hi does anyone have a high cholesterol level at all.
cholesterol : hi does anyone have a high... - Thyroid UK
cholesterol
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pabhoo
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Yes, I’ve had high cholesterol since I was in my early 30’s. Even with adequate thyroid treatment it has not reduced unless I take statins.
Clemmie
I cant take statins... they out me on statins a few yrs ago. I couldn't walk after 3 days !
I was exactly the same as you - I started them as we went on Holliday in our camper after three days I could barely walk.
I have Graves and I realised that when my TSH was really low then so was my cholesterol, now that my TSH has crept up to nearly 4 - but still within range but my body doesn’t feel as good as it did when my TSH was around 1. Being ‘in range’ is no use when you are obviously not at your optimal point within their stupid range.
My cholesterol is high. I mentioned that to my GP last time it was mentioned - she acknowledged the link but left it at that. Next time I am offered statins I’m going to push for a trial of levothyroxine and see if that reduces my cholesterol.
There was an article in the Mail where they found porridge worked better than statins for lowering cholesterol. When mine was high I had it every morning, made with water and 2 sweetners. I point blank refused statins.
Same here no matter what I eat.Gp said it's genetic and have a score of 8 out of 10 so on the high scale. Wants me on statins but reluctant to take them.
If you are on levo thyroxine but under treated (not enough levo) your cholesterol can be raised. This happened to me and once I had a higher dose of levo my cholesterol level fell. it is the same with kidney function (GFR) it was 58, now over 60 and also for heart rate. Well before hypo diagnosis my heart rate was 72 it fell to 57 when hypo. Now it is about 64 thanks to addition of T3. Being hypo means all your bodily functions slow down. Try telling that to the medics!!
oo dont I know that one....I take 50 mg per day. I need it upping. but as u know they wont do that or any other tests.
I've just got a test fron thriva
Once you get your results post them on here for comment/help
How long have you only been on starter dose of Levothyroxine?
When were thyroid levels last tested?
Add results and ranges if you have them
For full Thyroid evaluation you need TSH, FT4 and FT3 plus both TPO and TG thyroid antibodies tested. Also extremely important to test vitamin D, folate, ferritin and B12
Low vitamin levels are extremely common, especially if Thyroid antibodies are raised
Recommended on here that all thyroid blood tests should ideally be done as early as possible in morning and fasting. Last Levothyroxine dose should be 24 hours prior to test, (taking delayed dose immediately after blood draw). This gives highest TSH, lowest FT4 and most consistent results. (Patient to patient tip, best not mentioned to GP or phlebotomist)
Private tests are available. Thousands on here forced to do this as NHS often refuses to test FT3 or antibodies or all vitamins
thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/testin...
Medichecks Thyroid plus ultra vitamin or Blue Horizon Thyroid plus eleven are the most popular choice. DIY finger prick test or option to pay extra for private blood draw. Both companies often have special offers, Medichecks usually have offers on Thursdays, Blue Horizon its more random
High cholesterol may be linked to being under treated and hypothyroid
nhs.uk/conditions/statins/c...
If you have an underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism), treatment may be delayed until this problem is treated. This is because having an underactive thyroid can lead to an increased cholesterol level, and treating hypothyroidism may cause your cholesterol level to decrease, without the need for statins. Statins are also more likely to cause muscle damage in people with an underactive thyroid.
This sums me up completely. Medichecks kit arrived, testing booked for tomorrow. Why won't GPS give the info you have? I've been really invalidated over the years.
Yes and after 9 months it’s gone up from 7.2 to 8 - so doc said try bit of t3 (will see after 6 weeks if has helped).
cant get sweet f.a of doc
Yes. Statins made me feel very unwell. But they work for a lot of people, I just seem to react badly to a lot of meds ( and foods)
Margjeans• in reply to
A friend of ours at the bowling club,nearly died on statins,affected his liver. I kept telling him to stop taking them when he was complaining about his muscle aches and pain. Mine is 8but has been as high as 11 and I am 83 ,still here.
cholesterol up to 240 is not problem . It is advisable to reduce it with proper diet rather that taking medicines unless it it too high.
pabhoo• in reply to
I dont eat fat (or as little as possible ) I dont have sugar. I use plant spread as in vitality.and benacol
i eat quite a bit of fruit and veg.. no red meat unless it is very lean.
just so fed up
Just been advised to add more soluble fibre to my daily diet to reduce cholesterol.
Diet only contributes minimally according to my endocrinologist. As others have stated there are lots of reasons why cholesterol levels increase.
When hypothyroid we tend to need lots of good protein and good fats, like coconut, olive oil, avacados, nuts etc
Low carbohydrate and obviously if have Hashimoto's it's highly likely to be gluten intolerant
You might like to read The Great cholesterol con by Dr Mckendrick.
Or his article here about thyroid, would be amusing if it wasn't so true for thousands of patients
drmalcolmkendrick.org/2015/...
