Hi guys my name Alan , am 59 yrs old and have been taking thyroxine for nearly 30yrs , I want to try and get as much information as possible because the ride I’ve had as been on as been very long and bumpy I’ve just stumbled across this website about people suffering with this thyroid condition and would like to here from other thyroid suffers , at this moment my cholesterol and blood pressure as as gone very high and am convinced it’s down to my thyroids and my doctors I guess are just guessing with what I have they lowered my thyroxine from to 250 mg a day to 200mg a day and cholesterol levels and blood pressure are just as bad I’ve had blood test and now I’ve refused the statins and propanol, sorry forgot to mention this all because I was getting palpitations and still am , I’ve refused as am convinced it’s my thyroids and want to get my levels back to normal but there saying my levels are just a bit above it’s all very confusing to me , so now they have upped my meds back up to 225mg a day as anyone had these symptoms or can anyone point me in the right direction as I feel my GP is just guessing thanks for your time
can your thyroids meds give you high blood pres... - Thyroid UK
can your thyroids meds give you high blood pressure and high cholesterol?
Hi welcome
Do you have some recent test results with ranges? This will help people give informed advice
Thanks for your message Obsdian , these are my last two blood results for my thyroid TSH 11 Feb 25 2.0MU/L 19 March 7.9 MU/L , T4 11th Feb 23.3 pmol , 19 March 17.9pmol I hope these make sense thanks once again .
Its not really clear which is which result and you havent quoted the reference ranges - numbers in brackets after your result.
Your TSH looks on the high side. How do you take your Levo? Its extremely fussy and needs to be taken alone, on an empty stomach, 1 hr before anything other than water. Otherwise it just doesnt absorb very well at all.
Suggest you get full private blood testing run to include TSH, FT4 & FT3 plus key vitamins.
When hypo we get low stomach acid which means we cannot absorb vitamins well from our food, regardless of a great diet. For thyroid hormone to work well we need OPTIMAL levels of vitamins.
Have you recently or could you ask your GP to test levels of ferritin, folate, B12 & D3? Private tests are available, see link for companies offering private blood tests & discount codes, some offer a blood draw service at an extra cost. thyroiduk.org/testing/priva...
There is also a new company offering walk in& mail order blood tests in London, Kent, Sussex & Surrey areas. Check to see if there is a blood test company near you. onedaytests.com/products/ul...
Only do private tests on a Monday or Tuesday to avoid postal delays.
When testing, always test at 9am or earlier, fasting, for highest TSH. Take Levo that day AFTER the test. No biotin supplement for 4-7 days before the test.
welcome to the forum
11 Feb 25
TSH 2.0MU/L
Ft4 23.3 pmol
19 March
TSH 7.9 MU/L
Ft4 17.9pmol
Please add ranges on these results (figures in brackets after each test)
Do you ALWAYS test as recommended 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)
Do you always get same brand of levothyroxine at each prescription
If dose needed reducing then it should be done in SMALL steps of 25mcg or less ….
Your result in Feb TSH does NOT indicate you needed to reduce dose
Suspect dose was inappropriately reduced
Many thyroid patients feel best on high enough dose to bring TSH down to around 1
Palpitations can be caused by being UNDER medicated
Just testing TSH and Ft4 is totally inadequate anyway
Is your hypothyroidism autoimmune
Private tests are available as NHS currently rarely tests Ft3 or all relevant vitamins
Post all about what time of day to test
healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...
Testing options and includes money off codes for private testing
Medichecks Thyroid plus BOTH TPO and TG antibodies and vitamins
medichecks.com/products/adv...
Blue Horizon Thyroid Premium Gold includes BOTH TPO and TG antibodies, cortisol and vitamins
bluehorizonbloodtests.co.uk...
Medichecks and BH also offer private blood draw at clinic near you, or private nurse to your own home…..for an extra fee
Only do private testing early Monday or Tuesday morning.
Tips on how to do DIY finger prick test
support.medichecks.com/hc/e...
If you normally take levothyroxine at bedtime/in night ...adjust timings as follows prior to blood test
If testing Monday morning, delay Saturday evening dose levothyroxine until Sunday morning. Delay Sunday evening dose levothyroxine until after blood test on Monday morning. Take Monday evening dose levothyroxine as per normal
Monitor My Health (NHS private test service) offer thyroid and vitamin testing, plus cholesterol and HBA1C for £65
(Doesn’t include thyroid antibodies)
monitormyhealth.org.uk/full...
