Heart Palpitations and Prediabetes (and Thyroid)

I have heart palpitations that occur when my glucose goes up high/rapidly or even if it’s going down again (I’m on the lower end of prediabetic in numbers, so by high I mean 150-175). I also have low thyroid and the palps started when I was temporarily hyperthyroid due to being given too much thyroid medication (I have now been normal for about 9 months). Too much thyroid tends to aggravate the palps, too.

My doc and I can’t discern if the heart palpitations stem from the thyroid getting messed up (I have secondary hypo, unidentified cause) and then being more sensitive to my higher glucose, or if they are endemic to the prediabetes. Either way, the higher my glucose the worse the palpitations end up being.

I’ve been averaging a morning fasting of 100-112, and postprandial rarely go above 170, to give you an idea of how sensitive my heart seems to be.

Anyone experience something like this or has insights??

I don’t know that I have direct answers to your questions, but can certainly empathize which what you are experiencing. I suffer from an arrhythmia which takes the form of palpitations and irregular heartbeat. It’s not symptomatic of an underlying heart condition (I’ve been tested several times by a cardiologist),but it is highly uncomfortable and makes me anxious, which my brain can’t always talk me out of. I did first have palpitations when I was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism. I had my thyroid destroyed with radiation and now take thyroid replacement medication. My thyroid has been stable for years and that doesn’t seem to contribute to my arrhythmia. After being stable on a dose of synthoid for many years my thyroid went out of whack after I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes and we had to alter my dose. So that is something you might want to keep an eye on.

Since I experience palpitations that I know are unrelated to my diabetes it’s hard to separate it out, but I generally experience palpitations when my blood sugar is low, not when it’s high, and that is what I’ve heard from other people as well. That doesn’t mean that high numbers aren’t what causes it for you. One thing we know about diabetes is that it really varies greatly person to person.

I don’t know that I would call post prandial blood sugars of 150-175 “the lower end of prediabetic”. Those are high blood sugars to any of us, though not extremely so. Are you doing something to control those post prandials? Are you positive you are type 2 as having another autoimmune condition such as thyroid is a common sign of type 1 or LADA.

Finally since you are looking at possible relationships between thyroid, diabetes as well as palpitations, you might want to work with an endocrinologist who is experienced with thyroid and diabetes rather than just a primary. Also, it can’t hurt to see a cardiologist just to get any heart condition ruled out.

Sorry if I gave you more questions than answers!

I’m sorry you don’t have insurance, that makes things much harder. Yes, the c-peptide and antibody tests are the ones needed to determine type. You actually have two other autoimmune conditions, then: celiac and thyroid, which, yes, does make type 1 more likely, as well as your being thin. I don’t personally like the name l.5 as it makes it sound like it’s halfway between type 1 and type 2 which it isn’t. LADA is basically a slower onset form of type 1. Whatever you can do to figure out your type would really help.

Hang in there; yes, anything to do with heart is bigtime scary. For me it helps that I have been assessed by a cardiologist and told I have only a benign arrhythmia, not a heart condition. Then I have to keep reminding myself of that. There are medications that can help. Sounds like you too have a lot on your plate. It’s great that you’re looking to get more information on your own, and hopefully you will have a doctor who will work with that. You’ve come to the right place here. Let us know how it goes.