I've had what is considered high cholesterol for abt 10 yrs. The last few years,with statins being so cheap..the nurse @ my GP asks to see me & then offers statins.Up til now I've always declined,but yesterday agreed as she insisted 'we have to get theze levels down' I have just collected the meds Atorvastin 20mg & read the leaflet & it 'puts me off' as the surgery know i have underactive thyroid + once - probs with my pancreas & liver so it really concerns me whether i should take them. My total cholesterol is 8.0 mmol/L yet my ratio is 4.6 which i thought was ok.The nurse thought i ought be referred to an endo but she consulted with a GP who disagreed saying they would do anything different but stick me on a statin...i just d/k.what to do.Any advice please i would be grateful🙏
Statins: I've had what is considered high... - Thyroid UK
Statins
More likely to need dose increase in levothyroxine
How much levothyroxine are you currently taking
Do you always get same brand levothyroxine at each prescription
ALWAYS test thyroid levels early morning and last dose levothyroxine 24 hours before test
What are your most recent vitamin D, folate, B12 and ferritin results
What vitamin supplements are you currently taking
High cholesterol suggests you possess need dose increase in levothyroxine
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.
I'm only on 75 mg & always same brand given :-Teva. They have never tested Vit D nor folate but did do B12 which was slightly outside the normal range but i was told this was 'negligible' & dismissed.The only appointment time available was afternoon,so i had to take that for tsh levels, i didnt take one that morning,just the previous.
So next step is to get FULL thyroid and vitamin testing
ALWAYS test early morning
Do you know if cause of your hypothyroidism is autoimmune thyroid disease also called Hashimoto’s usually diagnosed by high TPO or high TG antibodies
Essential to test TSH, Ft4 and Ft3
And test vitamin D, folate, ferritin and B12 at least annually
Approx how much do you weigh in kilo
Guidelines on dose levothyroxine by weight is approximately 1.6mcg levothyroxine per kilo of your weight per day (rough guide)
75mcg is only one step up from starter dose, unless extremely petite likely you aren’t on high enough dose levothyroxine
Recommended that all thyroid blood tests early morning, ideally just before 9am and 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
bluehorizonbloodtests.co.uk...
If you can get GP to test vitamins then cheapest option for just TSH, FT4 and FT3
£32 (via NHS private service ) and 10% off if go on thyroid uk for code
thyroiduk.org/getting-a-dia...
Monitor My Health also now offer thyroid and vitamin testing, plus cholesterol and HBA1C for £65
(Doesn’t include thyroid antibodies)
monitormyhealth.org.uk/full...
10% off code here
thyroiduk.org/getting-a-dia...
Only do private testing early Monday or Tuesday morning.
Link about thyroid blood tests
thyroiduk.org/getting-a-dia...
Link about Hashimoto’s
thyroiduk.org/hypothyroid-b...
Symptoms of hypothyroidism
Did you have thyroid tests as well? If so what are your current results/ranges? If you are undermedicated then that should be addressed before even considering statins.
Hi & thanks for replying...my levels were tested a few months previous to cholesterol levels as per usual result said 'normal' range yet they only ever test tsh!
Just testing TSH is inadequate, it doesn't tell you your thyroid hormone levels as it's a pituitary hormone. And if your TSH is above 1 you are likely undermedicated. Ask for a print out of your results to be absolutely sure of your levels, or maybe your surgery offers online access to results?
If you can only get TSH done with GP you might want to consider private testing with one of our recommended labs which many of us have to resort to to get a full picture of our thyroid status.
Ok thanku! Might go for the private test then,it would still need another consult with my doctors afterwards & do they listen?(with most,not really)
Some doctors accept private test results, others don't. If you use Monitor My Health it is an NHS lab in Exeter hospital and I think GPs would find it difficult to argue against NHS results even when done privately.
thyroiduk.org/help-and-supp...
Yes,thats sounds good idea! Thanks ...by way i weigh abt 10 stone so not really petite
Sounds petite to me.
Am large boned though height 5'4" & shoe size 7?!!!!
You still sound good to me. We are all too self conscious. I am sure you are just smashing.
Note that your GP will probably keep pestering you about statins for various reasons (some likely non-medical!). My mum has endured that with her total cholesterol stable at 7.1, we think likely due to post-menopause (2 links below).
Her total/HDL ratio (is that the one you mean?) is stable at ~3.5 and Trig/HDL ratio (key one according to eminent cardiologist, Dr Aseem Malhotra) is encouragingly <<1.
What is you latest TSH level ? ~there is one on a previous post from about 10mths ago of 0.9 ish ~ have you had another TSH test since that one ?
This is a list of references which recommend GP's keep TSH between 0.4/0.5 and 2/ 2.5 in patients on Levo.. as long as TSh is still 0.9 or higher healthunlocked.com/thyroidu.... list-of-references-recommending-gps-keep-tsh-lower-
you can use these recommendations to ask for a 'trial' increase in levo to 87.5mcg or 100mcg to see if that will reduce your cholesterol .
They DO NOT know how low an increase to 87.5mcg or 100mcg will take your TSH unless they try it. if they say "we don't want to risk overmedicating you , so we don't want to increase dose when TSH is 0.9" ......then emphasise again that you are only asking for a trial for eg 6 months to see what happens to symptoms and cholesterol.. if it does cause overmedication then it can easily be lowered again with no harm done .
The 'risks' ( as they see them ) of low TSH, are very long term risks (to heart and bones) .. 6 months of a slightly low TSH (if it happened) without any symptoms of overmedication is not going to increase your risk of anything.
Statins 
Nurse phone call update
High cholesterol and Statins? 
Statins and Levothyroxine
