Thyroid/Cholesterol

[CMTL]

My physician changed me from Levothyroxin to Armour Thyroid as I was having severe joint pain. I had been on 125mcg of the Levothyroxin for a couple of years. When I was switched she put me on Armour thyroid 15mg for 2 weeks then 30 mg thereafter.(Not nearly a high enough dose compared to my dose of Levothyroxin)  I remained on that dose for about 3 months and then went in to get my lab work which included Thyroid profile and Cholesterol Profile.  My thyroid was WAY low , TSH very high at 58 and my cholesterol (273) and LDL (195) was higher than it had ever been in my life.  I am a vegetarian, exercise on a reg basis and no longer take BP meds since I have lost 45 pounds, quit smoking, drinking wine and I exercise on a regular basis. I did notice after several weeks on that dose of Thyroid my energy level was dropping to exhaustion, with confusion, I was very cold and my hair was falling out. She has since started to increase my Armour thyroid. Once I get up to the proper dosage and within the proper thyroid range how long do you think it will take for my Cholesterol levels to drop to the proper range??? I should be up to a good thyroid dose within about 4 weeks. I was so bummed about my Cholesterol...I couldn't believe it esp when I had worked so hard over that past 4 months to lose weight, exercise regularly get off my BP meds and change my eating 100%. I don't ever eat at fast food restaurant's or any restaurant for that matter. I don't eat processed foods, red meat or pork and I eat organic fresh raw foods. Even when my diet was a nightmare my cholesterol was never above 230 with  HDL over 68 and LDL just barely elevated.
Will 6 months be time enough to wait to get a honest reading on what my cholesterol really is when my thyroid is within range????

[Tropicalchris53]

O and my cholesterol levels and tryglicerides are normal now I think the fish oil did the trick!

[Tropicalchris53]

I have been hypo for a while and never wanted to take levo but I changed my mind because my cholesterol and triglycerides were too high to chance it so I began taking synthroid. Been on it for 2 mo. I also take lots of fish oil, primrose oil, D,B12, biotin, zinc etc, etc. I feel like a pill popper!
Anyway, I don't like synthroid because my hair began falling out at an alarming rate, I'm getting bad leg cramps and can't sleep well. This has happened since taking synthroid.
I use to take raw thyroid and it seemed to work ok my thyroid went from 7.8 to 5.6 on that so when I switched to 25mg of synthroid it didn't change that much then I went to 50mg and the fun began with my extreme hair loss. That is for the birds!
I have hoshimotos so I went on a gluten free diet per doctors order and I lost 10lbs. My antibodies went from 179 to 90 I had less bloating and felt better but my thyroid stayed hypo still. So I'm thinking about trying something else beside levo. Plus keep taking raw thyroid at least I had no bad side affects!

[Red_Star]

Slower metabolism due to untreated or undertreated hypothyroidism slows down the liver function and this often results in higher cholesterol, LDL, and triglycerides.

[Stufftie]

Your dose of Armour is still low in comparison.  I love Armour.  I increased my Armour every 2 weeks until I was at 90 mg stayed there for 3 months went to 120 mg.  I feel I will be moving up to 150 mg pretty soon. Or that is what my body is telling me.  

I also take two doses a day.  Split up the Armour for a constant feed of T3.

Don't take your Armour right before a blood test as it will show to high of Free T3 and your doctor will decreased your medication.

My LDL was also high on to little of synthetic. My doctor at the time told me to take Fish Oil.  Goolarra is correct on it being to little of medication for thyroid.

You said you are a vegetarian.  Has anyone tested your Iron or B12.  If those are low you will still be symptomatic.  B12 should be around 800.  Our ferritin should be 70 - 90.

What are your Free T levels?

[goolarra]

Your cholesterol is elevated when it hasn't been previously because high cholesterol is a symptom of hypo (undermedication).  As you metabolism ramps up with the added meds, your cholesterol should go down.  I'd say six months is more than enough time for it to go down, but if it remains high, you can take that as an indication that your meds are still not high enough for you.  

Don't forget that just being "in range" is often not enough.  Many of us find that FT4 has to be close to midrange and FT3 has to be in the upper half to upper third of range (upper third especially when any meds with T3 in them are taken) before we're truly asymptomatic.

I had a similar experience with cholesterol...doing everything "better" and having cholesterol spike 100 points.  I was taking a  glucosamine/chondroitin supplement at the time for my joints.  I discovered that one of the main ingredients in the supplement is shrimp shells, and shrimp are high in cholesterol.  I researched it online and could only find a preliminary study that found no relationshipe between the supplement and spiking cholesterol.  However, I did find enough other people asking the same question that I have to think there is something to it.  The preliminary study did acknowledge that g/c might have the effect of raising cholesterol in a "subpopulation" with as yet unidentified traits.  Interestingly, when I discontinued the g/c, my cholesterol went back down 100 points.