Had a recent hospitalisation in Cyprus for a problem unconnected to the thyroid (acute diverticular episode after 30 years of no major issues) which resulted in me having to have a CT scan when I returned from holiday. The scan was OK on the original issue, nothing sinister revealed but it did reveal that I have ‘vascular atheroma’ and my G.P. wants to prescribe statins. I refused, not for the first time, as I usually do every time they do my well woman yearly checks. Now the practice has de-registered me with some paltry excuse about being ‘out of area’. They have known this fact for 24 years but have obviously taken umbrage at me questioning the G.P.s decision and also because I am costing them money by having the temerity to require CT scans in the first place.
Whilst researching what I should do about developing vascular atheroma I came across this paper. Apologies it is quite old and has possibly been posted before but it has a good explanation of LDL and HDL and although it does not rule out statins it does make the case quite strongly for borderline thyroid conditions to be treated.
thyroid, blood flow and atheroma | QJM: An International Journal of Medicine | Oxford Academic (oup.com)
Cholesterol is made in the liver - because you need it - and the liver keeps levels stable by making more cholesterol when you consume less, and making less when you consume more. However, when T3 is low, the body cannot process cholesterol correctly, and it tends to mount up in the blood. Raise the FT3 level and the cholesterol level should drop.
Have you read any of Dr Malcolm Kendrick's work? Unfortunately, he doesn't mention thyroid, but he does have a lot of intelligent things to say about cholesterol.
As for statins, they are really not reocmmended for hypos because the low thyroid hormones can make the side-effects worse. Particularly the effect on muscles. But quite apart from that, taking statins will impair your body's ability to look after itself. It will no-long be able to make adequate amounts of sex hormones, because sex hormones are make of cholesterol. And that puts you in danger of developing hormone-dependant cancers, like breast cancer. And, because, being hypo, you are already hormonally challanged, it will upset the apple cart even further. And the body will no-longer be able to to carry out necessary repairs - especially in the arteries where it is needed to act as a sticking plaster to inflammation damage. That is why having low cholesterol is more likely to cause a heart attack than having high cholesterol.
Thanks for replying Greygoose. I haven't read Dr Kendricks work but will look it up.
I am attempting to raise my T3 off the floor and it is getting much better. 5.4 at last test (3.0-6.2) but suspect the years without any thyroid treatment at all as I was told I was borderline will have contributed to where I find myself today.
I will continue to refuse statins at my new surgery, once I find one....
On another issue; have you come across profuse sweating events through the night? I have them every night, despite being fairly cold during the day. Consequently my sleep is very poor as I am up and down all night changing PJs. I sleep with a duvet cover with no duvet in it and it was -4C last night. Still had 3 horrific night sweats....doctors not even vaguely interested.
I have read about people having horrific night sweats, but - touch wood - it's not something I've experienced myself. Maybe write a new post asking just about that?
Regarding night sweats, I began to have them when my thyroid journey began in 2013. I was bathed in sweat, waking up in the middle of the night, ferociously hungry. At some point I determined that I wasn't able to maintain an adequate blood sugar level when asleep. It's not nearly as severe now but perhaps partly because I decided to try eating a muffin the firsttime I would wake up at night. This has effectively prevented me from progressing into a more explosive attack later in the night.
Statins are meant to lower cholesterol, but since inflammation is the problem in heart attacks, not cholesterol, I would avoid taking them. Doctors insist on prescribing statins for their sake, not yours. You see, if a patient dies for any reason and their medical chart shows that they had elevated cholesterol and the doctor didn't prescribe a statin, that doctor might as well run their medical license through a paper shredder.
Thanks Kiefer. I might try having a nibble before bed and see if it reduces the night sweats. I am pretty desperate so I'll try anything. I think my G.P. has got the message about the statins. I've refused them 4 times now.
Don’t take Statins. My friend’s husband has just died of Inclusion Body Myositis and lung fibrosis caused by them. So sad for them.😢 Normally muscle damage ceases when you come off Statins but his didn’t. They continued to melt away until he was in a wheelchair and then suddenly passed away this month. We are all heartbroken , he was such a lovely man. He was put on high dose fish oil instead of Statins so maybe that would help some folk. I would definitely not follow the cholesterol hypothesis as it’s a con. There are lots of good books explaining why.
Hi Marymary, so sorry to hear about your friends husband. How tragic. Especially when the medication prescribed ended up doing more harm than good.I have refused statins several times now and my GP is not pleased with me, hence kicking me off panel. I suspect it will not be easy to find another GP, depending what is on my notes. Grey goose has put up a good explanation about T3 and cholesterol and info about Dr Kendrick, so I will have a look at that.
One thing for sure, this growing old lark ain't easy! LOL
Another source is a blog and books by Spacedoc Duane Graveline. Thief of memory was one book on Statin Damage of his. He suffered from this horrible drug and he is dead now. I used to read his blog in the hope of helping my pals. Good luck.
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