After having very strange chest pains and sensations for a couple of days I ended up in hospital for a full heart check up today. The end result was clear ectopic heartbeats that were very frequent and very uncomfortable. I have a suspicion its levo that's giving me this issue as I've noticed palpations since increasing my dose to 100mcg in December from 75. Has anyone else experienced this with levo?
They tested my thyroid - TSH only 😬- and it measured at 0.82.
My most recent bloods were:
31/01/2022 - after 7 weeks on 100mcg
Tsh - 0.92 (0.27 - 4.2)
Free t3 - 3 88 (3.1 - 6 8)
Free t4 - 17.7 (12 - 22)
I guess my question here is should I try a lower dose of levo? Say maybe 88mcg or looking at bloods might some T3 help? I'm going to retest privately in a couple of weeks but suspect numbers might look largely the same as Jan's results.
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Moog77
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I'm sorry you are having severe palpitations. I know exactly how you feel.
I had severe palpitations during the night it was worse when asleep. The cardiologist was thinking of putting an implant in heart 'to see what was going on'. Just then T3 was added to T4 and palps eased but when on T3 alone they stopped.
This is going to sound a bit nuts but... I dont like levo. I honestly don't think it suits me. It's just a feeling and I think it's causing the ectopics. But I'm willing to wait it out a bit longer.
I don't think any of us do. Levo was the 1st med I had to take on a daily basis, and sometimes I'd forget to take it during the 1st yr or so. One day I felt really well and realised that I'd forgotten my Levo that morning. I have to own up to missing a few doses on purpose occasionally back then, but only once every few weeks. It is definitely a 'thing'.
I'm 14 yrs post dx, and I doubt that would work for me now. It makes sense though..........normal thyroid function sends hormones out in pulses, as and when required. Thyroid meds replace that action in one daily hit.... that's an awful lot for the body to adjust to, and I think it takes quite a long time. Some people find it helps to split the dose.
I'm sorry you ended up in hospital. If they didn't offer up any solutions, I'd suggest that you check in with your GP for follow-up. Your FT3 is quite low too.
* It often happens that when you start taking levo, new hypo symptoms appear, or old ones exacerbate.
* We should only test after at least six weeks on a steady daily dose. Four weeks is too soon, changes in levels can still occur up to six or eight weeks.
* Often when we start an increased dose, we feel well for a while - or start to feel better after a week or so - and then the symptoms start to come back. This does not mean the levo has 'stopped working' or that it's not right for you, it just means that it is time for another increase.
* When going for a blood draw, always leave a gap of 24 hours between your last dose of levo and the blood draw.
* It’s a well-known fact that stopping levo, for whatever reason, will make you feel wonderfully well. So much so that people believe it’s proof that they didn’t need it. But, this is just a temporary effect. Sooner or later the hypo symptoms will come creeping back in until you are forced to go back on levo again. It happens to the majority of people that stop levo.
* When giving blood test results, please include the ranges because they vary from lab to lab, and we need the ranges that go with your results.
Don't forget that levothyroxine is not a drug, but a bio-identical replacement hormone. If you feel it does not suit you, then either the excipients are to blame, or there are other issues at play. Hope you current situation will be resolved soon.
Once-upon-a time everyone was given NDTs (natural dessicated thyroid hormones) with no need of blood tests but the expertise/knowledge of docors alone of that period. Nowadays it all depends upon a blood test result.
The thing is, Moog, you don't convert T4 to T3 very well. That's not the fault of the levo, that's your body and being hypo, etc. And it's low T3 that causes symptoms. Heart problems are a symptom of low T3. So, yes, you would probably be better off on T4+T3, or T3 only.
Is your hypothyroidism caused by the thyroid gland or by your pituitary failing to send signals to stimulate it? If it's pituitary, have you considered that you could have growth hormone deficiency (another pit hormone) as well? I ask this because heart problems are a well documented symptom of growth hormone deficiency. nice.org.uk/guidance/ta64/c... Look at point 2.4If you've ever had a concussion or more serious head injury, this is especially likely.
I experienced ectopics when I went from 75mcg to 100. Oddly enough that was at the end of December 2021 as well. 🤷♀️I decided to experiment and each morning for a couple of weeks I carefully sliced the edge off a tablet. It was probably about 10mcgs. Not very scientific. But it did stop the ectopics. I then tried the full tablet again and I was fine, ectopics gone . My guess is my body didn’t like the big jump in dose, then it did x
I have increased palpitations and skipped beats from increases and reductions in Levothyroxine, after lots of worry they usually subside after about a month. The last consultant increased bisoprolol. No idea really what is going on or the real causes.
I'v e never had any experience with heart problems .. so feel free to ignore this , but as a general principle . i think 25mcg is too big a change to make in one jump . If dose increases /reductions are being done , it makes sense to me to try 12.5mcg up or down for a few months before deciding if the other 12.5mcg is going to be needed. 12.5mcg is enough to affect symptoms and blood results .
The only time i think 25mcg increase /decrease 'all at once' is a good idea is when eg .someone has been started on a low dose but needs to get to something like a full dose as quickly as possible , or when they are clearly very overmedicated based on symptoms and bloods .. but usually, once we are already on something like a full dose .. i think smaller adjustments make much more sense, and are kinder to the body to adjust to , and are less likely to overshot the 'sweet spot'.
So if i were you i'd certainly give 87.5mcg a try for a few weeks while to decide what to do next .. it will give you a very easy way to see if the heat irregularities improve or not .
Ectopic beats are as I understand it common in the general population. I get them and often get a period where they happen frequently and the rest of the time just once in a while. but it is never in correlation with changes to my levo dose. For me I think the 'episodes' occur when I'm stressed out rather that anything else.
Well I had a 24hr heart monitor a couple or more months back because I either have a rapid or slow heartbeat. It came back as ectopic and the dr said oh that quite normal nothing to worry about….so that’s todays diagnosis..
I really feel for you and hopefully things will settle down soon. It's very tiring and scary even though you know now they're not harmful. It certainly doesn't feel like it when you're having them for hours on end. I too suffer dreadfully with ectopic heartbeats with another bad run of them 2 days ago, well into the early hours. I've even purchased a small mobile ecg, approved by the NHS and sent copies of the recording to my g.p. Nothing ever gets sorted, awaiting yet another 24hr ecg, but then probably nothing will get done. Had a text reply from gp's this morning saying they're very common and if bothersome sometimes can prescribe medication. If he'd read my notes he'd know I'm asthmatic and can't have beta blockers! Just another fob off.I do wonder if they're connected to gluten as I had eaten a normal sandwich the day before having been mostly gluten free for a few months, maybe something triggered yours?
Also as someone else has said, just a change in medication. I'd also upped my levo from 50mcg to 75mcg 2 weeks ago as advised by consultant, but as Tattybogle mentioned it may be too much, I think now it might. He's just spoken to me and we've agreed to try and ride it out and hopefully will settle again.
Wishing you well x
I used to be on Armour thyroid without any problems. A new endo changed me to Levo and I had hard palpitations, some muscle cramping, and disturbed sleep. I requested to try Synthroid and the related symptoms stopped. My dosage was also decreased by a small amount.
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