Cholesterol numbers

[Portia1974]

Hi All

Am hoping, as raised cholesterol can be a thyroid symptom, that someone here may be able to help with this? The first set of numbers are from Feb 2018 the second from June 2018. Is that an unremarkable increase or a marked increase? As in has it crept up a little bit or way more than you would expect in 12 weeks? Have no idea on cholesterol. New area for me!

Triglycerides (Range < 1.7 mmol/L) 1.15 then 1.14

Cholesterol (< 5 mmol/L) 4.81 then 5.74

HDL Cholesterol (Range > 1 mmol/L) 1.42 then 1.52

LDL Cholesterol (Range < 3 mmol/L) 2.87 then 3.7

Non HDL Cholesterol< 4 mmol/L3.44.22

I do not eat an unhealthy diet and during this 12 week period we have been concentrating on lean protein with (no added fat) and salad or green vegetables. My weight at the time of the first set of numbers was recorded as 12 st (76kg). In the last 12 weeks it has gone up to 13 st despite careful monitoring of food intake. For years though, my weight was a steady 10st 10lbs. Started creeping up at start of 2017 and seems to have gained momentum.

I've sent for a medichecks test to include thyroid antibodies which hopefully arrives tomorrow. TSH, Free T4 and Free T3 are borderline I'm told by the lovely folk on here. Reading the symptom list is like I wrote it myself. But bloods are not overtly hypo. It's mainly the cholesterol I am asking about today.

Thanks in advance!

[greygoose]

I cannot tell you if your rise in cholesterol is to be expected or not, these things are rarely predictable, but I can tell you it has little to do with your diet in general, and absolutely nothing to do with eating fat. Fat and cholesterol are two different substances, and fat does not magically turn into cholesterol when you eat it.

So, do not cut fat out of your diet, continue to eat good quantities of the good fats, like olive oil, animal fat, avocados, nuts, etc. Your body needs it.

Cholesterol is made in the liver. And it's made in the liver because your body needs it - cholesterol does not cause heart attacks or strokes. The reason hypos have high cholesterol is because when the T3 is low, the body cannot process cholesterol correctly, and it mounts up in the blood.

So, not much more one can say without seeing your blood test results.

[greygoose in reply to greygoose]

Just looked at your last post, and couldn't see any FT4 or FT3 results, just TSH, which were euthyroid. But, as everyone said, you cannot judge by a TSH alone.

[Portia1974 in reply to greygoose]

Hi greygoose

They are in the last post but to save you scrolling, here they are:

May 2007 - TSH 1.31 - (Range 0.3-5.6 mu/L)

Jun 2010 - TSH 0.67 - (Range 0.3-5.6 mu/L)

Free T4 9 (Range 6.3-14pmol/L)

Jul 2014 - TSH 1.21 - (Range 0.3-5.6 mu/L)

Free T4 9.5 (Range 6.3-14pmol/L)

Apr 2015 - TSH 1.21 - (Range 0.3-5.6 mu/L)

Apr 2016 - TSH 1.48 - (Range 0.3-5.6 mu/L)

Feb 2018 - TSH 4.43 - (Range 0.3-5.6 mu/L)

Jun 2018 - TSH 2.56 - (Range 0.27-4.20 mIU/L)

Free T4 13.5 - (Range 12-22 pmol/L)

Free T3 3.34 - (Range 3.10-6.80 pmol/L)

[Portia1974 in reply to greygoose]

free T3 and T4 only on most recent test. June 2018.

[greygoose in reply to Portia1974]

Oh, yes! There was the odd FT4. I missed those, sorry.

But, your test in June is not border-line at all. Your FT3 is very very low. So, that really would account for the high cholesterol.

The problem is that, whilst your TSH is saying your thyroid really isn't happy at all, it's not high enough to interest a doctor. The NHS likes the TSH to go above 10 before it will diagnose! Which is rediculous, but that's the way it is. So, unless your Frees go under-range on your next test, there's not much hope of getting a diagnosis. Because it doesn't look as if your TSH is ever going to rise very high. Which could, of course, indicate a pituitary problem. But GPs know nothing about that, and are hard to convince.

Let's wait and see what the next test says, it might give you more ammunition. Because a high cholesterol is not going to convince them! They'll just want to put you on statins. They know nothing about the connection between hypo and high cholesterol, I'm afraid.

[Portia1974 in reply to greygoose]

Thanks. I am experienced in GPs reluctance to basically do anything about anything, lol! Can you elaborate a little on the pituitary connection? Perhaps point me in the direction of some reading material please?

[greygoose in reply to Portia1974]

Certainly. The pituitary connection would be what we call Central hypo. With Central hypo, the problem lies with the pituitary (Secondary hypo) or the hypothalamus (Tertiary hypo) rather than the thyroid itself (Primary hypo). And what it means is that the pituitary can never really produce enough TSH to stimulate the thyroid to make enough hormone. So, the Frees get lower and lower, but the TSH doesn't reflex their levels, it stays low.

Doctors think this is very rare so never test for it. But, anything will be rare if you never test for it! And, according to what I've seen on here, it's not as rare as all that.

The difficultly with Central hypo is that it doesn't just affect the TSH. The pituitary makes a lot of other hormones, and they could all be low, which will affect the adrenals and all sorts of other things. So, it needs to be tested for, and all the other hormones supplemented, too. A GP can't do those tests, so you have to be referred to an endo. But, of course, you first have to convince your GP! So, you really need to know what you're talking about.

Here's an article to get you started in your reading :

endocrinologyadvisor.com/en...

[Portia1974 in reply to greygoose]

That is a really clear explanation...thank you! Off to fall down yet another hormone research rabbit hole! Thanks for the link!

[greygoose in reply to Portia1974]

You're welcome. Good luck!