to date and clear. I suspect you live in close proximity to a woman "experiencing" it. It's a horrible time for some of us.
I'm pretty sure this is connected to my thyroid meds because I have been feeling so hot and sweaty too and the last couple of days I've had very loose bowels as well - joy! The heat is odd. I feel roasting and I sweat at the slightest extra effort, but my actual temperature is normal and my husband says I am not hot to touch. I have used T3 on it's own in the past, and one of the symptoms I had then was lots of energy but also copious and easy sweating. I should have been more alert to that possibility this time, but did wonder if some of that was menopause related. I don't now think that. I have been diagnosed because my TSH went over 10 at one point. I am on synthetic levo yes, but I have added in T3 of my own supply to try to help as my T3 levels were not improving much at all. It is the T3 that I suspect might have caused this, because of something I did, so I am trying today taking no meds at all to let things calm down a bit and then when I restart I will reduce my T3. I am hoping that my fast and wobbly heart might revert to normal with less hormone in the tank. I have had episodes of atrial fibrillation before, been checked and told I don't need to go to the GP unless they last longer or are more distressing. They are normally less than 36 hours in duration. Sadly this episode is now past 48 hours, so that's why I'm taking today off medication. If I go to the surgery I will have to confess about the T3 and then there will be issues with the surgery!
I'm taking it easy. The heart beat isn't violent and distressing as it has been in the past. Just fast and gentle. I can walk about OK, I'm not breathless unless I rush around. It's not nice and it's certainly giving me a more heightened respect for T3.
the menopausal symptoms apply to me, but I am 86, and feel very menopausal. unable to make decisions, sweats, AF pulse was 150, when rushed into hospital, now down to 60 but mentally and physically not up to much. my family thinks maybe the answer is a care home, but that,s a oneway ticket . come on, oldies, say things will improve!
Content on HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them.
Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.
4days without T3 did I push it too far?
Don't do what I did!
Did i make the right choice?
185mcg Levothyroxine did nothing. I take 125mcg levo now and 75mcg liothyronine.
How do I get diagnosed?
