Can anyone help me with my cholesterol results?

[MissisBoote]

Have a phone appt in a few weeks as when I got my results over the phone the said is have to speak to the gp, but in the meantime I've done some reading and I'm now

Results are as follows:

Serum cholesterol 7.02 (was 5.8 in Dec 13)
Serum triglyceride 1.20 (was 1.04 in Dec 13)
Hdl cholesterol 1.99 (1.84 in Dec 13)
Cholesterol:hdl 3.53 (3.15 in Dec 13)
Ldl cholesterol 4.48 (no test done in 2013)

Can anyone help me decipher?

I've had cfs/me for the last 3 1/2 years ago no opportunity to exercise/so any cardio for the duration.

My diet is pretty good. No refined carbs, lots of fish /white meat/veggies. Limited added sugar. Maybe pudding once a week and the odd ice-cream in the summer.
No butter unless on weekly roast chicken or monthly mash. Rarely have cheese - perhaps once every couple of months.

I'm worried as all the results seem to going up.

If you have a CFS/ME diagnosis and raised cholesterol, ask him to test your thyroid function and antibodies (very important the antibodies).

Raised cholesterol can be a diagnostic for hypothyroidism, which is often misdiagnosed as CFS/ME.

Thanks - I thought they did run a thyroid test but can't seem to find the results on my printout.

Found it.

TSH 1.31
T4 14.8

No antibodies test though.

Any chance of getting the reference ranges for those thyroid tests?

Yup
T4 is 12-22 pmol
TSH is 0.4-4.0 mu/l

@pleasemrstweedie I have a phone consultation this morning. Should I push for an antibodies test?

I also have a goitre on my thyroid. About 5cm long. Scanned - all fine and no further treatment needed unless it gets too big.

Could this be playing a part do you think?

TSH is almost spot on, but ft4 is in the bottom 30% of the reference range, so FT3 will be correspondingly low, which is what gives you symptoms of hypothyroidism. There's a list here:

www.thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/about_the_thyroid/hypothyroidism_signs_symptoms.html

bestpractice.bmj.com/best-practice/monograph/1121.html

You also have a goitre. How much more evidence does your doctor need?

I don't believe you have CFS/ME at all.

Thank you - could I be this ill with thyroid symptoms? I'm a moderate to severe sufferer - classic post viral case. Also have fibromyalgia.

Having read one or two of your posts .... (but not all ) ... have you had your vitamin D level measured ? .... What was it ....?

  When you mentioned   fibromyalgia ....  ,       there is a possibility that  many symptoms of fibro      can be    be caused by Vit D deficiency...  indeed,    some people are diagnosed with  fibro ,     when in fact their problem is   Vitamin D deficiency.   I just wondered if that might be part of your problems ....?

BTBH

Hi better - yes I've had my vit d tested as my part of the annual bloods - this is the first year its been marked as insufficient rather than adequate.

It's 36.6 so insufficient rather than deficient (range is

Missisboote I hope you don't mind then , if I talk about a couple of things. Your vitamin d level is really low at 36.6.

                    The level that you have called  "sufficient" ,    is only that level  which is considered to be sufficient to prevent rickets and bone problems.   That is  ,   at  50  nmol/L  ,   it is considered such that you probably won't  develop rickets ,   every other benefit of vitamin D ,   is not considered in that recommendation.   Your actual level   of 36.6  means that, if you were a child ,   you would have a possibility of developing rickets.   Yourself ,   as an adult ,   rickets   cannot develop ,   you are too old .... (    sorry about mentioning  that   ....!   )    but there are lots of symptoms which may develop in an adult ,   including   those similar to Fibromyalgia.   In fact ,   Fibromyalgia  is often misdiagnosed when  Vit D deficiency is the cause.    

             You are taking   1000 IU   per day ,     and in general ,    that may raise your Vit D level  by about   25      nmol/L.    So,   it is likely   that after about  3  months of supplementation ,    your level   will rise to about  60  nmol/L.  That is  roughly about  half the level that you really need for optimum health.  

In my opinion ,    you should  make sure that your blood level of  Vitamin D    approaches that found in healthy humans .   That is above  100 nmol/L    .    To achieve that , you need at least   3000 IU  per day. 

