low thyroid with high bad cholesterol

just had bloodwork done and everything great but thyroid production slightly low and my bad cholesterol was high at 176 so total cholesterol was high at 271. dr. wanting me to start on medication for both!! have been exercising on regular basis for 25 years and always watched what i ate!!!  he is telling me its family history and i need to start on lipitor and a throid medicine!  NEVER taken medicine.  I"m wanting to follow a special diet for a year and then retest for my levels!! Opinions???

[erijon]

Your LDL is much too high and it needs to be treated as life style changes alone will not do enough good most likely, especially if you are already living a healthy lifestyle including exercise and still have an LDL this high. There are many diets to try, but my guess is you should start the statins to be safe. You have much to gain, just have a very frank discussion with your doctor about any side effect concerns you may have. These are very safe drugs and are very, very effective. You can always come off them, but you can never make arterial plaques go away.

Good luck,

Jon