I just got results from Medichecks for cholesterol tests, all seem fine and in range but would appreciate your thoughts if you see anything different.
Total cholesterol - 4.91 (<5.00)
LDL cholesterol - 1.75 (<3.00)
Non HDL cholesterol - 2.02 (<4.00)
HDL cholesterol - 2.89 (>1.30)
Total cholesterol : HDL - 1.70 (<4.00)
Triglycerides - 0.60 (<1.70)
Many thanks!
Doesn't really matter what they are. Cholesterol is not any sort of problem unless it's very low. 
High cholesterol isn’t a problem???
No, not at all. High cholesterol is a symptom, not a disease. And, if you're hypo, then it's pretty certain it's caused by low T3. Cholesterol is made in the liver, because the body needs it, and has little to do with what you eat. And, it's carried round in the blood by protein carriers, which deposit it where it's needed. If your FT3 is low, your body cannot process cholesterol correctly and it mounts up in the blood. But, even so, it doesn't cause heart attacks or strokes. They're caused by inflammation. So, rather than taking statins, take vit C.
Actually, people with higher levels of cholesterol tend to live longer. It's low cholesterol that is dangerous and can provoke heart attacks.
I find your response to ShonaGreen interesting @greygoose. I have written many times about my VERY high cholesterol and yellow deposits around my eyes, and my T3 and T4 are at the top of the range. So your theory doesn't stack up with respect. I am not bothered by he high rate of cholesterol, I believe like you it is not harmful, but I have this unsightly yellow blobs roundly eyes.
It's not MY theory, I'm not clever enough to come up with a theory like that. But, it's what I've read over and over again. But, I've never read anything about yellow deposits around the eyes, so I don't know about that. Have you had your liver investigated?
Yes sorry greygoose , badly worded - sorry. Yes Liver Function test all tickety boo. Such a mystery!
It's really not something I've come across. What does your doctor say about it? Does he have any ideas?
My doctor didn't even know what it was called, and had never heard of it when I told him what it was and that high cholesterol was the cause. So no hope there! He wasn't interested.
One day I will get to the bottom of it, and report back here on HU. Thank you for your response greygoose
Hi Margo, I have those too. It’s called xanthelasma.
My mum got it too when her cholesterol was high. Hers was only at the side of her eyes and gradually disappeared.
Mine go in a curved line under each eye. Rather unsightly. I don’t wear makeup, never have, not going to start now.
I was told by a dermatologist that they could get rid of it.
It’s not free on nhs as it’s considered cosmetic surgery. It costs at least £850 to remove by laser.
I’m seriously considering it as it really shows up (even more when I’m tired or have a headache as my eye area goes darker). But need to save up first. (and feel ok to cope with getting it done). 🤗
That's some name Lovecake - love it! Yes I know you can get rid of them, but would be reluctant to go down that path, as I know that they can come back again. I have replied to Angel_of_the_North, and explained that I haven't always had them, and at one stage they went. Take a look!
I do love cake! Make my own most of the time. It runs in the family, we all make good cake (including my daughter) 😋
My mum’s marks disappeared too.
I read the reply by Angel_of_the_north too.
Very interesting, but also slightly worrying as mine doesn’t seem to be reducing and my cholesterol has lowered slightly.
Now I need to get liver and kidneys checked maybe (am sure kidneys were ok on a check fairly recently).
I don’t take anything except Thyroxine and T3 and the occasional Imigran (sumatriptan). And don’t drink alcohol as it gives me migraines (always been a lightweight with it).
Ah well, another thing to have concern about.
I too have crippling fatigue at times, I have to sleep a minimum of 8hrs a night and am done in if I do too much - which isn’t much! (but that’s maybe another post for me once I get some blood results)
Take care 🤗
Ha ha Lovecake , my immediate thought when I saw that name was perhaps your husband/lover/boyfriend called you that, particularly when he wanted something...... I didn't even think it might be that you "love cakes".....!!!!
I suppose you have no idea why your mum's deposits disappeared?
