propranolol and hypothyroid

[WeeB]

Has anyone heard that propranolol could reduce my thyroid activity? the Gp seems to think it only reduces the symptoms of hyper thyroid , however i found some articles that say it actually reduces t3 and rt3 conversion . all the articles were a bit too scientific for me so i discussed with gp and he said he had never heard that before . i’ve came off propranolol just in case because i’m hashimotos hypothyroid but i think propranolol could have been good for me as having lots of headaches and anxiety . however i don’t want to take anything that will mess with my thyroid activity .

[Helen161]

Hi WeeBI was on Propranolol to control tremors and rapid heart rate caused by Graves Disease. My GP kept me on it way longer than I should have been after my Thyroidectomy and it caused me a lot of problems including depression, fatigue, extreme paranoia and a very bad case of dry eye syndrome.

I've also read that it can affect T4 conversion which is what prompted me to take matters into my own hands and wean myself off it a couple of months ago.

I feel much better now and my eyes are almost back to normal but I do suspect it contributed to some of my weight gain too.

[WeeB in reply to Helen161]

Thanks for your reply , i have no idea what’s going on with me at the moment. I have a strange constant headache, eye pain , dizzyness and ear pressure. i’m hoping it’s something like a sinus issue or ear infection rather than thyroid related as headaches are not something i normally suffer from. waiting on more bloods tests now and getting treated for potential sinus stuff and also been given a new daily drug in place of propranolol to try to tackle the headaches .

[WeeB in reply to WeeB]

oh and numbness on right hand side of my face

[PurpleNails Administrator]

Propranolol is chosen in conjunction with anti thyroid medication as its known to have a mild anti thyroid affect and can lower FT3. This is due to reprioritising the conversion of T4 to RT3 over T3, so it helpful for hyperthyroid (not for hypothyroid).

I had to resume propranolol after specialist instructed me to stop it. Never stop it abruptly, it made me quite unwell with migraines. I still take a low dose now for migraine prevention.

Can your GP recommend a beta blocker or alternative which doesn’t affect levels?

[WeeB]

i only took one tablet before stopping and symptoms have stayed the same before and after so should be ok from withdrawal point of view . they have given me something else so hopefully it helps

[YorkshireLass_1964 in reply to WeeB]

Hello WeeB,

I know this is an old post, I was wondering what the alternative medication was to propranolol the doctor prescribed for your headaches and did it work for you.

Many thanks

Janet

[WeeB in reply to YorkshireLass_1964]

Hi Janet, I can’t remember the exact name , it was something beginning with P but i ended up not taking it because when i read information i wasn’t keen on it, and i also wanted more investigations because i wasn’t happy just being sent away by the gp with strong medication and no cause of the headaches and other symptoms . Skip to two years on and i’ve seen neurologist , physio and had scans and blood tests . neurologist diagnosed suspected migraines and propranolol again , then blood test came showing perimenopausal so started hrt . the headaches are a lot less now but i can’t be totally sure if it’s due to hrt or propanolol so now trying to get the propanolol changed or gradually come off and see what happens because don’t want to be on it with my thyroid issues . but don’t have a substitute yet cos gp don’t believe in issue with propanolol and thyroid so i’m trying to get them to contact endo for guidance but no joy yet

[YorkshireLass_1964 in reply to WeeB]

Hi WeeB,

Thank you for replying, it might be worth reading my post which people on the forum replied to this week.

I'm going to start reducing my dose of propranolol when I get back from holiday, I've also seen posts that say Bisoprolol is an alternative medication for migraine so I'm going to discuss this with my doctor.

Link to my post

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

Good luck and I hope you find some relief soon x

[WeeB in reply to YorkshireLass_1964]

you too thanks

[Lizzo30]

Have you considered having more alkaline foods in your diet to combat the autoimmune aspect of hashimotos? Even just having a smoothie made from cucumber and melon may help

[SlowDragon Administrator]

How much levothyroxine are you currently taking How long on this dose

What were most recent thyroid results?

