Although Web MD does not say so directly, you can see they do link problems with your cholesterol test to thyroid disorders. What they do not say is that thyroid function controls the levels of cholesterol in your body. Look at the next article for some more information about this. My cholesterol did not come down until my hypothyroidism was controlled effectively.
From Web MD:
Cholesterol and Triglycerides Tests
What Affects the Test?
Reasons you may not be able to have the test or why the results may not be helpful include:
· Medicines, such as diuretics, corticosteroids, male sex hormones (androgens),tranquilizers, estrogen, birth control pills, antibiotics, and niacin (vitamin B3).
· Physical stress, such as infection, heart attack, surgery.
· Eating 9 to 12 hours before the test.
· Alcohol or drug abuse or withdrawal.
· Liver disease (such as cirrhosis or hepatitis), malnutrition, or hyperthyroidism.
· Pregnancy. Values are the highest during the third trimester and usually return to the prepregnancy levels after delivery of the baby.
Hypothyroidism
Hypothyroidism is a condition in which the thyroid gland does not produce enough thyroid hormone, which regulates the way the body uses energy.
A low thyroid level can cause symptoms of fatigue, weakness, lethargy, weight gain, depression, memory problems, constipation, dry skin, intolerance to cold, coarse and thinning hair, brittle nails, or a yellowish tint to the skin.
Hypothyroidism usually develops slowly. It often results from a problem in which the body's own natural defense (immune) system attacks the thyroid gland (autoimmune thyroiditis or Hashimoto's thyroiditis). Hypothyroidism may also develop following radiation treatment or surgical removal of the thyroid.
Hypothyroidism is treated with medications to replace the thyroid hormone. Symptoms usually disappear within a few months after treatment begins, but most people need to continue taking thyroid hormones for life.
You can see that although Web MD hints at the connection, but they never come out and say it directly. Here is what you need to know:
The High Cholesterol Thyroid Connection
Undiagnosed Thyroid Disease May Be the Reason for Your High Cholesterol
By Mary Shomon, About.com Guide
Updated: November 20, 2009
As many as ten million Americans with high cholesterol levels may not know that their cholesterol is elevated due to undiagnosed thyroid problems.
High cholesterol affects an estimated 98 million people, half the American population, and is a major contributor to heart disease, America's number one killer. But the most commonly known cholesterol raisers -- diet or insufficient exercise - are not necessarily the problem for everyone. Undiagnosed and undertreated hypothyroidism can cause elevated cholesterol, and of the estimated 13 million Americans with thyroid disease, at least half are undiagnosed and millions more are not sufficiently treated, opening them up to the risk of continued hypothyroidism symptoms despite treatment.
Some experts even believe that the numbers of undiagnosed are underestimated, and that the current thyroid diagnostic criteria are too narrow and rigid, and are missing many millions more with subclinical and low-level hypothyroidism.
High cholesterol affects an estimated 98 million people, half the American population, and is a major contributor to heart disease, America's number one killer. But the most commonly known cholesterol raisers -- diet or insufficient exercise - are not necessarily the problem for everyone. Undiagnosed and undertreated hypothyroidism can cause elevated cholesterol, and of the estimated 13 million Americans with thyroid disease, at least half are undiagnosed and millions more are not sufficiently treated, opening them up to the risk of continued hypothyroidism symptoms despite treatment.
Some experts even believe that the numbers of undiagnosed are underestimated, and that the current thyroid diagnostic criteria are too narrow and rigid, and are missing many millions more with subclinical and low-level hypothyroidism.
· Fewer than half of the adults who had been diagnosed with high cholesterol know if they had ever been tested for thyroid disease, despite the well-documented connection between the two conditions.
· Ninety percent of those surveyed were unaware of the thyroid gland's impact on cholesterol regulation.
According to AACE President Richard A. Dickey, M.D., "Patients who have been diagnosed with high cholesterol should ask their physician about having their thyroid checked. If they have an underlying thyroid condition in addition to their high cholesterol, the cholesterol problem will be difficult to control until normal levels of thyroid hormone are restored."
The medical books your doctor relies on do not come out and say it either. I have found that most MD’s have no idea about how to deal with the endocrine system (thyroid and other functions). This lack of knowledge is literally killing people!
There is hope however. Naturopathic physicians get a lot of training in the Endocrine system. Some insurance providers cover Naturopathic Doctors. There are low-income clinics that work on a sliding scale.
If you have elevated Cholesterol please see a Naturopath and get help before you end up with a bypass surgery or diabetes!