My liver bloods are fine, but somebody mentioned kidneys. I know I have CKD (Chronic Kidney Disease) stage 2, but I have had that when I have the yellow blobs or not. I really don't get it!
I am seeing a new Endo' (probably a complete waste of time) on Tuesday and will ask him to check my kidney function just to be sure things are not any worse.
I drink wine at weekends, but don't believe that has any bearing on the cholesterol blobs.
Interesting that you are taking T3 and Levo' and still you have them. I took T3 only when I think they may have disappeared. I don't have a thyroid, and have never taken large amounts of medication, it seems I just don't tolerate it, so when on T3 I probably only took one tablet.
The T.V. goes off at 9 p.m. I get ready for bed and try to stay in bed till about 7 a.m., it's vital I get those hours before midnight. I am not always a great sleeper, and sometimes get up in the early hours to take some magnesium to help me conk out for a few more hours. My fatigue isn't to do with late nights, I have never got to the bottom of it, no matter what I take it comes and goes and always has.
Another mystery!
Difficult to ignore cakes with gluten and dairy 🙁
I make gluten and dairy free for me. My daughter makes hers dairy free, so I will eat those (rarely). It’s the dairy that gives me pain.
I meant alcohol for liver function.
I think I had full tests done by my endo and all was ok. It was only 2 years ago, and I had marks round my eyes then, but I would say they are maybe slightly worse, certainly no less.
I only take 2 x 5mcg of T3 per day. Have been doing really well until about 3/4 weeks ago.
I’ll get to the bottom of it, or maybe it will just right itself.......
Our health (or lack of it) certainly keeps us on our toes. 🧁
I am ot a big cake maker, but I make one particular cake which is gluten free. It is Lemon Polenta Cake, with is absolutely delicious. I only use goat dairy produce, it seems to suit me better.
I think it makes a difference if you have or have not a thyroid which medications you take and how you feel.
Xanthelasma? There is some mention of it in the link I posted... I think it says can be linked with cholesterol, but not always.
Xanthelasma/xanthoma. Fatty deposits, possibly cholesterol, but do not correlate with cholesterol blood tests. My cholesterol is lower than yours and I have them - I had them when my cholesterol was less than 4. They are often associated with hypo, liver problems, kidney problems, taking beta-blockers and vit A based meds like retinol.
Thank for your reply Angel_of_the_North , yes I learnt the name a while back. The thing is I haven't always had these yellow deposits. I had them some years back and I am trying to remember what caused them to go, and I think it was when I was taking T3 only, and the yellow blobs disappeared. I was free of them for a few years, and now they are back since being on NDT. I have considered taking a bit of T3 with the NDT but as my T3 levels are right at the top, thought I might be making a mistake.
All of this said, I remember when I saw Dr P and he said your blood results are good, but clearly "it's not getting in", and am wondering if it is the same scenario, and maybe because my gut may not be healthy I am not absorbing my medication, because I still do not feel well and am suffering crippling fatigue at times.
bhf.org.uk/informationsuppo...
I don’t know that people with gene defects causing high cholesterol would agree
Sorry, I'm not reading that. The first sentence is totally wrong, so goodness knows what the rest is like: "Too much fatty food is a cause of high cholesterol for many of us"?
No, too much fatty food is not the cause of high cholesterol. That is utter rubbish. Fat and cholesterol are two entirely different substances, and do not magically turn into each other when they get inside the body.
As I said before, cholesterol is made in the liver. And it's made for a reason: your body needs it. Your body would fall apart if it didn't have cholesterol to hold it together. Cell walls are made of cholesterol. Your brain is made of cholesterol.
And, your cholesterol level has little to do with the amount of cholesterol you consume. The more you get in your food, the less your liver makes. The less you consume, the more the liver makes. But, sometimes, things go wrong and the body cannot process the cholesterol it's made correctly, and it builds up in the blood. One of those reasons - and I didn't say low T3 was the only reason, please note - but one of the reasons is low T3. So, that's the reason one would suspect if someone is hypo. In fact, before the wretched TSH, etc. tests were developed, that was how hypo was diagnosed: high cholesterol.
