i’ve been getting intermittent daily heart palpitations for a few months now . Recent blood tests have shown i’m under medicated as my tsh has gone from 9.7 before levo prescription september 2018 to 3.5 in december 2018 after two months of 50mg levo to now 19.7 in may 2019. gp has upped me to 75mg but thinks she’ll probably put my up to 100 in two months time but was reluctant to go straight to 100 due my heart palpitations .my folate was also low in may so i’m back on folate 5mg after being taken off in december because in december my folate went through the roof after two months on levo. anyway , anyone no possible reason for heart palpitations , could it be the folate or my thyroid . it’s bizarre cos i would expected them if i was hyper but i’m hypo / hashimotos. i’m not mega stressed just now but might be over tired maybe or it may be my ecig use . just want to try to narrow it down so any info would be helpful thanks
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thank you. can i ask, when medication is upped should i expect a temporary rise in symptoms such as sweating / palpitations / sleep issues and then if i persevere the symptoms may settle down ? reason i’m asking is because in december i was actually upped to 75 but went back to 50 after 4 weeks due to these symptoms . but now shocked to see my tsh rise to 19.7 as it has never been that high so i’m thinking i will need to push through any of these symptoms if they come back ? . also , my levels sat between 5 and 9.7 for 9 years before medication started last september . is it possible that starting the medication has caused my thyroid activity to reduce as my body starts to rely on the medication more ?
It's absolutely possible, yes. So, you really do need to try and sit it out until your dose gets high enough to make you well.
In the meantime, it would be a very good idea to check your nutrients: vit D, vit B12, folate and ferritin. Because they all need to be optimal - not just 'in-range' - for the body to be able to use thyroid hormones correctly.
If your TSH was between 5-9.7 for ten years you have been hypothyroid for a very long time
Yes, once we start on Levothyroxine, dose is increased slowly in 25mcg steps upwards
Many people find Levothyroxine brands are not interchangeable.
Once you find a brand that suits you, best to make sure to only get that one at each prescription.
Watch out for brand change when dose is increased or at repeat prescription.
Many patients do NOT get on well with Teva brand of Levothyroxine. Though it is the only one for lactose intolerant patients
Teva is the only brand that makes 75mcg. If you want to avoid Teva you need to take either 50mcg plus 1/2 tablet 50mcg or 50mcg plus 25mcg
You will need FULL Thyroid and vitamin testing 6-8 weeks after each dose increase
For full Thyroid evaluation you need TSH, FT4 and FT3 plus both TPO and TG thyroid antibodies tested. Also extremely important to test vitamin D, folate, ferritin and B12
Low vitamin levels are extremely common, especially if Thyroid antibodies are raised
Have you had thyroid antibodies tested?
Recommended on here that all thyroid blood tests should ideally be done as early as possible in morning and fasting. This gives highest TSH, lowest FT4 and most consistent results. (Patient to patient tip, best not mentioned to GP or phlebotomist)
Last Levothyroxine dose should be 24 hours prior to test, (taking delayed dose immediately after blood draw).
Is this how you do your tests?
Private tests are available. Thousands on here forced to do this as NHS often refuses to test FT3 or antibodies or all vitamins
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 special offers, Medichecks usually have offers on Thursdays, Blue Horizon its more random
Medichecks currently have an offer on until end of May - 20% off
The aim of Levothyroxine is to increase the dose slowly in 25mcg steps upwards until TSH is under 2 (many need TSH under one) and FT4 in top third of range and FT3 at least half way in range
All four vitamins need to be regularly tested and frequently need supplementing to maintain optimal levels
NHS guidelines on Levothyroxine including that most patients need somewhere between 100mcg and 200mcg Levothyroxine. Also what foods to avoid (note recommended to avoid calcium rich foods at least four hours away from Levo)
thank you, yes it was a long fight to get thyroxine due to tsh not reaching the nhs magic 10 . been having vit d b12 folate and ferritin monitored every 6 months for years and been on b12 injections 3 monthly and daily folate and vit d for a while now . my ferritin is never low due to haemachromatosis . my antibodies were tested 4 years ago a 466 so hashimotos .
