Palpitations after Metavive 1

[Julesboz]

Morning, I had a hemithyroidectomy in November last year and in late December I started taking Metvive 1. I started with 1 tablet a day and, after 6 weeks and blood tests, went up to 2 tablets. I take 1 before breakfast and 1 before bed, that was about 8-10 weeks ago. Up till a few days ago I’ve felt fine, but then 3 nights ago I started feeling strange after taking the nighttime tablet. Last night I took my tablet as normal and then about 1/2 an hour later I started getting terrible palpitations, racing heart, chest pains and felt very odd, head painful and swimming and couldn’t sleep. It was pretty scary!

I was going to get blood tests a couple of weeks ago to monitor levels after the increase but with the current situation can’t because I can never do the pinprick tests (can never get enough blood), but my results after 6 weeks on 1 tablet were as follows:

TSH 3.41 mu/L (0.27-4.2)

FT4 12.7 pmol/L (12-22)

It was an NHS test as I couldn’t afford medichecks at the time so haven’t got FT3.

Would this reaction indicate that I may have been taking too much?

(Note: I also take natural progesterone, DHEA, vitamin B12, folic acid, vitamin D3 with K2 and iron supplements)

Thanks in advance!

[MichelleHarris]

I’m not an expert and they will be along soon but I understand that most people feel well with a TSH below 1 and your T4 is low in range so looks like undermedication of Thyroid replacement to me x

[Julesboz in reply to MichelleHarris]

Hi there, thanks, yes I thought that which is why I went up to 2 tablets a day, but the reaction I had was pretty scary so I’ve stopped taking them for 24 hours and am going back to taking 1 a day and will see what happens.

[Hidden]

It seems that a reaction such as yours to NDT (or T3) with a highish TSH and low FT4 levels can be caused by adrenal fatigue, as adequate cortisol levels are required for optimal absorption of thyroid hormone. T3 is stronger than T4 so can be more stressful for the body if your adrenal glands are not working properly. Adrenal fatigue is not a condition recognised by most doctors, but it seems pretty common in hypothyroid patients as all endocrine glands interact. I have found this to be true; I have Hashimoto´s and have problems with both my adrenal glands and my blood sugar and insulin levels.

[Julesboz in reply to Hidden]

Oh that’s really interesting thanks! I’ve never had my cortisol levels tested as far as I’m aware but I have had an extremely stressful adult life (multiple family issues, nasty divorce, 2 children with life threatening illnesses and much more) which, I’m guessing, can have along term impact. Perhaps when this is all over I’ll have my levels tested. In the meantime I stopped taking the pills for 24 hours and am going back to taking 1 a day for a while and see what happens.

[Hidden in reply to Julesboz]

Yes, cortisol issues can cause problems when on thyroid meds...it´s important to have your levels tested as symptoms of high and low cortisol are confusingly similar...I always assumed I had low cortisol since I have been hypo for +20 years, only to order a saliva test and find out my cortisol levels were above range throughout the day. I am now using supplements known to lower them. According to the Stop the Thyroid Madness website, high cortisol will cause "pooling" of thyroid hormone. I am not sure how scientific this term is, but it basically refers to thyroid hormone staying the blood rather than entering the cells where the metabolic activity takes place. So, you can have normal thyroid hormone levels in your blood, but still have symptoms of hypothyroidism (since labs only measure what´s in your blood, not in your cells). Which accurately describes what has been happening to me in recent months.

Many recommend 24 h saliva testing for cortisol; others the DUTCH test (where DU- refers to dried urine). The latter is said to be more accurate but it´s also about three times more expensive than 24 h saliva testing. But I think the most important thing is NOT to have blood drawn at 8 am as that does not give you a complete picture...you need to know what your cortisol levels look like when waking up, around noon, mid-afternoon and at bedtime.

The reason I´m saying it´s important to test your cortisol levels before self-treating is because at one point, I decided I had advanced adrenal fatigue (lowish cortisol) based on symptoms, and took a supplement containing adrenal cortex (bovine). It only made me worse, and now I understand why...I was already making too much cortisol on my own, so taking adrenal cortex was like throwing petrol on a fire. Many with lowish cortisol levels find it to work great for them, though, but you need to know what you are dealing with before deciding to self-treat. I even think my attempt at self-treating delayed my recovery a few months since I obviously overstimulated my already overstimulated adrenal glands...which may have aggravated my insulin resistance. My doctor wants me on anti-diabetic meds but I am determined to solve this on my own since anti-diabetic drugs seem to have a lot of side effects. The most important thing now is to get my cortisol levels in range as high cortisol will cause high blood pressure (for which I´m currently treated) and high blood glucose leading to increased insulin release = insulin resistance.

[Julesboz in reply to Hidden]

Thanks, that’s really good advice. I really think I will have my cortisol levels tested when we’re out of lockdown. In the meantime, I’ll just keep to a lower level of Metavive.

[Hidden in reply to Julesboz]

Best of luck, and let us know how you´re doing as it could be really interesting for many people dealing with similar issues...!