Increasing Tachycardia

[songcanary]

Hi everyone,

When I had my TTT in July, my resting pulse was in the 70s. I have been noticing increased palpitations since then and my resting pulse is frequently over 100. BP has not changed. Does this mean I am developing POTS or could this be something else? It's a little scary, although I have read that other posters have even higher pulse rates! I am just so aware of my heart beat all the time. Incidentally, I have been on Armour thyroid 30 mg in the a.m. since May. But the pulse remains high in the evenings well after the T3 would have worn off. Has anybody else had tachycardia develop like this? Should I see my cardiologist? I have seen SO many doctors lately I was hoping for a little time off if you know what I mean.

[MomtoGiuliana]

Have you had your thyroid levels checked? That would probably be the first thing a dr would do if you are on a new dosage of armour. Is your pulse increasing on standing only, or high all the time. POTS is defined by 30 bpm or more on standing...not that you should self-diagnose.

[jonathanireland]

hey i tried looking up some info on the drug Armour but there wasnt much on it. But I have come to the conclusion that if u are taking a drug for ur thyroid then the increasing tachycardia may be due to irregular levels on hormones which ur hormone is producing, and maybe it could also be the drug its self causing an increase in heart rate but the only way this can be confirmed is by a doctor. to give ur self an idea as with the previous reply, let us know if ur heart rate increases on standing from a lying down position lie down for about 5-10 mins give ur Heart rate a chance to settle then check ur HR over a minute or 15minx4 and then take ur pulse as soon as u stand a home blood pressure device might be of some assistance in aiding ur diagnosis well not so much a diagnosis but maybe just to arm u with some evidence.

All the best, Jonathan.

[Birdlady]

The dose of armour you are on is very very low, but you should get your thyroid levels checked just to make sure. Try to get free T3 and free T4 levels checked along with total levels. This will give you a better feel for what is going on with your thyroid.

I just want to throw my experience out there for you.

My doctors insisted I must be hyperthyroid because of my heart rates too. They tried to basically push this diagnosis on me when they couldn't figure out why a person my age would have tachycardia so much. It just so happened that my TSH was nondetectable for a short time for reasons I will never understand. However, my actual thyroid levels were in fact on the low end. Upon further investigation on my part (doctors were of no help), that's when I learned more about POTS and the rest is history. Just be careful if the doctors try to insist it is your thyroid because in my case it is most definitely not. Just a few months ago at CC they were telling me that it just had to be my thyroid causing all of this and thankfully I brought along some thyroid labs which proved them all wrong.

[songcanary]

Yes, good information, all. I did have recent thyroid levels checked at CC during another workup. They are not free numbers, however. T3 was 132 (94-170), T4 was 5.7 (5.0-11.0) and TSH was 0.254 (0.400-5.500). My prescribing allergist would have done free levels but he is satisfied with these results for now. My endocrinologist thinks they are fine so long as the TSH stays above 0.1. (I had already started on Armour before I saw this endo. That is why she is not the prescribing doc). My rheumy is not big on it because my pre-Armour TSH was 1.5. He says it can make dysautonomia worse. Is that true? I sure don't want that. But I had hypo symptoms for years and until recently no doctor would treat me because the TSH was normal. However, the free T3 and T4 were both very low normal.

I did check my resting vs. standing pulse. It frequently increases by as much as 20 points but not always. Resting pulse is 80-88. Maybe I don't qualify for official POTS, but perhaps I have 'semi-POTS' lol! I will continue my fluids, salt, yoga etc. and keep tabs on this crazy thing. I would rather not stop the Armour because it seems to be helping in so many other ways.