Rarely, certain diseases, like hemochromatosis, can deposit abnormal substances (iron, in the case of hemochromatosis) in your pituitary gland, causing central hypothyroidism, or less commonly, your thyroid gland, causing primary hypothyroidism.
thanks , ive been seeing consultant for my hemochromatosis for around 8 years and do venesections to keep it under control. didn’t realise the link with thyroid though but have suspected all my things are wrapped up together one way or another . i know the gps should have dealt with my thyroid a lot earlier through researching myself over the last two years . but thankfully i’m just glad i’m finally referred to all the right consultants and don’t have to solely rely on gps decisions going forward
You will need to regularly retest full Thyroid and vitamin levels, frequently we have to do so privately
Essential to have good vitamin levels for good conversion
Are you on strictly gluten free diet for Hashimoto's?
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
while still eating high gluten diet 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
But don't be surprised that GP or endo never mention gut, gluten or low vitamins. Hashimoto's gut, gluten and vitamin connections are very poorly understood
i’m not on low gluten diet yet , just been making small changes at the moment but i’ve read it can help a lot. trying to focus on quitting smoking first
wow , bit gutted that if i successfully stop smoking , i may have to ride out more hypothyroid problems but i’m committed to trying , stop date is this friday . have a hypno/cbt appt to help kick start it . i stopped smoking for both my pregnancies , kids are 9 and 11 now. i was severely exhausted and bloods showed borderline hypo after my second pregnancy. i always thought the pregnancy had started my thyroid issues but maybe it was stopping smoking too
ahh , i was on mixed brands for 75mg when i has all the symptoms. none were teva ( unless teva has any other names ) but i will make sure to get all the one type now as when i was on 50 i had no bad side affects .
Nothing to do with your TSH. But, if TSH has gone up, it means that FT4 and FT3 have gone down - doubt your doctor tested those - and cholesterol levels are directly linked to T3 levels.
think i’ll get the private tests done again , got them done in january as t3 looked ok in higher end of range but think i’ll need to do it more regularly , and my vit d private as well as my gp seems reluctant to check that more than once every couple of years
I get palpitations, high bp and pulse when undermedicated hypo...more obvious when went onto adding T3 too having been on levo. only for 13 years. Similarly cholesterol levels can rise with undermedication. It is confusing that many symptoms can be common to both undermed. and overmedicated...can be worth recording all these symptoms, with stats like bp, pulse, basal temp, how you feel and dosage!
thank you , my bp is up too. it’s so exhausting just trying to keep up with all the balancing but this forum is such a great help to give confidence for a way forward
Hi, I had palpitations with B12 deficiency so you may need to up your shots. Many of us need more than the 12 weekly NHS. I self inject SC.
I also get them with anxiety.
Your dr obviously knows little about the thyroid, letting you suffer for so many years and then to keep you so low in dosage.
FYI, the herb Leonorus Cardiaca - Motherwort - is great for palpitations, anxiety, sleep and as it is bitter will help with digestion (not her main action). Caution use with sedatives as may cause an additive affect - ie make them stronger. Tincture from Baldwin’s for eg.
It's great that you journal and track your symptoms with your thyroid meds doses . There are some that can have palpitations from being hyper as well . I had palpitations when my TSH was suppressed with high doses of T4 . Some can have palpitations with high doses of T3/NDT as well . Magnesium and fish oil is very helpful too with palpitations . Low Iron can cause palpitations and anxiety too . It's important to know the values of nutrients vitamin "D" K2, B-12/folate , Iron/Ferritin and FreeT4 FreeT3 TSH . Some fillers can trigger different reactions in people and switching to a different brand can be very helpful .
I suffered frequent heart palpitations and extreme fatigue for 2 years before being diagnosed with hypothyroidism. I gained 2 stone in weight and became so sluggish that I couldn't even follow a simple conversation. I started out on 25mcg which increased to 50mcg and that's when it all went wrong.
My heart palpitations went from about 30 a day to 5 a minute, sometimes back to back flips. I felt sick, couldn't sleep, couldn't even sit....All I could do was walk around and keep busy because my brain was so switched on and my mind was racing. My already existing anxiety went through the roof and I started panicking about anything and everything, making all my symptoms much worse.
I went back to the doctor after several panic attacks brought on by the fact that I could't breathe properly with the skips and he said I had gone hyper but it affected me so badly. I couldn't eat and my heart was so fast that I lost 4lb in just 3 days.
I settled back on 25mcg but months later it still wasn't enough but I was terrified to go back to 50mcg. So after much deliberation, we opted to alternate between the two, taking 50 one day and 25 the next. The palpitations have now settled nicely.
I thought the bad side effects could be down to brand so I have since avoided Teva which I was on at the time.
