Total HDL 9.6
HDL = 1
LDL = 7.7
trig 1.9

thyroid function = TSH 12.84
ST4 11

My mother has just come back from the Dr. I'm worried. He was doing a routine blood test, she had a little blurry vision and went to get that checked out, he told her he wanted to do a blood test to rule out any chance of diabetes.

He then phoned her and told her to come in, he said he had found worrying levels of cholestarol, and then went through the symptoms of hypothyroid and found she had most symptoms of it. So hes sending her to a specialist who treats thyroid problems.
He said he was worried about the levels of fatty deposits in her blood. She has been LC now (atkins) for over 2 years and she has lost a lot of weight in that time (40lbs)

I was just wondering if anyone could perhaps look at those figures (which mean nothing to me) and tell me what they think is going on....on the one hand it looks like her cholestarol is through the roof, but it looks like her thyroid might be low.

I really don't understnad and it IS worrying me because her grandmother had angina....I'm just hoping this isn't going to turn out to be hereditary.

bumping...

That TSH is very, very high. The new scale for TSH is something like 3.0 for the top number. I don't know what your cholesterol numbers mean, they're totally different in the US.

Yes, your Mom is hypothyroid. She probably has Hashimoto's, which is a thryoid autoimmune disesase. It is VERY common. Once she gets on thyroid medication she will feel a lot better and her cholesterol numbers will probably come down.

There's no need to worry about her diet, hypothyroid would have raised her cholesterol levels no matter what she was eating.

I have to run to a meeting, ask any questions you might have.

Converted them for you:

LDL - 300 mg/dL
HDL - 39 mg/dL
Trig - 169 mg/dL



Wow she has some problems... Hope she gets sorted out.

I still think with any change in diet, it's best to get at first regular blood tests done.

The cholesterol numbers make me wonder if she fasted for 12 hours before the test. The numbers she has are typical of those seen while food is digesting.

She did fast before the test yes, I am a bit worried that she might have thyroid cancer....do those number suggest that I wonder?

I have no idea if those numbers mean thyroid cancer or not. But I can tell you that thyroid cancer is very treatable. If you are gonna get cancer, that's the type you want to get! Remember, our imaginations usually can come up with much worse scenarios than what is actually going on!

That said, I think it is wonderful you are trying to help your Mom out. Every one needs an advocate, especially when they are sick and don't feel well enough to demand the answers themselves. So keep asking the questions of the doctors until you are satisfied.

Yeah, I am doing my best not to worry so much over it, but it's one of those horrid times when you have to wait a while for another appointment to get re-tests done by the thyroid consultant, and then wait again to get the results....I hate waiting especially when it's something like this which could potentially be quite serious.

I am keeping positive and assuming it's not sinister, and hopefully it'll be totally treatable even if it is the worst case scenario.

Thanks for the advice.

You should make sure your Mom gets a blood test for thyroid antibodies that would indicate hashimoto's. That's much more likely than thyroid cancer.

I might well be wrong about this, but I would think thyroid cancer would tend to show up as hyperthyroid because the tumour might secrete thyroid hormone. I know you can have non-secreting tumuors, but I don't know that you could be hypothyroid because of the cancer.

Your Mom is lucky to have you watching out for her!

http://www.medicinenet.com/thyroid_...age2.htm#toc4at

I searched at least 6 sites and not one said anything about any change in any of the thyroid markers. Lumps and feeling the swelling are the most common reason for going to MD. MD feeing lumps or swelling is the most common reason for concern of cancer.

Thank you guys for the info, I really appreciate it!! I will go to her armed with this info and make sure she asks the right questions in her appointment. I feel more able to be armed with the right questions now.

My mother is only 50 this year (in july) so I am hoping she is young enough to get help with whatever it is and to make a full recovery. I am assuming that if it is a thyroid problem then she will be able to go on meds for the rest of her life, and the best thing will be she'll feel like a completely new woman!!

I will keep you posted as to what the specialist says.

Thanks guys, I don't know what I'd do without all of you

I'm not sure I can offer any help. My dr says that my problem maybe pituitary. With that type of thyroid you don't make TSH, my TSH is 0.

I know someone on another board that had very high TSH, she got on medication and is doing okay, no cancer. I have heard that cholesterol goes up with thyroid also because you don't burn the free fatty acids well.

I imagine they could do an ultrasound to make sure her thyroid is clean.

I would see what happens with the medication before worrying it is more then severe hypo.

I look forward to hearing how she is doing.

Another point to remember is that even if there is a bump, lump, or goiter on the thyroid, it still might not be cancer. My Mom has a HUGE goiter. Her thyroid doesn't work right, but it isn't cancer, and they have the condition under control with meds.

So follow up, and try to relax between visits. Here's how I got through it when my son was diagnosed with a life threatening illness. (He had leukemia.) Even at the worst times when waiting for the latest test results, I could honestly tell myself that they didn't expect him to die THIS week. So we could enjoy this week, and do our worrying NEXT week! It helped.

Well she eventually got her appointment through and to cut a long story short, the Dr thinks almost certainly that the high cholestarol problem is to do with a hyreditary problem and not anything to do with diet or other things.
He is not ruling out some form of nasty with her thyroid being so out of whack too, but he's going to do a scan on that to be sure.

He is putting her on a heavy dosage of statins right away, and will re-test her again in 3 months to see what's going on then!

Thanks guys for your support....I'll keep you posted to how she gets along!

Unfortunately, that's the arguement used most by docs. And, if you look it up, you'll find that most "types" of hypercholesterolemia are caused by "genetics".

Please be sure to tell your mom that the production of CoQ10 is inhibited by statins, and CoQ10 is essential for muscle health. Supplementation with CoQ10 will not interfere with the work of the statin, but will prevent CoQ10 deficiency, and may help prevent muscle damage.

Also be aware that many docs will not accept the med as a cause for any side effects she may have. And many feel that the incidence of side effects is much higher than the drug companies will admit.