Please have a look at many threads about this issue here on mumsnet. I have given lots of info about this.

Here are some of the threads. Lots of people with Vit D deficiency , how they supplemented , how they responded , how they are better ,

... www.mumsnet.com/Talk/general_health/2421492-Vitimin-D-can-it-have-this-effect

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/general_health/2826320-Vitamin-D-deficiency-probably-related-to-restrictive-diet-Any-experts

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/general_health/2841497-If-you-are-vitamin-D-deficient-what-have-you-been-prescribed?pg=2

    have a look at those ,      if you need any more info ,    just   PM . 

best of Luck ,  

BTBH

PS. If you get your vitamin D level to where it really needs to be , then other problems like thyroid etc should be addressed with more success.

  I have posted quite a lot on this issue here on Mumsnet.   Just search for my  nick.        Bettertobehealthy            if you are interested.  

.

I don't mind at all better.
I'll up my intake to 3000/day.
Anything that helps me live a more normal life, the better.

Missis

I am pleased to hear that you intend to raise your Vit D level.

     If you have read those threads above ,   you will see that  daily doses  are much better than  weekly  or  monthly .    Also ,  you may have seen that if you have absorption problems ,   then it is advisable to measure your level.    You should not just assume that because you are taking    " a particular"  a dose ,  that your body will absorb it.      This is a very important point.   recent trials   **   ( see  below )   have shown that  your body can have as much as 6 to 1 variability in response ,   so,  you may have either more or less than the average.       


         I have not read all of your posts , ... however ,    if you have any kind of  gut absorption problems ,    such as   IBS, IBD,  Coeliacs, Pernicious anaemia, Crohn's,  Bile problems, Gall Bladder out,   etc, etc ,  then,    if you take a supplement ,   you should check   that you are  ,   in  fact   ,    absorbing what you are taking .   Check you blood level  !    Your blood level will settle down to a long term average ,   after  about  3 months of the same dose supplementation , daily.

    If you do in fact  have   gut  problems ,    you should consider bypassing the gut absorption route.  By taking a sublingual spray ,     commonly available ,   (  preferably   3000 IU  per puff ) .      I believe there are several available .  Choose a quality brand. 

                In the  UK ,    you may find  a doctors resisitance  to checking your vitamin D levels , after the first test,   mainly because the assumption is ,  " that  if you take any kind of supplement , then it will definately work as expected ".  It will <span class="underline">not</span> definately work,   because of that 6  to 1   variability I have just mentioned. 

 As  above ,   if you keep your blood  level  above   100 nmol/L   ,  preferably    120 - 140 ,      over the long term ,    try and maintain a healthy diet ,  with all those other nutrients that you need ,   then your body  will have one of  the necessary resources required to improve your health.
Best  of  luck 

  BTBH

** Responses to Supplementation
www.grassrootshealth.net/media/download/serum-level-rise-chart_2015.pdf

IF you want to check blood level , you can send for a test kit , from this NHS lab , in the West Mids. Results are emailed back to you within a week.

www.vitamindtest.org.uk . They will test for the general public, BUT they do charge £ 28, if it is not doctor ordered.

.

Thanks for the update.

I'm now taking 3000iu a day.

I'm pretty sure I don't have any absorption issues - my gut is one of the only things I don't seem to have problems with!

I'm sure my gp will be happy to re-test in a few months.

Once I get the levels up should just continue on 1000iu/day or just supplement in the winter months?

Diet is good so I don't think I need to make any changes there.

Missis

      considering that your level of vitamin D  was so low ,   at  36 nmol/L   it is quite likely that you will need Vitamin D  over the long term. It does depend upon how much you make ,   and how much you  make   in stronger sunshine.     That means , over the year , you cannot make it   between   mid- Oct    and  mid-April in  UK . It also means that  it can only be made in the midday hours  in the summer.   So   generally  between   11 ish   and   3 ish  ( in summertime) .         If you have white skin ,   then you can make  more than a dark skinned individual ,   at our latitude   (  UK  ).       You have stated that you are rather poorly ,    so  I would suggest that you should really try and make sure that you have a "good "  level of vitamin D all year round ,      it <span class="underline">will</span> help you.      So yes ,   I would check  what that level is ,   yes ,  I would take supplements to make sure your level is  sufficient.     The  supplementation  of  3000 IU ,  is really quite a small dose , when you consider that you can make up to   20,000 IU  in your skin ,  ,   in 20  mins   in strong sunlight. (  if you have low pigmentation )   

                                 If I was you ,    I would measure my level after  3 months supplementation ,    if it is below  100 nmol/L   then increase it ,   if it is between 100   and  150   ,   then  maintain it ,  ,   if it is well above  150   ( unlikely )   then decrease a bit .  