Personally, I think it was more about getting the dose right which fixed the palps. Many people are naturally reluctant to increase their dose when they have palpitations but sometimes too low a dose can be the cause, as can too high a dose. For me, it was about fine tuning. It makes me wonder though, if people are so sensitive to tiny amounts like I am, then why don't they do half increments like 12.5mcg! Also....why is it when you have a condition like hypothyroidism, GP's assume every other symptom you have is down to your thyroid???? I am now referred to a lengthy wait for an endo as my GP admitted he didn't know how best to help my symptoms. He even said that the symptoms I present now shouldn't really be related to my thyroid but still he referred me to one. I just wish some times I could be treated objectively as a patient who could have any number of things wrong that could be completely unrelated to my hypothyroidism. It's like now that I am labelled as hypothyroid, my GP's don't even try to diagnose me, they just try to make me fit the mould and I think this leaves my care a little lacking.
i’m sorry to hear what your going through , persevere with getting to an endocrinologist because i saw one last year which is why i finally got my levothyroxine but he was much more knowledgeable in a lot of areas so i think it will help you .
Yes, I am glad you got to see an endo. I really don't think some GP's are up for the task. Mine seemed to get quite grouchy when my symptoms didn't magically go away. Also, because he knew I suffered from anxiety he tried to suggest that was all that was wrong with me when my heart was literally bouncing off the walls. I've had anxiety for many years and it never made me anywhere near like I was a few months ago. I even looked into life insurance because I felt so bad and full of doom. I've never experienced anything even remotely like that and wanted to come off the Levo altogether because I felt better before I was diagnosed! Now, thankfully I think things are settling.
Try to make sure you are getting enough sleep as this really helped to settle the palps too. I know it is easier said than done though! Thyroid hormones play an important part in regulating sleep so if they're not right, your sleep won't be either. I would go to bed exhausted, then just lay there counting the ceiling tiles, desperate for sleep but not able to get any and all I could feel was my heart thumping and skipping.
I really hope your symptoms settle soon and you feel better.
That's a good idea. Some of us are super sensitive to even small doses aren't we? My doctor totally dismissed me going hyper on such a small dose but my bloods confirmed what I already felt in my chest!
I bought a very good pill cutter from boots if you are in the UK it was only about £5.00 it’s excellent good luck and I hope you start to feel much better
Hi, I too had heart palpitations. I'm hypo/ Hashimoto's. I went on a low carb diet and it stopped my heart palpitations completely. I've also decided to stop taking my 25mcg of TEVA altogether as I was feeling worse than taking nothing at all and I was getting additional symptoms, like a worrying ache in my thyroid which I'd never had before. Hope this helps and you find some relief from your symptoms.
Me too. During the phase of me being hyper, I found it really hard to eat large meals and cut back on the carbs too. I noticed that it really helped with the palpitations which would seem to get more frequent after my meal, especially pasta or rice dishes. Now, I eat small amounts and have increased the amount of fruit and veg in my diet and I feel better and less sluggish after eating. I try not to focus on the palpitations because it makes them worse. I do find that I tune into my body a lot more because of the anxiety and I might notice things that perhaps others might overlook. Exercise is helping too although I find I have to force myself to do it because I am still so tired all the time, especially mentally. My body is nowhere near as tired as my brain is. It feels like a shrivelled walnut! Hopefully things will improve as time goes on. All the best.
I got tested for Coeliac a while back because my son has it but I came back negative but my system really doesn't tolerate carbs very well in large amounts. I get bad cramps too if I eat too many and have to lie down (which is not a good look if you're out in public!) I think this may be down to the gut becoming sluggish and slowing down with the hypothyroid. I have read somewhere that you have less stomach acid when you have hypothyroid because your metabolism all slows down. For years, I was taking antacids for stomach problems thinking that they would neutralise all the excess acid but I think the real problem may have been because I didn't have enough acid and my food was just sitting there giving me indigestion. Cutting down on the carbs has relieved some of the tiredness which would get really bad after eating them in large amounts and it has definitively helped reduce food related palpitations. I am still getting a fair few a day but nothing like they were and have upped the amount of water I drink too which helps. I find it suits me to cut down on white carbs and heavily processed foods and replace with smaller amounts of healthier carbs. Brown bread and brown rice etc helps to regulate blood sugar and stop you from erratic blood sugars which can trigger palps too. Gosh, there's so much to think about isn't there!
Presumably you have autoimmune thyroid disease also called Hashimoto's diagnosed by high thyroid antibodies
If your son is coeliac you should be tested too, have you been?
