Been on 50mg since nov 2018 which brought my tsh from 9.7 to 3.5 after 8 weeks. In beginning of may 2019 my tsh was 19.7. gp has put me to 75mg with view to see me in two weeks again, likely to put me up to 100mg. However, in may i did feel tired and had been having regular palpitations april and may . Went on medication around may 7th. my palpitations died down around may 28th. But since around may 30th i’ve had extreme exhaustion , concentration issues, constant dizziness , out of breath sometimes and waves of occasional nausea . i’m really struggling to work . in amongst this i’ve had 3 small chest pains to right side and one huge quick chest pain to the centre all on the one day . ended up at a and e with ecg , blood tests and x-ray , all came back clear . hospital told me my tsh is now 8.7. hospital planning to put heart monitor on me for 3 days just to make sure they haven’t missed anything , but the doctor said all symptoms could be related to thyroid and medication adjustment . What’s everyone else’s thoughts on my symptoms ? it’s coming up 3 weeks now of all new symptoms, a week since the chest pains , and previous palpitations have significantly calmed down 3 weeks ago so i only get mild feeling ones about once a day .
Written by
WeeB
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
My adrenals were shot and it was only when I took adrenal support that the thyroid meds worked. I was always dizzy and sick. I’m not suggesting that’s your problem but without healthy adrenals your thyroid will struggle to cope with the meds.
Did you have your T4 and T3 tested as well your TSH level. All 3 must be checked. It’s worth having a 9am cortisol blood test to check your adrenals too. All vitamins need to be optimal B12, D, ferritin and folate.
It can take weeks even months for the thyroid medication to settle.
T3 is very important to check as you may not be converting T4 to T3 well. T3 is the only active hormone. T4 medication just sits waiting to be converted into energy T3.
around january i think i got a medicheck result where t3 was 5.8 i think but nhs never test it and not sure they would even if i asked . i can’t afford regular private blood tests so need to be clever about when to check them privately so i can make the most of them. i’ll ask gp to check them but if they say no i guess now is good time to pay private. my folate was low in may so been on folate for 4 weeks or so . b12 is good as on injections , iron is good but gp won’t test vit d regularly ; i’m on vit d supplements as it’s been low in previous years but it was fine last summer .
Your heart palpitations may be due to your high tsh (8.7). Your gp should increase your levo gradually, checking your bloods every 6 weeks till your tsh is sub 1. Hopefully the hospital checked your vitamins and iron levels? Check to see if your vit b12, d & iron were all above mid range.
For me, levo only made men exhausted and I experienced heart palpitations & anxiety as well. I was admitted to hospital where an endo reluctantly agreed to allow me to trial t3 only.
I had to start on a very low dose & build up gradually & it took me over a year to recover, but now I have a life & I'm very grateful!
I hope levo works for you, but if not, t3 may be the answer. Good luck x
thank you , i have endo appt in august if all else fails over next few months . seeing gp in two weeks so will push for full bloods again . although i think hospital may have done full bloods so hopefully be able to speak to gp about everything sooner
Strength and Sympathy for you . It's awful to experience horrific symptoms . But I must say that hypo/hyper symptoms can over lap each other . That's why running labs is so important when one experiences and journals symptoms . BW is very helpful with symptoms .
You will need to get thyroid levels retested 6-8 weeks after each dose increase in Levothyroxine
Make sure to stick to same brand of Levothyroxine at each prescription
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 ever?
If not request they are tested plus vitamin levels
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).
The aim of Levothyroxine is to increase the dose slowly in 25mcg steps upwards until TSH is under 2 (many need TSH significantly under one) and most important is that 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 eventually need somewhere between 100mcg and 200mcg Levothyroxine.
In summary, whereas it is not yet clear whether a gluten free diet can prevent autoimmune diseases, it is worth mentioning that HT patients with or without CD benefit from a
diet low in gluten as far as the progression and the potential disease complications are concerned
Despite the fact that 5-10% of patients have Celiac disease, in my experience and in the experience of many other physicians, at least 80% + of patients with Hashimoto's who go gluten-free notice a reduction in their symptoms almost immediately.
Going gluten free is a strategy that everyone with Hashimoto’s should try. In some cases, we see a complete remission of the condition; in other cases (88% of the time), the person feels significantly better in terms of bloating, diarrhea, energy, weight, constipation, stomach pain, reflux, hair regrowth, and anxiety.
Many clinicians report that eating a gluten-free diet may help improve thyroid function in nonceliac gluten intolerance. “Getting gluten out is primary for patients with Hashimoto’s, even without celiac disease,”
If you don’t notice any improvement after 3-6 months gluten free- reintroduce and see if symptoms get worse
Ideally get coeliac test first
Retest antibodies before restarting gluten - often antibodies have dropped a lot while strictly gluten free
I experienced personally many benefits with going gluten dairy free .
Your doctor should have increased the Levo every six weeks until your TSH came down to around 1. You have been left too long on the small dose your body wonders what's going on. You can follow the advice of the others making sure your cortisol and other Vitamins and Minerals are at the correct level. Unfortunately we have to look after ourselves, shame it's a good thing that we have each other.
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.