Man, I HATE doctors! Instead of admitting they don't know something, or asking to read studies on a topic, most simply dismiss any unknown as "quackery".

While we’re at it, I think statins are quackery, but I don't call anyone who prescribes them a quack!

You’ll probably need to order your own RT3 test.

Your total cholesterol is still too high likely because your T3 is so low.

So did the doctor immediately try to demand you go on statins with numbers like that? That's what my doctor did, for numbers almost identical to yours (total: 295, triglycerides: 49, HDL: 74, LDL: 201). She almost seemed to claim I'd fall over dead before I got out of her office with numbers like that - unless I immediately got on statins. But when I said I was sure that the numbers were a result of incomplete or non-existent T3 conversion she basically dismissed that as quackery.

That was the main reason I decided I would never go back to her, even if if meant doing without meds entirely. As for NMR - I bet your particle size is perfect since "good" (large fluffy) LDL is associated with high HDL and low tris, and "bad" (small, dense) LDL is associated with low HDL and high tris. Your HDL and tris alone are probably enough to suggest your LDL is the large, fluffy kind.

My doctor *did* agree to do the NMR test, after seeing the above numbers, after much urging and begging from me. But she pretty much ignored the results, said my LDL particle count was "too high" so it didn't matter what sort of LDL it was - though by getting a copy of the test results myself and going through them I was able to determine that LDL was 90% large and fluffy - which is about what would be expected with my HDL and tri numbers.

Anyway, good luck and let us know what results you get from the NMR. I just had blood test this morning after 2 weeks on Armour, so will be curious to see what my own numbers show.

My total cholesterol before going on natural thyroid was 269. When I was optimised on natural thyroid it shot down to 170.

What a strange coincidence.

The day I had that blood drawn I felt like something scooped out of a cat's litter box. So some of it is probably from my low T3. I'm sure my particle size will still be okay.

He didn't press the point after I said, "Where's my particle size count?" and he shuffled through the papers, called the nurse in, and she finally came back and said the test results weren't back yet. (It had been two weeks. She said it could take three weeks to come back.)

They've been on me about statins for the last two visits. That's why I said I wanted a particle size test before we talk statins. (But truth be told, I'll never take a statin! I just wanted to see my particle size.)

Seriously, no matter what doc says, when your T3 comes up, your cholesterol will go down. There is an an inverse relationship between the two. Even mild elevations (TC =220 for example) come down when T3 goes up.

MRI of the brain results:

1. Patient has a partially empty sella. The residual pituitary tissue is normal.

Conclusion: Normal MRI of brain and pituitary in patient with partially empty sella.


From what I've researched, the pituitary sits inside the sella, but in some people the sella appears empty or partially empty when it gets a little hole in it and gets fluid/pressure in it and presses on the pituitary. It squashes the pituitary, causing the sella to look empty or partially empty. In most people doesn't adversely affect them. In others, it can cause endocrine problems, which I have. The pituitary runs the thyroid. Mine isn't running it very well.

I don't know what they'll want to do. A pituitary test? Where they give you something and wait a few hours to see if your pituitary responds and produces something else. It said something about getting an eye test, to check for cranial pressure.

It's not something anybody dies from. It could mean that my pituitary isn't going to function as well as a non-squashed one and I will continue to need hormones. It may mean that I will need other hormones, besides the thyroid ones. It could mean that at one time I had a cyst there and it's gone now, but the pituitary is still squashed.

I don't know what the dr. will say or what other tests he will order.

Huh! An empty sella. I suppose that gives ammunition to someone who claims your head is empty? Just kidding, of course.

I hope you get to the bottom of this!

I know. My husband is having a field day!

This is a great website for any type of pituitary or adrenal issue: http://www.addisonssupport.com/. I found them very helpful.