I got my yearly test results today TSH 4.95 (.40- 4.50) so a little low I am .75 levothyroxin and have been on varying doses of thyroid since age 18 I will be 66 next month I have been also taking 8.3 mic of T3 for the past few years.
My cholesterol is now 243! and should be less than 150! HDL 72 and LDL 244. Non HDL 276. Not sure what all those mean
Triglycerides were 153 and should be less than 150 High Cholesterol runs in my family. I am thin (95 pounds) and walk 5- 7 miles a day. I do eat meat and probably too many sweets but would appreciate any tips on lowering my cholesterol without taking statins if possible. I am care giver to my three grandchildren ages 7,4 and 2 and hope to be around for them. for a bit longer. My dad died of a heart attack at 68 and he was thin and active like me.
Will upping thyroid meds a notch lower cholesterol? Not sure if I should post this here or in another place
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debbiegreco
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Good to post it here, because we know that high cholesterol is a symptom of hypothyroidism/under-medication. You are very under-medicated to have a TSH of 4.95. When taking thyroid hormone replacement (levo/T3) it should come down to 1 or under. Was anything else tested apart from TSH?
Cholesterol levels have nothing to do with what you eat, it's made in the liver. And nothing to do with being fat or thin. It's to do with the level of your FT3. And, high cholesterol has nothing to do with heart attacks or strokes. But low FT3 does. So, I would say you need to increase your dose of T3 - although you should really get it tested first.
Thanks for the reply and the tips. I actually made a typo and my cholesterol was 343 not 243. Definitely going to read up on diet. I thought whole grains and seed oils were good!
I am hoping my dr will up my levo a bit and that will help too
My cholesterol is 3.5 but my GP seems unconcerned about it. I am about a size 12 and I am not that thin and eat a well balanced diet. I do eat real butter and whole milk because I prefer it and I do avoid fast food and sugar when I can. I think your TSH is too high and should be 1 or lower mine is 0.70 but I do have Graves' disease so that might be the reason.
Based on your name I assume you are female. According to those graphs the higher the total cholesterol is for women the lower their overall mortality is.
Pharma companies constantly perform magic tricks on people :
They pick a condition, such as heart disease, they give people a drug, manipulate the data, and then :
Drum roll !
They say that taking drug XYZ will lower your risk of getting a heart attack. But people don't notice that they don't actually say that it reduces people's risk of dying overall.
If I am at risk of dying from a heart attack or cancer or dementia I would prefer to die of a heart attack - it gets it over with quicker, and is less likely to require me to spend months in agony which I know won't be treated adequately, or to have my intellect disappear over the course of years.
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