... seems to beat much faster, keeping me awake. Should I stay on 100mg or reduce it to 75mg again? It is really beginning to worry me and I fear I may have a heart attack.
My doctor recently increased my daily dosage of Levothyroxine from 75mg to 100mg. At night my heart?
Question posted by jan1 on 4 Aug 2012
Last updated on 19 May 2017 by Angela5
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7 Answers
Angela5
19 May 2017
Long story short with me... i had my thyroid removed due to CA in 1979. I was 20 my oldest daughter was 6m. Old my mom had to keep her while I was radiated. So threw the years I have been keeping up on my scans and such.. last precaution treatment in 2003. The endo dropped me as their pt. Because I could not make it to endo own lab every six weeks and see him every 8wk. Or something.after having lots of transportation problems, and to do what he wanted. Well, after many yrs. All of a sudden the office sends letter. I call and the receptionist told me again what letter said.. so, endo always had my thyroid medication at 112mg. In that range. So recent blood indicates overactive so primary physician puts me on 75mg. Since, I have been tired no energy, puffy tired looking in face everyday... only one endo here where I live uuugggg... i have good and bad days, emotional, drained, and lot of weight loss in last year... now doing some testing... praying...
dubs1958
3 April 2015
There is an 88 mcg tablet your doctor can give you. Going from 75 to 100mcg is a lot. Tell your doctor to try you on 88mcg. Levothyroxine comes in MicroGrams not Milligrams. Mcg's are much smaller.
aliteach
2 Nov 2014
The same thing happened to me..my Dr. Reduced my meds, but that is not unusual to feel your heart jumping out of your chest..
Lisa01
5 Aug 2012
Dear Jan1,
I also take meds for my thyroid. In the beginning you tend to go up in very small increments, or at least I did. The first time I made a jump like you did, I had the same results. Scared me enough I went to my pcp, who was ready to put me in the hospital until I could have a stress test. I did have a stress test a couple days later, and it was fine. After going over all the possibilities, the dr decided that it was just a reaction to the increase in thyroid medicine. It's actually fairly common when making an increase of that magnitude. Things calmed down after a couple more days and my body had a chance to get used to it. Actually it calmed down quite a bit when I discovered I wasn't having a heart attack!
I'm not telling you not to let your dr know if it's c concerning you. Just letting you know of my experience. But I wouldn't not take your medicine, or switch the dose, without talking to the dr first. Just my thoughts!
Lisa
HeadStarter
5 Aug 2012
Hello Jan - Personally, I would stay at the dose you are on until you have that test. Your doctor is never going to know how you are doing if you don't take it as prescribed so that you get an accurate reading or "interpretation" of how your body is utilizing the medication. I cannot stand levo or synthroid or actually any of the synthetic thyroid supplements... I have done very badly on them to the point where my liver was affected because one doctor thought it was a good idea to adjust my dose to help with my weight loss. Very bad idea and I became really sick. Anyway, I decided to see another doctor, an endocrinologist and totally got myself straightened out. I get my thyroid medication compounded for me. I have done very well with the compounded version of "armour" thyroid for many years. I also recommend you read a book called, "THYROID POWER... 10 STEPS TO BETTER HEALTH" by Dr.
Shames and his wife Karalee Shames, RN, PhD. It is an easy read and very helpful in understanding the symptoms of hypothyroidism because many symptoms like "depression, chronic fatigue syndrome, infertility, lupus" have been associated with low thyroid and other adrenal issues. It is the best book I have come across and an easy read. I took it into my doctor's office along with my new list of questions and had one of the best conversations, "patient to doctor" that I can ever recall having because I had the right questions to ask from that book plus there is a section in the back of the book written for doctors. It is really cheap to buy and amazon carries it or get it from your local library. I have written all over mine for note taking and stuff.
I wish you well and hope you become more proactive in your care because I believe a person gets the best possible care when they become educated, ask questions and understand the objective of the course of treatment and also how long it takes to feel better. You also have the right to change medications if you don't feel well or feel it is the wrong one for you. Believe me, there are plenty of doctors who don't like the natural, dessicated thyroid but for many patients... it happens to be the one most like what we ourselves produce. Information is knowledge and knowledge is power. Every patient has the right and expectation to receive the best possible care and not just take meds because the doctor wrote the script for them. Too many people leave the doctor's office not understanding what they have been prescribed, what the side effects are or if there are any long-term side effects from taking these drugs. I found that out the hard way that taking many courses of prednisone over the years and many, many antibiotics... that my bones are arthritic and have already undergone one hip replacement and when that is completely healed the other one will be done. I am in my 50's not my 70s or 80s and awfully young to be having these problems. They are NOT age related issues, they are MEDICATION related problems that helped me at the time they were given but NOBODY and I mean NOBODY told me that long-term use of steroids adversely affects your bones, hips, spine and joints. Antibiotics are another story... I don't mean that to be harsh... but I have seen doctors do that without a care for the well being of the patient or the person in front of them. I've met doctors who couldn't remember seeing me the same DAY as having a surgical procedure because they don't get involved with the person like they used to. Okay, I am off the pulpit and no more preaching from me.
Be well and take good care of you because if you don't know one else will.