Thanks so much...these articles are full of honesty, common sense and humour. I deplore the lack of humanity, trust and truth that pervades contemporary medicine, and Dr. Kendrick redresses the balance.
I have been taking fish oil and spirulina, spirulina is good for the thyroid, digestion and an excellent fat burner. Both are very good for the heart and overall health. Coq10 might be worth taking a look at, just a suggestion.
Dietary fat is not the culprit. In October, 2017, my total cholesterol was 230, HDL was 58, and LDL was 150. In December I want on a low-carbohydrate diet which places no restriction on fats and protein. My most recent test shows total cholesterol of 200, HDL of 57, and LDL of 120. My triglycerides have always been low: 112 in 2017 and now at 111. Oh, and I have lost 40 pounds.
• in reply topabhoo
I am in the same chapter. It is so frustrating!
My cholesterol level is higher than doctors would like but I was really ill on statins , whole of spine gradually stiffened so I couldn’t turn my head and walking was agony. When doctors reduce my Levothyroxine to try to get TSH in range rather than suppressed, my cholesterol goes far too high. Now under care of Endocrinologist I have Levothyroxine plus T3, cholesterol still slightly high.
Yes. 7.2 and feel awful while eating really healthily. Body can't tolerate statins but new GP has given me simvastatin one tab a week. After a month I feel fractionally less congested. Medicines thyroid bloods tomorrow.
Hi Anne1483,
I took different stains at 80mg and they were all very bad for me, so the GP put me on Simvastatin 10mg, which seemed to work better. Then I had a medicines review when I picked up my repeat prescription from Boots the Chemist. The pharmacist asked me if i had any arm pains - and I did have terrible constant pain in my left arm & shoulder & both of my feet. It was all due to the low-dose statin, but it came on gradually over about nine months. I stopped taking it immediately but it still took about nine months to stop being painful. Just telling you to be careful and check what's happening.
Exactly the same thing. I took simvastatin a few years ago and, as you say, it crept up on me. Couldn't raise my arms above shoulder height. Rest of joints also painful. I'm hoping the once a week dose won't have the same effect.
that's the one I had I couldn't walk after 3 days
I've had high "good" cholesterol for years. My "bad" cholesterol used to be almost non-existent, but is now slightly over the preferred range. If it turns out that I have gall stones (which I suspect), that's probably where they have come from (as my blood tests show that the other thing that gall stones often develop from is actually at a low level). Have changed diet over the last week to try to get the bad cholesterol down again. No more snacking on pork pies and scotch eggs, much less red meat (which I was intending anyway). Will be eating more nuts again, and trying to get into the habit of oily fish and fresh fruit, although if the latter is more than a couple of grapefruit a week I'd be surprised. I'm not big on fruit, other than when soft fruit is ripe in the garden. I was under-medicated on levothyroxine (if I took more I didn't feel good), so recently moved to NDT. I'm hoping that as I up my NDT (just doubled from half a grain to a grain per day) that will help reduce the cholesterol level.
Yes I did before my TSH entered normal range despite eating a healthy diet and exercising as much as was possible with a dicky thyroid. I am now an old duffer with cholesterol of 4.5.
Yes. Ever since being on levothyroxine.
There is much research however that shows that women are more likely to die from low cholesterol and live very well in the higher ranges - as defined by our allopathic system
Remember that the 'good/bad' cholesterol myth that is 'sold' to us, is untrue.
If you are unaware of this and would like more info, happy to share.
One great resource is greenmedinfo.com, which is the largest database of natural scientific research in the world. You can access a great deal for free, but more detail as a subscriber. They send out excellent daily informative emails on all kinds of natural health matters, inc new research. Great for keeping up to date.
Another go-to source for me is Dr Mercola (mercola.com) who too has a wide range of excellent resources and health research to explore on general health matters.
MG x
Please do share the good/bad info. My understanding has been that HDL wants to be high, and LDL wants to be low. Is that not the case?
Have PM'd you with some links to explore this further... MG x
Real grateful if you could send me links re good/bad cholesterol please.
Thanks MaiseyGrace 😊
Hi there....
In addition to the websites I mentioned in the main post, Here are some links you may like to explore...
coconutoil.com/statin-scam-...
articles.mercola.com/sites/...
I won't overwhelm you with info, I think the two above will give you a good starting point to challenge the myth of 'bad' cholesterol.
We must always consider who benefits (cui bono) that something is pushed upon us with massive marketing campaigns
Hope that helps.
Thank you MaiseyGrace - I’ll go have a read 😊
I'll look at that thanks
Mine was, oddly; I think; it went down when I cut right down on sugar. It has since gone up again but I knew from this forum that it can be high if you're hypo.
I'm in the U.S. My LDL was high, and my HDL too low. Doc told me it wasn't the meat/poultry I ate, but all the sugars and refined carbs. So, reducing those has helped mine.
