my cholesterol has gone up in 6 months

[Strayspark]

I can't believe my cholesterol going up from 6.5 to 6.9 in 6 months and I have lost weight and eaten healthy organic food, my blood pressure went up too, 186/96, my doctor has put me on amlodipine 5 mg but I got such a pounding headache at the back of my head and I am now on Atorvastatin 20mg for the cholesterol which I seem ok with at present, I have now changed the blood pressure medication to Ramipril, I must say that my blood pressure showed up when I was admitted to hospital with a flare up of diverticulitis in May it was 195/106, then slowly settled to 186/96 when I started to get better.

[greygoose]

Strayspark, your cholesterol is of no importance, and you should not be on statins, they cause loads of side-effects, and are not recommended for hypos.

Your TSH has probably gone up, too. When you are hypo, your cholesterol goes up because there is not enough T3 to synthesis it, and it builds up in the blood. It has little or nothing to do with what you eat. It is made in the liver, and the less you eat, the more the liver makes - the more you eat, the less the liver makes. It is an essential nutrient, and you shouldn't be trying to lower it, it does not cause heart attacks or strokes, no matter what your doctor says! It will come down when you are optimally treated.

[Hidden in reply to greygoose]

Thanks for your clear explanation Greygoose. It appears that we hypos are better informed than our GPs who are obsessed with prescribing statins.I was grateful to my Endo who put my mind at rest when I first saw him and I'm sure a lot of people here will be pleased to read what you have written.

[Strayspark in reply to greygoose]

Thank you, I am kinda worried now, so I should stop the statins and what about the blood pressure pills? I was so worried of having a stroke or heart attack, these doctors do scare you into thinking you desperately need statins.

[greygoose in reply to Strayspark]

They do indeed, because they get funding points, or whatever they are, for prescribing them. How long have you been taking them? Might not be a good idea to go cold turkey, you might have to wean yourself off them. Don't really know, because I've never taken them.

As for the blood pressure pills, is your blood pressure very high? It could be high because you're hypo. Get your thyroid levels optimised, and then see if you still need them. It's possible you won't. Do they even help? What are they? Beta-blockers?

[Strayspark in reply to greygoose]

hi greygoose

Ive only been taking the statins for 2 months and about the same time for the blood pressure pills, to be honest I dont think GP's have a clue about hypothyroidism and thats the problem, I told my GP that I collapsed one morning as I got up, my arms and legs went to jelly and I couldn't stop myself from falling, my GP said dont worry about it and if it happens again tell me. I also told my GP that I get a woozy head and have episodes of feeling faint, I felt like he brushes it aside.

[greygoose in reply to Strayspark]

Hmmm... those episodes could be due to low nutrient levels. Have you had your vit D, vit B12, folate and ferritin tested?

But, you're right, doctors know very, very little about thyroid as a general rule, and they don't care, either!

For the statins, it's your decision, but if it were me, I would wean myself off them.

[Stray in reply to greygoose]

I have never been tested for those, thank you.

[greygoose in reply to Stray]

You're welcome.

[SmallBlueThing in reply to Strayspark]

I was on 20 mg Atorvastatin for four months after a year or so of Simvastatin. I believe the Atorvastatin sapped my motivation and was responsible for cognitive issues. I wasn't given any advice about stopping it, and suffered headaches, but regained some of what I'd lost.

Your blood pressure is high and could take a long time to control if they have to investigate endocrine causes, or if you are hoping current conventional thyroid treatment will do the trick. You would put yourself at greater risk by stopping treatment for your hypertension.

[Stray in reply to SmallBlueThing]

OK thanks

[humanbean]

If you want to know what cholesterol is used for in the body, you should watch this video.

vimeo.com/3818805

I must admit I find the voice over difficult to listen to because the man speaks too quickly for me. But the diagram which shows what cholesterol is used for is well worth studying even if you can't take in the blurb being spoken.

[greygoose in reply to humanbean]

Great video, HB. Explains a lot! I've always been low in cortisol - no help from doctors, there! They just say, cholesterol can never be too low!!! Shows how much they know!

[humanbean in reply to greygoose]

Yes, I thought it was a brilliant video. I just wish the man would talk a bit more slowly!

[greygoose in reply to humanbean]

There was just one word I couldn't catch. But, for me, the difficulty was recognising words pronounced that I've only seen on paper before! lol

[Marz]

Check out - What really causes Heart Disease - on Dr Malcolm Kendricks Blogs ....

drmalcolmkendrick.org

Cholesterol is mostly made in the body so it is there for a reason. Do you know that statins also block the VitK2 pathway - which is responsible for directing calcium away from the bloodstream into the bones and teeth. So when on statins the calcium is left to circulate in the bloodstream and cause blocked arteries - now there's a thought. Statins also block the pathway for CoQ10 - something that is needed for the energy of EVERY cell in the body - including the cells of the heart. Did your GP prescribe these 2 vitals ? I suspect NOT.

