Result of health check 2019.An underactive thyroid and high cholestral which I was told were related. I am on 125mg Levo.I requested cholestral test as not had one since original. Had a phone appt with Dr, who said it was 8.5 and because I was 66 had to go on statins.He did not physically see me. He said I was in danger of stroke /heartache. No family history of either. I refused stations so he's putting me on a cholestral drug. I'm unhappy but should I take the drug?
High Cholestral and underactive thyroid - Thyroid UK
High Cholestral and underactive thyroid
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gillypillys
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shawsAdministrator
Why are some doctors so stupid. They pronounce something to a patient that frightens/upsets the person.
Once patients who have hypothyroidism and also have a higher cholesterol level which should reduce as the thyroid hormones are increased. This is a link that I hope answers a question of how to reduce - without statins. It is disgraceful that GPs seem not to be aware of any of the clinical symptoms that a hypo patient may have, or 'other conditions' when not optimally dosed with thyroid hormone repacements.
Quote:
"Treating High Cholesterol and Thyroid Disease
The good news is, treating thyroid disease may improve your cholesterol levels. Doctors treat hypothyroidism with thyroid replacement hormone medications. There’s no cure for hypothyroidism. That’s why improving your cholesterol levels doesn’t improve your thyroid hormone levels. Experts recommend that adults who’ve been diagnosed with high cholesterol levels get tested for an underactive thyroid.
If you’re being treated for an underactive thyroid, your doctor will monitor your cholesterol levels. Some people with hypothyroidism may not lower their cholesterol levels enough with thyroid replacement hormones. If that happens to you, your doctor may recommend you take other measures, such as eating healthier, exercising regularly, and taking a cholesterol-lowering medication.
"webmd.com/cholesterol-manag...
Hi
I like the idea that if you're hypothyroid you'll get monitored for cholesterol. I'm in my early 50's and I've only ever had my cholesterol tested once. And that was years ago. Clearly not talking about the NHS.
HI SS,
I was dx Hashi's in 2007 at age 48, and my cholesterol levels have been checked by the NHS approx every 2yrs since then. Postcode????????????
Hi
I'm not complaining, I don't want them testing me for cholesterol, only to try and force statins on me, but I'm hypo since 2020 and have never been tested for cholesterol. I find it a bit laughable that the NHS tests middle aged hypo patients regularly.
I thought the NHS tested any remotely possible statin candidate. 🥴
My daughter (then aged 25ys) had to run from the car (not parked very close) to her appt., so, was puffing and panting, and her name was called as she reached the top of the stairs she'd just sprinted up. That particular GP immediately took her bp (only once), prescribed statins, and when she questioned his advice got the usual "You'll be dead in 10yrs". She didn't take them, and the next GP she saw at the same surgery was furious as her bp was low, and is usually on the low side. This was almost 10yrs ago.
Hi
I find that they test patients who don't need things testing and forget those who might actually benefit from monitoring 😜
I am definitely with the NHS
SlowDragonAdministrator
What are your most recent thyroid results and ranges
ALWAYS Test thyroid levels early morning, ideally before 9am and last dose levothyroxine 24 hours before test
Just testing TSH or TSH and Ft4 is completely inadequate
Do you always get same brand levothyroxine at each prescription
If yes, which brand
What vitamin supplements are you currently taking
When were vitamin D, folate, ferritin and B12 last tested
Recommend getting FULL thyroid and vitamin testing done now
High cholesterol levels suggests under medicated for thyroid
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.
SlowDragonAdministrator
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 at least once year minimum
Low vitamin levels are extremely common, especially with autoimmune thyroid disease (Hashimoto’s or Ord’s thyroiditis) usually diagnosed by high thyroid antibodies
Autoimmune thyroid disease with goitre is Hashimoto’s
Autoimmune thyroid disease without goitre is Ord’s thyroiditis.
Both are autoimmune and generally called Hashimoto’s.
About 90% of all primary hypothyroidism in Uk is due to Hashimoto’s.
In U.K. medics never call it Hashimoto’s, just autoimmune thyroid disease (and they usually ignore the autoimmune aspect)
Recommended on here that all thyroid blood tests early morning, ideally before 9am last dose levothyroxine 24 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 and money off codes
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...
