Re: Re: New to A-Fib too

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 6/4/2003 7:17:55 AM Pacific Daylight Time,

eliza700@... writes:

<< I have hypothyroid which can cause you to have a

slower heart rate. Sometimes A-fib comes after bradacardia, a slow

heart rate,. I can't seem to get a straight answer about this either

one doctor says I need thyroid pills and the other says if I take

thyroid pills this will increase my A-fib. I bought the thyroid pills,

but the flyer that they give you with the pills says do no take if you

have an arrhythmia.

>>

Peggy,

It sounds as if you need yet another doctor's opinion on the thyroid.

Hypothyroid can also cause afib as can hyperthyroid, as I found to my dismay

when I

performed an ill-fated (translate: " stupid " ) experiment three years ago by

giving up my thyroid medication completely to see if my afib would improve.

Instead the afib grew worse, and my doctor told me that when one is severely

hypothyroid, as I am without medication, the adrenal gland begins to secrete a

hormone to compensate for the missing thyroid hormone. The pituitary first

tells

the adrenal gland that adequate thyroid is missing, and the adrenal goes to

work on churning out this hormone which can overstimulate the heart and cause

afib. My doctor did not approve of my experiment, but I did it anyway, a course

of action I would not recommend after my experience.

It should be simple matter of numbers yielded by a simple blood test to

determine whether or not you need thyroid supplement. A TSH test will reveal

whether too much thyroid stimulating hormone is present in your blood stream.

The

higher the number turns out, the more you need to take thyroid, regardless of

whether you are in afib or not. The correct level of thyroid hormone will

actually help prevent afib, I have discovered. I take Levoxyl six days a week

and am in sinus about 99 percent of the time.

in sinus in Seattle

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 6/6/2003 2:08:33 PM Pacific Daylight Time,

eliza700@... writes:

<< It was probably not a good thing for you to just stop the medication.

From all I have read once you start with Synthroid it actually

progresses your hypothyroidism so you need the pills. Plus I think you

probably should have gradually stopped them especially if you are on a

very high dose. Another thing that I am not to crazy about with thyroid

meds is that is accelerates bone loss.

>>

Hi, Peggy,

By the time I started Synthroid, my thyroid gland had been dead for a long

time. It's believed that Graves' Disease struck me in my early teens although I

was not diagnosed until I was about 22, when my older brother, who is a

physician, happened to notice exophthalmus in my eyes, a symptom of thyroid

disease. He sent me to an endocrinologist who pronounced my gland dead at that

time

and prescribed Cytomel for me. I took the Cytomel for several years until I

visited a second endocrinologist for another opinion, and he told me that

Cytomel can cause osteoporosis down the road when I grew older. He switched me

to

Synthroid, which he said would not cause osteoporosis and which I took until

three years ago when I discovered that Synthroid had never been approved by the

FDA despite the fact that it had been used widely for about 40 years. The

main reason the FDA had not approved the drug was that its formulation varied

from time to time, and frequently Synthoid was manufactured with a deliberate

excess or overage of hormone to prolong shelf life and improve the company's

bottom line: profit. In other words, Synthroid pills varied greatly in dosage.

I don't know if this is still the case because I asked my doctor to switch me

to Levoxyl, an FDA approved thyroid drug; and I stopped following the Sythroid

issue. As far as I know, Synthroid has still not been approved despite the

fact that the FDA had given its manufacturers an ultimatum and timeline for

remedying the problems with dosage and formulation in Synthroid. In any event,

coincidentally my afib is much better since I have been taking Levoxyl. Of

course, I still think that my afib improvement is primarily due to quitting

dairy

products, but I am sure that a more stable thyroid dose couldn't hurt!

I take .125 m.g. of Levoxyl six days a week and none on the seventh day.

After much experimentation with dose, my afib decreased in frequency when I

tried

this lower dose. This was shortly before I quit dairy products, and I didn't

see drastic improvement in afib until I quit dairy. I would say from my

experience being in sinus 99 percent of the time now, that taking thyroid

medication will not cause afib provided the dose is correct. If your TSH is

..59, you

must be hypothyroid because my doctor told me that a TSH reading over 5 is a

sign of thyroid deficiency. As I mentioned before, a high TSH can set the

stage for increased afib, surprisingly enough. When my TSH was 10 after my

self-directed and foolish experiment, my afib worsened dramatically. If I were

you,

I wouldn't give up on this thyroid issue. Get other opinions and pursue it.