Bloods should be retested 6-8 weeks after each dose change or brand change in levothyroxine

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 with autoimmune thyroid disease (Hashimoto’s or Ord’s thyroiditis)

Do you have Hashimoto’s

Recommended on here that all thyroid blood tests should ideally be done as early as possible in morning and before eating or drinking anything other than water .

Last dose of Levothyroxine 24 hours prior to blood test. (taking delayed dose immediately after blood draw).

This gives highest TSH, lowest FT4 and most consistent results. (Patient to patient tip)

Is this how you do your tests?

Private tests are available as NHS currently rarely tests Ft3 or all relevant vitamins

List of private testing options

thyroiduk.org/getting-a-dia...

Medichecks Thyroid plus antibodies and vitamins

medichecks.com/products/adv...

Blue Horizon Thyroid Premium Gold includes antibodies, cortisol and vitamins by DIY fingerprick test

bluehorizonbloodtests.co.uk...

If you can get GP to test vitamins and antibodies then cheapest option for just TSH, FT4 and FT3

£29 (via NHS private service ) and 10% off down to £26.10 if go on thyroid uk for code thyroiduk.org/getting-a-dia...

monitormyhealth.org.uk/

NHS easy postal kit vitamin D test £29 via

vitamindtest.org.uk

[WeeB in reply to SlowDragon]

Hi,

Thank you for this . my only recent measurement is june 2021 tsh 1.27 and i’ve been on 125mg for just under a year. i’m getting more blood tests on nhs on friday but probably just tsh again. my folate was very low in may and will be looking for those results from friday too to see if the supplements have helped .

After reading your profile it’s clear i need to get some private tests to see where i am at . Thanks for all the links . i’m curious about the gene test and the test that showed you had gluten intolerance, do you have any recommendations where i can get those two tests done ?

historicallly i have had major deficiency issues with vitamin d , b12 and folate but been on daily supplements for all for over 4 years . the folate is the only one the nhs take me off and then my levels drop and i have to go back on. in hindsight i need to be better at continuing the folate myself regardless of what my gp says rather than letting it drop. i haven’t been good with supplementing all the other things like selenium or magnesium because i find it hard to find multivitamins without iron ( i have iron overload - haemachromatisis) but again after reading your profile i think i need to be better at this and buy them individually

i’ve had a cortisol test and coeliac test done about 2-3 yrs ago and they came back fine.

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to WeeB]

I was astonished to find out I was gluten intolerant. If you have had negative coeliac blood test then the next step is just to try strictly gluten free diet

But wait to do this

We only want to change one thing at a time.

So first step is get full blood test, see what thyroid and vitamin levels are like

[Brendag23]

I was taking propranolol and was advised by endo to change to another beta blocker. I'm on liothyronine only and it seems propranolol interferes with its absorption. Now taking bisoprolol beta blocker . I would say it's just as good. No adverse effects or anything

[Avaanais]

My doctors found I was allergic to this medication I had a overactive thyroid but I had radiation treatment + I am now under active

[humanbean]

I'm hypothyroid, but I do take beta blockers (BBs), specifically bisoprolol at a dose of 2.5mcg per pill - I used to cut them in half but I do need a whole pill nowadays. I take them as rarely as possible, and take them as needed for tachycardia (fast heart rate).

A few weeks ago I switched taking my thyroid hormones from morning to evening. In the process it has reduced my need for bisoprolol a lot. I've hardly taken it in the last 3 - 4 weeks.

I am aware that beta blockers reduce conversion of T4 to T3. But living with a heart rate of 120 - 150 bpm for any length of time at all is so unpleasant that I'll just take the BBs and to hell with the consequences for my thyroid hormone levels.

[arTistapple in reply to humanbean]

Humanbean I know this is an old post. No idea whether you will get this reply. I have just posted a question about this and off course the side screen offerings came up. Were you able to take the bisoprolol as needed? From your answer it looks like you could.