NHS easy postal kit vitamin D test £29 via
If diagnosed with autoimmune thyroid disease….Gluten intolerance is often a hidden issue too. Request coeliac blood test BEFORE considering trial on strictly gluten free diet
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...
Hi. Thanks I am having a B12 and Vitamin D test in a couple of weeks, at my request with the Doctor and I am requesting copy of tests.
You need all four
Vitamin D, folate, B12 and ferritin
If ferritin under 40, need full iron panel test too
NHS rarely tests Ft3
You need TSH, Ft4 and Ft3 tested together
Always test early morning, ideally before 9am and last dose levothyroxine 24 hours before test
Come back with new post once you get results
Thousands upon thousands of U.K. patients forced to test privately to make progress
Examples of test results
Medichecks
healthunlocked.com/search/p...
BH
healthunlocked.com/search/p...
Thriva
SeasideSusieRemembering
gillypillys
I refused stations so he's putting me on a cholestral drug.
What exactly is this "cholesterol" drug. A statin with another name?
I think the first thing you should do is have a full thyroid panel to include TSH, FT4 and FT3. If you can't get the full test panel done with your GP (and it's very difficult to get FT3 tested), then do a private test. It's the FT3 result that tells you your thyroid status. If you are undermedicated this can raise cholesterol, high cholesterol is a symptom of hypothyroidism.
I will tag greygoose as she has good information to pass on about cholesterol.
I refused to have a statin but I haven't got my prescription yet
Before statins were developed and became a huge money-spinner, the usual upper limit for the reference range for Total Cholesterol was 7.5. When I bought a copy of my GP medical records I found some blood test results showing a 7.5 upper limit from the early 90s. The upper limit for Total Cholesterol was reduced to 5 in the mid 1990s to make statins seem more useful to doctors and patients and to make them more profitable.
When the top of the range was reduced to 5 it immediately created a situation where more than 50% of the adult population of the UK had high cholesterol.
According to the GP Notebook website on this link :
gpnotebook.com/simplepage.c...
Normal cholesterol levels are from 3.5 to 6.5 mmol per litre, but ideally levels should be 5.0 mmol per litre or below, since the distribution in the population probably covers an unhealthy population.
Broadly, the ideal levels for the various cholesterol measurements are:
Total cholesterol less than or equal to 5mmol/L
Cholesterol:HDL ratio less than or equal to 4
LDL cholesterol less than or equal to 3mmol/L
HDL cholesterol greater than or equal to 1mmol/L
Note that the cholesterol measurements must be considered in context of primary and secondary prevention of coronary heart disease (CHD). See menu items.
Notes:
single cholesterol measurement whilst on lipid lowering treatment
a single cholesterol reading may under- or over-estimate a person's true average cholesterol level by up to 14%, at least in the first few years of treatment. Therefore, if a clinician has checked that the patient is taking their medication, s/he should be wary of intensifying lipid-lowering treatment in response to a single result
data from the LIPID trial were analysed to see how lipid levels vary between patients and over time. The authors found that the 95% confidence intervals on a single cholesterol level measurement were +/-14% of the person’s true average cholesterol
in practical terms, this means that for 95 people out of 100 with a single cholesterol measurement of 5.0 mmol/L, their true average cholesterol level will be between 4.3 mmol/L and 5.7 mmol/L
measurements were particularly misleading if the initial cholesterol level on treatment was low. In patients with an initial cholesterol of 4.5 mmol/L, even after five years of treatment, a test result greater than 5 mmol/L was just as likely to be incorrect as correct.
Some other interesting links on cholesterol that led me to refuse statins several years ago :
drmalcolmkendrick.org/2012/...
spacedoc.com/articles/50-fa...
The Patient Information Leaflets for statins are all very similar and are terrifying, in my opinion. Here's one for atorvastatin :
medicines.org.uk/emc/produc...
Some doctors have quite different opinions about cholesterol :
Ken Sikaris on cholesterol saying that triglycerides are most important
As a rule of thumb, if I watch any videos on cholesterol and statins I usually only watch those which have been produced in the last 3 years or so. The science on cholesterol, LDL, HDL and triglycerides is still changing as new things are being learned.
