Ectopic beats

[jodary]

Hi, I am teally suffering with ectopic beats, I suffer from anxiety and am also hypothyroid. My tsh has been as high as 8.7 and is now 5, although t4 was 21.4. I understand that ectopic beats can relate to hypo and also to anxiety. I have just had an echocardiogram which was fine as were 2 ecgs. Has anyone else experienced ectopic beats related to their hyothyroidism? Its certainly not helping my anxiety. Which is probably making them worse. Also has anyone tried the magnesium spray ? I bought one but have now become scared to use it in case it affects my heart ! Which is really the point of getting it but Im so anxious at the moment

[SlowDragon Administrator]

The aim of Levothyroxine is to increase the dose slowly in 25mcg steps upwards until TSH is under 2. Many need TSH under one

You are currently very under medicated. Your conversion of FT4 to FT3 is likely poor, due to low vitamin levels and/or thyroid antibodies

Last post your TSH was too high, yet dose was reduced

Have you had vitamin D, folate, B12 and ferritin tested recently?

Do you have Hashimoto's (high thyroid antibodies)

[jodary in reply to SlowDragon]

I don't get much help from my dr. She has just increased my t4 back to 100mcg after consulting an endo, he said t4 was irrelevant and tsh was too high. She has suggested beta blockers for anxiety and ectopic beats but this could all be thyroid related .

[Marz]

I would read through your post and replies of 15 days ago as many topics will be repeated. Low levels of B12 - Folate - Ferritin - VitD - can cause the symptoms you mention. You said you would test with Medichecks - great idea 😊

Just a thought - how do you take your Levo/T4 ? Are you on any other medication that could interfere with the Levo uptake ?

[jodary in reply to Marz]

Hi, yes I know I said I would do medichecks and I should have. I have no confidence in gp but got so wrapped up in the heart tests I couldn't think of anything else. Having a really bad day today and panicked and reached out for reassurance. I keep thinking that as the ectopic beats weren't happening at time of tests they might not have showed the cause.. I am getting so depressed I need to take action and grt my own tests done. I have so many symptons I feel like I am in a mess. I am on aspirin 75mcg and amitryptiline 10mg.. Both taken well away from t4.

[jodary in reply to jodary]

Another reason I havent done Medichecks is because gp keeps changing my dose. Since xmas its been changed from 100mcg to 75mcg then 75 and 100 on alternate days and now back to 100 again. X

[Marz in reply to jodary]

Are you waiting an hour after taking Levo before eating or drinking ?

Low T3 can cause your heart symptoms as can low vits and minerals - as mentioned earlier. My heart would beat strangely when I needed my next dose of T3 - when multiple dosing. When you are low in Iron the heart can beat more - also low B12 - Folate - VitD can affect the heartbeat. So the sooner you have all the tests suggested - the more you will know and understand.

Using the magnesium will not cause you any harm. However allowing your Doctor to keep changing your dose will. 😊

[jodary in reply to Marz]

Thank you. I will have to wait 6 weeks at least. Just hope it settles a bit. I do wait at least an hout before taking thyrocine x

[MaisieGray]

As you probably know, ectopic heartbeats are simply extra heartbeats that occur just before a regular beat, so can feel like the heart is either skipping a beat or producing an extra one. They are both normal and common in adults, and usually not a cause for concern, although they can have the effect of making some people anxious about them. In your case, you have had both a normal echocardiogram and 2 normal ECGs which should put your mind at rest. I have regular echocardiograms for my own heart problem, and if there were something going on with the functioning of your heart it is unlikely it wouldn't have been picked up during the scanning. Anxiety can be a symptom of inadequately medicated hypothyroidism, so it would be useful if you posted your latest results and their reference ranges, as well as what thyroid meds you're taking, for folks to suggest if anything might need adjusting there; especially as you're TSH has been over range on the occasions you mention. It's not possible to comment on that FT4 result because depending on the reference interval, it may be just in range, or over range.

