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Rapid Pulse, Have Thyroiditis, Taking Levothyroxine. Any Idea?
Question: I have a rapid pulse that I don't understand. I have been diagnosed with thyroiditis. I take 75 micrograms of levothyroxine per day. I recently had trouble filling the prescription and went almost a week without the medicine. I was very tired, so much that I would get out of breath in the shower, but I had been tired on the medicine, too. I am also dieting and thought that might be partly to blame. I don't know what my heart rate was during the time off the medicine. But the day I went back on the medicine, on a lark, I checked my resting heart rate, and it was 134. The next morning it was 75, but by afternoon it was over 100 again, ranging from 99 to 115. I never knew my heart rate was even related to my thyroid. Any idea what might be going on or what I should do?
Hello,
Thanks for posting your query.
Yes thyroid hormonal imbalance as well as medications have a direct effect on the heart rate .
Tachycardia or resting heart rate more than 100/ min is usually a sign of underlying hyperthyroidism .
Since you are suffering from thyroiditis which can manifest as both hypothyroidism ( decrease in thyroid hormone levels ) or hyperthyroidism ( increase ) its very important to closely monitor your thyroid hormone levels.
Levothyroxine itself is a synthetic thyroid hormone and if the dose is more than the requirement it can cause sideffect on the heart rate , palpitation , tachycardia , arrhythmia etc.You should take care not to stop the medication abruptly which could be the reason for the present imbalance of the levels.
So please consult your doctor promptly or any emergency facility to monitor your blood pressure and heart rate , rule out complications like arrhythmia and titrate the dose of levothyroxine as per the latest reports of thyroid hormone levels in your body ( easily found by a blood thyroid profile).
Please do not change or titrate dose of levothyroxine without your doctors advise .
Also do inform about all the medications you take apart from levothyroxine as sometimes drug interactions can be the reason of increased sideffects.
Your doctor has rightly said that thyroid disorder and depression might be interrelated.however with appropriate treatment both can be very well controlled.
So don't worry and wish you a speedy recovery.
Hope I have answered your query.
Kindly accept my answer if you have no further queries.
Regards
Thanks for posting your query.
Yes thyroid hormonal imbalance as well as medications have a direct effect on the heart rate .
Tachycardia or resting heart rate more than 100/ min is usually a sign of underlying hyperthyroidism .
Since you are suffering from thyroiditis which can manifest as both hypothyroidism ( decrease in thyroid hormone levels ) or hyperthyroidism ( increase ) its very important to closely monitor your thyroid hormone levels.
Levothyroxine itself is a synthetic thyroid hormone and if the dose is more than the requirement it can cause sideffect on the heart rate , palpitation , tachycardia , arrhythmia etc.You should take care not to stop the medication abruptly which could be the reason for the present imbalance of the levels.
So please consult your doctor promptly or any emergency facility to monitor your blood pressure and heart rate , rule out complications like arrhythmia and titrate the dose of levothyroxine as per the latest reports of thyroid hormone levels in your body ( easily found by a blood thyroid profile).
Please do not change or titrate dose of levothyroxine without your doctors advise .
Also do inform about all the medications you take apart from levothyroxine as sometimes drug interactions can be the reason of increased sideffects.
Your doctor has rightly said that thyroid disorder and depression might be interrelated.however with appropriate treatment both can be very well controlled.
So don't worry and wish you a speedy recovery.
Hope I have answered your query.
Kindly accept my answer if you have no further queries.
Regards
Note: For more information on hormonal imbalance symptoms or unmanaged diabetes with other comorbid conditions, get back to us & Consult with an Endocrinologist. Click here to book an appointment.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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