Somebody posted their lipid results recently, which were 'borderline' and I noticed that the lab recommendation clearly stated "Do not prescribe statins"..........I thought that demonstrated a massive change in 'thinking'.😊
gilypillys, The only frequently talked about lipid lowering med I can think of that is discussed on the BHF Forum is Ezetimbe, and of course the injection which I forget the name of. I can only suggest research, research, and then research some more, and I think it is a very personal decision.
To be completely open.........I stopped taking statins (prescribed 9yrs ago after a heart attack) a few months ago, and have increased vit C rich foods. etc I will test lipids soon, and if my cholesterol is very high I may re-think that decision, but in all honesty I don't know yet.
bnf.nice.org.uk/drug/ezetim...
Thanks, I think he's prescribed Ezetimbe
I'm unhappy but should I take the drug?
Well, I wouldn't, if it were me! Anyway, there's aren't any drugs that lower cholesterol apart from statins, as far as I know. He's having you on, he thinks all patients are stupid and you won't notice.
Anyway, it's said that those with higher cholesterol live longer, because it doesn't cause heart attacks or strokes, doesn't matter what your age.
Cholesterol is made in the liver, and it's made there for a reason: the body needs it. Most of your brain is made up of cholesterol. So are cell walls and sex hormones. Reduce your cholesterol to the stupid low levels doctors want and you will reduce your body's ability to repair and restore cells, and you won't be able to make oestrogen, pregesterone, etc. You're already hormonally challanged because you're hypo, you don't want to make things worse.
As you said, high cholesterol is linked to low thyroid hormones - T3 to be exact. The liver tries to keep cholesterol levels steady - the more you ingest with food, the less it makes, the less you ingest, the more it makes. But, when T3 is low, the body cannot process cholesterol correctly, and it tends to build up in the blood. But, it won't hurt you.
humanbean has given you some good links, so you don't just have to take my word for it. Check out Dr Malcom Kendrick, he's really clued up on cholesterol. 
Oooo 🤔
Wonder if there is an inverse relationship between the introduction of statins and increase in dementia in our populations? That WOULD be an interesting study.
I’m never taking them - body does what it will and it’s enough I’m having to replace thyroid hormones. The more they b*gger about with you the more unintended consequences.
My mum took so many pills she was like a marraca rattling away. When they put her in palliative care (morphine driver) they took her off ALL her pills bar pain relief and anti nausea medication. SHE GOT BETTER. Lived another two years. Not good years, but it does exemplify how little they understand multiple interactions.
Totally agree with you on all points!
Many years ago, I had a slipped disc op. When I came out of hospital, they gave me a long prescription of drugs I 'needed' to take. Can't remember what they were, but there was a lot of them. And they kept adding to them as we went along! I was taking about five pills just for dizzy spells (no-one thought to check my B12, of course!). When one of the pills made me bad, they'd give me another one to countre-act it, but wouldn't stop the original one.
Slowly, I came to my senses and thought, this is rediculous, and just stopped the lot cold turkey and felt so much better! Soon back on my feet.
And, you know what the worst of it was? The pills for my dizzy spells, they all said on the PIL, 'for dizzy spells of unknown origine - WARNING: may cause dizzy spells'! lol No-one, of course, ever tried to find the origin of said spells - why would you when you can just give a pill!?!
Another classic example. You realised pity the poor souls who don’t work ut out and just keep taking the pills- Doctor drug pushers- are barking! They are just pumping out random combos of drugs and not thinking. Terrible situation 😱
I like the fact that one of the warnings on many anthistamines is that they may cause itching and rash, exactly what many people take them for. Madness.
Latest test results show low vitamin D, high cholesterol and high iron levels. I am having another blood test and now an ultrasound. I'm worried. This resulted from a phone appointment. I haven't seen my doctor since before Covid
What exactly are you worried about?
The low vit D? Are you supplementing?
The high cholesterol? Have they tested your FT3?
Or the high iron levels? Have they tested your CRP?
Incomplete testing can be worrying. But, when you get the complete picture you can put things into perspective and it looks less frightening. Such a shame doctors always do incomplete testing - and don't even have a clue that they've done so!
