Atrial Fibrillation

[McPammy]

Can anyone share if they have or have had atrial fibrillation that is taking T4 (liquid)levothyroxine and T3 Liothyronine medications please. And if so how did you go about being diagnosed and can it be rectified.

I’m waiting for some private blood results to come back to see if I’m over medicated or not. I don’t feel over medicated. This has happened several times now in the past 10 days of so and I’ve never experienced this before. I’ve been taking levothyroxine for 20 years and now I’ve been taking liothyronine T3 combined for the past 6 years. It’s a bit concerning when it happens and lasts about an hour then goes away. I’ve noticed it doesn’t happen when I take my T3 med but it does happen about 1.5 hours after taking my (liquid) levothyroxine. Thank you.

[TiggerMe Ambassador]

Could it be that your oestrogen levels have dipped or Vit D, B12? How are your iron levels?

Not forgetting calcium, magnesium and potassium

I seem to remember you test after dosing so it's a bit harder for us to interpret your results, so it's more down to comparison of previous results

[McPammy in reply to TiggerMe]

Hi. My Vit D never drops below 100, even in the winter, I’m very lucky I feel as I’ve never needed vit D supplements. B12 I get an injection every 12 weeks by my GP. My Ferratin levels have been too low also and I take ferris fumerate 210mcg. I must admit each time I take ferris fumerate my body goes very wired and I have trouble sleeping, so I don’t take it as often as I should, maybe 2/3 times a week. I haven’t eaten meat in over 30 years so I need to supplement. Not sure about oestrogen levels. I went into the menopause 23 years ago aged 42.

[TiggerMe Ambassador in reply to McPammy]

Hmmm.... when was your last B12 jab could it be you need them a little more often? Could be ferritin then, have you tried Iron Bisglycinate? Worth getting your sex hormones checked as important for heart, bones and everything else 🙃

Has your resting heart rate changed?

[McPammy in reply to TiggerMe]

Thank you. My b12 injection is due end of March. I usually have a series of blood test draws at the same time. They check my b12 level before I have the injection. It’s usually around 600 which is pretty good I think. Then it’ll jump to about 2000 after the injection. It might be low ferritin maybe as I find it difficult to deal with. It sends me hyper for some odd reason. I’ll take some this evening and try and get back to my routine. I use to take it religiously every night. But since I got Covid last October I can’t tolerate it the same. I’m going to speak to my endocrinologist and ask him for some blood tests etc. unfortunately I’m going on holiday this weekend so I won’t be able to get seen until well after that. It’s a bit concerning going on holiday with this just starting.

[TiggerMe Ambassador in reply to McPammy]

Perhaps grab some bisglycinate (Gentle Iron) which hopefully is easier to take and hopefully the results are back so you'll have a better idea if it's thyroid levels.... have a lovely holiday 🤗

[McPammy in reply to TiggerMe]

Thank you for your help. X

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to McPammy]

I would get full iron panel including ferritin

[McPammy in reply to SlowDragon]

I will request that. Thank you 🙏

[Jazzw]

Is it definitely AF, as confirmed by a 12-lead ECG? Or is it a fast heart rate?

There seem to be a lot of us just recently who have had fun and games with this sort of thing.

[McPammy in reply to Jazzw]

My heart is pounding but heart rate not that fast. I can feel it going very weird and warbling. I wear an Apple Watch and have done for years for steps and general fitness. I’ve never had a atrial fibrillation notification before on my watch until now. It always seems to happen after I take my levo. T3 lio is fine no change in heart rates.

[SlowDragon Administrator]

presumably the brand of liquid levo hasn’t changed?

You normally split as 2 doses?

How about splitting as 3 doses (just as an experiment)

Your Ft4 is normally very low, especially as you choose to test after taking your T4 and T3

[McPammy]

SlowDragon - Levothyroxine has been same brand for over a year now and same strength. Funny you say try 3 times day. Today I’ve started just that and so far so good. I’m waiting for thyroid blood results from MMHealth to arrive. It was mentioned amongst other things to check, to check my ferritin. I haven’t been taking it as often as I use to since last Oct. I was getting too wired. Ferritin was good in Dec but it may have dropped. I’ve taken some this evening and will keep that up to see if that helps also??

It’s a little concerning as I’ve not had these symptoms before.

Thanks for your advice. Always good!

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to McPammy]

Feeling wired suggests you might be living off adrenaline…..indicating possibly you’re not on high enough dose Levo/T3

[McPammy in reply to SlowDragon]

I had my cortisol checked and I was surprised that it was normal. I thought it might have gone high. I’m waiting for the thyroid results. Hopefully tomorrow they’ll be emailed. Things altered last October after I had a Covid jab then a week later I actually got Covid while on holiday in Italy. Then not much later i got the flu after my flu jab. Then I couldn’t sleep like I’d normally sleep for weeks and weeks. I think Covid may have had an impact but I’m not sure. 🤔. I’m going to keep on with the ferris fumerate and see if that improves anything. I’m going on holiday this weekend for 2 weeks and hope I’m ok.

[Sat2]

You should get seen by a healthcare professional. AF is where the top chambers of the heart beat out of sync with the bottom chambers and so the bottom chambers aren’t filled with blood fully, this can lead to static pools of blood in the heart which can form a clot which can in turn cause a stroke of heart attack. Once confirmed treatment would be a blood thinner of some sort to prevent a clot forming. If these episodes make you feel unwell, short of breath, chest pain ETC you should call for an ambulance.

[McPammy in reply to Sat2]

Scary but true. I’m not short of breath or any chest pains so that’s a bit reassuring I guess. I think it might be low iron. Hopefully it’s that. I have phoned my gp and my endocrinologist and waiting for replies.

[AKatieD]

Yes I have started with Afib over the last 2 years. Initially it was constant and I had the cardioversion operation to stop it (but it didn't last long). I was advised at that time that there were no structural heart problems and so realised it was hormonal. I take T3 and trying to get all hormones sorted at the mo to damp it down.

With regard to your comment on B12 - it might still be insufficient. If you join the B12 Society group ( their FB group is most active, called Vit B12 Wake Up) you will see that they say that testing is inaccurate once on injections and should not be used to adjust treatment. You need to go by symptoms. NICE guidance also says not to test and treat. G.p.s seem to be similarly uninformed on b12 as on thyroid treatment.