I was dx with hypothyroidism 7 years ago. Around the same time I was dx with metabolic syndrome and have suffered so bad over the years with statins and recently my cholesterol levels and trigs results are through the roof.
I've been on 150mcg levothyroxine for near on 3 yrs now. And I have been on statins for around the same time. I am currently on a new one now. I have had a good few occasions this year where I have felt very unwell and haven't known if this is down to my thyroid or metabolic disease or both?
I want to start tackling the cholesterol better so intend to review my diet which isn't that bad really and shouldn't be adding to high end levels of cholesterol that I'm getting. So I do feel at a loss.
Do these two diseases go hand in hand (thyroid low and metabolic)?
Did one cause the other or are these separate medical conditions not linked?
If my thyroid medication isn't right then will the metabolic side of things suffer?
and if my metabolic disease is not being controlled will my thyroid medication not work as well?
I am so sorry for all these questions and waffling on.
I hope someone might be able to shed some light.
Thank you
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Demitria
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Do you have any recent thyroid and vitamin test results
Low Ft3 linked to high cholesterol
For good conversion of Ft4 (levothyroxine) to Ft3 (active hormone) it’s essential to have GOOD vitamin levels
Do you always get same brand levothyroxine at each prescription
Also extremely important to always take levothyroxine on empty stomach and then nothing apart from water for at least an hour after
No other medication or supplements within 2 hours
No magnesium, vitamin D, iron, HRT or PPI within 4 hours
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 tested
Also both TPO and TG thyroid antibodies tested at least once
Very important to test vitamin D, folate, ferritin and B12 at least once year minimum
About 90% of primary hypothyroidism is autoimmune thyroid disease, 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.
Do you have Hashimoto’s?
Low vitamin levels are extremely common when hypothyroid, especially with autoimmune thyroid disease
20% of autoimmune thyroid patients never have high thyroid antibodies and ultrasound scan of thyroid can get diagnosis
In U.K. medics hardly ever refer to autoimmune thyroid disease as Hashimoto’s (or Ord’s thyroiditis)
Recommended that all thyroid blood tests early morning, ideally just before 9am, only drink water between waking and test 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
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.
Thank you so much for all this invaluable advise. I truly appreciate it. I have some homework to do. I believe I may need T3 added but am not sure on quantities and adjustments of my levothyroxine.
I will be looking into the links you sent to help me gain greater understanding first and foremost.
I want to start tackling the cholesterol better so intend to review my diet which isn't that bad really and shouldn't be adding to high end levels of cholesterol that I'm getting.
Whatever your diet, good or bad, it is not causing your high cholesterol. Cholesterol is made in the liver - because your body needs it - and the liver keeps levels steady, so the more you ingest with your food, the less it makes, and vice versa. However, when T3 is low, the body cannot process cholesterol correctly, and it tends to build up in the blood. So, leave your diet alone, and concentrate on raising your T3.
Artificially reducing cholesterol with statins can cause more problems than it solves - and, frankly, there are no problems to solve because high cholesterol is a symptom, not a disease. And it doesn't cause any symptoms. Nor does it cause heart attacks or strokes. On the contrary, it goes a long way to prevent them. If you take statins, that protection that cholesterol gives will be removed. Which is why statins are more likely to cause a heart attack than high cholesterol. They will also reduce your sex hormone levels, causing more problems.
There are many, many posts about high cholesterol - as there would be, given that it is thyroid related. So, if you do a search on here you can learn more about it.
Did one cause the other or are these separate medical conditions not linked?
I don't know much about metabolic syndrome, but a syndrome is a bunch of symptoms. Symptoms have to be caused by something. So, as you are hypo, it wouldn't be at all surprising if the metabolic symptoms were caused by low thyroid, given the effect that low thyroid has on metabolism. But doctors, who know nothing about hypo symptoms, do like to ascribe each one to a different condition and refuse to believe - most of the time - that they are all caused by being hypo.
Thank you for your reply. I appreciate it. I keep wondering about not taking the statins prescribed. I have gone through quite a few in the last 7 years. I would like to optimise the thyroid in the first instance so am looking into vitamins/supplements and the T3
T3 should be your priority. Do you have blood test results where FT4 and FT3 have been tested at the same time? That will tell you how well you convert. T3 is the active hormone needed by every single cell in your body. So, you need to know how much you have available.
As for the statins, I wouldn't take them if you paid me! Just because they're prescribed there's no law that says you have to take them.
Exactly, doctors are prescribing such crap now. After my last prescription, which consisted of a supplement at a much higher price than an equivalent product and a painkiller that hurt my stomach so bad I couldn't sleep all night (exchanging one pain for another?), I will be checking all prescriptions online before filling any. I agree with Grey goose, and would add, get off statins and heal your liver naturally. All the best in your healing journey!
Yes, thank you. I am going to get my bloods done privately and see about all this. I will post my results. I think I am going to not take the ezetimibe, get the bloods gone and get all my results, t3, t4 tsh, ferritin, foliate etc.
If you have taken Statins for the past 7 years, and the cholesteral hasnt decreased, ( why would anyone want it to? ). Then the statins are clearly not working and there is another explanation. Ubder treated hypothyroid is a good starting point for investigation.
There have been much better blood results whilst on them but not as low as it could be.. think the lowest it has beennon statins is 4. something. So coming off since May I expect it to increase but it is very high as are trugs and calcium.
Thyroid issues diagnosed 13 years but symptoms years before. Weight gain, unable to lose, 800 to 1200 calorie diet over 10 years just to keep gaining. Raised liver enzymes lead to ultra sound. Fatty liver diagnosed and gallstones found. High cholesterol, low HDL, high LDL. waist circumference large compared to rest of body. Slight raised BP, raised crp every blood test.