                   Do not assume that the dose you are taking ,  will change your blood level as expected,   ,   we are all different ,   by a factor of  6 to 1 . 

 Have a good  read of those threads I have posted above.  

GOOD  Luck ,  and I hope  this suggestion  improves your health outcome.   Try to maintain a diet of all those other essential nutrients ,  i.e. plenty of veg  and fruit ,   I have described in those other threads.
 Please allow  a longer timeframe for any helpful effects to become apparent ,  a few weeks or even months  might not be sufficient,   you have possibly been deficient  or  insufficient  for many years , when you consider that  100  +  nmol/L  is the  best level to aim for.        


  BTBH .

Thanks BTBH

I spoke to my gp and they agreed that I'd probably need to be taking it on an ongoing basis. I'm olive skinned and tend to tan very quickly so I don't know if that makes a difference to the levels of vit d that can be absorbed.

@pleasemrstweedie I had my antibodies tested a year ago and the result was fine. Gp said they'd be reluctant to retest.

Current plan is to re-do cholesterol tests in 3 mths and then consider statins if necessary.

I don't know if I have a genetic propensity towards high cholesterol as I don't have any medical history.

Forgot to say - I'll try and have a read through all the threads but brain fog and short term memory loss makes it a little tricky :o

Missis

             YES  ,   it does make a difference ,   a big difference.    The fact that you are olive skinned  means that your ability to generate  Vit D  in your skin is reduced.    Melanin  (  i.e a tan or pigmented skin )  , is a sunscreen .    The deeper your pigmentation ,   the more protection from sunburn ,   but also , crucially ,  the less Vit D you can make from any particular amount of sunlight.

Depending upon your level of pigmentation , you will need in general about 3 to 5 more times the amount of sunlight , to generate Vit D , in your skin cells , than people with whiter skin, to make the same amount.

Also, any chemical sunscreen lotions will reduce the amount of Vit D that you can produce in your skin.They absorb UVB sunlight , preventing your skin cells from making Vit D . Even Cancer Research, and those type of organisations, recommend not using sunscreens for 20 mins , to allow your body to produce Vit D.

         If you do read those other threads , please see that it is <strong>NOT</strong>   a good thing to get a sunburn,   but it is a <strong>really</strong> good thing to get limited but healthy sunlight ,  without sunscreen , on your skin. 

        From what you have posted here ,    i.e olive skin ,   low vit D ,   Fibromyalgia  symptoms   etc ,   I would   definitely raise your level.    To see if it helps .     Nothing  to lose ,   everything to gain.        Just to reassure you ,       in the USA ,   the Government  Academy of Science ,     Institute of Medicine, has recently said   that supplementation with up to 4000 IU   of Vit D   daily ,    is No risk ,   No harm ,    to any healthy adult.  That is  their   TUIL ,      (Tolerable Upper Intake Level )

My advice to you, is monitor your level , keep it above 100 nmol/L, with daily doses. Do not be tempted to dose weekly or monthly , that is not nearly as effective.

  Best of Luck

BTBH

Definitely sounds like it could be your thyroid. Possibly secondary hypothyroidism with low tsh and low t4? I find it hard to believe you would have a goitre and be euthyroid!

Don't start statins until you have further explored the Thyroid issue. See if GP will test your T3 to see if that is also low. If not you can get it tested privately.

If your vit D is low have you also had tested your B12, folate and ferritin? If thyroid is the problem this can cause low stomach acid and there fire absorption problems. You can get lots of symptoms if these are low. B12 should be above 500, folate and ferritin mid range.

Have a look on Thyroid UK website for lists of where to get private blood tests if GP won't do any of the above.

I use Blue Horizon Medicals and their Thyroid plus 11 test checks all of the above.