Thyroid and Cholesterol connection

[Gran123]

I have high cholesterol total 6.7 but I don't want to take Statins.I eat well,avoid processed foods etc. I have annual Thyroid function tests to monitor a Thyroid goitre which is not growing and benign. My recent test results 10 am no food or drink, were very brief, TSH normal, 1.94 mIU/L (0.38 - 5.33) Nothing else was tested. I have a pacemaker for a low heart rate, A/F sensitive to cold, nervy jumpy legs and on/off brain fog. I know there is a relationship between high cholesterol and Thyroid problems and would feel happier if I could discuss this with GP and ask for more comprehensive tests. On the other hand don't want to make an issue when there isn't one. I would love your patient to patient views. Thankyou

[Marz]

Looking back at previous posts ( you joined in 2017 ) I can read that private testing has been suggested. This is so you can obtain a T3 reading. Both AF and raised cholesterol can be linked to LOW T3.

Scroll down or across to RELATED POSTS where you will find 10 more posts about Cholesterol.

Even the NHS website mentions treating the thyroid adequately before taking a statin....remind your GP - gently 🌻

[Gran123 in reply to Marz]

Thankyou!

[greygoose]

High cholesterol is usually due to low FT3. It has nothing to do with your diet.

Cholesterol is made in the liver - because the body needs it! - and the liver keeps the level steady by making more when you consume less, and vice versa. However, when T3 is low, the body cannot process cholesterol correctly, and it tends to build up in the blood.

But it's not a problem, anyway. It does not cause heart attacks or strokes as doctors would have you believe.

Just testing TSH is totally inadequate because, for one thing, it's not 100% reliable. And for another, it doesn't distinguish between T4 and T3. So, your T4 could be high but your T3 low. (Please stop me if you have no idea what I'm talking about! )

It sounds like you need full thyroid testing:

TSH

FT4

FT3

TPO antibodies

Tg antibodies

vit D

vit B12

folate

ferritin

Testing nutrients is essential because low nutrients can cause symptoms - e.g. low ferritin can cause 'nervy jumpy legs'.

However, it's unlikely that your doctor - or the lab! - will ever do all those tests, so are you in a position to do private testing?

Details of private testing here:

thyroiduk.org/testing/priva...

It's also unlikely that your doctor will know anything about any of the above! So very much doubt if you will ever be able to discuss it all with him. But, it does sound like you have a thyroid problem. And if your blood draw had been before 9 am, it would probably have been over 2, which would show that your thyroid is struggling.

[Gran123 in reply to greygoose]

I can have a private blood and nutrient test and will go from there. Thankyou for the prompt!

[greygoose in reply to Gran123]

You're welcome.

[SlowDragon Administrator]

Essential to also test vitamin D, folate, ferritin and B12 too

Low vitamin levels more common as we get older and extremely common if hypothyroid

[Madge72]

That's what I did..... I needed a triple bypass 8weeks ago.....feeling fine now

[ShatteredofLee]

Sorry I'm late to respond to this post. I'm facing a similar dilemma as my cholesterol is at 7, and has been above 6.7 for four years now. GP's appear to use an online tool these days which factors in other risks such as what age direct relatives have had strokes/heart attacks, so this then maybe makes the picture a bit clearer. Is that what you have been given?

However, my issue is that when they did that online tool, as I had relatives that died young (mother/father), instead of a 'dont know' they put it down as 'no'. There are also various research papers out there making the association with increased risk of cardiovascular disease and hypothyroidism - and the online tool doesn't ask that question and doesn't take into account hypothyroidism. So again, its not the full picture. I'd say, try to get as much info on your risks as possible.

Personally, despite high cholesterol levels, being 61, having grandparents whove died of heart attacks, I've been denied statins by my GP based on an inaccurate online tool. Despite an unwillingness to take yet more drugs, I actually do think I probably need them.