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Posted 9/3/2015 1:33 PM (GMT 0)
Hello Everyone,

I posted a couple days ago about having tachycardia (racing heartbeat) early in the mornings. It's been affecting me really badly the past week and a half. I went to urgent care (my primary doc won't see me for at least 3 more weeks) where they did an EKG and blood work. The EKG was normal and I'm still waiting on the blood results. The doctor there thinks the problem is with my thyroid. My mother has a under active thyroid and my levels have previously been both high and low. The last time I was tested was back in March, where my TSH was in the high normal range. I was not put on any thyroid meds, but I have been careful with my diet. No soy and if I have any cruciferous vegetables, I make sure they are cooked.

Right now the thyroid is the number one suspect, however I have family and friends with their own theories. My mother thinks it's something I'm taking, which I'm not so sure about because everything I take I have been on for anywhere from 2-9 months. I do understand that some herbs and supplements can build up over time, so I'm going to thoroughly research everything I'm on.

But just until I can get a handle on things, I was thinking of stopping most of my herbs and supplements for a few days and then slowly start to incorporate them again. Hopefully if my tachycardia stops then I'll know it was one of them and then I can maybe figure out what's causing it. If not, maybe it'll at least give me a small break. So good idea or bad idea? Any advice would be great.
Posted 9/3/2015 1:47 PM (GMT 0)
Lyme is famous for messing with thyroid function.

If your TSH was 2.0 or higher, you should have been put on thyroid meds.

I'm not sure just how "low" your TSH might have gone but, please know that healthy people can have TSH as low as .3

The most reliable indicators of thyroid function are the measurements of the actual thyroid hormones: FreeT4 and FreeT3.

Looking at pituitary hormone TSH to judge thyroid status is like looking at the odometer in attempts at guessing how much gas is in your tank.

Do you think you could wait until you get the bloodwork back before making any changes? (hopefully, the urgent care doctor knew to run the FreeT4 and FreeT3 tests).

No matter what, I hope you feel better soon!
Posted 9/3/2015 2:39 PM (GMT 0)
If your thyroid is OK, as I think I mentioned in the other thread, tachycardia can be a symptom of babesia and lyme. So it could be just symptom flaring or treatment herx causing it, and when the infections are resolved the tachycardia will resolve.
Posted 9/3/2015 3:20 PM (GMT 0)
cd3764- My TSH in March was 4.2. Which I know is high, but for some reason still considered normal. I think the doctor just ordered the TSH, I didn't see an order for anything else. I can't believe how terrible I've been feeling. I think it's upsetting me even more because I was on the mend for almost all of the summer. It's like the longer I go without a symptom, the less tolerant I am of it when it comes back.

Sarahm620- Yeah, I did see that in the other post. But when I was tested, I was positive for only one band of lyme, 41 and positive for anaplasmosis not for babesia. There isn't much information on anaplasmosis. I did read however, that the best abx for it is doxy, which I was never on. I did 4 months of amoxy. Depending on what happens with my thyroid, I think i need to bring that up to my LLMD. Problem is I don't see her or my primary til the end of the month. And I'm not sure if I can deal with this another 3 weeks. Just the past couple of days feel rough as it is. My energy level drops to nothing in the blink of eye, I feel nausous, I feel like I'm going to pass out. My arms and legs have a sensation going through them, not tingling, just a sensation. They also feel real heavy at times. I get dizzy and my vision blurs for a few seconds. On top of all that my anxiety is back, which doesn't help matters either.
Posted 9/3/2015 4:04 PM (GMT 0)
Cheetahjade,

I'm sorry you're struggling so much. If you call your LLMD and tell him/her your symptoms and explain that you can't get in to see your primary for 3 weeks, will they refer you to a cardiologist? My LLMD referred me to one. It is best to have see a cardiologist with the symptoms your having (I had some very similar symptoms). However, in my experience, they assume because I look young and healthy that there is nothing wrong. It's like there is a presumption against heart issues if you're under a certain age.