Mary
curiousalso
24 Aug 2013
Thank you Mary so much for your Comments! I know this is a year later but just this week I was put on Levothyroxine for Hypothyroidism. I am very scared for many reasons mainly because already on 4 other meds for Migraine headaches. I also feel the fear is because my doctor is kind of cold and not very thorough. Just because he understands it and explains it often does not mean I know about it. So I am going to order the book right now. See how I feel after I read it and then see if I should find a new doctor while I treat this condition. I know him putting me on 25 MCG is not much but not sure if maybe will help the migraines over time. Thank you again! Hope you are well!
HeadStarter
27 Aug 2013
Hello curious... I, too, hope you are well. That book will be one of your best friends - I promise. It is an interesting, logical look into the myriad of symptoms that get misdiagnosed... then mistreated... with the final (and correct) diagnosis being thyroid issues. By the way, 25mg is where you should be starting. It is a slow process being titrated.but slow is necessary for the body to adjust. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask. There are a lot of people here with lots of experience regarding thyroid issues. Because I go for compounded Armour Thyroid and others for the synthetic, you will get mixed feedback. All feedback is useful though in helping you decide which way you want to go. Having a good endocrinologist will also be helpful. This particular book has a section in the back written specifically for doctors. My doctor liked that book and it helped me communicate better with her.
Good luck on your journey and I hope we can help support you along the way.
Mary
Rennie234
6 Oct 2014
Hi I have a question,I'm taking 125mg of thryoid ,lately I'm feeling off is,this bc I take it at nite not always on the same time,sometimes 9-1130 when I remember,I'm doing a loss weight program my doctor has me on would this have any change in how I'm feeling.? Or is it that I need to change my meds again,my thryoid cancer doctor is on a 2 year vacation,so up on till recently I'm been good ,been walking every day for abt 30-60,is this too much am I overdoing this,what is your exact number in the tsh levels should be for people that's been diagnos with thyroid cancer,every one is different ,reacts different ,I now decided to take this pill in morning at 8am ,is this good idea or not ? Or wait till nite time? Any help with any of these question should be helpful ,hope to hear from someone very soon on this ..my tsh numbers is very low0.03 ,so what is right for one person may not be right for another person? Just saying... thanks,,been 10 years or 11 now for me,
endlessPred
4 Aug 2012
Don't know if this will help, but heart racing at rest is also because of stress. I don't know how fit you are, however that will also affect your synthroid metabolizing. Stress can be as simple as adjusting to your condition.
Wondering if you have other meds or health issues you may be dealing with. Unless your heart rate stays over 120 at rest, it isn't too worrisome. Your doctor ought to know what you are feeling. He may want to slow the increase as you adjust if that is the culprit.
endlessPred
4 Aug 2012
One other thought. You feel this at night. When do you take the synthroid? Is it 1/2 hour before breakfast with water only? If not consistent, your dosing absorption will change daily.
jan1
4 Aug 2012
Thank you for your comments. I am mid 50's, 9 stone and 5'7". I walk regularly and am reasonably fit but could be fitter ! I do take my meds with water before breakfast as advised by my doctor and also take another medication for breast cancer which I had 4 years ago. This heart-racing as only happened since I upped the thyroid meds, so I'm fairly sure it is the cause. Going to see my doctor next week ... thank you for your advice. Jan1
smileyhappy
4 Aug 2012
Sometimes when you adjust your Synthroid and go up you can have this happen. You may need to go up more slowly. Call your doctor to tell her/him what is happening before you go down. Your body may just take a little longer to adjust. If it is like that for too long you may need to go down a little.
Good luck and take care,
jan1
4 Aug 2012
Thank you Smileyhappy. I must confess I didn't take any medication today which, I know, is wrong. But I will see my doctor next week and get a blood test to show what level my TSH is. I notice this happens in the evenings, like now, a few hours before bedtime. But maybe its like it all the time and I just notice it when I sit down and relax. Thanks, Jan1
endlessPred
4 Aug 2012
Besure to take the thyroid every day now or you will get a false reading when you get the blood test. This med takes a long time to adjust to a new level.
Hope you will be feeling better soon and the doc has a good answer for you. Karen
meyati
5 Aug 2012
Get on your thyroid supplement and stay on it or your thyroid screen will be inaccurate. Also mention that you cut back or whatever because of the racing heart, so your doctors knows exactly what's going on when reading the thyroid panel.
If your blood pressure goes up- that's another sign that your taking too much- but let the doctor manage it or you can end up with heart damage-stroke whatever.
The few times that my thyroid decided to produce thyroid on its own-and I needed to reduce thyroid supplement- my heart raced at night-I had sleeping problems too. Normally I don't wake up when my hounds stand on my bed and bay. I don't take anything to sleep or relax. I wasn't having stress either. It was pure thyroid. I'd like to fine tune my thyroid a bit- but they don't make smaller pills like they used to do with my type of pills. He said that some people take a pill one day and skip the next day trying to lower their thyroid like you are.
He told me not to do that as it puts the body in some sort of shock and usually does heart damage, besides making the patient emotionally cranky. He put it in fancier language- Good Luck- let us know what happens- and I need to brush my hounds teeth. They stand perfectly still-I don't need to tie them, but good golly-those huge lips!!! When they run their lips flap like wings. So take care.
Related topics
heart attack, levothyroxine, dosage, fear, doctor, heart
Further information
- Levothyroxine uses and safety info
- Levothyroxine prescribing info & package insert (for Health Professionals)
- Side effects of Levothyroxine (detailed)
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