I have had under active thyroid for around 10 years & I have been mostly OK
However my GP nurse sent me for a cholesterol test it was 5.6. Three months later had another test
Nurse rang me today to say it has now risen to 6.1 . I told her I was surprised as I have a really good diet & watch what I eat, she said it may be down to my under active thyroid and mentioned prescribing statins.
I told her I need to do some research first & came across this site. There are a few posts re cholesterol/statins & many mention T3.
Please excuse my ignorance but I'm not actually sure what this means ? when I have my thyroid blood test do they test for T3? I'm a bit confused
Any replies gratefully received
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Seahorse0
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I am going through the same. But my cholesterol is through the roof. Yours is low in comparison to mine. I've had a 7 Yr journey with statins. I came.off of them 4 months ago.
I am getting my bloods done privately and then I will be better armed.
This forum is so good and a a good few people have helped me so much in the last week.
Yes the T3 is responsible for high LDL Cholesterol and your triglycerides.
T4 converts to T3 and the T3 if not working right will cause high LDL and trigs. We can treat the thyroid with leothyroxine but if the T3 isn't right then we arent going to feel our best and then cholesterol and high trigs come about.
Other people on here know so much more than me. And you you be better informed once they respond to you. I am still learning myself atm.
Ask for a printed copy of your blood tests or see if you can set up online access to your record and see what is being tested and what the results are.
Often just the TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) is tested & this is a Pituitary hormone & not reliable. FT4 (free Thyroxine) & FT3 (Free Triiodothyronine) The is what you need to know. FT3 is the powerful active hormone, usually some is made from the thyroid if but most is converted from T4.
Sometimes you can have good levels of FT4 from replacement but conversion is poor. So results (TSH & FT4 if tested) are good or in range but FT3 is unknowingly low, this leaves you with symptoms including high cholesterol.
However you must test / see the results to know if this is the case. Many use private tests as NHS don’t fully test.
Welcome. The point is that your GP will only test certain thyroid functions so by getting a private test you will get a much better picture. The best course of action then is to post your anonymous results here and the community experts will give you guidance with regard to what needs looking at and what to go back to your gp with. It's then a case as being armed with as much info as possible so you can go and have that conversation - not always straightforward and may need patience and determination. Fortunately you have come to the right place 😊
Thanks for posting this. I had a new Endocrinologist yesterday ( my previous one retired) & I asked about this as my cholesterol is raised & I’ve been under medicated for years. He told me there was no link between hypothyroidism & Cholesterol!!! 🤷🏻♀️ Just goes to show they don’t know everything.
I only asked the question just out of interest as GP has offered statins. He is looking at low T3 levels at the moment. But yes it’s so frustrating when it’s there in black & white!
That is a red flag to RUN. Find another Endo that is actually educated. My cholesterol was high for years before my diagnosis of Hypothyroidism. Since being on Levothyroxine for a year, my cholesterol has dropped by 100+ points.
See exactly what has been tested……frequently only TSH
Completely inadequate
How much levothyroxine are you taking
How long on this dose
Do you always get same brand
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.
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
High cholesterol suggests you are either not on high enough dose levothyroxine and/or poor conversion of Ft4 (levothyroxine) to Ft3 (active hormone) and/or low vitamin levels
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.
My cholesterol came down after better treatment for my hypothyroidism (increasing the Levothyroxine dose). Get more tests for thyroid function and addressing that will probably resolve the cholesterol issue also.
Exactly. I have a healthy diet. My Cholesterol was high which made no sense at all because I don't eat much stuff with additives in or much junk food + for two weeks before every blood test I make sure I don't even have a biscuit. Underactive Thyroid = High Cholesterol. You are in the right place to get all the help you need
I've had highish cholesterol while taking a source of T3. Getting adequate NHS testing was a problem: a couple of times fT3 was tested four or five hours after my dose, so was a bit over-range. What appears to have had most effect (on triglycerides, too) was reducing my consumption of carbohydrates. But yet again, at my Annual Review, it was incorrectly listed that I take a statin. NHS corruption to meet government targets?
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