Racing Heart and Chatty Brain in Morning

[HeartWoman]

I starred on NP Thyroid 16 days ago. I have worked up to 1 grain and started that yesterday. My sleep has been improving.

My worse symptoms are a racing heart and chatty brain when I first wake up. As the day goes, I get very tired and sometimes more emotional. I just want to wake up calm. My Natropath has been great and is really helping, but of course I am still early in the process.

Have others experienced this awful fight or flight feeling in the mornings with a chatty brain and it eventually calmed down when the hypothyroidism was treated? I use to be such a happy morning person and I want her back.

I just need encouragement that it will get better. I want calmness in my brain and body again.

I have had most of the recommended bloodwork and my ferritin is a little over range, but everything else seems to be in a good place. I don't have my exact numbers with me, but my TSH was around 3 and the reference range is up to 5. My ft4 was barely hanging on. It was just inside of the lower end of the range. I don't have ft3 numbers. I am due to have labs again in a month, so I will request those. I have no signs of Hashimotos

I also take estradiol and my ND reminded me that we are trying to balance 2 major hormones and the body has to work it out.

Thank you to all who have been on this journey and helping the rest of us. I am hoping we all find calm and peace in our bodies.

[tattybogle]

In previous post you mention a lot of recent changes ., so perhaps its wise to accept that you will be 'all over the place' for a bit until various things settle down. The problem with changing more than one thing at once is that it's impossible to know which is causing what .

~ an increase in estrogen dose 11 weeks ago .

~ a gradual introduction of 1 grain NDT over the last couple of weeks .

~ also , from previous post , did you recently reduce dose of a 'stimulant' for ADHD ? when did you reduce this. what was it .

I don't know anything about medications for ADHD , but others might need this information to give helpful replies.

[HeartWoman in reply to tattybogle]

I have been on this dose of estradiol since mid to late October and reduced tye stimulants. We are now just concentrating on my thyroid and slowly increased to 1 grain yesterday. I tried 1 grain last week, but it was too fast.

I have been tried on all kinds and doses of ADHD meds with little success. Since it can be taken as needed, that is what I doing right now. My hope is that as I get my thyroid at optimal levels, I will need less and less ADHD meds. Right now, I am allowed 20 mg Adderall ER and up to 3 10mg Adderall IR. I am just trying to stick with the IR form and as little as possible. ADHD meds are not something that builds up in your system.

I know it takes patience, but just want my brain back. I can deal with the hair loss, dry skin, weight gain. The feeling low and just unwell if much harder.

The racing heart and chatty brain are nothing new. I am just hoping it is thyroid related and will go away once my levels are in a good place. I think I have been undiagnosed/underdiagnosed for years.

[pennyannie]

Hello HeartWoman :

When optimally medicated on NDT you should find your TSH is low, likely suppressed, as T3 is in NDT and this is just what happens when you introduce any form of T3 thyroid hormone replacement.

There is no point chasing a TSH number as you must be looking to your T3 levels :

Your T4 will likely be lower than when you were on monotherapy with a T4 preparation.

NDT Increments should be by 1/4 grains, weekly, closely monitoring blood pressure, pulse and body temperature.

If you get to 2 grains hold that dose for 6-8 weeks and then have a blood test to check where your T3 is compared to your bench mark T3 from before you started NDT.

If your T3 hasn't moved much, and you are still with symptoms maybe this isn't the best option for you :

If your T3 has moved and you feel improved but still with symptoms carry on slowly increasing in 1/4 grain increments.

There will come a week when you feel " not so good " maybe edgey, nervous, and just not as good as the week before:

Drop back down to the previous weeks dose and that's your best dose on NDT at that point in time , give that dose time to bed in and if you want a blood test wait the usual 5-8 weeks.

Some people split their dose, am and pm - others do not :

No thyroid hormone replacement works well until ferritin, folate, B12 and vitamin D are maintained at optimal levels.

With NDT you dose to the relief of symptoms and not a blood test :

The THS was originally introduced as a diagnostic tool to help identify a person suffering with hypothyroidism and was never intended to be used once the patient was on any form of thyroid hormone replacement, as then the patient should be monitored and dosed according to their T3 and T4 levels.

P.S.

When you say you have no signs of Hashimoto's - antibodies can fluctuate, dependant on your immune system response at any one time, and not " having antibodies " isn't conclusive of not having this AI disease, and it's likely more sensible to go on symptoms presenting and following the protocol for Hashimoto's to try and ease symptoms.

[HeartWoman in reply to pennyannie]

Thanks! I am continuing to slowly raise my NP Thyroid. I just hope one day my body calms down.

I have been tested several times for Hashi and never had any antibodies. I am already gluten free. My D3 is on the low side, so supplementing that. I eat a few Brazil Nuts a day. My ferritin is actually a little over range. B12 and folate are in a good place.

I guess I can only slowly increase my NDT and give it time.

[pennyannie in reply to HeartWoman]

OK then - I know I've read on here, to wait longer between NDT dose increases than I did and wrote about.

I think it becomes quite personal and you may find it easier to see any benefit by monitoring your blood pressure, pulse and temperature twice daily while building up your dose.

My blood pressure and pulse remained stable but I watched my temperature slowly rise from 35.4 to 36.6 where it still hovers today, 4 years from on my initial experiment with NDT.

Symptoms can be a bit harder to quantify and I also found NDT quite subtle and some aches and pains I thought were " just me " disappeared long after 6 months into self medication.

My first benefit was the brain fog lifting and being able to string a sentence together on here and not have to go back in an edit it several times !!!

Some days I think the edit button a life saver, whilst other days, I get by without it ?

[HeartWoman in reply to pennyannie]

I started 2 grains on Friday. I plan to stay on this dose for 6 weeks and then get bloodiest done. So far my pulse and BP are staying consistently in a good place and my temperature remains low. I have been headachy, but I think that is my body getting use to it. Brain fog and fatigue come and go.

[pennyannie in reply to HeartWoman]

Ok then - sounds like a plan:

Yes at 2 grains you need to give it 6-8 weeks to bed in and then run a blood test to compare to your bench numbers of T3 and T4 from before you started :

It's a slow build and please go slow if trying to build back up your stamina :

A walk is good - don't go far, just going around the block is enough, if you feel like it,

Onwards and upwards :

[HeartWoman in reply to pennyannie]

Thanks! It is a long, hard process. Today I am weepy, but I also take estrogen. My doctor told me that the hormones will battle it out a bit and then stabalize. I have a job where I need to seem upbeat and pleasant, some days that is a challenge.

My doctor had me do the DUTCH test and we are waiting on results.

This healing stuff is not a nice straight line up. There are all kinds of dips and curves, but hopefully still moving forward.

Thanks for your encouragement!