My current doctor believes that my developing thyroid disease when I was a

young teen was probably responsible for the mysterious tachycardia and other

weird heart sensations I was experiencing. It's just too bad that no doctors at

the time would believe that a teenager could be having heart problems. If I

had been diagnosed and treated at that time, I might have avoided much

subsequent misery. So don't give up. Thyroid can play a dominant role in afib.

in sinus in Seattle

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

Thanks for all the information. Perhaps I need to see another doctor

about this. Each time I went into the hospital for A-fib this is when

my TSH was at the higher counts. I have been to the Cleveland Clinic

which is supposed to be one of the best cardiac places, but sometimes I

wonder.

I am allergic to dairy products so I have not had any for about 35years

that is why I was drinking soy milk, but the more I read soy milk is

bad for your thyroid.

It is interesting I also have had palpitations and tachycardia when I

was younger. I also was given a low dose of thyroid when I was pregnant

because I had a miscarriage before, but after I delivered it was stopped

a couple of months later.

Thanks again for all the information

Peggy

Re: Re: New to A-Fib too

In a message dated 6/6/2003 2:08:33 PM Pacific Daylight Time,

eliza700@... writes:

<< It was probably not a good thing for you to just stop the medication.

From all I have read once you start with Synthroid it actually

progresses your hypothyroidism so you need the pills. Plus I think you

probably should have gradually stopped them especially if you are on a

very high dose. Another thing that I am not to crazy about with thyroid

meds is that is accelerates bone loss.

>>

Hi, Peggy,

By the time I started Synthroid, my thyroid gland had been dead for a

long

time. It's believed that Graves' Disease struck me in my early teens

although I

was not diagnosed until I was about 22, when my older brother, who is a

physician, happened to notice exophthalmus in my eyes, a symptom of

thyroid

disease. He sent me to an endocrinologist who pronounced my gland dead

at that time

and prescribed Cytomel for me. I took the Cytomel for several years

until I

visited a second endocrinologist for another opinion, and he told me

that

Cytomel can cause osteoporosis down the road when I grew older. He

switched me to

Synthroid, which he said would not cause osteoporosis and which I took

until

three years ago when I discovered that Synthroid had never been approved

by the

FDA despite the fact that it had been used widely for about 40 years.

The

main reason the FDA had not approved the drug was that its formulation

varied

from time to time, and frequently Synthoid was manufactured with a

deliberate

excess or overage of hormone to prolong shelf life and improve the

company's

bottom line: profit. In other words, Synthroid pills varied greatly in

dosage.

I don't know if this is still the case because I asked my doctor to

switch me

to Levoxyl, an FDA approved thyroid drug; and I stopped following the

Sythroid

issue. As far as I know, Synthroid has still not been approved despite

the

fact that the FDA had given its manufacturers an ultimatum and timeline

for

remedying the problems with dosage and formulation in Synthroid. In any

event,

coincidentally my afib is much better since I have been taking Levoxyl.

Of

course, I still think that my afib improvement is primarily due to

quitting dairy

products, but I am sure that a more stable thyroid dose couldn't hurt!

I take .125 m.g. of Levoxyl six days a week and none on the seventh day.

After much experimentation with dose, my afib decreased in frequency

when I tried

this lower dose. This was shortly before I quit dairy products, and I

didn't

see drastic improvement in afib until I quit dairy. I would say from my

experience being in sinus 99 percent of the time now, that taking

thyroid

medication will not cause afib provided the dose is correct. If your

TSH is .59, you

must be hypothyroid because my doctor told me that a TSH reading over 5

is a

sign of thyroid deficiency. As I mentioned before, a high TSH can set

the

stage for increased afib, surprisingly enough. When my TSH was 10 after

my

self-directed and foolish experiment, my afib worsened dramatically. If

I were you,

I wouldn't give up on this thyroid issue. Get other opinions and pursue

it.

My current doctor believes that my developing thyroid disease when I was

a

young teen was probably responsible for the mysterious tachycardia and

other

weird heart sensations I was experiencing. It's just too bad that no

doctors at

the time would believe that a teenager could be having heart problems.

If I

had been diagnosed and treated at that time, I might have avoided much

subsequent misery. So don't give up. Thyroid can play a dominant role

in afib.

in sinus in Seattle

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 6/6/2003 10:14:12 PM Central Daylight Time,

Starfi6314@... writes:

> As far as I know, Synthroid has still not been approved despite the

> fact that the FDA had given its manufacturers an ultimatum and timeline for

> remedying the problems with dosage and formulation in Synthroid

Hi :

My mother, who also is named , is prescribed synthrioid, I think. Can a

drug be dispensed with a prescription if it is not FDA approved?

Guy