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[countrybumpkin]

I have always had a severe stress response with my pulse going stratospheric especially with anything medical. So just visiting my Gp gives me a pulse of 100 - 120. Many times when I have had to have even the most minor medical proceedure like having your bp taken my pulse is anything up to 140. Usually once I am out of a stressful situation it returns to normal for me 80-90.

Last night I ended up spending 7 hrs in A&E because my heartbeat had been at 110-130 for 24 hrs. They were good and did multiple ecg's loads of bloods monitered all the time and a chest x ray and at the end of it I was told it wasn't high enough to be classed as emergency and apart from being fast it was perfectly normal. I am due to see an acute medical consultant in next few days to see what they say or do next. My thyroid is fine as that was tested because I am on thyroxine.

Today its mostly back to its usual self unless I start to worry about it / waiting for a phone call with appt etc then it ups again.

Beta blockers have been mentioned in the past but as I had bad asthma as a child there is a risk in my trying them and really these are only things that slow the heart.

Just wondered if anyone else on here has this problem or knows about it.

[kiltgirl]

hi there, sorry you have had a horrible experience...there's a thing called "white coat syndrome" if you give it a Google, usually is linked to raised blood pressure when in a clinical setting but not at other times...my BP is always a little raised due to anxiety when getting checked over...but i haven't had what you've experienced, it must have been really frightening
i hope it's something straight-forward and can be sorted easily xxx

[Cassie]

Yes anything medical and my shoots sky high, drives me insane!

[countrybumpkin]

Oh yes I have the worlds most extreme white coat syndrome   The only way to get a true pulse reading for me is with a moniter you wear at home.  SAme with BP, if I take it at home for a few days running then by 3rd day its perfectly normal although my pulse will be round 100 but if I don't take it for a few months then start to take it again even my home BP moniter triggers the white coat syndrome for a few days. 
My Gp now gets me to take it every day for 6 weeks twice  a year and only goes off those readings - try explaining this to the hospital though!

I also have an arm that looks like I've been self harming from the hospital BP machine.  The automatic hospital ones are so savage and the pain was extreme and my whole lower arm ws bright read and where the cuff was is totally abraided.  No wonder my BP was high when it caused so much pain.  T

There is no one who knows how to take manual BP anymore in a hospital

[libby1]

Hi CB
I have a fast pulse, always have had and so's my son. Might just be you?

Libby
x

[rosebud57]

Are you taking any medication,  some drugs can causes this.  I once had a very scary night after taking an over the counter decongestant.  The pharmacist later told my that some people are sensitive to the active ingredient.  I now avoid anything that contains this.

[countrybumpkin]

Nope not taking anything other than my usual thyroxine and the famotidine I have taken for 25 yrs for my hiatus hernia.  I know some drugs can have this effect though.

[rosebud57]

May be just anxiety then, especially if you are prone to 'white coat syndrome'. What about caffeine.  Do you drink a lot of tea and coffee.

Might be the thyroxine, even though you have been taking it a long time, it's still possible to become sensitive to it.

[babyjane]

countrybumpkin can I ask if you have had your brand of thyroxine changed recently.  I have as the one I was on is discontinued and I now have a generic and am having trouble with palpitations and fast pulse and a few other side effects.  Apparently there is a particular brand that is causing these problems, making patients feel as though they are over medicated, I read about this on the thyroid uk forum.

[countrybumpkin]

My brand of thyroxine is same as it has been for at least 5 years  as I stick to the one chemist who doesn't change supplier so its not that   Having had two thyroid tests in 5 weeks and both being normal for all readings and the last one was a result I like to stay at its doubtful its to do with meds etc,

I haven't had caffeine from many years ( avoid non decaf coffee or diet coke or dark chocolate) and I only drink very very weak earl grey tea or one decaf coffee a day - please don't say it can be  side effect of earl grey tea  

I have got an appt with a acute medicine consultant on Tuesday afternoon, saw my GP who said he bets they will just offer reassurance and yet another 24 hr ecg but I am going to ask for a 72 hr one this time so that they can hopefully pick up all the weird things my heart can do

Huge thanks to everyone who has replied its good to be able to discuss this. I will let you know what happens on Tuesday!

[countrybumpkin]

How interesting.  I have always liked to run my tsh at mid line so between 3-4 but I am very overweight even though I don't overeat according to a dietician and the only time I have been able to lose any weight was when my tsh was lower than this     plus my cholesteral reading goes up when my tsh is higher which is a sign that I am underactive for me.
Trouble is no one knows what any individual persons tsh should be which is why there is such a big range for normal.

[countrybumpkin]

Yep I agree that some of us cannot eat normally if we want to be even a vaguely normal weight    My Gp says I have no chance, I am the spitting image of my grandmother who was always big, I have underactive thyroid, I am now post menopausal and I have mobility issues which means I cannot increase my exercise levels.
So its really annoying when I eat less than anyone I know and don't lose weight!

[Cassie]

I was told I need to get my TSH down to 2 by endo...he said anything above that is not on...its not that easy cos too many tabs make me jittery, so I go more by symptoms like tiredness and feeling cold...always know when I have forgotten a tablet, I feel shivery and when everyone else is sweating it out, I have a long top on...

[babyjane]

my bowels are my barometer for my thyroid levels. If I am under medicated I get constipated and cold and feel stodgy, if I am over medicated I get loose bowels, sweaty and jittery and lose weight.

I have had my brand of thyroxine changed recently to a generic as the brand I was on is no longer available. My dose has had to be lowered as my endo explained different brands are absorbed differently and the change made my TSH drop alarmingly to 0.18 giving me thyrotoxic symptoms. That was 8 weeks ago and only this week I feel as though I am levelling out and feel less racy and out of control.

I feel at my best when my TSH is between 1 and 2 and my Free T4 is around 12-15 and T3 between 4 and 5. I maintained this for years and I had forgotten how horrible it is when the levels are wrong.

[countrybumpkin]

Well I saw a acute medicine consultant today and she was good and very direct but also understanding. She wasn't concerned about my high heart rate as she firmly believes this does not harm you heart as long as its not excessive and she herself has a high heartrate at rest BUT she said given my age (53) and my severe white coat syndrome which means they can't get a true BP or pulse from me she is worried that I might have high bp alot although not persistantly and my excess weight ( 5st overweight) together will start to have an impact in the future so I am to have an echo of my heart to see if there is any thickening and also a 3 day ecg test ( at home) rather than just 24 hrs. 
I have to take my BP twice a day for at least a month and keep a record of it ( I cannot do 24ht bp test as the bp cuff bruises my arm badly)  and most important of all she said if I lost 3st then my BP etc would not be any problem.
She understood about my thyroid problem and how incredibly difficult it is to lose weight post meno and my spinal problems limiting exercise ( she herself was struggling with her weight) but said if I could lose just 1lb a week and not yoyo she would be ecstatic.
So its a kick up the bum for me.  If nothing changes by my next appt which could be after xmas then she will want me to go onto a type of blood pressure pill that also lowers your heart rate. Or if the tests show that I do have high bp alot then again its the tablets for me.
So I need to be a very good girl all the time. what I find is that I can be good for a few days and lose a pound but then I say have a meal out or have a mini binge and the pound goes back on and I am back to square one.
Please wish me luck and suceess.