[humanbean in reply to arTistapple]

Yes I could. It worked fine for me for a long time. I started beta blockers about 10 years ago. When I couldn't take the full dose I was prescribed (2.5 mg) I started taking just half a tablet when my heart was going too fast for comfort, particularly when it was happening and I wasn't doing anything strenuous.

I took the half dose for a few years then found it was becoming less effective. So I started taking the full dose, but still only when I needed it.

I still take BBs only when I need them but I need them more often than I used to.

My tachycardia was first triggered when I had a chronic GI bleed and I lost almost all my iron in the process. Once the bleed was fixed I had to fix my iron myself and it took years. I should have saved up for an iron infusion.

I still get bouts of tachycardia but the BBs help to bring things back under control.

Edit: I've had to make multiple edits to this post because my first attempt made no sense. I'm not well so my brain has gone on holiday.

[arTistapple in reply to humanbean]

No this is good information. My husband has Afib and takes bisoprolol. Originally the doctor offered him it as ‘a pill in his pocket’ - take as and when. However he was always completely unaware when he was having episodes, until he keeled over unconscious. He decided to take it all the time. I am very aware of when I am having an episode and I really do not like it. The powerful ones are terrible and the lesser ones are sneakier - making me have anxiety issues until I realise it’s the heart going off again. These episodes have been wearing off over time, less powerful and not so long lasting but it’s about three months and more since I stopped the T3.

I would love some definitive help but as endocrinology seems to be in the Dark Ages it’s very difficult.

Thank you for that info.

[humanbean in reply to arTistapple]

I'm very aware of when I get tachycardia too.

I remember when I first started BBs every day that it slowed my heart down to about 50 beats per minute or less whereas my normal rate without tachycardia was in the 80s or 90s. The BBs also reduced my blood pressure to an extreme degree (from about 120/80 i.e. "normal") to roughly 90/40. I couldn't even walk to my nearest bus stop without running out of air. I was probably at risk of fainting too.

Halving my dose and taking them when I could feel my heart going nuts worked very well for me. A good thing to own when tachycardia is a problem is a pulse oximeter, which tells you the beats per minute from your finger, and also the amount of oxygen in the blood. They can be carried around in a pocket. I also have an Omron blood pressure monitor for home use - one of the ones that will measure BP using an upper arm cuff.

Since my heart rate sometimes goes up to 160 - 170 beats per minute (which I find extremely uncomfortable) I feel as if I have greater control of my body and what I do about it knowing I can measure HR, BP, and O2 saturation. Doctors would probably dismiss me as a hypochondriac with anxiety. ***Rolls eyes***

The gadgets I bought were :

amazon.co.uk/Salter-PX-100-...

I bought the above soon after the pandemic started and the price was nearly four times what it is now. And it went higher still after I bought mine.

The Omron BP monitor I bought is still available but there are fancier models available now.

Omron is what I see doctors using in GP surgeries these days.

[arTistapple in reply to humanbean]

I have ordered the pulse oximeter. Often wished I could measure my pulse without using my Omron BP monitor, because my BP is very high when the powerful palpitations are there and that just adds to my distress. I don’t need to see that now with the oximeter. Thanks for that.

Far from fainting I am super aware of what’s going on, when it’s going on, even or especially when it wakes me suddenly. There is no escape until my heart chooses to turn it all off.

My sister has been working on me to get other medical help and I realise how guilty I feel needing all this intervention. It’s really helped knowing that other hypothyroids have also needed and accepted this kind of intervention. I was under the impression T3 was the answer to everyone’s woes and have felt such a fool/fraud because it’s been far from straightforward (for me) although I know we all suffer similar but also differently.

Thanks again for your valuable input on this. Your references to fear of thyroid hormones has also been a big help.

[DJ14]

well I was first put on propanolol for my overactive thyroid as well as carbimazolei eventually came off the beta blocker and remained on carbimazole as I do today for 20 years plus

i am back on propanolol to settle my anxiety

in short I was originally put on propanolol because my heart was racing due to the then undiagnosed over active thyroid