High iron levels. He suggested maybe liver problems. It's the waiting that's worrying. Since I was diagnosed with underactive thyroid, I have only had phone calls and that was before Covid. All I got was a leaflet from a nurse on request
So, was that serum iron or ferritin?
He just said my iron levels were high but no detail given.
Oh, well! That could mean anything. Don't you get a copy of your blood test results? It's your legal right to have one. Just ask the receptionist for a print-out.
Thank you I will request them and thank you for your help
You're welcome.
Doctors are not gods, and you have free will - do what you want, he/she is not your master. Just be informed, but I think you are wise to question this other medication.❤️
If I go to the GP with a problem I expect them to be knowledgeable and treat me with an appropriate medication.
One GP phoned me and within the conversation he told me that T3 converts to T4! I told him he was wrong.
Hi shaws,
I’ve had to reframe my expectations re GPs.
I now would say that, if I got to see a GP, I expect them to not know enough to treat me effectively and am pleasantly surprised if they show even a spec of knowledge. 🤣👍
I always say I go to the GP expecting nothing and I'm never disappointed 🤣
Seems to be different to a statin ... you've written Ezetimbe, but did you mean Ezetimibe ?
Found this :
drugs.com/medical-answers/e...
"Is Ezetimibe a Statin Drug?
No, Ezetimibe is not a statin drug, it is from the drug class cholesterol absorption inhibitor.
Ezetimibe and statins are cholesterol lowering drugs that work in different ways to reduce cholesterol.
Ezetimibe has its effect in the small intestine where it blocks cholesterol from being absorbed, so there is less cholesterol being delivered to the liver.
Statins lower the amount of cholesterol and lipoproteins that the body produces, by inhibiting an enzyme called HMG-CoA reductase. Statins also increase the LDL receptors on liver cells which increases the amount of LDL-cholesterol that can be absorbed out of the bloodstream and then the LDL-cholesterol is disposed of by being broken down.
Ezetimibe can be taken alone as a sole cholesterol lowering agent, or together with a statin or fenofibrate.
Bottom line:
Ezetimibe is not a statin medication, it is a cholesterol absorption inhibitor.
Ezetimibe,fenofibrate and statins are cholesterol lowering medications.
Ezetimibe can be taken together with statins or fenofibrate as their cholesterol lowering effects are complementary."
greygoose Blocks absorption of cholesterol ,rather than lowers production of cholesterol ... .... might still be a pointless exercise if cholesterol isn't the baddie they make it out to be , but it does seem to be a 'different' pointless exercise from statins .
Well, first thing to look at is: side-effects. And, even if they are minmal, why take a drug you don't need?
it blocks cholesterol from being absorbed, so there is less cholesterol being delivered to the liver.
Well, given that the liver makes cholesterol in the first place and controls levels according to how much you ingest, that is a pretty fruitless exercise! Doesn't it make you mad?!? Anything to sell their damned drugs! And, all drugs have some undesireable effects, so the less you take, the better.
I still wouldn't take it if it were me.
agreed. Taking most of these medicines with their various side effects just seems to turn into a game of "the old lady who swallowed the fly....." I'm rapidly forming the opinion that the best cure for 'high' cholesterol is to stop measuring the bloody stuff and just ignore it ...... and eat more butter , and less rubbish.... when i'm dead i'll donate my body as proof that eating loads of butter didn't do it any harm. My OH is also part of this highly scientific study .
If absorption of cholesterol from food is blocked, won't the liver just make more?
That's what i was wondering .. gets difficult when you can't trust a word they say anymore, doesn't it .
If we are discussing cholesterol and medicines, remember niacin:
CHICAGO --- After 50 years of being a mainstay cholesterol therapy, niacin should no longer be prescribed for most patients due to potential increased risk of death, dangerous side effects and no benefit in reducing heart attacks and strokes, writes Northwestern Medicine® preventive cardiologist Donald Lloyd-Jones, M.D., in a New England Journal of Medicine editorial published July 16.
news.northwestern.edu/stori...
It took them fifty years to decide that it was too dangerous!
They have already moved from the earliest statins, at least partly due to side effects.
