I had been suffering with dizziness and weakness since beginning of March. Told it was long COVID. But palpatations started about 2-3 weeks ago gradually increasing. By Friday they got to 130+ . A friend took me to A& E.
Had thorough testing . Bloods showed slight increase in Troponin.
In the end though they said it was probably my thyroid. It may have been affected by having long COVID. And also said to reduce my thyroid meds. They are writing to GP and Endo.
After being on here for advice I had already reduced my t3 from 60 mg to 50. For a couple of days.previously.
I know my blood test showed that my t3 was at 8.82. but I was still suffering from constipation and my cholesterol was high. Which normally would be low with adequate thyroid.
Now , I'm still struggling with palpatations raised bpm, dizziness weakness to headaches. And slight pressure on chest (but could be my fibromyalgia, or stress)
Blood pressure changes each time I take it.
It was suggested by someone that I should just leave off my t3 for a day or so to let it all die down. What are your thoughts please?
Written by
Everdean
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
I would leave off for a day and switch to 2 x 20 mcg daily and review. The idea is to find the lowest dose that works rather than the highest dose you can tolerate. Your thyroid doctor seems to be a bit reckless.
Yes of course ,Dippy dame hence the private blood test which the Dr at A&E told me off for. He said we shouldn't do our own blood tests or see a private Endo.I had to explain why I thought it was too much T3. I can't win!!! Even my son told me this morning that it was my fault.
It’s not your fault. Your endo should know better and the worst of it is because thyroid hormones are so essential for balanced-clear thinking, we are disadvantaged straight away in spite of desperately trying to make wise choices. But this isn’t your fault 😊
Yes, you can win!! It's absolutely not your fault!
Like so many of us you have been the victim of poor diagnosis and wrong medication and the nonsense that is the current endocrinologist's current thinking.
The medic at A&E had the bedside manner of a cornered snake....criticism was his venom!
Our thyroid journeys can be long, bumpy and lonely. I have a supportive immediate family but without this forum and the lovely people here my journey may never have reached it's conclusion....I thought it was just me. It is not!
You are fortunate to be prescribed 60mcg T3 which gives you a supp.y to work with to find your correctdose....many of us have to source our own.
Just consider the mock Latin aphorism, "Illegitimi non carborundum" (am I allowed to say that!) listen to your body and follow the advice you are given here.
Things will look different once you find your therapeutic dose.
Doctor is making a very common (and stupid) mistake. T3 as measured in the blood is thought to be between 4x and 5x as potent as T4. Taken as tablets liothyronine (L-T3) and levothyroxine (L-T4) have different absorption rates and different elimination half-lives.
Thus, the amount you put in your gob isn't the amount that stays in the blood. Doctors (and most endocrinologists) should be able to figure this out, but don't.
This study by Francesco Celi ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl... shows that L-T3 is about 3x as potent as L-T4. Thus, 60 mcg L-T3 is equivalent to about 180 mcg L-T4. This is quite high but not too much for some patients (and too much for many).
Everdean,
It's certainly not your fault. You had one doctor prescribing too much without carefully titrating your dose upwards and another who doesn't know the pharmacodynamic equivalence of L-T3 and L-T4. It's hard work being a patient.
Levothyroxine was the culprit for me when newly diagnosed as I had severe palpitations (usually very early a.m. and they awakened me and I put ice-packs around my neck whilst sipping ice-cold water.) I was taking levo only.
I had quite a number of overnight checks by the cardiologist who was contemplating putting an implant in my heart 'to see what was going on'. Just around that time T3 was added to T4, palps ceased and didn't need an implant. I then took T3 only and had no further palpitations.
Don't forget that testing T3 only a few hours after you've taken a dose will show too high a level. Drs often don't know that or think of that when testing.
Content on HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them.
Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.
Blood Pressure
I might not be fine on T4 only after all
I found this post on a Thydroid site which probably answers our questions on why doc's are reluctant to give T3 replacement hormone.
