From: "Barbara Firth" <[log in to unmask]>
  >Is there a connection
> between the thyroid and blood pressure?

Yes indeed there is a connection.  When I become thyrotoxic from too high
prescribed Levoxyl (T4) dose the blood pressure is the first affected- -
usually pressures of 180/100.  Then other symptoms of thyrotoxicity such as
cardiac arrhythmias, both atrial and ventricular, muscle weakness,
hotflashes and sweats.  The muscle weakness was especially noticable during
the last bout in that I was into a daily weight lifting regimin to begin
with but ended up trembling in the weight-challenged muscles.  Of course
hotflashes and sweats are quite noticable too.

The physician only tested thyroid function once a year or once every 2 years
by TSH only.  This timing was inappropriate for me, as my thyroid
replacement requirements have diminished with age.  (I have a "burnt out" as
a result of Hashimoto's thyroiditis so there's no endogenous thyroxin
production).  Unfortunately the initial rise in blood pressure was treated
with diuretics to the point where I became dehydrated with mouth sores, lip
cracks, hypovolemia (low blood volume) and electrolyte imbalance.  The
hypovolemia was especially problematical in that when I had the arrhythmias,
there wasn't much blood volume to push around and I fainted.

It took a while to iron this out, but I stopped the diuretics against
doctor's advice as a first stab.  etc etc, finally against doctor's advice
dropping my Levoxyl ~ 10% .

Thyroid disorders are quite tricky and difficult to treat for the average
physician.  The irony is that that physician himself has Hashimoto's and his
wife is an endocrinologist.  But the focus seemed to be on my blood pressure
rather than on my thyroid in that it had been measured by TSH within a year
and was considered to be OK.

The end result is that I do not have high blood pressure when on the
appropriate thyroid replacement.  In fact it's quite low and measures
120/70 at the most.  It's frequently measured professionally in that I
exercise at  pulmonary rehabilitation due to my rare lung disease which the
doctor also missed.  I now get my thyroid tested twice a year by a complete
profile at a teaching hospital.

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