Hi all
Does anyone suffer with this I’ve really noticed my breathing is slow I timed it and I do 10/11 breaths a min I’ve read under 12 is bad, looked up the reasons (I’ve got health anxiety) so I don’t help myself and hypothyroidism can be a cause, is this a common symptom? How can I fix it it’s really worrying me a lot I’m currently on 75mg Levo x
Looking at previous posts you had dose increase in levothyroxine to 75mcg four months ago
Which brand of levothyroxine are you currently taking
Do you always get same brand levothyroxine at each prescription
Have you had thyroid levels and vitamin levels retested?
Have you had thyroid antibodies tested
For full Thyroid evaluation you need TSH, FT4 and FT3 plus both TPO and TG thyroid antibodies tested.
Very 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)
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 and last dose levothyroxine 24 hours before test
This gives highest TSH, lowest FT4 and most consistent results. (Patient to patient tip)
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...
NHS easy postal kit vitamin D test £29 via
If TPO or TG thyroid antibodies are high this is usually due to Hashimoto’s (commonly known in UK as autoimmune thyroid disease). Ord’s is autoimmune without goitre.
About 90% of all primary hypothyroidism in Uk is due to Hashimoto’s. Low vitamin levels are particularly common with Hashimoto’s. Gluten intolerance is often a hidden issue too
Link about thyroid blood tests
thyroiduk.org/getting-a-dia...
Link about Hashimoto’s
thyroiduk.org/hypothyroid-b...
List of hypothyroid symptoms
thyroiduk.org/if-you-are-un...
Anxiety is common hypothyroid symptom
I am the same as you, really slow breathing, a physio once panicked, thought I had died on her table because she couldn't feel me breathing! I think it's good, animals that breathe slowly live longer and it guides me with medication. I feel calm and content when breathing rate is "slow" and slightly agitated when it's "normal".
I agree, slow breathing it not necessarily a bad thing . It can be a very good thing . It's more about the quality of the breaths you take, what you do with your diaphragm and your rib cage ,and how much of your lungs you fill.
I used to deliberately slow my breathing (and therefore my heart rate) before swimming underwater, (to take more oxygen in and expend less) and as a result i could swim much further underwater than anyone else.
As long as it's a good full breath , not just a shallow breath that only uses the top part of the lungs,, then slow breathing is good for you .. and very good for calming your mind.
On the other hand , shallow breaths that don't give you enough oxygen are not good.. but i'd say the way to deal with that is not to worry about the rate of breathing , but rather to increase the depth/quality of the breaths you do take.
And to remember that breathing out fully is just as important as breathing in fully.
Wow Tattybogle, that's so well-written, I teach people how to breathe well and you've summed up a lot of it in just a few words, do you also teach it? Interestingly a group of us as children used to play together swimming under water as far as we could, so my slow deep breaths have come about the opposite way from yours.
Not a teacher , no, but I spent a few years learning to do Long Form tai chi :
What you see is 'arms waving around' , but what is really going on (but deliberately obscured by the loose clothing) has everything to do with correctly timed breathing into the DanTien , and powerful movement originating from the Dan Tien, (which amplifies the resultant force at the end of the arms, like a whip) and the invisible shifting of weight between the feet.
It has everything to do with keeping your own balance, while forcing opponents to loose their own ... (and a little bit to do with poking them in the windpipe and kidneys if they refuse to go away and leave you alone 
)
In case anyone get's bored .. there's a guest appearance from a squirrel at minute 19 ,
or .... if you haven't got a nice garden you could just pop down the park and do it like this 70yr old lass youtu.be/2_YD_s86GOQ?list=R...
Thank-you
Tattybogle this video is wonderful, it's beautiful and mesmerising. I went to a Tai Chi class once expecting something like this but it was all clunky and confusing.
excellent description 
I have had to do a lot of research on this very subject because I have the same problem. I am ok during the day when I'm awake but I have problems if I nod off or when I go to bed at night. My breathing gets so slow my oxygen saturation drops as low as in the 70% range. When I talked to my doc about it they did a sleep study and diagnosed me with severe sleep apnoea. I don't have any of the symptoms of sleep apnoea so I stood up to them and asked for a full explanation of the study. They weren't happy about that and they sent me a CPAP machine which I have refused to use. Instead I bought a medically approved device that monitors my oxygen levels and heart rate as I sleep. If it drops by a certainlevel an alarm goes off and wakes me up. It proves that I have mild sleep apnoea but research confirms that the condition is caused by low T3. The doc took me off my levo completely for 9 months and that was when I was at my worst. My TSH rose to 5.99 but they still refuse to give me my thyroid medication back so for past 6 weeks I have been self medicating and have seen quite an improvement. The other discovery I made was potassium greatly improves the condition and if I drink coconut water before bed I have a more peaceful night with less alarms to wake me. I have an excellent article written by the Canadian thyroid association that explains the link between breathing problems, sleep apnoea and hypothyroidism but I'm not sure how to attach it. It makes very interesting reading. My doc is shaking her head because I refuse to use the CPAP machine. I told them if they would only address my thyroid problems my breathing problems will resolve but they are refusing so I'm determined to prove them wrong.
Good for you 💪.
You say they stopped your levo for 9 months and your tsh went up to 5.99. I decided to stop mine last year for 7 weeks and my TSH went up to 96. Just shows how different we all are.
That’s odd because I too am being referred for a sleep test, not sure I would fancy a machine either, Ive been looking into mouth guards, I do know I snore on ocassion and I often wake up in the night with a jolt like I cant breathe so maybe I should see what they say at the sleep test, what do they do there? Do they literally watch you all night 😱
I live on a Scottish island so I had to fly to Aberdeen and book into a hotel. The whole thing was a joke. I had to pick up equipment from the hospital that I was shown how to wear when I went to bed. It was the most stressful night ever. I hardly slept and the thing on my chest had a green flashing light that kept me awake. It was very uncomfortable and much too tight on my chest. Very primative. I waited 2 weeks for results. They tried to tell me I was a severe case when I questioned their diagnosis. So I bought my own medically approved equipment and tested myself. The result of the tests were mild sleep apnoea. My husband worked for NHS and he explained to me the reason they force a CPAP machine on folk is due to NHS budgets. They get a budget every year which they MUST spend if they don't they get less money next year so making sure they hand out CPAP machines is good for spending the budget. They don't care if you throw it in a cupboard coz you are sick of using it. If you do use it you get to the point you can't sleep without it because your brain becomes lazy and you then get central sleep apnoea. You are then doomed for the rest of your life.I am going to try to switch to T3 and I will continue to use the sleep monitoring gadget that has an alarm to wake me if my oxygen saturation goes too low. I have seen improvement by going back on T4 but apparently that is not the answer.
Breathing problems Please help
Slow-release T3 online?
Slow heart rate - worried!
Slow pupil response to light
hashimoto ,slow digestion