Could it be that chasing cholesterol is based on assumption. That lower cholesterol is better.
And, of course, LDL and HDL are not cholesterol but lipoproteins.
greygoose humanbean
Chasing cholesterol is based on greed. Put the fear of god into doctors and patients and watch the statins etc. fly off the shelves.
And as we know, doctors never do their own research, just believe what Big Pharma sales reps tell them - of course they're telling the truth, why wouldn't they? I often think doctors live on a different planet to us.
From your link - my bolding:
Lloyd-Jones’s editorial is based on a large new study published in the journal that looked at adults, ages 50 to 80, with cardiovascular disease who took extended-release niacin (vitamin B3) and laropiprant (a drug that reduces face flushing caused by high doses of niacin) to see if it reduced heart attack and stroke compared to a placebo over four years. All patients in the trial were already being treated with a statin medication.
This link claims that the niacin flush is temporary in most patients and lasts less than an hour when it does happen :
niacinreviews.com/dealing-n...
I checked the BNF for laropiprant and niacin and couldn't find them listed. I would have been interested to see what side-effects they had.
All I could find about laropiprant was this description of what it does (from an advert) : Niacin-Induced Vasodilation Inhibiting Activity.
I suspect - but don't know for certain - that inhibiting vasodilation (widening of the blood vessels) is probably a very dangerous thing to do. The arteries should (I'm guessing) dilate and constrict for good reasons when they need to, not just in the face but everywhere in the body. So perhaps the problem with niacin was that it was accompanied by laropiprant.
Just for future reference I've found an NEJM article from 2014 (the year when the article from helvella's post was published in Northwestern Medicine, and amazingly it is open access) :
Title : Effects of Extended-Release Niacin with Laropiprant in High-Risk Patients
Link : nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/N...
I can't tell if the article I've found is the one referred to in helvella's link. As far as I can tell people who were already on statins were also given niacin and laropiprant.
[I've just discovered it isn't. The editorial referred to in helvella's link can be found here:
biochemiran.com/files/site1... ]
But the NEJM link, under the heading "Study organisation" has this to say :
The trial was designed, conducted, and analyzed by the Clinical Trial Service Unit at Oxford University, which was the independent regulatory sponsor of the trial. Merck (manufacturer of the study drugs) funded the trial, had nonvoting membership on the steering committee, and provided trial coordination within Scandinavia through its subsidiaries (under the direction of Oxford University).
Oxford University is the home of the Cholesterol Treatment Trialists’ (CTT) Collaboration which has made hundreds of millions of pounds from researching statins and finding them all wonderful. The research data is secret, of course, so nobody can check their research arithmetic. And Merck makes statins. Stopping people taking niacin is an outcome devoutly to be wished for by both Oxford University and Merck.
The study, as is so often the case with statin research or anything related to it, had what is called a prerandomization run-in phase. What this means is that they get rid of research subjects who are going to react badly to statins (or niacin in this case), so they can then say that few people got side effects before being used in a trial.
From my point of view, this research is as dodgy as a wooden nickel.
...
I should stress that I'm not saying that I think niacin is safe OR dangerous - I just don't know. I simply don't believe the evidence which dismisses it is reliable. I would need to find research that looked into the side effects and actual effects of niacin without laropiprant - but I doubt I'll do this anytime soon. I would also need to find info on what doses of niacin were used in the hope of reducing cholesterol. And finally, I've never been convinced that lowering cholesterol is a worthy or worthwhile goal anyway.
I have seen issues with niacin mentioned before.
The dilation, at least as it impacts the face, is not exactly pleasant. Not awful but prefer not to have.
That link to niacinreviews.com that I gave has a picture of a woman with extreme flushing. I can well believe that it isn't pleasant. But then statins have a lot of unpleasant side effects too.
Personally, I'm just going to leave my cholesterol alone, and won't treat it with anything even though most doctors would be horrified by mine.
Yes, "Ezetimibe inhibits the intestinal absorption of cholesterol." And if it does that, what else does it inhibit the absorption of I wonder?
"If used alone, it has a modest effect on lowering LDL-cholesterol, with little effect on other lipoproteins."
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