Palpitations and t3

[Suzi_]

I am on 5 mcg of t3 and 50 mcg of t4. Could t 3 be causing palpitations ? Anyone tried stopping this in Hashimoto hypothyroid and take T 4 only?

[Imaaan]

Maybe taking both could be too much for your system and splitting it up could be more gentle. If there is a scoreline on the pill, you can split it and take half with the t3 in the morning and then another half at night. Another option is to take the t3 in the morning and the 50mcg at night or vice versa

[Suzi_ in reply to Imaaan]

No score line, very hard to split, split timing dose is a good idea, thanks

[greygoose]

You're only on a very small dose of both T4 and T3, so the palpitations could be due to under-medication.

[shaws Administrator]

When I took levothyroxine alone I had severe palpitations and the cardiologist was contemplating putting an implant in my heart as he was puzzled.

When T3 was added to T4 palps resolved and I felt so much better then took T3 only and still do but I have lowered the dose - going by how 'I feel'.

[DebTex]

Hi, I take 5mcg of T3 and 88mcg of T4 and I split the T3 in half and take half of it in the morning and other half afternoon. When I tried to take 5mcg all at one time I would have palpitations too. Not so much now. I was on T4 only for a long time but my blood tests showed that I didn’t covert it properly to T3 so T3 was added and I’m doing somewhat better. And it was trial and error trying to come up with the proper dose, it wasn’t a quick fix. Good luck, and I hope you get things figured out.

[Suzi_ in reply to DebTex]

I tried cutting T 3 in half with not great success, is there a trick I don’t know? Here is USA, t3 is very thick fairly small tablet.

[DebTex in reply to Suzi_]

I’m in the USA also. My T3 is thick and small too. I bought a pill cutter that you put the pill in and pull the handle down and it does a fairly even slice with the razor blade if you put the tablet in carefully.

[doreenrj56]

I take the exact same dosages as you and my palpitations are bad. I’ve been taking Levo (T4) for 7 years and just added the T3 about 4 months ago. I’ve never had them as bad as I do now. My TSH, free T3 and T4 were all in range about a month ago. But my TPOab antibodies were 609. I would love to know what’s causing these palpitations. It’s beginning to scare me.

[Cornwaller]

Have you a b12 result?

Mention this as low b12 which is associated with hypo, can cause palpitations and an enhanced awareness of your heart beat.

Might be worth checking?

[magsyh]

I had these problems on T4 and T3 it took me 3 years to discover it was the synthetic meds and fillers. Now I'm on Armour I am not aware of taking it at all as no adverse effects at all.

[Mozzymoo22 in reply to magsyh]

I'm now on t4 only and I'm fine, for now anyway

[Mozzymoo22]

I have major problems with t3. Even in small doses it caused weird vision impairment followed by a rush of adrenaline which made my blood pressure and heart rate rocket. T3 is a great hormone but should be used with caution ⚠️

[FancyPants54 in reply to Mozzymoo22]

The original poster is only taking 5mcg T3 a day. She can't get any more cautious than that.

T3 can highlight adrenal issues and rushes of adrenaline are easily caused by adrenal issues. Sort them out and your tolerance for T3 will improve.

[shaws Administrator]

When I took T4 (levo) alone it gave me horrendous palpitations (it was worse during the night) and the cardiologist was contemplating putting an implant in my heart (after many overnight recordings) to 'see what was going on'. About that time I had T3 added to T4 and I felt well but it was only when I stopped T4 the palpitations ceased altogether. I've taken T3 alone since then.

[serenfach]

I had terrible palpitations when I was underdosed. These stopped as soon as I was on the right dose for me. I also bought a pill splitter as I was fed up with trying to find the bit of pill that had pinged off. A couple of quid from the local chemist.

[goodoldan]

Yes... T3 can definitely be the cause of arrhythmias in some people, myself included. About 5 years ago a well-meaning physician (not an endo) gave me a prescription for 5mcg of liothyronine that put me in the hospital emergency department with 155 bpm tachycardia the first day I took it. Later attempts with just 1-2 mcg of liothyronine (or low doses of NDT which also contains T3) also produced arrhythmias. I seem to tolerate T4 (levothyroxine) OK, but for me the T3 is a no-go.

[Emerhawk]

When I first started T3 it made my heart flutter, even though I split my dose. But over time (16 months) it isn't noticeable at all now.

[Suzi_ in reply to Emerhawk]

I have been on 50 mcg of t 4 and 5 mcg t3 for sometime, the frequent palpitations is a recent occurrence- few weeks ago

[Josephineinamachine]

Hi this happened to me just before Christmas after being on 75T4 and 10T3 for quite a few months. I stopped T3 for a couple weeks and heart palps eventually stopped but then I couldn’t get to sleep. Restarted T3 but instead of taking 10T3 all in one go I’m trying split doses. 2.5 x 3 a day for a week and now up to 2.5 x 4. Feeling sleepy in the afternoon but now able to sleep as soon as in bed and heart palps have not returned (but it’s only been just over a week back on T3 so not sure for the long term). Maybe split your dose if you can? Pill cutter is useful!

[Suzi_ in reply to Josephineinamachine]

Yes, I use pill cutter, no score line!

Today my endocrinologist told me to stop t3 altogether, I was taking 5 mcg t 3, both t 3 & t 4 together on empty stomach, first thing in the morning. I hope I don’t have sleepless nights, not a great sleeper 😴

[Josephineinamachine in reply to Suzi_]

Hi sorry for late reply! Haven’t been on here for a while… how are you feeling off the T3?

[Suzi_]

Ok, I only stopped it 4 days ago!

[shaws Administrator]

Levothyroxine gave me intense palpitations, especially overnight and cardiologist took many overnight readings and was contemplating putting an implant in my heart 'to see what was going on'.

Just at that time T3 (liothyronine) was added to T4 and palps reduced.

I no longer take levothyroxine (T4) and have been prescribed liothyronine (T3) alone. Cardiologist didn't need to put in an implant.