Hello!
So my husband (36) has recently tested his cholesterol which mostly came back over range. He has no known other conditions and is otherwise healthy. He does smoke though.
What I've read in passing on here is different to what I'm finding on Google and I'm keen to get a full picture.
Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Look at getting FULL thyroid testing done
TSH, Ft4, Ft3 and both TPO and TG antibodies
Always test as early as possible in morning before eating or drinking anything other than water
High cholesterol often linked to low thyroid
B12 and folate test failed unfortunately
Ferritin and testosterone are quite low
What’s his diet like
Vitamin D ok …does he supplement?
He got credit because the B12, folate, and diabetes failed so he's reordered and added in thyroid. He does that on Monday morning so hopefully we'll get the results in a few days.
Not sure I could cope with 2 of us with a thyroid issue!! 🤦🏻♀️
He doesn't supplement anything. He's going to do vit D to get his levels up though.
There are quite a few members whose partner also is hypothyroid
Have you had testing for H pylori?
endocrine-abstracts.org/ea/...
drhedberg.com/hashimotos-th...
No, I never have. I've been tempted to find out though. Just put off by the extra cost!
It's on the list though. Along with DIO2!
Ask GP for H Pylori test
nhs.uk/conditions/stomach-u...
thyroidpharmacist.com/artic...
DIO2 you will have to test yourself….NHS don’t offer it (yet)
He got his other results today:
Active B12 - 47 - (37.5 - 188)
Folate - 9.4 - (8.83 - 60.8)
TSH - 1.73 - (0.270 - 4.2)
FT4 - 14.6 - (12 - 22)
FT3 - 5.6 (3.1 - 6.8)
TPOab - 12.1 - (0 - 115)
TGab - 12.4 - (0 - 34)
He is now supplementing with Vit D, K2, magnesium, B12, and B-complex!
Asked him to check re: PA symptoms before starting to supplement but he doesn't have any so suspect he's just low on them.
Is he vegetarian or vegan
B12 and folate are both VERY low
Ferritin is also on low side for a bloke
Retest thyroid in 6 months after improving low vitamin levels
supplementing a good quality daily vitamin B complex, one with folate in (not folic acid) may be beneficial.
This can help keep all B vitamins in balance and will help improve B12 levels too
Difference between folate and folic acid
chriskresser.com/folate-vs-...
B vitamins best taken after breakfast
Thorne Basic B is a recommended option that contains folate, but is large capsule. You can tip powder out if can’t swallow capsule
Or Jarrow B12
Igennus Super B is good quality and cheap vitamin B complex. Contains folate. Full dose is two tablets per day. Many/most people may only need one tablet per day. Certainly only start on one per day (or even half tablet per day for first couple of weeks)
IMPORTANT......If you are taking vitamin B complex, or any supplements containing biotin, remember to stop these 7 days before ALL BLOOD TESTS , as biotin can falsely affect test results
endo.confex.com/endo/2016en...
endocrinenews.endocrine.org...
Low B12 symptoms
b12deficiency.info/signs-an...
If serum B12 result below 500, (Or active B12 below 70) recommended to be taking a B12 supplement as well as a B Complex (to balance all the B vitamins) initially for first 2-4 months, then once your serum B12 is over 500 (or Active B12 level has reached 70), stop the B12 and just carry on with the B Complex.
B12 sublingual lozenges
amazon.co.uk/Jarrow-Methylc...
If you want to know about cholesterol, I would suggest you seek out Dr Malcolm Kendrick, his blog and his book 'The Great Cholesterol Con'.
Has your husband been tested for thyroid? High cholesterol is usually related to low thyroid hormone - specifically low T3, the active hormone.
Most of what you find on-line are sites that toe the official party line on cholesterol - i.e. that it's to do with diet - and yes, sometimes it is linked to smoking, but I'm really not sure about that. It's difficult to find anyone that will tell you that cholesterol is made in the liver, and it's made in the liver for a reason: the body needs it. Your brain is mostly made up of cholesterol and cell walls are made of cholesterol. Without it, you would fall to pieces! But high cholesterol is not usually because the liver is over-producing - nor that you're eating too much! - but because for one reason or another, you body is not processing it well, and it is building up in the blood.
The liver tries to keep cholesterol production steady. So, the more you get in your diet, the less it makes. If you cut down on cholesterol-rich food, the liver will just make more. And, there is no connection to the fat in your diet and cholesterol levels. They are two entirely different substances, and fat does not turn into cholesterol when you eat it. 
What's more, there's no such thing as 'good' and 'bad' cholesterol. That is a lie concocted by Big Pharma to scare people into taking statins. When they do a blood test for cholesterol, they don't actually measure the cholesterol itself, but the protein carriers in the blood. Protein carriers cannot be good or bad, they just have different jobs.
And, in any case, high cholesterol levels do not cause heart attacks or strokes. Cholesterol is nature's sticking plaster. When arteries are dammaged by inflammation, cholesterol comes along and covers up the dammage while it heals. Once the artery has healed, the cholesterol is absorbed into the cell wall. It does not hang around and block the artery. So, heart attacks and strokes are caused by inflammation, and you'd be better off taking high doses of vitamin C than statins, to avoid/repair dammage to the arteries.