10% off code here
thyroiduk.org/testing/priva...
IMPORTANT......If you are taking vitamin B complex, or any supplements containing biotin, remember to stop these 3-5 days before ALL BLOOD TESTS , as biotin can falsely affect test results
endocrinenews.endocrine.org...
In days before blood test, when you stop vitamin B complex, you might want to consider taking a separate folate supplement (eg Jarrow methyl folate 400mcg) and continue separate B12 if last test result serum B12 was below 500 or active B12 (private test) under 70
Come back with new post once you get results
Sorry you are suffering.Cholesterol can be high with not enough thyroid hormone as not enough energy for your body to turn cholesterol into other useful hormones your body needs.
At 250 mcg
TSH of 2 is on high side.
Your T4 range is likely 12 to 22 so 23.3 is a bit over range which is not thought good.
At 200 mcg
TSH 7.9 and T4 17.9 .
Your TSH looks too high, not enough thyroid hormone.
T4 looks OK.
It takes about 8 weeks for dose change to be fully shown in bloods.
Pretty sure high blood pressure not thyroid level issue but hopefully some more experienced comments. It would be good to know T3 levels.
You can get T3 result which is active hormone as well as T4 and TSH for about £30 from monitor my health and Randox. That is active hormone your levo/T4 is turned into and what actually does the work.
9AM not meds that morning or anything but water.
Forum is busy so repost any new info/changes to get post seen.
Good Luck
Yes both high blood pressure & cholesterol can be caused by hypothyroidism . you can look up the NICE guidelines yourself .
Welcome and keep reading here - drop in when you can and just browse. Loads of very valuable info - I knew nothing and was ill until I came here and found my dose was all wrong for me.
Personally I would do a private blood test (lots of info on here) and find out where your vitamin levels are and especially your T3 (the active hormone in your blood stream that drives everything else). I have suspicion that you are not converting your T4 efficiently - many of us dont, hence the high cholesterol and bp.
When you have the results come back and we can help further. Best wishes.
Hi Bluetate. Synthroid caused ever escalating blood pressure for me. I took 200mcg for years and quit a year ago. After quitting, BP stopped going up but hasn't returned to normal. I'm still researching.
It is the condition you are treating i.e. hypothyroidism, that will cause high blood pressure and high cholesterol, not the hormones you are taking to deal with your hypothyroidism.
I would be curious about what your Free T3 is. T3 is the active thyroid hormone and about 20% of your supply will be produced by your thyroid itself, and the other 80% comes from the conversion of T4 to T3 which happens in various places around the body.
It's very annoying that your doctor would probably deny you a prescription for T3 despite the fact your high blood pressure and high cholesterol shows that you probably need it.
This link is of interest, particularly since it comes from the NHS itself.
nhs.uk/conditions/statins/c...
People at an increased risk of side effects
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.
Levothyroxine alone doesn't always solve the elevated cholesterol problem; this is because, in some people, it probably doesn't convert to adequately raise their FT3 level. The liver needs T3 to do its job. Your doctor couldn't care less about this thyroid marker but you should. You have an elevated TSH (7.9) but this is irrelevant. It's an indirect measurement of T3 but not very reliable. Also, if you're given too much levothyroxine (too much meaning too much for your unique physiological system), ubiquitination can occur.
"As T4 rises within reference range, its abundance reduces T4 - T3 conversion beyond the bloodstream. The T4 hormone triggers inactivation (ubiquitination) of Deiodinase Type 2 (D2 enzyme) = Less T3."
thyroidpatients.ca/2018/12/...
You mention palpitations...if your FT3 is low enough (or TSH > 2), you can have a compensatory response from your adrenal glands. They'll raise your cortisol levels and can cause palpitations. You didn't mention what your blood pressure was. If you have systolic hypertension (elevated upper number and normal lower number), that would suggest cortisol involvement. The normal ratio for blood pressure is 1.5 (120/80). Mine was consistently high (the ratio) until I increased my dose of T3. Then my blood pressure dropped from 130's / 70's to 110's / 70's.
Bottom line: You're probably a candidate for combination T4 + T3 therapy.
High cholesterol and thyroid link? 
Thyroid meds and high blood pressure (sanity!)
High blood pressure
Statins and blood pressure meds
High blood pressure 