You would need to be eating high levels of gluten for 6 weeks prior to testing
If you have gluten intolerance, rather than Coeliac it doesn't show on coeliac testing
Low stomach acid is EXTREMELY common when hypothyroid. Low vitamin levels as direct result.
Being unable to tolerate Levothyroxine is frequently due to low vitamin levels
You need vitamin D, folate, B12 and ferritin tested.
Antacids also significantly lower vitamin levels making problems worse. Antacids Especially lower B12 and magnesium, and low magnesium can cause palpitations
About 80-90% of primary hypothyroidism is due to autoimmune thyroid disease (Hashimoto's)
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
while still eating high gluten diet 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
Thank you so much for all that wonderful information. I appreciate you taking the time. My test did come back negative for Coeliac some time ago, but I think there is definitely an intolerance there. There is a strong autoimmune link in our household, my daughter also has type 1 diabetes. I presume it is Hashimoto's. The GP said 'definitely autoimmune' if that's the same thing? I have stopped taking antacids now as I don't think they are doing me any good at all. The only thing that helps my gut feel better is eating small, light meals that are low in carbs. Bread and pastry are the worse offenders and I am doubled over sometimes. If I don't see enough improvement or if my symptoms worsen, I might try a gluten free diet to see if it is the carbs that bother me or the gluten in the foods that contain the carbs. Eating less carbs has certainly helped with the palps, now if I can just get my gut happy again.....Thanks again and all the best.
I recommend that you be referred to a cardiologist to rule out a heart conduction abnormality as the cause of your palpitations. I’m new to this group and am on my first prescription of 50mcgs levothyroxine. My sister has Hashimoto’s and it can be a co-morbidity of hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, as can heart conduction abnormalities. The cardiologist confirmed that I have atrial flutter. My gp confirmed that I have the “stiff” version of hEDS, i.e. early diffuse osteoarthritis and lots of tendon and ligament tears, combined with endometriosis, anaesthetic and medication sensitivities/reactions, gluten and dairy issues and more... If your palpitations include a sense of dread, like watching a scary movie, this is worth mentioning to your gp. You may not have the loose joints of EDS and indeed have the athleticism without the musculoskeletal drawbacks. If so, it’s then called Joint Hypermobility Syndrome. However, some of the same co-morbidities can apply. Here’s a good website by a medical doctor in the USA who has EDS herself. She has specialties in both psychiatry and internal medicine. Scroll down two-thirds to read most of the co-morbidities:
ok thanks , i had an ecg over a year ago because of the last time it happened but nothing showed up , although i knew nothing would show as the day i wore the ecg i felt no palpitations . i do get a sense of dread with them but i’ve been putting that down to my fear that they might be linked to something serious , it’s like the start of a panic attack feeling but i calm myself before it builds and the palpitations passes . last year when i had them i struggled to calm myself and they were more constant throughout the day so i put them down to severe work stress back then as everything improved when i went part time after , but it’s so difficult to pin point causes because at the same time last year my folate was rock bottom and i went part time at same time as rectifying h the folate . i think i’ll try to sort my thyroid levels and see if they go away and if they don’t or start to get worse i’ll ask to see cardio , thanks ( last week i had a strange vibration / bubble feeling in my right chest for a few days but the gp listened to my chest and took my bp and wasn’t co concerned and it’s gone away now) i’ll keep an eye on things a bit closer now i think . 👍
Fondly enough, after a stroke scare a year ago the local neurosurgeon had me wear a halter for 12 hours and sure enough, no palpitations during that time....now I’m experiencing them off and on all day!
It’s hard to be a detective when there’s a myriad of possibilities and theories out there! I had to wait until the last third of life for a complete diagnosis. One thing you may already know is that many like us have mutations of the MTHFR gene and do better with a methyl folate supplement than in the form of folic acid. I order mine via iHerb. Mutations on this gene have also been linked to sudden infant death syndrome. Best of luck on your journey!
I see a great chiropractor who doesn’t do manipulations - closer to an osteopath or physiotherapist. He’s very familiar with EDS, which is not true for all of them. I’m in Sydney, Australia, otherwise I’d pass on his details. The other thing that helped me was prolotherapy injections by a gp medical doctor. He fixed a bad labral tear (torn cartilage in the joint capsule). There are some good YouTube videos that explain it and you should be able to find one in the UK. I suggest you look up “Dr Margaret Taylor, Adelaide, South Australia” to see her explanation as she trains doctors how to do it, including mine and Dr John Lyftogh, (not sure if spelling is right) a NZ doctor who now travels all over the world to train others. Basically, it’s an injection of lidocaine/lignocaine anaesthetic combined with dextrose into the affected area. This stimulates production of new collagen to protect the joint. It’s controversial among sceptics but it’s worth it. Within 20 minutes of my first treatment I could lift my leg up to knee height. Before then I couldn’t lift it past my ankle. This extended my physical fitness level for several years. I must admit that I was addicted to Cuban and Colombian Salsa for many years and I had no idea about painless micro-injuries back then.
