I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism just under a year ago, I've been taking Levothyroxine the entire time.
I've noticed on my Apple Watch that my resting heart rate is becoming abnormally low, 45 - 55 range. I've started exercising at the gym multiple times a week and do daily dog walks but I am still by no means super fit.
Has anyone experienced this? Any advice on what to do?
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zg215
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When you say 'becoming' what was it 'before' and when was before. How much has your RHR reduced and over what period? Does the change coincide with starting Levothyroxine or with anything else?
Mine is similar. I'm not saying that is a good thing by the way. I'd rather that it went up.
I don't have a record of what it was just before I started on Levothyroxine (about a year ago), but it always used to be normal the years prior to the onset of hypothyroidism.
It was dropping for January (67bpm) - March (58 bpm), then my levo got increased as my TSH has climbed back up slightly (from 4 in December to 6.28 in March).
From March to June my HR climbed back up, March (58bpm), April (64bpm), May (65 bpm), June (69bpm) and then it has dropped to July (61 bpm) and August (54 bpm).
I had an ECG at the GP today and it has come back as sinus bradycardia, got bloods next week.
I don't know anything about Apple watches or how reliable they are, but have you thought about checking the old fashioned way? Feel the pulse on your wrist or neck, count for 30 seconds and times by 2, or count for 15 seconds and times by 4. That way you'll know if it compares with your Apple watch. Or do you or anyone you know has a pulseoximeter?
Thanks for your reply! For anyone else out there, my GP said my Apple Watch should be accurate and that I can use it to monitor my HR. It's the only way I knew my HR was low, I wouldn't have thought about checking it.
Please see attached screenshot of vitamins. Currently taking B12, folate & Vit D. As my Levothyroxine has increased it seems that my B12 and folate have gone down over time.
Are vitamins something I should be running by my GP or just implementing myself based on test results? How do I know how much and how often I should be taking the vitamins?
I tested 2 days ago and the thyroid results were:
TSH = 1.29 (0.27 - 4.2)
FT4 = 16.9 (12 - 22)
T3 = 4.2 (3.1 - 6.8)
It seems I'm not converting T4 to T3 very well. Over time, with increased levothyroxine, my TSH is going down and T4 going up but T3 is still fairly low. This worries me, thinking of going to a private endocrinologist for a consultation about T3 meds. What do you think?
Being under medicated for hypothyroidism results in low stomach acid. This leads to poor nutrient absorption and low vitamin levels as direct result
Low vitamin levels tend to lower TSH….which is all most medics look at
For levothyroxine to work well we need OPTIMAL Vitamin levels
But don’t be surprised if GP is completely unaware of interconnection between gut and thyroid
If GP won’t increase dose levothyroxine or test for pernicious anaemia you will need to see endocrinologist
Email Thyroid U.K. for list of recommended thyroid specialist endocrinologist and doctors
tukadmin@thyroiduk.org
Only 5% of Hashimoto’s patients are diagnosed as coeliac, but a further 80% find gluten free diet helps, often significantly or is absolutely essential
Have you had your thyroid bloods checked recently. I also use a Apple Nike watch to monitor my heart rate etc. mine is normally around 56bpm. However, if I’m going over medicated my heart rate drops to about 50bpm or even high 40’s. Once when I was over medicated on Levothyroxine it went into the 30’s and I was taken into hospital for a week for full observations and tests. It turned out it wasn’t my heart but that I was over medicated on Levothyroxine and also I am a poor converter of Levothyroxine T4 to the most important hormone T3. After further investigation privately I was trialed on Liothyronine T3 medication combined with Levothyroxine T3. This has been a huge success. Please check your thyroid bloods to see if you’re over medicated. To do this you need to have the blood draw taken after not before you’ve taken your daily dose of Levothyroxine. Generally we get bloods done prior to taking Levothyroxine or Liothyronine but if you’re checking to see if you are over medicated I’d take meds first myself.
Yes, I’m on combined treatment of T3 Liothyronine plus T4 Levothyroxine. Being on T4 alone as I was previously was no good for me as I’m a poor converter and have the DIO2 faulty gene. My GP would never prescribe T3 medication as they can’t and they don’t understand it either. I went private to get my T3 trial which has been a great success for myself.
I got my DIO2 gene test through Regenerus Laboratories as promoted on this forum. It cost me about £165 for the test plus a trained person to interpret the result. Mine was positive. This result switched a load of light bulbs on for me. Now I understand why I was struggling on Levothyroxine alone. It doesn’t mean you can’t convert T4 to T3. It means you struggle and some struggle more than others. My conversion was only 8% from T4 to the most important hormone T3. No wonder I was in a mess. Anyways all sorted now with the introduction of T3 combined with Levothyroxine T4 👍. Looking at your results they don’t seem bad at all. Maybe a small increase in your T4 Levothyroxine might help you. Or a small dose of T3 could be trialed. You want to aim for a TSH around 1.00 which yours is pretty near. Along with optimal T4 and T3 that suits you and you feel well. My TSH is about 0.90. And my T4 and T3 are in the middle of my ranges. Most importantly I feel very well at those levels. It’s all Individual really. Finding your optimal can sometimes be frustrating. Even when you find it it can go off kilter for varying reasons. I find I have to keep busy, exercise and eat well. Also check your vitamins. B12, ferritin, D and folate are very important. They all need to be optimal for you. Stick to same brand Levothyroxine if you are happy with that brand if you can and same goes for Liothyronine. Some people struggle when changing brands. Have you had heart tests to rule out bradycardia? I had a few heart tests in hospital I didn’t have Bradycardia. I had too low T3 which I had to go private to resolve. NHS are terrible when it comes to T3 issues. Once I was taken to hospital after an episode in my late 50’s. After some checks the nurse said to me ‘so, how long have you been this fit’. I looked my body up and down and turned to her and said ‘are you kidding’. She said she was surprised how low my heart rate was. Never even thought about the link between hypothyroidism which I had and I might be grossly under medicated. Honestly it’s scary how little these Drs and nurses actually know about thyroid conditions.
Mine has been stuck between 40-44 on my running watch for years and 48-50 when doctor checks at annual medical. I thought it was all down to how fit I was rather than low thyroid
It is actually moving up a bit now due to important diet changes and ensuring sufficient thyroxine dosage
So there are some things you can do to improve it from my experience
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