cholesterol

[frian]

hi I have just had my cholesterol results back and GP says my good cholesterol is 6.7 the bad is 4.5 and says this is not good , but I,m not to keen to go down the statins road as I know they have side affects, I have graves and taking carbimazole I also have Scoliosis in my spine and arthritis ,is it ok to ignore my GP or are these dangerous levels,

[PinkNinja]

I must say firstly that I have no medical training however there is no evidence that statins prevent heart disease in women or that a cholesterol level like yours causes heart disease in men or women. If it were me I would be looking at other reasons for my high cholesterol such as low thyroid hormone levels or vitamin d deficiency.

Did you get thyroid test results at the same time? These may indicate whether you are on too much carbimazole. If your thyroid hormone levels have dropped too far this can cause cholesterol levels to rise.

I highly recommend reading "The Great Cholesterol Con" by Dr Malcolm Kendrick's and reading his blog here

drmalcolmkendrick.org

While I do not believe you necessarily need statins (remember I have no medical training) they do have their place. Any male who has been prescribed statins because they already have coronary artery disease should continue to take them as they can reduce the risk of further heart attacks. They do not prevent heart attacks by reducing cholesterol but by their anti inflammatory action.

My cholesterol was previously just below yours and my GP said I didn't need statins. Different doctors seem to have different beliefs on statins.

I hope that helps

Carolyn x

[frian in reply to PinkNinja]

thanks Carolyn I have just had my bloods results tsh 0.26 ts4 13.6 I don't have any other readings . frian

[PinkNinja in reply to frian]

It might be a good idea to get your vitamin d checked just to be sure.

Personally, I wouldn't be worried about that cholesterol level. Statins may actually cause more problems than they resolve, especially if you have thyroid disease.

[frian in reply to PinkNinja]

thanks I will ask for vit d when I see endo today, didn't realise it could affect cholesterol

[Angel_of_the_North in reply to PinkNinja]

Interestingly though, it seems that statins increase calcification of the arteries, which is one of the top causes of heart problems.

[PinkNinja in reply to Angel_of_the_North]

Yes, it is interesting but it seems for males who have had a previous heart attack that the benefits of the anti inflammatory action slightly outweighs the calcium build up. But that is based on statistics which we all know can be manipulated I guess making sure the dose is small enough to benefit without increasing calcium deposits may be a case where statins work. Or maybe scientists should be looking elsewhere at how to reduce the inflammation...

[sue_b in reply to PinkNinja]

Hi Carolyn, thanks for the link to Dr Kendrick, what he says totally ties in with the way I'm heading with dietary influcences

[greygoose]

I agree with CarolynB. High cholesterol in itself is not a problem, it's just that it might be a symptom of something else... well, hypothyroidism. Your doctor wants you to take statins because he gets crédits - or something - for prescribing them. He has no idea what it's all about! And there's no such thing as good and bad cholesterol - that's just one huge great misunderstanding - not to say a con!

[frian in reply to greygoose]

I don't think I,m hypothyroid if anything I am having problems keeping down my t4 , if I take 15gms of carbimazole my t4 comes down to 9.0 but I feel awful so endo reduced it to 10 mgs then up goes my t4 (last Jan it was 24.7) I find it hard to keep it level so without consulting my endo I now have 12.5 mgs (cutting one in half) and I am now March t4 13.6 tsh 0.26 I don't think they recommend to cut one but it seems my bloods are a bit more steady only time will tell am I doing the right thing I,m all over the place with it thanks

[greygoose in reply to frian]

OK, I didn't realise that. But I still say the cholesterol is nothing to worry about - isn't even that high, I Don't think, but you Don't give ranges. It's an essential nutrient, we need it to make hormones! And those that have the highest cholesterol live longest!

[Fruitandnutcase]

Hi, I've got Graves too and I'm in remission. When my TSH was really low when I was at my very worst my cholesterol was very low 4.1, now that my TSH is climbing - 2.30 (0.27-4.8) my cholesterol has been as high as 7.1 but is now 6.something.

I took statins a few years ago and was utterly miserable - leg pains, depressed etc. So awful that basically I started and stopped within ten days.

The locum doctor I confessed to that I had stopped suggested using Flora Pro Active products which I did for a while. I now eat muffins from a recipe in The New 8 Week Cholesterol Cure by Robert Kowalski ( incidentally he says high cholesterol and hypothyroid go together - interesting as I'd already worked that out for myself) - mainly because I really like them but my cholesterol had come down to the 6. Something last time it was tested. I tend to think if my TSH was lowered my cholesterol would come down to but somehow I can't imagine I'll be given anything to lower my TSH until I am out of range

[Chancery]

I would recommend you read The Great Cholesterol Con by Dr Malcolm Kendrick before you accept that these figures are 'bad'. It's a long while since I read it, but from what I recall he would think they are perfectly healthy figures. I know that the incidence of death is much higher for low cholesterol than high. I should think you could probably get info on this from the web too - there are many docs speaking out now on the cholesterol myth - check them out before you do anything else!