Certainly, there is a genetic defect that causes high cholesterol to run in families. But, even then, it doesn't cause heart attacks or strokes. Cholesterol does not 'clog up' your arteries. If it is present in the arteries it is there to act as a sort of sticking plaster, to cover up artery damage, while it heals. Without the cholesterol you'd have a heart attack anyway, because the artery was damaged. Cholesterol is just not the enemy. But, it is a scapegoat out of which Big Pharma has made millions!
Have you read any of the research on cholesterol by Dr Kendrick? His books are well worth a read as are his blog posts.
Yes thank you I have. If it’s not in your family I suppose you don’t have to worry about it. Also if you only read information that agrees with your ideas you don’t have to deal with any information that conflicts with this. Sorry that statement was mainly re what the greygoose posted, not your post!
Maybe you should post that in response to what greygoose posted. But, do tell me, how would I only read information that agrees with my ideas? I wouldn't know what it agreed with until I'd read it, would I. And, apparently, that works both ways, because you're not interested in what I had to say, either, because it didn't agree with your ideas.
‘I’m sorry, I’m not reading that’ you started your reply with. I just meant if it runs in your family and you have a lot of people who die at a young age of heart problems and have angina and TIAs, then you may consider it an important issue, irrespective of what the science behind this is. I don’t want to get into a debate on a Saturday morning!! I’ll read anything anyway... I don’t really have fixed views just like to try and understand things.
Well, I'm sorry, too, but I don't have time to waste reading things that start with inaccuracies in the first sentence. It doesn't bode well for the rest of the article, and isn't likely to teach me anything. And, frankly, this really isn't relevant to the thread because the OP obviously doesn't have a genetic defect because her cholesterol levels are fine. So, I don't even know why we're discussing it.
Yes, I don’t want to post a lot of irrelevant stuff or upset anyone, but ShonaGreen had checked her cholesterol and included tags about vascular disease with the post, so I presumed she was more interested in cholesterol and not knowing background or her family history this may have been relevant??????
If you've read Dr Malcolm Kendrick and still aren't convinced, have a read of this man:
spacedoc.com/articles/50-fa...
I am not sure what I should be convinced about, you seem to know better than me what my view is!. I was trying to locate what he said about people with homozygous familial hypercholesterolaemia.... something along the lines of beyond help from my memory, but can’t locate it now in his blog!
No, I don't what your view is at all - why would I? You don't come out and actually say it. But, from what you have said, I get the impression that you disagree with me when I say cholesterol doesn't cause heart attacks. And, that's what I was suggesting you should be convinced about: cholesterol does not cause heart attacks.
But, if you're interested in what does cause heart attacks, then suggested reading is Dr Malcom Kendrick and Dr Broda Barnes.
There is certainly a link between genetic defects of lipid metabolism ie familial hypercholesterolaemia and cardiovascular disease. I don’t see how this can be disputed... for anyone with this family history it can seem glaring when on paper in front of you (family tree). I get that it’s more complex that one isolated thing and that inflammation, smoking, stress, hypertension, insulin resistance, blood coagulation factors, ? homocysteine levels etc etc all play a role. Doesn’t mean you should deny the relevance of one factor. Malcolm Kendrick appears to gloss over this, I am not actually sure about how he deals with it except for a blog he wrote a few years ago stating that people with homozygous hypercholesterolaemia have no hope... it seems as though he may have since deleted (??) as I can’t find it when I searched his blog earlier. Not particularly helpful to a small group of people with this diagnosis. Probably best to focus attention on the researchers/charities/specialists who are researching this area and trying to find treatments which may help, rather than people who deny there is a problem for this group of people who have no doubt that there is.