And yet when our overall cholesterol is high, often they don't tell you values for hdl and ldl here in the UK, the nurse (that's who I've had to see in the past about cholesterol) asks if we eat a lot of takeaways, ready meals, butter, cheese but never how much sugar.
The doc told me white flour is a culprit as well. Also, especially if you like pastries, or biscuits, those commercially prepared ones tend to have more saturated fat as well.
well that doesnt surprise me at all -the NHS are very far behind in any nutritional knowledge and just churn out the same old same old
I gave up sugar, cakes, ice cream, etc. Energy levels are a lot better, calmer mood, best thing anybody could do. I also use Himalayan salt rather than ordinary table salt which I believe goes a long way to helping with high cholesterol levels.
I also believe that too much salt causes inflammation of the arteries which of course can happen in connection with higher than normal cholesterol levels.
No high cholesterol here. I haven't ever heard a connection of the two. Have you? I have heard that those of us with Hashimotos have a higher chance of diabetes which I found interesting. I was surprised when I went to the endocrine doctor that they specialize in diabetes and thyroid. The two are connected.
I have high cholesterol
Hi reallyfedup123, can you please give me a link to the "red head" info
Look it up on Google, there are all sorts of info on genetics. All the best.
None of my family have high cholesterol we have plenty of red hair though and lots of auto immune problems too.
Hi Pabhoo, I’ve high cholesterol and you’re right there is a connection. My endocrinologist tested mine, I already knew it was high from a work 360 heath screening (think it’s about 7) but it’s come down a little.
I’m slim, have a BMI of 20.8 so I was confused why I’d high cholesterol. I’m leaving it alone and hoping as my dose and control of Hashi improves the cholesterol issue also resolves.
Good luck.
Food rich in probiotics lower --- LDL , Vldl ,tryglycerides and elevatehdl cholesterol . High fat diet causes loss of probiotics . and disturb gut bacteria . Food consisting of low fat , low sugar .high quantity of fruits and vegetables .with Complex fibers and increased fermented dairy products promotes healthy gut micro bacteria.as a general rule .
JumpJiving• in reply to
Along with all sorts of other changes, I thought I'd take a probiotic recently to see if it helped with absorption of vitamins etc (not that it would be possible to point a finger at it and definitively say "that made the difference"). I thought I'd try a probiotic drink now that there are lactose-free ones available (I'm allergic to lactose). One dose of Biomel and blimey, what a difference. Not necessarily to absorption, but to how my rear end works. It was efficient already, but now... Enough said. That was one dose. They recommend one or two per day for 14 days. I might leave that for another time given the effect one dose had. For anybody wanting to try a probiotic, but without the risk of capsules releasing their content before swallowing (that is one horrible, horrible taste, never to be forgotten), I'd say Biomel drink is worth a try.
• in reply toJumpJiving
Even thin butter milk made from the curds minus fat by removing the upper layer of cream ,by adding four glasses of water to one glass of curds , taken daily gives enough probiotics and reduces cholesterol naturally . It is better than the supplements from market which contain preservatives .This butter milk acts as a natural laxative and its regular use helps weight loss also .It quenches thirst and abates hunger pangs , thus helps in reducing the extra intake of food . You can add a few leaves of coriander and a pinch of salt to give flavor and taste which is optional.
Thanks for that, I'll google it to find out if it still holds true 
I have high cholesterol and have had a heart attack, I take statins but several of them have not agreed with me at all. I was put on an 80mg one after the heart attack and was violently ill. I am now om a 5mg one and I can just tolerate it but have muscle pains and weakness.
Ok, will do
Hi there. I’ve had high cholesterol for quite a few years, all the time i was struggling taking Levothyroxine. But...since i’ve been using NDT and my hypothyroidism has settled down, my cholesterol levels are down to 5.2. Do you think your thyroid meds are working well for you? Are your levels satisfactory?
Endo last week told me my long term high cholesterol was definitely because of being under medicated for years!!
It's still worth looking into though, interesting too.
For anyone reading this thread that is concerned about their cholesterol, eating low fat, and/or taking statins, you might find the following links of interest :
spacedoc.com/articles/50-fa...
tandfonline.com/doi/full/10...
Title of above link : LDL-C does not cause cardiovascular disease: a comprehensive review of the current literature
And to answer the question in the first post in the thread, yes, I have high cholesterol, but I don't worry about it at all.
I don't take statins and nothing would convince me now that they were ever a good idea for anyone. The body needs cholesterol for all sorts of things and the largest amount of cholesterol to be found in the body is in the brain. I think people reduce cholesterol at their peril.
I also eat a high fat, moderate protein, low carbohydrate diet. I haven't lost any weight but I feel a lot better than I do if I go back to a low fat, low/moderate protein, high carbohydrate diet.
Thanks so much for pointing out this study...it supports all my own instincts about statins and the obsession with their use.
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