I've been taking T3 (cynomel) for 16 days, now at a dose of 31.25 mcg per day, building up slowly.

Also been taking Alpha Lipoic Acid, 300mg, for two weeks.


july20th, 30th, 6th Aug
FBG 110 96 85
HDL 47 49 53
Trig 154 95 79
TC 337 348 298
carbs ? 52 56grams per day

This is now my 14th week of low carb. I've been as low as 15g carb per day. Last week's average net carbs was 56 grams per day.

Of course one decrease in cholesterol doesn't make a trend. But it's an encouraging start.

HDL increasing and trig decreasing, always a good sign. Nice job

Thanks.

Trig/HDL ratio now 1.5. Six weeks ago it was 6.3.

Wow, amazing! Doing a wonderful Job. I'm sure you are 'wowing' your doc.

No. I don't dare visit my doc until TC is around 200 again, as it was in December last year.

Oh neat! Glad to hear it is working for you. It sure is interesting how T3 reduces cholesterol.

Thanks Nancy.

There are two ways that one can have high cholesterol. Either the body produces too much or it fails to clear enough (or both).

Popular theory is that saturated fats will increase the amount of cholesterol in the blood stream.

T3 operates in the clearance department. It will be interesting to see how low the cholesterol will go in the context of eating lots of butter, coconut oil and meat.

It will also be interesting to see whether I can wean off the supplement and still maintain optimal levels of cholesterol (200 to 240 would be my goal). The yahoo group moderators say that you can wean off the supplement if you can find and remedy the cause of rT3. I'm increasing carbs to around 50g per day and addressing high cortisol.

Today, one week after my original post:

TC: 216 (last week 298, the week before 350)
LDL: around 140 (last week 205, the week before 280)

Just remember that low carbing pushes UP the HDL ("good" cholesterol) and thus, can push up total cholesterol.

Mine is 236 -- which is right at the "sweet spot" for maximum health.

Don't believe pharmaceutical companies about where it should be.

Update:
After 7 weeks on cynomel, now at 75mcg per day:
TC: 162
HDL: 54
LDL:90
Trig: 77.

Whoa. That's amazing. Are you having any side effects? I just read through them and it is sobering.

I just got a TC of 317 and have a doctor's appointment in the morning. It's been 274-275 for 30 years and every doctor has tried to put me on statins. For one thing, I can't tolerate them.

Also..the last doctor, 3 years ago or so pressured me into following Weight Watchers...I tried to do it low carb, but failed. It opened the carb floodgates and I regained 25 lbs. Bleh.

Anyway sorry for the rant but I am happy to see you succeed with T3.

T3 is a hormone your body makes but some of us don't really make enough. Yes, T3 side-effects, if you take too much, are awful, but it's really obvious and you simply cut down to a better dose.

Thanks for the encouragement Nancy. I'll post about what the doctor says about it when I get home.

I had the cholesterol appointment today. A little background: I've had high cholesterol since my 1st test: 269 (I think). All through my 30-40's it ran 274-275. Very little variation.

Maybe 3 years ago, when I had different insurance and was going to the renowned Scripps Clinic in La Jolla, my doctor put me on statins. The nutritionist I was sent to was all "BlahblahblahNoBeefOrEggs, blahblahblahFoodPyramid, blahblahblahWeightWatchersWeightWatchersWeightWatchers. That was when I quit maintaining my 60 lb. loss and regained 25. I can NOT handle carbs. A little led to a little more until the carb floodgates were open.

In addition to that, I had bad side effects from the statins: muscle pain and weakness. My legs felt like concrete when I climbed the stairs. I quit them.

OK. Fast forward to my new insurance (Kaiser) and my new doctor. I went to him for the first time in April and he gave me a *different* statin, but I got the same side effects and quit. His office called me in August and said it was time to do another blood panel, which I did during my most recent round of induction.

Cholesterol came back at 317. HDL, 64; Triglycerides 123. I think HDL was 224 but I'm forgetting at the moment. Ratio was 4.7 (I think).

So, at today's appointment I was expecting the worst. One thing I asked for, a thyroid med called Cytomel, was shot down immediately. OK.

I mentioned I had just lost weight by doing 5 weeks of induction (why not throw the worst out there first? [img]images/smilies/lol.gif[/img] ) and GUESS WHAT??

He said, "That's fine. Atkins is fine. It's a good way to lose weight, and a healthy way to eat."

[img]images/smilies/hyper.gif[/img][img]images/smilies/hyper.gif[/img][img]images/smilies/hyper.gif[/img]

I felt so relieved I can't even explain!!

He qualified it by saying,that in view of my being diabetic, and with such a high reading, he wants me to choose lean cuts of beef. Not eliminate it, just don't choose a fatty cut of beef (or pork). Otherwise follow Atkins. I'd already thrown out there that I didn't use HWC in my coffee anymore. He didn't comment.

He re-prescribed a statin and I am to take 1/2 a pill a day and if I have side effects, call him.

He said high cholesterol is primarily genetic (I told him my father's ran the same) and that fiber had only a minimal effect. So: "Continue following Atkins...it's a good diet."

Oh, he did mention that out of the complete blood panel he ran, the only thing out of range was the cholesterol. He was everything else...kidneys, liver, etc. "was great".

T3 Side effects: cold feet and hands for a few hours every day. Some days I don't respond well to an increase. Feel a bit sluggish. But I used to feel like that a lot without realizing that sluggishness and the need to take a nap, after a good 8 hour sleep, is a sign of hypothyroidism.

You know the prevailing feeling about statins in this forum: they merely put a bandaid on the problem. Listen to Chris Masterjohn's recent interview with Chris Kresser where he distinguishes between the infiltrative theory of cholesterol and the degenerative theory. Your doctor is implementing the infiltrative theory (cholesterol infiltrates your arteries), which has been discredited.

"He said high cholesterol is primarily genetic." I've heard that said before by a friend taking statins. But where's the evidence? Have you tested for familial hypercholesteremia? If not he's shooting from the hip in order to justify putting you on a lifetime course of drugs of questionable value and avoiding finding the cause of your metabolic imbalance.

Did he give a reason for shooting down Cytomel? On what basis did he dismiss poor thyroid function as a possible cause for high cholesterol? Did you ask to test thyroid function? rT3?
If your cholesterol is very high there must be a reason. Genetics is unlikely to be the sole cause. Your current doctor isn't interested in finding the cause. If you want to solve the problem, find a doctor who is.