I had an episode of very high blood pressure on Monday 210/129 & the gp sent me to a&e - who took my bp said it was fine and sent me home with no meds and a warning not to start meds as it was probably a one off
I wonder if messing about with my levothyroxine is causing it
My results were very low in September & the gp wanted me to drop fron 50 to 25 and I said I'd rather wait 12 weeks and retest....she grudging agreed - I was feeling pretty good/well and had lots of energy
3/4 weeks later I started getting a few odd symptoms of hyperthyroidism so I dropped to 25 within 2 weeks I was tired again and my pain increased then I had this episode of high blood pressure!
My bp isn't stable currently it can range from 119/57 to 169/97 in less than 10 mins but has only been that high twice (on Monday)
Written by
KatyMac68
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
High blood pressure can be a hypo symptom, in which case what is needed is an increase in dose, not BP medication. Sounds like your GP doesn't have a clue what she's doing! 25 mcg is only half a starter dose, nobody can live on that. And she is dosing by the TSH, which is 100% wrong. The TSH is unreliable and a very bad indicator of thyroid status. You were right to refuse to reduce to 25 mcg, and you should continue to refuse. And she should know that it's her that is causing your high blood pressure. Is there another doctor you can see that might actually know something about thyroid? Because this one will never make you well, I'm afraid, only worse.
No I meant I've done my best to change it 😆 if I hadn't left the first bit in it would have confused me if I was reading it!! So I just added a bit but it looks clunky (which stresses me a bit but whatever!!)
Hi KatyMac There are some heart related papers in this post, and some listed in a reply at the end , so hopefully you might find something of use in here :
So I saw the gp, she was only discussing the high BP
She checked my eyes and ears and throat and I have a symptomless ear infection so got drops
She refused to comment on my lumps (under my chin and below the ear (the side without an infection) just saying it would be good to get a scan and they weren't necessarily connected to the cough/hoarse voice I've had for 2 yrs+
& I'm getting a 24 hrs bp monitor and an ecg (again)
Arrggh, it drives me bonkers that doctors now refuse to see symptoms and conditions as connected in any way with each other.
This is anecdotal but my late husband had high blood pressure for the best part of 10 years before being treated for hypothyroidism. Once on an optimal dose of replacement thyroid hormones—it took the addition of liothyronine (T3) to really sort things out—blood pressure dropped to normal and stayed there.
Even the NHS itself recognises a low pitched or hoarse voice as a symptom of an under active thyroid or hypothyroidism! Perhaps the GP should study their own literature for a change:
All the clues are there for them to see, they just don't seem to connect the dots or want to act on them. How is your cholesterol? High cholesterol is also associated with under-treatment of hypothyroidism, lots of papers about this connection.
Overt and subclinical hyper- and hypothyroidism can both lead to (mostly mild) hypertension; however, the underlying mechanisms are only partially understood.
Atherosclerotic changes resulting from lipid abnormalities due to thyroid dysfunction also affect the vasculature and can cause elevated blood pressure.
Elevated diastolic blood pressure is present in ~30% of patients with overt hypothyroidism. Cardiac contractility and output decreases leading to a narrowed pulse pressure. In hypothyroidism renin release is decreased with an increased salt sensitivity. The consequent renal sodium reabsorption leads to an expansion of blood volume by 5.5%
Although they talk about overt hypothyroidism, I would say this would still apply to patients that receive too little thyroid hormones, although their results say 'normal'.
If you are on only 50mcg levothyroxine, your will be symptomatic as a result of your low thyroxine hormones to go with it.
The normal replacement level for adults is 1.6 mcg per kg of body weight, which means a person weighing 63 kg should receive around 100 mcg levothyroxine. Unless you are very petite, you will defo need an increase.
Here is a link to the NICE guidelines you could cite to her, even she cannot ignore prescribing guidelines:
They do like to ignore them, but can't when you are pointing them out to them. In the worst case scenario, you can put in a complaint that you are symptomatic and that they are not following NICE guidelines. I know its the last thing you really want to do, but in the end you have to fight your corner, otherwise they walk all over you and keep you ill!
Likely low vitamin levels having been left on inadequate dose levothyroxine
approx how much do you weigh in kilo
Even if we frequently start on only 50mcg, most people need to increase levothyroxine dose slowly upwards in 25mcg steps (retesting 6-8 weeks after each increase) until eventually on, or somewhere near full replacement dose (typically 1.6mcg levothyroxine per kilo of your weight per day)
Adults usually start with a dose between 50 micrograms and 100 micrograms taken once a day. This may be increased gradually over a few weeks to between 100 micrograms and 200 micrograms taken once a day.
Some people need a bit less than guidelines, some a bit more
TSH should be under 2 as an absolute maximum when on levothyroxine
If symptoms of hypothyroidism persist despite normalisation of TSH, the dose of levothyroxine can be titrated further to place the TSH in the lower part of the reference range or even slightly below (i.e., TSH: 0.1–2.0 mU/L), but avoiding TSH < 0.1 mU/L. Use of alternate day dosing of different levothyroxine strengths may be needed to achieve this (e.g., 100 mcg for 4 days; 125 mcg for 3 days weekly).
B12, D, ferritin and folate were all good on last test and I do supplement
I dont know
But I have enough saved for blood tests and an appt with a private consultant; I'm just stressing about the timing of ordering the blood tests then not getting an appt until way in the future or vice versa
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.
No diagnosis but an Endo referral 
Blood pressure medication.
Graves, thyroidectomy, fluctuating high blood pressure
Any advice would be appreciated