Not sure there's anything else I can tell you. But, if you have any questions about all that, don't hesitate to ask.
A Well laid out post.
At least there are a few of us that are beyond the Cholesterol Scam!
Wonderful. Thank you so much! I feel like I have a much better idea of things now. Very much appreciated.
You're very welcome.
Interesting. My husband is always cold, gets very little sleep and has other symptoms of hypothyroidism. He takes statins and BP meds.
He has a routine review every year to measure his BP and cholesterol levels. How much time would it take to test thyroid function? There must be thousands of people like him.
I'm sure there are thousands like him! Has he ever had his thyroid tested? In my opinion, it should be the first thing doctors test for, because low thyroid can cause so many other problems, but in reality, it's usually the last.
OH has Familial hypercholesterolemia which is a different kettle of fish caused by a faulty gene.
Even so, it's not normal to be permanently cold.
How do they test for Familial hypercholesterolemia?
heartuk.org.uk/cholesterol/...
Well, that's all very vague. Sounds like an awful lot of supposition, to me.
Yes, Read what GreyGoose recommends...Malcolm Kendrick also had a video on his webiste called Statin Nation, however it seems to have been removed...maybe the BigPharma at work here!
Loads of stuff though on You Tube from Malcom Kendrick about Statins / Cholestrol.
This is a link to Dr Kendrick:
google.com/search?client=fi...
drmalcolmkendrick.org/books...
I've just ordered one of his books! Thank you. 🙂
No one on here should try to diagnose so I won't. But I'd broadly agree cholesterol can be the good guy, not bad. And can be a sign of thyroid or kidney issues, for example, so maybe get those checked too.
Re heart, ensure his BP is under control as that can contribute to damage which cholesterol can take advantage of.
My mum's tot cholesterol is 7.2 but her BP good
He's testing thyroid this week. I don't think he's got symptoms of anything kidney wise but I'll let him know. Thank you.
Dr Malcolm Kendrick. ‘The Great Cholesterol Con’’.
Looking at those results he is low on many things! which have an impact on Cholesterol creation/uses and impacts you will also find it's trying to increase his Testosterone Which increases your chance of night time pleasures!
His B vits low which along with VitD and most likely B are linked in with Cholesterol
And Folate is very low!
Medications mess it all up like amytrypline as lowers Testosterone/Estrogens
Not sure what results you're looking at! His B12 and folate results failed!
Is he taking statins? Because that will lower his testosterone if he is. You need cholesterol to make sex hormones.
No! He's not on any medication.
Thank you for the recommendation. I had a feeling that was the general feeling I got from the board's but it's nice to have it confirmed.
I really don't worry about cholesterol, personally. The only thing that I take note of is triglycerides, and optimal for this is less than 1. Triglycerides can be reduced with a low sugar/carb diet and reducing alcohol.
Just a bit of a history lesson...
Up until the mid 1990s the top of the range for Total Cholesterol was 7.5, and the population in general had an average level of about 5.5. But Big Pharma wanted to sell statins so the top of the range was reduced to 5. In one stroke they gave well over half the population of the UK high cholesterol and increased their customer base for statins enormously.
How can it be possible for a reference range to exclude the average level of the majority of the population? Easily, if making money is your aim, not good health.
Imagine a scenario in which Big Pharma wanted to sell more anti-thyroid drugs like carbimazole. All they would have to do is change the bottom of the reference range for TSH to about 2, and they'd sell loads.
The more I look into this stuff the scarier the NHS becomes.
I think I would say the medical profession and Big Pharma are the scary ones, not the NHS.
The alternative to the NHS is the private sector who determine treatments based on how much profit they make. I really, really don't want a medical service run on the same lines as the US system, because I can't afford it.
For the last year I’ve been using the Private Sector because the NHS waiting list is so long.
Years ago when I worked I had Private Health Care which I seldom used. I have to say that the system we see now is nothing like the one I knew. They are taking serious advantage of the NHS situation.
Gone are the 50 minute appointments, the shorter waiting times and the attention to detail. The average fee for a 30 minute appt is £200
Covid has been an opportunity to finish the job the government started some time ago. Privatisation of the NHS
I do think the NHS needs radical reform, as it stands it isn't fit for purpose. As you say, long wait times and short appointments aren't conductive to health.
But ultimately healthcare should remain free for everyone. The fact that privatisation of the NHS is happening and is happening quietly frightens me.
It frightens me. I think that the NHS assume that the people using the private sector either have medical insurance or have deep pockets.
This is happening by stealth
Yes. I've gone private for my thyroid health but we earn very well. I am always aware that I am fortunate to do it and it's not fair that I can get the help I need just because I can afford it. It's not right.
Yes, agreed. Big Parma definitely the one to be nervous of. 'NHS' was a clumsy way to say 'the system'. 😂
I quite agree.
Confused about anti bodies. Please can someone look at my results.
Can someone translate for me please?
Can someone help me read my thyroid results please?
please can someone help me with my iron results.. struggling x