Never been tested but feel I will be insulin resistant. Think you can say I had metabolic syndrome.
No diet or exercise ever worked in 13 years. Not overly over weight since diagnosis but over 2 stone gained on 800/1200 calories.
In January i started simple weight training, increased calories from 1,000 to 1,800, high protein, more carbs, reduced alcohol. Weight still fluctuated daily but body shape changed but only 3lb lost in 5 months.
Change of brand T3 to Morningside but started berberine supplent 9 days later.
Since starting both my weight no longer fluctuates daily only decrease or stays same or ups if been really naughty. My last lot of bloods show liver alt's best ever normal range 25, cholesterol 4.3 down from 5.6.
My weight loss since June is 9lb so nearly a stone since January.
I believe that it is the berberine that has enabled this happen, It's claimed to be able to reduce insulin resistance and stabilise blood sugars, help with fatty liver and reduce cholesterol plus other issues.
The lowering of these is what's helping me to lose weight finally.
When you have all that going on you can't lose weight. You can't lose weight because you have all that going on..vicious circle.
It could be my change of T3 brand but I honestly believe it is the berberine.
Hiya sparkle , nice name , I’m glad you’ve found something that works , I’ve just bought some berberine and am hoping it will help me , you sound the same as me , or the other way round , I’ve struggled most of my life with weight, but could manage it before being hypo, I seem to have a cocktail of vitamins at the moment just have my fingers crossed , can I ask how much you take please
Yes of course, I take a 600mg capsule before breakfast, dinner and tea. The brand i take is 5 greens. 100% clean, no fillers.I never imagined it would help with weight loss as nothing ever does but having all the other i thought no harm in trying. My endo and gp both know I'm taking it and endo said I could now have reversed my fatty liver. I'm not saying that is solely due to berberine at all but now I have found what works for me. I also eat 3 Brazil nuts a day and a shot glass of ace. Endo is doing all bloods related next visit.
You seem to have quite a good endo, the one I had didn’t get on with him very well he just stopped my t3 ran out 2 or three times while on trial , it was a nightmare, I’ve bought my own now and trying to sort myself out , fingers crossed, nice talking with you. Keep well
Thank you for your reply. You sound very similar to me. I though did managed to lose 3.5 stone a few years ago but have put half that back on again. That was through calorie control and moderate exercise. I can't exercise too much due to fibromylagia so did what I can.
So I did lose weight so I don't know if I just got lucky, if it is my diet the 18 months and now I do need the boost of supplements and T3 to optimise the thyroid and start again with my calorie controlled diet. And ditch the statins.
Hello there, Thank you for your reply. If you check out my reply to sparkly then you will see that I did lose weight and my cholesterol was managed once.
I believe I need to do some adjustments and introductions of supplements and perhaps T3
You shouldn't be taking statins; it's best that you focus primarily on raising your Free T3 levels. You're taking a decent amount of levothyroxine (150mcg/daily) but if you aren't converting sufficiently (T4 → T3), then levothyroxine won't effectively lower your cholesterol levels. It's crucial that you take levo on an empty stomach with no food for an hour afterwards. Taking ascorbic acid ( Vit C 500mg) with levo can help improve dissolution and ultimately, absorption.
Cholesterol isn't actually the culprit in heart disease and heart attacks; it's inflammation within the linings of the blood vessels which causes clots to form. But your doctor is under enormous pressure from the establishment (The Church of Statinology) to give you a statin drug. You don't have a 'statin deficiency', you have a T3 deficiency.
Research vitamins and supplements that assist in conversion of T4 to T3. Perhaps magnesium, vitamin A, selenium, and zinc to start with. Ultimately, you may require the addition of some T3 (liothyronine), but this would require that you excel in negotiating, since doctors would prefer to be 'guillotined' rather than prescribe it.
I have beenjon prescribed vitamin D for over 3 years now. I started taking dead sea magnesium by together health over a year ago. I have recently been prescribed folic acid. II do not have any b12 supplement.
So I need to get fasting thyroid up to date bloods done which will show TSH, T3, T4.
Thyroid antbodies,
Vitamin D levels,
Magnesium,
Folite,
B12,
Ferritin
If the calcium is very high again then this could point to hypoparathyroid, right?
I'm going to get my bloods done privately. I know you recommended some companies to me earlier in the thread.
Considering all what I need to sort is there one you can recommend or are all pretty much the same?
Blue Horizon includes cortisol test. If you feel worse in morning than evening, this suggests possible adrenal issues and testing cortisol might be helpful
Okay thank you so much. I can't really say I feel worse in the the mornings. M yfatigue and drag seems to hit me most days in the afternoon between 2 and 6pm. But generally quite lethargic most days. You see, with fibro it is just impossible to tell
Like the phrase ‘Church of Statinology’ though ‘Big Pharma’ is more accurate. Statinology is the selective publishing of statin drug trials. Financial greed driving scientific things. The published trials are fine but picking and choosing is pseudo science. I would like to call for the publishing of ALL drug trials, not hiding the ones that don’t support Big Pharma’s preconceptions (or profits).
I lowered my cholesterol by having porridge for breakfast every morning. GP wanted to put me on statins but I wanted to try diet etc first. Subsequent bloods showed cholesterol back to normal levels - GP. said "I don't know what you are doing but keep doing it ",I eat gluten free porridge each morning with berries, almond flakes and a hand full of flame raisins. It's also improved my IBS.
High cholesterol can be a result of hypothyroidism so sorting your thyroid medication can also lower your cholesterol.
Statins can have lots of side effects so I would always go the natural way first and only resort to statins as a last resort.
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