And look up Peter Attia and read his series on cholesterol - he's a "normal" (not alternative) US cardiologist. peterattiamd.com/category/c... 9 part series
but ShonaGreen had checked her cholesterol and included tags about vascular disease with the post,
I just want to point out that tags are automatically included, that's the way the forum works. We can add them ourselves but I doubt whether many of us bother to do that, we can also remove those automatically included if we wish but again I doubt whether many of us notice them. It's possible that ShonaGreen didn't add those tags and maybe didn't notice them rather than add them herself as it was of concern and relevant.
Hi SeasideSusie , that's right, I didn't know about the tags until I saw them mentioned in one of the responses, will keep an eye out for this next time!
Ah thanks, I didn’t know that!
Thank you for that. I've been vaguely wondering what tags were, but didn't like to ask! lol
I would be very happy with those results
Everything comfortably in range by any consideration.
Also, that HDL is high compared to LDL, the ratio matters but equivalent units needed to actually calculate.
From someone with persistent (doggedly so) high triglycerides! These are a better marker for issues like atherosclerosis, heart disease etc etc. than cholesterol.
I agree with greygoose that dietary cholesterol does not markedly affect blood cholesterol (a little) as it is mainly down to liver.
Exercise is main contributor to increasing HDL and lowering LDL (as is coconut oil and natural plant sterols/stanols)
I would respectfully disagree with grey goose. Too high AND too low can be issues. Right amount is needed for cell walls (and therefore cell renewal repair). 'Low as possible' is not better. Too high LDL IS an issue - as it is 'sticky' and narrows blood vessels. Heart attacks and strokes ARE caused by narrowed arteries as blood flow is compromised and tissue beyond narrowing can be then suddenly starved of oxygen and dies. It never recovers. Brain and heart can recover some function by growing/using compensatory blood vessels/nerve cells.
Again I would respectively disagree with greygoose, I have low range FT3 and low cholesterol.
Triglyceride issues closely linked to calories and sugar in diet (I struggle with both!)
But it seems you don't have any of that to worry about!
To be honest, when my T3 was low, my cholesterol was only top of the range, not over - and when my T3 rose, my cholesterol dropped too low, and the lab that tested it noted that I was in danger of a heart attack! But, there are bound to be individual differences, we can only talk in general. And in general, that's the way it is.
And I have to struggle with my sugar addiction! But it doesn't seem to make any difference.
But, the point is, cholesterol may narrow blood vessels if it is present. But, it wouldn't be present if the blood vessel walls hadn't been damaged. It is that damage one should be worrying about, not the cholesterol that comes along to heal it.
Sugar addiction is so hard isn't it? I don't drive but my local co-op is 5 mins walk and is open from 7am to 10pm. !! I can buy all the good food I like but when the craving hits it is too much temptation.
I have found that if I can be disciplined enough to cut from my diet entirely my craving stops (takes a while) but if I slip up the cravings come back immediately and I have to start all over again.
At my age, I tend to think what the hell, anyway! lol
This is a very good article about cholesterol that lists all the things I forget:
spacedoc.com/articles/50-fa...
I’m still trying to work out why greygoose insisted I require more thyroxine when my tsh is 0.02 !!!! GP is reducing and the British Thyroid association agrees with GP!!!
greygoose will not have seen your reply as she was not tagged
Well, probably because your GP shouldn't be dosing by the TSH. And, I dont care if the British Thyroid association agrees with your GP. But, as I can't find your FT4/3 results, I can't comment further.
Just found your results: FT4 13 (9-21).
So, despite your low TSH, your FT4 is too low to make you well. Ideally, we should always have our FT3 tested, and dose by that. But, as we don't, the next best thing is the FT4, which should be at least over mid-range - yours is well below mid-range - mid-range here being 15. Which I'm pretty sure I explained in the post in which you gave your results. So, if you didn't understand, why didn't you say so at the time?
Look ok to me! 😁
Londinium is on The Cholesterol Support Forum and is also knowledgeable about interpreting results.
I personally think Homocysteine is a better marker for heart events - including TIA's and yet rarely tested in the NHS. I think we know why as only vitamins are required to lower it ... ummm !
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