Dr Kendrick wrote the book - The Cholesterol Con - an excellent read. It is all about money I am afraid. Statins have a similar effect as VitD - anti-inflammatory. In fact Big Pharma is floundering with the new generation of statins and have added VitD So now they won't know whether it is the VitD or the Statin that has an anti-inflammatory effect. You couldn't make it up. Please research Statins as much as you possibly can before taking them ....

anh-usa.org/the-grave-dange...

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

Raised blood pressure in itself is not an illness - but a symptom of something else going on in the body. Do you take Magnesium ? Are your thyroid levels optimal ?

As you have gut inflammation I would suggest your vitamins and minerals are not optimal due to mal absorption.

Cholesterol is involved in the production of most hormones and the brain is around 25% cholesterol. With 12 million people in the UK on Statins - is it any wonder brain disorders are on the rise. VitD production from the sun onto the skin will ONLY happen with cholesterol - so there's another reason VitD is so low - too much sun cream blocking the sun and so the production of VitD is inhibited with no cholesterol there when on a statin.

Also check out Zoe Harcombe.

[Stray in reply to Marz]

I don't use sun cream, only coconut oil, I take probiotics and cod liver oil daily and love the sun, maybe I should show you my blood results from January

[bluebug in reply to Stray]

You don't need to NOT use sun cream to have problems - if you are inside too much - and many people now are due to change in lifestyle in developed countries - then your body isn't going to be able to utilise the sun to make vitamin D.

[Marz in reply to Stray]

Stray - if you have results to post please do. Did you look at any of the links I posted for you ? I have a research piece on people dying in hospital who had LOW cholesterol - not high. Have you read up on Magnesium and the heart ? LDL and HDL is NOT cholesterol - that is media jargon to capture the public's imagination. LDL = Low Density Lipo Protein and HDL = High Density Lipo Protein - so they are both Proteins that transport cholesterol to and from the liver. Also Cholesterol is a Chemical - so cannot be good AND bad !

Dr Kendrick discusses the above in his book - he was also a speaker at the Thyroid Conference almost two years ago - which I attended. I wrote down those key points at the time so they have stayed with me !

Before Thyroid Testing came into being in the early 70's - anyone with raised cholesterol had their thyroids treated

[Stray in reply to Marz]

Yes I did look at a link and I did post my blood results I had done in January, but I may have done something wrong. I was a member a while ago but was and am working full time so don't have much spare time, I forgot my password and user name so rejoined as strayspark , I think the blood results are under strayspark when I use my laptop but on my phone I seem to be called stray, but I want to say thank you for all your info.

[Hidden]

I've always heard that higher HDL cholesterol is good and lower LDLIis good but the point is really the shape of the cholesterol...is it fluffy?! If its big and fluffy you're fine. If its small and dense its not. But, the doctors don't tell you that of course. I think its fine to eat cholesterol as long as its not damaged, thats why I eat raw egg yolks everyday

That way your body will recognizeIit and downregulate liver production. Interestingly, a diet high in PUFAs, eg vegetable oil and margarine, too many nuts, almond flour etc which are supposedly sooo healthy are the things which cause cholesterol to get small and dense.

I also read that a sudden drop in cholesterol, associated with eating "cholesterol lowering" foods, is in fact indicative of the cholesterol being driven into the cells, a toxic effect - not lowering it, just hiding it!!

As for high blood pressure, I have high blood pressure - I will not be taking statins for it. Potassium can lower blood pressure, its cheap to buy on amazon (or just eat bananas to be safer!)

It could be a cortisol problem, my diet and exercise was great and I was stressing my tired adrenals and forcing them to pump out cortisol. Maybe eat a little bit more often (banana every 2 hrs? ) and if you're avoiding salt give that up too, coz salt is important even if you have high BP. Have an optimal amount of 1 tsp a day.

Hope this is helpful - I'm not an expert obviously but the doctors have been told to sell drugs so who do you trust these days.

[Stray in reply to Hidden]

Thank you, I love bananas and thanks for all the info.

[Hidden in reply to Stray]

Himalayan pink rock salt is wonderful tasting and full of good minerals x

[Stray in reply to Hidden]

Thank you

[Hidden in reply to Stray]

I buy mine from Homesense stores. It's a good quality and in it's own grinder and only £4.00. You only need a small amount on your food. I promise you will never return to any other type. I did not use any salt for years and then discovered this. Slowly I am converting the people I know by taking them some as a gift when I visit.x

[Joyia in reply to Hidden]

You have cheered me up superparrot, my BP tends to be high these days but I refuse to take anything for it but do wonder sometimes if I am doing the right thing. Certainly statins are a huge no no. Years ago my Dr persuaded me to take Atenolol for raised BP, eventually I ended up in hospital with a heart rate of 34 solely caused by this drug. I have never taken anything since. I had a stressful car journey this Monday and when I arrived home my BP was 185/103, I did not feel my best. The next morning it was 148/87, it does pay to take your BP three times a day if you are concerned to see how it fluctuates. As an elderly person I am avoiding like crazy getting too involved with GP's as once they get you on one drug you end up with others due to side effects, for me side stepping has become an art and I hope it stays that way. My biggest fear is ending up in hospital being pumped full of ghastly medication, hopefully I can outwit the system!

[Stray in reply to Joyia]

Good for you