Looks Like My Cholesterol Is High, Yikes

[Sparklingsunshine]

I've spent the best part of the day at my local hospital today. I saw my GP as I'd been experiencing increasing shortness of breath over the last week or so and as I had pericarditis last summer I think they wanted to be sure it wasnt anything similar.

So I got sent to the one stop shop aka SDEC, same day emergency care, which seems to be a relatively new alternative to A&E and much better imo. Anyway a chest ray, ECG and blood tests later, and lots of waiting, they concluded it was an asthma flare up, and after a nebuliser, new inhaler and steroid treatment I've been released.

The consultant mentioned my cholesterol has gone up since last summer, was 5.8 or so then and its now over 7. I'm really shocked, I dont drink, smoke, eat processed food and I exercise very regularly, walking, resistance and cardio at the gym.

I dont eat sugar, refined carbs and eat plenty of fruit and veg and I'm not sure what else I can do. I'm sure my GP will eventually get the report and be urging me to go on statins which I'll be declining. Will the fact I'm on T4/ T3 combi help. T3 cant make cholesterol worse can it? Very alarmed.

[DippyDame]

You are very possibly undermedicated!

chriskresser.com/high-chole...

See helpful comments from greygoose here

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

[greygoose]

T3 can only make it better!

Cholesterol levels have nothing to do with diet - as I'm always saying. It's made in the liver - and the liver makes it because your body needs it - and the liver keeps levels steady by making more when you ingest less and vice versa. But, when FT3 levels are low, the body cannot process cholesterol correctly, and it tends to mount up in the blood.

But, there's no 'yikes' about it? The cholesterol isn't going to do you any harm. On the contrary. It doesn't cause heart attacks or strokes as doctors would have you believe because doctors want to prescrb statins. Low cholesterol is far more dangerous than high because cholesterol actually protects you from heart attacks by healing the damaged arteries.

So, no, you don't need statins. High cholesterol is a sign that your FT3 is too low, and you need to raise it.

[Sparklingsunshine in reply to greygoose]

Thank you GG, I've never worried about cholesterol or know much about it. Do you know how quickly it starts coming down in response to T3?

[greygoose in reply to Sparklingsunshine]

Pretty quickly, I think. But it's not something I've experienced myself because my cholesterol is naturally (dangeroulsy) low.