[jodary in reply to MaisieGray]

All I have is tsh 5 ( 0.04 - 4.4) and t4 21.4 ( 10-20) . That was from thyroxine of 75mcg and 100mcg alternate days. She has just increased it to 100mcg. Shes changed it 3 times since xmas. After putting it down to 75mcg I had tsh of 8.7 and t4 of 17.5. Same ranges .

[SlowDragon Administrator]

Ideally See GP and request (politely insist) vitamin D, folate, B12 and ferritin are tested, plus both TPO and TG thyroid antibodies

Guidelines recommend all hypothyroid patients have these vitamin levels tested.

80-90% of hypothyroidism is due to autoimmune thyroid disease diagnosed by high thyroid antibodies. These need testing if not been done already

If she won't do this, then two options

As dose has just been increased, you will need to wait 6-8 weeks to get full Thyroid and vitamin testing via Medichecks or Blue Horizon - Medichecks Thyroid plus ultra vitamin at £99, often on offer on Thursdays at £79. (You can buy ahead of when you need it) Option to pay extra £25 for private blood draw at clinic near you. Or nurse to visit your home, but appointment should be 9am latest

Recommended on here that all thyroid blood tests should ideally be done as early as possible in morning and fasting. Last Levothyroxine dose should be 24 hours prior to test, (taking delayed dose immediately after blood draw). This gives highest TSH, lowest FT4 and most consistent results. (Patient to patient tip, best not mentioned to GP or phlebotomist)

Or to get something tested now, order just vitamin D test here for £29. Very easy test to do

vitamindtest.org.uk

Low vitamin D and low magnesium often go together. Both very common when hypothyroid

come back with new post once you get results

Ectopic beats should stop once adequately treated with Levothyroxine and vitamins optimal

Gluten intolerance can be linked too

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

Hashimoto's affects the gut and leads to low stomach acid and then low vitamin levels

Low vitamin levels affect Thyroid hormone working

Poor gut function can lead leaky gut (literally holes in gut wall) this can cause food intolerances. Most common by far is gluten. Dairy is second most common.

According to Izabella Wentz the Thyroid Pharmacist approx 5% with Hashimoto's are coeliac, but over 80% find gluten free diet helps, sometimes significantly. Either due to direct gluten intolerance (no test available) or due to leaky gut and gluten causing molecular mimicry (see Amy Myers link)

Changing to a strictly gluten free diet may help reduce symptoms, help gut heal and slowly lower TPO antibodies

Ideally ask GP for coeliac blood test first or buy test online for under £20, just to rule it out first

Assuming test is negative you can immediately go on strictly gluten free diet




(If test is positive you will need to remain on high gluten diet until endoscopy, maximum 6 weeks wait officially)




Trying gluten free diet for 3-6 months. If no noticeable improvement then reintroduce gluten and see if symptoms get worse

chriskresser.com/the-gluten...

amymyersmd.com/2018/04/3-re...

thyroidpharmacist.com/artic...

scdlifestyle.com/2014/08/th...

drknews.com/changing-your-d...

restartmed.com/hashimotos-g...

[Angel_of_the_North]

I have ectopic beats. They are worse when my free T3 is lower. Cardiologist said that they are not life threatening (but they are very annoying).

[jodary in reply to Angel_of_the_North]

Thank you for responding. They are very troublesome at the moment feeding my anxiety and thats making them worse. All day long at the moment.

[Angel_of_the_North in reply to jodary]

One answer is to keep busy as then you don't notice them as much.

[FancyPants54]

Magnesium is an essential mineral and our hearts need it. It can help to reduce palpitations or even stop them if we are deficient. Use what you have bought. It will not harm you.

[jodary in reply to FancyPants54]

Thank you so much. X

[Emerge]

Hey Jodary, anxiety will always make them so much worse. Are you taking anything to help get your anxiety under control?Also the magnesium is great, ive found personally that my potassium levels keep dropping a lot which i think is attributing to the pvcs im experiencing.