Any advice please on my lipid results taken from a finger prick sample when attending an appointment at Our Future Health research programme. They were elevated .
Total cholesterol 7.6 mmol/L
HDL 1.22 mmol/AL
Triglycerides 4.72 mmol/L
They did not record LDL unfortunately.
It was non-fasting.
I was advised to seek advice from my GP and who has now asked for a formal blood test for Lipids inc Hba1c which I have yet to arrange.
I have to discuss results after I have had them done.
I am wondering if I might be put on statins? Is it linked to hypothyroidism? Any advice greatly appreciated.
High cholesterol is most definitely linked to being hypo: to low T3, to be precise. But doctors don't know that, and don't want to know, because they just want to prescribe statins. If I were you, I'd refuse statins and get full thyroid testing - private if necessary:
TSH
FT4
FT3
TPO and Tg antibodies if you haven't had them done before and don't know if you have Hashi's
vit D
vit B12
folate
ferritin
Statins are most definitely not recommended for hypos because side-effects are often worse, and they're not recommended for women, either. The cholesterol won't kill you, but the statins might.
GG your on target as always. Dr's love to give scripts for everything. Stations caused my family members dementia . In all honesty why are statins still on the market? Oh yeah just follow the M-O-N-E-Y.🤦♀️
Yes agree. I am hypo and mine is about 7. I understand that years ago a high cholesterol result often gave rise to testing for thyroid problems. Glad to hear your comments re stating too.
particularly the section entitled : People at an increased risk of side effects.
I've underlined the bit about treating people with hypothyroidism.
Statins should be taken with caution if you're at an increased risk of developing a rare side effect called myopathy, which is where the tissues of your muscles become damaged and painful. Severe myopathy (rhabdomyolysis) can lead to kidney damage.
Things that can increase this risk include:
being over 70 years old
having a history of liver disease
regularly drinking large quantities of alcohol
having a history of muscle-related side effects when taking a statin or fibrate (another type of medicine for high cholesterol)
having a family history of myopathy or rhabdomyolysis
If one or more of these apply to you, you may need to be frequently monitored to check for complications. A lower dose of statin may also be recommended.
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.
Read more about the side effects of statins.
The last sentence in the bit in bold above is a link to this :
One of the sneaky things that crops up about statins a lot is that we are told about the effects of statins on heart attacks, possibly strokes too.
But there are many other causes of death apart from the cardiovascular ones including about 200 different kinds of cancer. We aren't told what happens to our risk of death from the various forms of cancer when taking statins - they increase.
Statins are also known to increase the risks of Type 2 Diabetes, Cancer, Dementia, Cataracts, as well as kidney failure/rhabdomyolysis/muscle wastage.
If you develop Type 2 Diabetes your risks of side effects from the diabetes itself will be added to the risks from statins, if you should decide to take them.
A few links worth taking a look at :
Even if you don't read it all the graphs on this link are eye-opening :
There's a lot of controversy about cholesterol. I would not rush into statins. Have a sniff around Youtube, plenty of Dr's saying nothing wrong with high cholesterol so long as it isn't extreme and statin have side effects . If you are really worried get a PET scan of your heart and neck arteries to see if you have any blockages .
Yes we need cholesterol to make hormones. It's hard to understand how Dr's are being trained in Medical Academia. It all boils down to filling the pockets of the Big Pharma at the expense of society.
As others have mentioned, high cholesterol can definitely be linked to inadequate treatment of hypothyroidism. I'm also seeing many anecdotal reports on Long- Covid fora that people's cholesterol has shot up following Covid infection. In those cases, it often appears to regularise itself after a year or so, so keep an eye on it.
All of that said, the first thing is to have your LDL tested. I've had slightly high cholesterol for several years, but several doctors have picked that up and then said there's no reason to worry as my LDL was in range.
Dr. Peter Taylor (Cardiff) has done some good contemporary research on this. Thyroid and cholesterol. Try finding any doctor who knows about it, acknowledges it, prescribe on the basis of it and let me know.
I have been asked about data security, which I am not qualified to comment on. I can only say that the data from your tests is not held by the NHS which is why GP will repeat all testing using conventional blood testing methods.
Hi Hidden Short answer is yes it can be linked to hypothyroidism as being hypo alters how we process fat. My understanding is that hypos have trouble clearing cholesteral. Mine went as high as 18 but my TSH was not tested until my symptoms got really bad. TSH turned out to be 161. Cholesterol now in single figures and on levo but I don't want statins as they make my already sore muscles worse.
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Help with understanding thyroid and cholesterol blood results please!
Latest blood results following request for increased dose
Cholesterol numbers
Can I increase T3?
