TSH and Cholesterol

[Aloha79]

My cholesterol has been slightly high since I had my youngest child age 20 months. In the meantime, my TSH is also higher than normal. I was taking 50mg levo (inconsistently since giving birth!) and now think I should increase to 75mg. To note, my TSH was always around 1 even with inconsistent levo, but my latest bloodwork from last week are as follows:

TSH 3.29 mU/L

Free T4 16.60 pmol/L

HDL cholesterol 1.17 mmol/L

LDL cholesterol 3.04 mmol/L

non HDL cholesterol 3.43 mmol/L

Total cholesterol 4.60 mmol/L

B12 644 ng/L

I wonder if the cholesterol readings are related to the TSH readings?

Thank you!

[humanbean]

Your cholesterol readings don't look high to me. Do you have the reference ranges for all your results?

A few comments :

Being hypothyroid raises cholesterol levels. Proper treatment of the hypothyroidism should reduce your cholesterol levels - but a total cholesterol of 4.6 is well within range anyway. And don't be persuaded to take statins - statins don't extend life for women.

Take a look at this link, in particular the graphs :

drmalcolmkendrick.org/2012/...

...

A 50mcg dose of Levo is a starter dose, so it isn't surprising your TSH is higher than desirable. And yes, an increase to 75 mcg is a very good idea. Test your TSH, Free T4, and Free T3 in about 6 - 8 weeks time then post your results and ask for feedback. People with hypothyroidism usually feel best with a TSH of 1 or under.

[Aloha79 in reply to humanbean]

Thank you! Ref range for cholesterol: HDL 1.0-2.4 (mine was 1.17) and LDL 1-3 (mine was 3.04).

My TSH hovers around 1, even with only 50mg. Been this pattern for years, I go up to 75mg when pregnant. All postnatal bloods showed TSH around 1 so the last reading of over 3 is a surprise.