Found the reason for my problems - diuretic medication - hydrochlorothiazide

[Europe]

Beware if you are taking hydrochlorothiazide, a diuretic to treat high blood pressure

I´ve written a couple of posts since end of October when I had to go to the Emergency ward because I had high BP. I was on Levo, T3 and Amlodipino but all of a sudden in the middle of October I developed high BP. I am still not sure of the reason for this high BP, could have been a Hashimoto's flare up, too much T3 or some other reason even though my blood results have shown good numbers and I felt fine for many years.

The doctor at the hospital added 12.5 hydrochlorothiazide to my medication list but I haven´t been feeling very good for the last 3 months until Monday this week when I finally decided to stop the diuretic. I had tried everything over the last 3 months - experimenting with different doses of Levo and T3, to the point where I had spreadsheets tracking medications and symptoms. I had an overall unwell feeling in the body but also terrible pain in the thyroid. I googled hydrochlorothiazide interactions and connection with thyroid problems and very little information came up but I found one article which basically said that not only do you lose potassium etc but also iodine which can then mess with the thyroid function. What a change it has made to my body! I felt like I was on death´s door on Monday. I reduced the diuretic on Tuesday and Wednesday and dropped it completely as of Thursday. The change in 4 days is incredible and I feel so much better. Now I just have to try to find a dose of Levo and T3 that makes me feel 100% well again and that keeps the blood pressure in check.

[jimh111]

It can also cause magnesium loss. Thiazidec and loop diuretics reduce magnesium levels.

[arTistapple]

Utterly scary that doctors seem unaware of this connection. Well done you for spotting it. We just can’t trust them and we get sick of second guessing, when they are the ones who are supposed to ‘know’.

[Europe in reply to arTistapple]

Well, I have come to the conclusion that most doctors don't know a lot about thyroid problems or Hashimotos. Also seems that not many have been affected by this medicine like I have, or at least it's not well documented. It's best to do a lot of your own research and lots of trials and errors 🙂

[Sunflower64]

As for its effect on thyroid hormone levels, it seems this diuretic causes more iodine to be excreted in urine, possibly resulting in hypothyroidism. But this seems be more of a problem for euthyroid people depending on adequate iodine levels to make thyroid hormone. If a hypothyroid person is already on thyroid hormone, would that really be a problem as we replace the missing hormones with daily pills also containing iodine?

I have taken this diuretic (12,5 mg daily as part of a combo) since 2022 and it has never affected my thyroid levels (I have been on levo and T3 for years).

[Europe in reply to Sunflower64]

Well, it affected me badly. Can't say it affected the hormone levels much but caused me a terrible pain in the thyroid and a general unwell feeling. I am super sensitive to a lot of things so it doesn't surprise me. A week without it, my blood pressure is still perfect and today I feel "normal" again, as I used to feel before this all happened. I'm glad you feel fine on it. 😊