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Weird chest feeling on Armour

Posted , 5 users are following.

anita826
anita826

Hi everyone! A little background info on myself, I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism and high blood pressure during my pregnancy in early 2016. My doctor put me on Synthroid 50 mcg which I took until September 2017 when I switched doctors and was then placed on Levothyroxine 50mcg. I never noticed any difference or symptoms of having hypothyroidism besides hair loss. Being a new mom, I was always tired and never thought it could be from my thyroids.

In February of 2018, I got the flu for the first time in 10 years and then got it a second time a couple of weeks after. Since then it's been a rollercoaster of crazy symptoms such as constant dizziness, brain fog, feeling lightheaded, difficulty concentrating, also had chest pain at one point (could be when my doctor tried to change my blood pressure medicine). My doctor ran several tests and couldn't find anything other than vitamin D deficiency. I've been taking vitamin D3 since April to correct it. I also saw a cardiologist and had a stress test, EKG and echocardiogram due to the chest pain I felt at that time. Everything was normal. Cardiologist said my heart was in great shape. The chest pain eventually went away.

Getting frustrated with not getting any answers, I switched doctors a month ago. My new doctor immediately thought about my thyroids after seeing my bloodwork from my previous doctor. My last test with previous doctor was done on 6/04/18 (while still on levothyroxine) with the results of Thyroxine (T4) 9.3 (range 4.5-12.0 ug/dl); Free thyroxine index 3.2 (range 1.2 - 4.9) and TSH 3.020 (range 0.450 - 4.500 uIU/mL). I've been researching loads and now know that my FT3 and FT4 should have been checked as well.

My current doctor wanted to put me on Armour 60 mcg which is definitely something I wanted to try. I started taking it on 8/5/18. Within the first couple of days I noticed a big difference. My dizziness had decreased and I was able to concentrate better. After the 5th day of taking the Armour I started to get heart palpitations only at night while resting. A week later I started to get chest pressure that felt similar to the chest pain I had earlier in the year. I called my doctor and he believed it could be the Armour causing the palpitations. I cut down my dose to 30 mcg on 8/18 and within a couple of days the heart palpitations subsided but I still had the chest pressure. Blood was ran on 8/21 (the day on which I was told to take my 30 mcg dose that morning and bloodwork was drawn that evening) FT3 2.8 pg/mL (range 2.2 pg/mL - 4.0 pg/mL); FT4 1.03 ng/dL (range 0.76 ng/dL - 1.46 ng/dL); TSH 3.150 mIU/L (range 0.360 mIU/L - 3.740 mIU/L)(HIGH). My doctor believed that these results were from taking 60 mcg and not from the couple of days that I reduced to 30 mcg. He wants me to up my dose to 90 mcg and retest 10/1. He doesn't seem too concerned about the chest pressure since I was previously seen by cardiologist a few month ago. I believe he mentioned taking something for indigestion but my pressure doesn't go away after belching. He also wants me to eat organic and start exercising (I'm about 40 lbs overweight).

I am slowly increasing my dose to the 90 mcg by 15 mcg every 10 days. I am currently on 45 mcg, no heart palpitations, still have chest pressure but seems to have decreased in intensity. I am terrified that this medicine will give me a heart attackor stroke because of the chest pressure. Any advice?

0 likes, 8 replies

8 Replies

  • anita826
    anita826

    Posted

    Edit my TSH on 8/21 was 5.089
  • anita826
    anita826

    Posted

    2nd edit. Armour is in mg not mcg. I apologize!
  • dave64969
    dave64969 anita826

    Posted

    Have you been looked at for GERD? (You can Google it). That could well be the problem with chest pressure as you are overweight. If your cardio tests are good then I would suggest not worrying so much and take the meds. Good Luck!
    • anita826
      anita826 dave64969

      Posted

      I never thought about that. I will have to look into it. Thanks!
  • matt91885
    matt91885 anita826

    Posted

    Hi Anita TSH if 5 is still high - I too suffer from chest pain / pressure when hypothyroid. Strangely I’m now down to TSH of 1.2 which should be where I need to be but strangely still suffering with chest pain . I too have had an ECG etc all come back fine. If my Levo is increased too fast I will get palpitations and anxiety I find 25mcg increases every 3 months works for me until optimal TSH is achieved . I’m in the UK so T3 and T4 isn’t tested for by GP and it’s hard work to get to an endocrinologist
    • matt91885
      matt91885

      Posted

      I will add that chest pain and pressure whilst should not be ignored does seem to be a symptom many people complain of when both hypo and hyper thyroid so try not to worry too much if everything has been checked. Do you also get short of breath ?
    • anita826
      anita826 matt91885

      Posted

      I do experience shortness of breath occasionally but it doesn't last for very long. I would describe it as not feeling as though I am able to take a full breath, not gasping for air. The chest pain comes and goes but, some days it will last for a while.

  • PeterAK
    PeterAK anita826

    Posted

    Tried Armor, had an allergic reaction including heart palpitations. Chest pressure could be lungs. You can use fingertip blood oxygen monitors to track heart and lung conditions. 
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