My son is 15 years old. He has been having some wierd problems, and I would like some help. My son is overweight, he weighs around 245 pounds and is about 5'10" tall. Although he is still overweight, he has lost around 30 pounds since October, he also has a pretty regular excercise plan. My son has a hypothyroid, which he takes 100MCG Synthroid medication for every morning, he also takes Phentermine, a pill which was perscribed to help him lose weight. Until now, he has had no problems, although recently he has had a high heart rate around 100-80 (at rest).Three days ago, he began to complain about slight shallow breathing, he said it wasn't that bad so we kind of ignored it. Just yesterday, Monday, he went to work out with his personal trainer and there seemed to be no problems, but around 2AM he began to experience wierd symptoms that resembled a heart attack. He said when he lied down to sleep that night, he felt really anxious and he could feel and hear his heart beating. He also said his fingers were cold and his left palm was sweaty. Although all of this he said there was little to none chest pain. He said he turned the TV back on and calmed himself down a bit and the anxiousness and beating stopped. Could this be an anxiety attack (which he has never had) or something more? He could have been comparing his shallow breathing to a story he heard about one of my friends having a Sarcoma which started out with shortness of breath. Please help me with this, for I do not know what is wrong. He is schedualed to see a Cardiologist on Wednesday, but any help prior to that would be excellent.

Thanks in Advance.

Hi there, I'm not sure what could have cause your son's fast heart rate. However before I continue, a heart rate of 80-100 is still not very high to be worrying. Unlike an episode of VT(ventricular tachycardia), the heart rate might shoot up to 200... Usually hyperthyroid will cause tachycardia while hypothyroid might cause slow heart rate. How long has he been experiencing this problems? Did you find anything that seems to relate to his problems like the food he takes, exercise, lifestyle, etc?

He only began to experience his shallow breathing on Saturday Night. He has recently began drinking caffenated drinks again, however. They are the diet sunkists. The doctor said that caffeine may make him hyper when he was on the Phentermine, but it did not. Could that be part of his problem. He said his most obvious problem is the shallow breathing, as it is almost always present now. He said he could not notice the shallow breathing while working out but after he finished working out he could feel it again. It's not that he is out of breath, it's just he's aware of his breathing and feels like he's not taking in enough air when at rest.

Can anyone else provide me any help?

the phentermine is the problem

That's good to know, althought a bit strange. He has been on the Phentermine for about a month and hasn't experienced these problems til now. Is that normal with this kind of situation? By the way, I thank you all for the help.

He only began to experience his shallow breathing on Saturday Night. He has recently began drinking caffenated drinks again, however. They are the diet sunkists. The doctor said that caffeine may make him hyper when he was on the Phentermine, but it did not. Could that be part of his problem. He said his most obvious problem is the shallow breathing, as it is almost always present now. He said he could not notice the shallow breathing while working out but after he finished working out he could feel it again. It's not that he is out of breath, it's just he's aware of his breathing and feels like he's not taking in enough air when at rest.

Drinking caffeine can cause fast heart rate. However, I'm not sure about the shallow breathing. Someone out there might have an answer for you. It might be from the medication reacting with something he had taken to cause side effects.