Well I was going to a chiropractor who started passive treatment of ultrasound and e-stim, after physical therapy and Platelet Rich Plasma injections into hip tears didn't work. So far the professionals have not been much help so I'm trying to maintain targeted strength and stretching exercises on my own.
That’s must be disappointing. A friend with EDS has had good results from prp injections. The prolotherapy worked on me up until 2 years ago when I developed DISH Syndrome (skeletal hyperostosis) and all my right-sided ligaments from neck to hip became calcified. It still might be worthwhile to ask whoever did the prp injections about the likelihood of prolotherapy being useful in your case. I’m off to sleep as it’s 12:35 here. Until next time everyone...
Im experiencing heart palps on a daily basis plus muscle weakness, docts cant find reason for this, has been going on for months even wore 24hr halter monitor which showed palps but heart rythem was within normal limits, had b12 injections in jan which messed me up for months with terrible side effects, then my iron serum decided to drop from normal to half what it was within four months, then given iron tablets which messed me up more with bloating and nausea, doct ready to diagnose me with Fibromyalgia and put me on antidepressant, was not happy to do that so went to another doct for second opinion, he now suggesting all symptons looking like overmedicated although results within range, maybe it makes sense ive lost 8 kilos since this time last year then body been through hell in last 5 months so maybe something has altered, we all react differently to meds, some people have no problems with b12 injections, iron or thyroid meds, others do, hell im willing to try anything atm if i get my life back!!
I too have Hashimoto's and went 7 years without diagnosis despite me telling doctors that I had a thyroid problem. After 13 years on Synthroid, and Cytomel (T3) I developed weird reactions to things I had always taken/eaten. I was getting strange heart "events" ... palpitations on and off. My doctor suggested a natural thyroid med made from pig thyroid, called WP thyroid. It made a world of a difference! And when I am not on a sufficient amount, I still get palpitations, which is my signal that I need to up the dose. Doctors often underdose, and use the palpitation symptom as a patient being on too high a dose, but I discovered when I stop all medication for more than 3 days, I get intermittent heart palpitations and a feeling like I am about to have a heart attack. This goes away with thyroid meds!
my levels sat between 5 and 9.7 for 9 years before medication started last september .
A few comments and suggestions...
1) I agree with other posters that being under-medicated will cause palpitations in many people.
2) I know from personal experience that having low iron and/or ferritin levels will give me palpitations. If my levels get very low then I will get actual chest pain as well as palpitations. A way of testing your own levels is with this finger-prick test. I've also given some links to money off offers :
3) Low levels in other minerals and vitamins may have effects on the heart e.g. low B12 is common in people with hypothyroidism and can affect the heart.
4) You were untreated for 9 years. During the years that you had poor levels of thyroid hormones your body will have tried to keep you going by producing more cortisol and adrenaline (stress hormones) than you would have needed when healthy. In an ideal world people would be treated quickly for hypothyroidism, and when that happened their cortisol and adrenaline levels would have naturally reduced.
But that didn't happen for you - you were left untreated for 9 years. Your stress hormone levels were probably higher than was healthy for all that time. This is one one of the reasons that people who are hypothyroid often display anxiety, and have panic attacks. Now that you are being treated your stress hormone levels should reduce - but they've got stuck pumping out high levels and are reluctant to reduce.
Eventually, the adrenal glands can no longer keep pumping out stress hormones at high levels, burnout happens, and so the levels reduce... and reduce... and reduce... until the person has stress hormone levels that are far too low for good health. (Cortisol has lots of purposes besides what I've described here, and it isn't optional.)
Symptoms of low and high levels of stress hormones (mainly cortisol) have a lot in common. It isn't possible to tell from symptoms whether your levels of cortisol are low, normal, or high. One symptom of abnormal levels of stress hormones is palpitations and erratic heart rate.
