I know my levels aren't great - see my profile - but I am not feeling any fatigue and am as energetic as I have been in a long time, even managed to get my vegetable beds up and running again this summer - not that the weather has helped!!! However I have slipped off the wagon a bit when it comes to gluten and starting eating things like bread and pasta again. Sometimes I just find it hard after a day at work cooking for myself separately as well as cooking for the family. Some days I do well but this weekend, I slipped badly!! The palpitations were awful last night and I feel awful anxiety today for no reason. Just wondering could gluten do this to me - or is it something else. I know I was advised to go off gluten by this group at the start when I joined,
I'm sleeping better than I have in a long time. The palpitations seem to get worse when I lie down - maybe that's because I'm more aware of them. I checked my pulse and it seems normal.
Thank you all in advance.
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Sunflower535
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TSH over 2 suggests you might need dose increase in Levo
How much levothyroxine are you currently taking
Which brand of levothyroxine
Do you always get same brand
How much do you weigh in kilo
What vitamin supplements are you taking
Vitamin levels were good last October
Gluten can reduce how much levothyroxine you absorb
Some of us find gluten causes anxiety……or on gluten free diet anxiety reduces
Just testing TSH and Ft4 is completely inadequate
Essential to test TSH, Ft4 and Ft3 together
Recommended that all thyroid blood tests early morning, ideally just before 9am, only drink water between waking and test and last dose levothyroxine 24 hours before test
This gives highest TSH, lowest FT4 and most consistent results. (Patient to patient tip)
Private tests are available as NHS currently rarely tests Ft3
I take Mercury Pharma although I have to check every time and always remind them to give me the same brand. I'm on 50 mg which I know is only a starter dose but I've been feeling fine apart from the palpitations. I take folate, vitamin D, Flaxseed oil for dry eyes, selenium and vitamin K. I plan to do a private test for my bloods again in October and see how things are then. I weight around 9 stone - not sure what this is in Kilo.
I can't really afford to go before then. So many bills over the summer. I thought when I was feeling okay every other way that maybe it was just the gluten that was the problem or maybe hoping it was. I will battle on as long as I can and if things don't settle maybe go to the GP who will probably say I'm depressed which sometimes I think I might be. Thank you for your help. Now I know what my dose should be if he does decide to increase.
You're clearly under replaced and need to push your GP for a dose increase. Point out your symptoms and ask for it as a trial which often goes down better.
AS far as foods go, when under replaced people do get many sensitivities. Its possible it could have been the gluten but also high amounts of carbohydrates can trigger some people into symptoms.
Thanks for your reply. I am reluctant to push for a dose increase when my energy is so good. It is a nightmare to get through to our practice and then I will get a doctor who doesn't listen and makes me feel like crawling out under the door - I just can't face that. I am back off the gluten (properly since yesterday) and will be very strict and see how I feel in a week or two. If I still don't feel great then I will try and get private bloods done and see what the results are and then go to the GP. That way I have tried every avenue possible. Appreciate you taking time to answer my query.
Could you be falling into a trap re the word "gelatinsation"?
My medicines document has all ingredients listed.
helvella's medicines documents (UK and Rest of the World) can be found here:
helvella - Thyroid Hormone Medicines
helvella has created, and tries to maintain, documents containing details of all thyroid hormone medicines in the UK and, in less detail, many others around the world. There is now a specific world desiccated thyroid document.
I highly recommend viewing on a computer screen, or a decent sized tablet, rather than a phone. Even I find it less than satisfactory trying to view them on my phone.
helvella - Thyroid Hormone Medicines - UK
The UK document contains up-to-date versions of the Summary Matrixes for levothyroxine tablets, oral solutions and also liothyronine available in the UK. Includes injectables and descriptions of tablet markings which allow identification. Latest updates include all declared ingredients for all UK products and links to Patient Information Leaflets, etc. PLUS how to write prescriptions in Appendix F.
Contains details of all known desiccated thyroid products including information about several products not considered to be Natural Desiccated Thyroid (NDT/Desiccated Thyroid Extract/DTE).
Contains details of all levothyroxine, liothyronine and combination products - excluding desiccated thyroid products. Details available vary by country and manufacturer.
The link below takes you to a blog page which has direct links to the documents from Dropbox and QR codes to make it easy to access from phones. You will have to scroll down or up to find the link to the document you want.
As I said to Humanbean I am now off the gluten again since yesterday so will monitor how I feel. Decided to keep a sort of diary so will watch and wait. Thanks for your reply.
When I first gave up gluten years ago I noticed it improved my (intermittent) really bad temper. I think it improved my anxiety and depression as well.
This was years ago though. So much has changed for me since then (thyroid, cortisol, nutrients) and I no longer suffer with my temper or anxiety or depression.
I stayed 100% gluten-free for five years. Then one Christmas I fell off the wagon in a big way and have never managed to climb back on to the wagon ever since. Despite this my temper and mood issues have never come back.
Edit : I forgot to say...
Very low iron and ferritin caused palpitations, tachycardia (fast heart rate), and chest pain for me. Having spent years improving, monitoring and maintaining my iron/ferritin I'm only left with occasional tachycardia which I control with prescribed beta blockers.
Thanks for your reply. I have started again yesterday removing all traces of gluten and will see if I improve any. I haven't been tested for iron/ferritin for a while but they were all okay when I was at my worst so hopefully they still are.
It is highly unlikely that gluten will cause palpitations or anxiety in a physical sense, as there is no mechanism that would suggest gluten could interfere with a pathway triggering these symptoms.
It is however very likely that you are still under-medicated, as this CAN cause anxiety and heart problems - these can be intermittent (and may go away just at the time you are strict on gluten-free again!) but they will most likely be coming back, when the root cause is not addressed. Your energy levels might be okay for now, but your symptoms clearly indicate that not all is well and your energy might not stay okay for long.
As others have suggested, you would need to address this with your GP and ask for a medication increase - go for a trial period and see how you fare.
I personally think that there is too much emphasis on gluten and in many cases, it is actually not the culprit causing the problem, but the additives, emulsifiers and other dubious ingredients in processed food. I make my own bread and cook almost all my meals from scratch and never had any problems whatsoever with gluten (and I tried eliminating it and it made no difference except giving me bad headaches). But everyone needs to decide this for themselves.
Thank you Tina Maria. I appreciate you taking the time to respond to me. I think I will try and get an appointment with the GP soon. They are not the most helpful and will no doubt try and put me on antidepressants again. I suppose I just want to take as little medication as possible. I am a healthy eater and eat very little processed food. I have always felt gluten affected me and definitely felt better when I cut it out but that also coincided with my levels being better then they are now. Thanks again.
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