Plant Sterols and Levothyroxine

[celticlady]

Being hypothyroid my cholesterol levels have been quite high-last reading was 7, 2 years ago. Have been using a proactive margerine as don't want to go on statins. Has anyone had any success with plant sterol supplements? Are they tolerated with levothyroxine? Any anecdotal experiences would be appreciated.

[greygoose]

If your cholesterol is high, then your FT3 is probably low. Have you had that tested recently? High cholesterol is a hypo symptoms.

Proactive margerine sounds horrible! And probably useless if your T3 is low. Cholesterol levels have little to do with diet. It's made in the liver - because the body needs it! - and the liver tries to keep levels steady by making more when you eat less, and making less when you eat more. But, when T3 is low, the body cannot process cholesterol properly and it tends to mount up in the blood.

Margerine is highly processed fat. The story goes that it was originally invented to feed turkeys, but the turkeys all died. So, the manufactures decided to stick a 'healthy' label on it and sell it to humans, because humans will eat anything if you tell them it's 'healthy'. You'd probably be better off with a good, natural butter.

Cholesterol is not the problem it's made out to be, anyway. It has been demonised by Big Pharma - and Big Food jumped on the bandwagon - to sell statins. But cholesterol doesn't cause heart attacks or strokes. And it's said that people with higher levels of cholesterol live longer. I don't know about that, but FT3 levels do need looking at and optimising for the sake of your general health, as well as lowering cholesterol.

[celticlady in reply to greygoose]

Thank you for this information. Trying to get an appointment at my GP practice is proving impossible-I'm taking all the vits and last check all was fine might have to have a private test done as last time they wouldn't entertain checking vit levels let alone anything else. I agree with you re cholesterol-I read that our brains need it and very low levels could explain the high rates of dementia now. My neighbour was down to level 2 at 73 years old on statins and sadly had a debilitating stroke last year, other friends have had bad side effects with statins so want to steer clear hence might invest in plant sterol supplements but will do more research. My father's family have a history of angina and heart related problems so I just need to be aware of possible alternatives to statins going forward.

[greygoose in reply to celticlady]

Low cholesterol is far more dangerous than high cholesterol, and can lead to heart attacks and strokes. When my FT3 was high, my cholesterol level was right at the bottom of the range, and the lab that did the test put a heart-attack warning on my print-out - not that any doctors took any notice of that!

It's not just the brain that needs cholesterol. Cells walls are made of it, as are sex hormones. So, as you're already hormonally challanged by a thyroid problem, the last thing you need is low sex hormones! But doctors ignore that - if they even know! But, I repeat, high cholesterol does not cause heart attacks or strokes. Statins and low cholesterol might, but not high cholesterol. So, I wouldn't even bother with the plant sterols, if I were you, waste of money. Better to spend the money on getting your FT3 checked.

[SlowDragon Administrator]

How much levothyroxine are you currently taking

Do you always get same brand levothyroxine

What vitamin supplements are you currently taking

When were vitamin D, folate, ferritin and B12 last tested?

High cholesterol levels linked to being under medicated thyroid wise

Bloods should be retested 6-8 weeks after each dose change or brand change in levothyroxine

For full Thyroid evaluation you need TSH, FT4 and FT3 plus both TPO and TG thyroid antibodies tested.

Very important to test vitamin D, folate, ferritin and B12

Low vitamin levels are extremely common, especially with autoimmune thyroid disease (Hashimoto’s or Ord’s thyroiditis)

Low vitamin levels common as we get older too

Recommended on here that all thyroid blood tests should ideally be done as early as possible in morning and before eating or drinking anything other than water and last dose levothyroxine 24 hours before test

On day before blood test, split T3 into 3 smaller doses, at roughly equal 8 hour intervals, taking last 1/3rd of daily dose approx 8-12 hours before test

This gives highest TSH, lowest FT4 and most consistent results. (Patient to patient tip)

Private tests are available as NHS currently rarely tests Ft3 or all relevant vitamins

List of private testing options

thyroiduk.org/getting-a-dia...

Medichecks Thyroid plus antibodies and vitamins

medichecks.com/products/adv...

Blue Horizon Thyroid Premium Gold includes antibodies, cortisol and vitamins by DIY fingerprick test

bluehorizonbloodtests.co.uk...

If you can get GP to test vitamins and antibodies then cheapest option for just TSH, FT4 and FT3

£29 (via NHS private service ) and 10% off down to £26.10 if go on thyroid uk for code

thyroiduk.org/getting-a-dia...

monitormyhealth.org.uk/

NHS easy postal kit vitamin D test £29 via

vitamindtest.org.uk

If TPO or TG thyroid antibodies are high this is usually due to Hashimoto’s (commonly known in UK as autoimmune thyroid disease). Ord’s is autoimmune without goitre.

About 90% of all primary hypothyroidism in Uk is due to Hashimoto’s. Low vitamin levels are particularly common with Hashimoto’s. Gluten intolerance is often a hidden issue too

Link about thyroid blood tests

thyroiduk.org/getting-a-dia...

Link about Hashimoto’s

thyroiduk.org/hypothyroid-b...

List of hypothyroid symptoms

thyroiduk.org/if-you-are-un...

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.