With luck your stress hormone levels may eventually shift by themselves since you are now being treated for your hypothyroidism. For now you should concentrate on optimising your thyroid hormone levels and your nutrient levels. Look into your diet to see if it can be improved. But if you still have problems after fixing as much as you can fix, then give some thought to your cortisol levels.
I know from my own recent experience that many doctors are concerned with the rhythm of your heart rather than just your heart rate. Everyone has a different idea of what palpitations mean for them. For some it means a very fast pounding heart rate, for others it may mean a fluttering sensation and for others it will mean a floating feeling as it skips a beat followed by a more stronger thump....or it may be a mixture of all these.
When my levels went high, I had a really fast heart rate and multiple skipped beats a minute which was dreadful. It was impossible to even swallow food or water as I felt like I was choking. Since January when my levels went high, I have had intermittent pain, especially left side below the breast, kind of on the ribs that extends around to the side of the breast. Sometimes it feels stingy, like being pinged with an elastic band, like the start of a stitch. Really weird. Doctors don't know what it is but assume it's something thyroid related, hence my referral. At the same time, I asked for my heart to be checked even though he kept saying he didn't think it's my heart but he could see I was worried given that this symptom was on top of my palpitations as well.
My hands and feet would get bad pins and needles and I'd notice sometimes that my hands were numb and my ears have done nothing but pop since being on Levo. My GP wasn't at all concerned about this so I don't know if I should be?? Maybe they are just side effects from the meds because I didn't have chest pain, pins and needles or ear popping before I started on the Levo. Anyway, I will mention all this to the endo as the GP is a bit flustered with me.
I have recently had 2 ecg's and wore a monitor for 7 days and the doctor told me that what they need to know most is the way your heart responds after the palpitation, ie, if it returns to a normal rhythm which if it doesn't, can be a sign of an abnormality that needs further investigation. I'm still waiting on my results so hopefully everything will be okay there. I managed to catch the palps on the 7 day monitor but nothing happened during the 2 ecg's which is so typical. I had 4 skips before I even got out the room once she took the pads off!
I have been taking thyroxine for 20yrs with no problems. Don’t know my exact numbers but every time Dr says the blood tests come back fine. A couple of months ago I started getting intermittent heart palpitation and feeling edgy and anxious for no real reason even when relaxing. By chance I checked my thyroxine medication and found the month before a different manufacturers name was on the box and the tablet looked a lot bigger. I stopped it immediately and within a day I was back to normal. I queried this with the pharmacy and they said it was probably the fillers in it causing the problem! I’ve insisted on my old tablet that I’ve had no problems with for 20yrs and the answer I got was that I would have to have whatever was sent!!! When I told them I would stop taking it then and they would be responsible they quickly made a note to be sent my old tablets! Out of interest I googled this particular tablet and interestingly lots of people had suffered the same symptoms. Just goes to show that even a small change in a tablet can cause adverse side affects.
E-cigarettes can give more nicotine than cigarettes which can cause nausea, increased blood pressure and palpitations. They also include other chemicals , some of which are being found to be toxic. They’re not a preferred way to quit smoking and are probably as much or more addictive than tobacco products.
Post-prandial tachycardia (high heart rate after meals) can be caused by release of H2 histamine. Taking an H2 blocker (not a PPI) such as cimetidine or ranitidine can help. The heart is very sensitive to the release of histamine from the GI tract.
These both are pretty simple low cost things to try - quit vaping and try some over the counter ranitidine for a few days. We’re often really quick to blame everything on thyroid - so it’s important we keep track of everything we evaluate (all the excellent suggestions already mentioned in this thread).
yes i totally agree , this is why i want to stop because ive been thinking there is potential connection with my ecig and my palpitations and also i’m using it more than i used to smoke , thanks
Stopping is difficult but so worth the freedom you gain. I had to change my mindset from “quitting” to “becoming free” of something I disliked n myself.
Palpitations could be unrelated to being hypo - I have Afib and it seems to have been a result of over-training as a younger person. I also have difficulty losing weight and take 75 mcg levo. There are many causes of arythmmia but they can be ameliorated by medication, cardioversion or cardiac ablations. You need to see a cardiologist.
Hi WeeB, I know everybody is different, for me , it turned out levothyroxine was causing the heart palpitations and shortness of breath, Dr would tell me you need more med, so the higher the med the worse I got, I got off of the med, cause I was just getting worse not better, so I'm taking a natural approach, I went on a hashimotos diet, I'm taking a good Bvitamins, A natural thyroid supplement, I'm going to a accupuncturist, palpitations and shortness of breath stopped,
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