High blood pressure/on T3 solo

[Gay72]

Hello.

I have high blood pressure .

Doctor said it’s the T3 medication that’s causing it.

Taking 20x3 a day

Pain in back of knees also.

Any one out there , having the same problem.

Only had pain in knees after blood pressure meds .

Many thanks.

[DippyDame]

Can you post any recent labs, with ranges, please?

How high is your BP?

That will help members advise.

[greygoose]

If your doctor thinks it is the T3 that is causing your high blood pressure, why is he giving you blood pressure meds? That is not logical.

High blood pressure can be a hypo/under-medicated symptom, and it can be a hyper/over-medicated symptom. Only testing the FT3 will give a clue as to whether either is your case. But, just the fact of taking T3, regardless of dose, will not of itself cause high blood pressure. When did you last have your FT3 tested?

[Jazzw]

Could equally be insufficient T3. My other half had high blood pressure *until* she raised her T3 dose—and then it came down to normal. High BP can be a symptom of undertreated hypothyroidism.

I wouldn’t do anything without blood test results though—what’s your most recent FT3 result on 60mcg liothyronine (and the laboratory reference range)?

[Gay72]

8th Oct Serum TSH level 3.9

29 Oct Serum TSH level 0.48

08 Nov blood pressure 150/101

I will go and get copy of latest results on Monday.

Thank you for reply.

[Jazzw in reply to Gay72]

You’ll need an FT3 result to make much sense of what’s going on (here’s hoping your doctor knows that but I wouldn’t be surprised if he/she didn’t...) but even going by the TSH results alone you were undermedicated on 8 October and your TSH wasn’t as low on 29 Oct as I’d expect it to be given you’re taking 60mg T3.

How long have you been taking the T3?? Were you taking Levo before that?

[Gay72]

Yes Levo for years , I was not converting well from the Levo, so went over to T3 solo a while ago, when living in Spain I was on a much higher dose .

Its hard to get doctors to higher the dose, keep telling me how much it’s costing them, hard to see same doctor at my surgery.

I’ll go and get the last copy of blood results tomorrow and I will ask for a FT3

blood test when I see the doctor next.

I am on low dose of blood pressure pills and the pain behind knees is unbearable since being on them.

I will post my last results soon.

Really is so painful when doctor takes my blood pressure.

Many thanks so appreciated. 😊

[Mamapea1]

Gay72, Jazzw may not have spotted your recent reply, as you forgot to click on her reply, and she will therefore not have been notified. How much more T3 were you taking in Spain, and did you feel well on that dose?

[Jazzw]

Thanks Mamapea. And you’ve asked the additional questions I’d have asked too!

[humanbean]

Taking a potassium supplement and a magnesium supplement will help to lower blood pressure.

Taking a magnesium supplement is not dangerous as long as your kidney function is okay - they will excrete any excess. But avoid exceeding the recommended dose. Search for "best and worst magnesium supplements", look at a few links, and find something that you think might work for you and that a few websites agree on. Personally, I have some minor issues with constipation, and I use magnesium citrate as my supplement because it helps. But there are lots of other possibilities.

Potassium is much more problematic. High and low potassium are dangerous for the heart. You could try finding lists of potassium-rich foods and incorporating some of them into your diet. Alternatively, you can buy potassium supplements. But if you do supplement make sure you test potassium occasionally, and don't exceed the recommended dose.

An article you might find helpful :

drmalcolmkendrick.org/2013/...

The comments on the above article are worth reading too.