Cholestrol

Hi everyone, I am new on and would like to ask a question: I have been underactive thyroide for 9 years but I have been having really bad night sweats mentioned it earlier last year to my GP who told me 'you are going through 2nd menapause' your too old for and meds and basically get on with it. Move on 6 months the night sweats are far worse every night, my GP has put me on Cholestrol lowering drugs and I am fed up asking if this could be my Thryroid I am underactive and take 125mg per day for about 5 years now. New bloods just before Christmas and I insisted that the nurse do my Thyroid test aswell (I took no levo for two days before) back to doctors who said my Cholestrol level had gone up again BUT you are now Overactive on the thyroid but that he would leave me on the same dose. Can anyone help me, my friends are amazed that I have been given any thing for High Cholestrol as I have a very good diet, but the night sweats are killing me I am tired and irritable everyday - any help would be great - PS I am 64 and desperate

[SlowDragon Administrator]

Night sweats can be low B12, which is extremely common with hypothyroidism.

b12deficiency.info/signs-an...

Ask GP to test B12, folate, ferritin and vitamin D

See Box 1. Towards end of article

Some possible causes of persistent symptoms in euthyroid patients on L-T4

You will see low vitamin D, folate, ferritin and B12 listed

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi...

High cholesterol is a symptom of hypothyroidism too. Suggests you are under medicated

Do you have Hashimoto's also called autoimmune thyroid disease diagnosed by high antibodies ?

Ever had thyroid antibodies tested? If not ask GP to test

thyroiduk.org/tuk/about_the...

If TSH is low, FT4 high and FT3 low this is typical of low vitamin levels.

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

Dr Toft, past president of the British Thyroid Association and leading endocrinologist, states in Pulse Magazine,

"The appropriate dose of levothyroxine is that which restores euthyroidism and serum TSH to the lower part of the reference range - 0.2-0.5mU/l.

In this case, free thyroxine is likely to be in the upper part of its reference range or even slightly elevated – 18-22pmol/l.

Most patients will feel well in that circumstance. But some need a higher dose of levothyroxine to suppress serum TSH and then the serum-free T4 concentration will be elevated at around 24-28pmol/l.

This 'exogenous subclinical hyperthyroidism' is not dangerous as long as serum T3 is unequivocally normal – that is, serum total around T3 1.7nmol/l (reference range 1.0-2.2nmol/l)."

You can obtain a copy of the articles from Thyroid UK email print it and highlight question 6 to show your doctor

please email Dionne:
[e-mail]

Prof Toft - article just published now saying T3 is likely essential for many

rcpe.ac.uk/sites/default/fi...

[Hidden in reply to SlowDragon]

Thank you I will keep you all informed as I am going back to see the doctor next week and I will do as you suggest above, although my doctors does not respond well to questions on any kind....

[greygoose]

I am tempted to say something very rude about your doctor! 2nd menopause indeed!

You should not be taking statins. High cholesterol is not a disease - it's not even a problem - it's an indication that something is wrong in your body, somewhere. Did you get a print-out of your results? If not, ask for one. If you are in the UK, it is your legal right to have a copy. You need to know exactly what was tested and exactly what the results were.

Your thyroid cannot go from underactive to overactive. It's a physical impossibility. Two possibilities : a) you have high antibodies, which means you have Hashi's b) your doctor doesn't understand how to read labs.

When you get your results, post them here - with the ranges - and let's have a look. See if we can get to the bottom of this.

[Hidden in reply to greygoose]

I always ask for my results but get dirty looks all I remember is him saying my T4 was 4.7, but he seemed more concerned with the Cholestrol. I will ask next week and remember to ask what the results were last November 2016, I mean, and November 2017

Thank you

[greygoose in reply to Hidden]

Don't ask for word of mouth, mistakes can creep in. Ask for a print-out. Ignore the dirty looks, the law is the law, and he doesn't want to break it, does he? Because there are measures you can take...

And, you do need the ranges. The result is meaningless without the range.

Yes, they're always more concerned about cholesterol because they get financial benefit from prescribing statins - and never mind that they are bad for the patient! No way would I take them! The cholesterol won't kill you, but the statins might!