Thyroid worries. Freaking out about cholesterol. Need advice

[Qix]

Just got my results total is 4.1 my ldl is normal but my hdl is 0.85 which I think is low. My thyroid is borderline 4.5 I am worried it's affecting my cholesterol. I am trying to see a doc so I can convince them to put me on a low dose of thyroxine. My thyroid was normal two months ago but I have had massive stress since then. What should I do. Am I freaking out over nothing?

[Light_Bringer777]

Well thyroid is nothing to "freak out" about really. Hypothyroid here, took over a year to get diagnosed too. It is true that hypothyroidism will affect your cholesterol level.

4.5 *TSH right?) is past the new guideline from the AACE which is now 3.0, so that's an hypothyroid result right there, but getting treated between a TSH of 3 and 10 can be quite the challenge as doctors often use outdate guidelines or don't think it's necessary to treat on a "slightly high" tsh.

Do you have any hypothyroid symptoms? They can be really preachy but I still recommend joining the facebook group of the Stop The Thyroid Madness book, "For thyroid patients only" I think it's called now. Lots of great information to get on the subject.

Why do you say you're freaking out? Something worrying you about being borderline hypothyroid in particular? It's really nothing special. Can be a pain in the butt to treat optimally but definitely not something dangerous or anything.

My guess is your doctor will probably have you monitor your TSH over the years and start medication when symptoms get severe or TSH gets above 10. It's an ok protocol so long as you don't feel like crap from it. I had pretty bad symptoms from a TSH of 4.9 myself, had to go through 5 doctors to get treated.

[Qix]

Hi and thanks for the reply.

My tsh is 4.5 and t4 is 14 I think. So by the UK guidelines I am borderline subclinical hypothyroid. I just had a repeat blood test today to confirm but it will probably be the same.

The reason I am freaking out is because of the symptoms I have. Really bad fatigue, nausea, cloudy thoughts, tinnitus, chest tightness and breathing isn't great. I am only 25 but am convinced I have premature heart disease and my cholestrol results are not great. My hdl is on the low side and that's after 3 months of a healthy diet. So I am wondering how long I've been walking around with an underactive thyroid and what it's been doing to my cholestrol because I've felt this way for years particularly the fatigue and chest pains. Sorry for the long reply but I am very on edge about this. What symptoms did you have with your thyroid and did treatment fix them? Thanks

[Frankie123]

Seems to me your cholesterol is pretty good as it is under 5. You can improve your good ratio by eating more fish and less fat but I don't think you have anything to worry about.

[sarahsparkleshine]

You may want to research cholesterol a bit more. Lower isn't healthy. Read the cholesterol myth. Good read.