Buhner (in his co-infections book on Anaplasma, Erlichia and Babesia) says that more serious Anaplasma infections can result in "myocarditis and cardiomegaly (abnormal enlargement of the heart)." He has a lot of other info on Anaplasma in his book.

I hope you feel better and can get in soon! I know that anxiety can aggravate heart symptoms. I know it is easier said than done, but try to lower stress levels and relax. Maybe some meditation or relaxing activities might help. ((((Hugs))))
Posted 9/3/2015 6:16 PM (GMT 0)

Cheetahjade said...
cd3764- My TSH in March was 4.2. Which I know is high, but for some reason still considered normal. .

That TSH level is considered "normal" because it falls within the outdated "normal" range associated with the testing kits labs uses.

The AACE (American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists) suggested lowering the range to .3 - 3.0 back in the early 2000's.....and they admit even that's too high.

Studies have shown that healthy people have TSH .3 - 1.0

I hope you pursue better thyroid testing and possible treatment. It could very well make a difference.

Still, it wouldn't hurt to see a cardiologist and I see no reason why one of your doctors can't make the referral.

Hope you feel better soon!
Posted 9/4/2015 12:10 AM (GMT 0)
Lymie Girl- Yeah I think I have that book. honestly, reading how deadly it can be scared me. I was treating it with the BLt I was taking. i recognized the ingredients in that with some of buhner's herbal suggestions. I'm calling my Lyme doctor tomorrow.

cd3764- I know you know a lot about the thyroid. Can it cause debilitating symptoms?
Posted 9/4/2015 2:30 AM (GMT 0)
I don't think it is deadly for most, only if left untreated. I know it can be scary though. I'm sorry!

It does seem like Anaplasma and Erlichia are not talked about very much here. So, it is harder to distinguish symptoms. I like the co-infections chart in the "New to Lyme" thread though. It looks like Dr. H might recommend Rifampin as well (not sure on the details). I'm grateful for Buhner's info on herbs! It helps a lot to look up the herbs to see what they do.

I hope that your Lyme doc helps and that you feel better soon!
Posted 9/4/2015 11:57 AM (GMT 0)

Cheetahjade said...
Can it cause debilitating symptoms?

Most definitely. Scroll down to the lower part of the following link and you'll see a list of 300 possible symptoms of hypothyroidism:

hypothyroidmom.com/300-hypothyroidism-symptoms-yes-really/
Posted 9/4/2015 2:40 PM (GMT 0)
Got the test results back. It's hyperthyroid. My TSH was 7.19. Unfortunately, both doctor and endo is unavailable for at least a month.
Posted 9/4/2015 2:48 PM (GMT 0)

Cheetahjade said...
Got the test results back. It's hyperthyroid. My TSH was 7.19. Unfortunately, both doctor and endo is unavailable for at least a month.

I think you meant to say you're dealing with hyPOthyroidism....and I'm very sorry about that.

Is there any chance you could go back to the urgent care doctor and ask to started on some thyroid hormone replacement since your regular doctors aren't available? After all, the urgent care doctor suspected thyroid so I would hope he/she is willing to follow up....

Just as with Lyme treatment, thyroid treatment has to be slow and steady. Therefore, the sooner you can start thyroid treatment, the better.
Posted 9/4/2015 3:29 PM (GMT 0)
They said it was hyper. Huh. Anyways, they didn't prescribe anything, they said I needed to follow up with my primary. I left a message with my Lyme doc, seeing if there's anything she could recommend. In the meantime, I'm just praying for a cancellation.

When I looked up the symptoms, it did tend to fit more in line with the hyperthyroid. I know they are probably going to test all my Ts at some point.

Either last year or earlier this year, I can't remember when anymore. I was tested. My TSH was 7.3, Free T4 was 1.35, Triiodothyronine was 3.0. We waited a couple weeks and the TSH came down to 4.2.

Ugh. Everything is so frustrating. But I at least have a solid direction. Thank you so much. It helps to have someone to talk to that doesn't ask what the thyroid is. It's given me such relief the last few days. Thank you.
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