actually only this morning I read an article which also contained the relations between Thyroid and Cholesterol...

4th point down in this article..

http://hypothyroidmom.com/the-thyroid-is-connected-to-so-many-parts-of-the-body/

Do you know what your actual cholesterol numbers are?

I know that there has been some shift in the medical community about cholesterol lately, so depending on what your doc is looking at to assess risk, a second opinion may be in order. For example, total cholesterol used to be the standard to assess risk, but now many docs are starting to look at various components to evaluate risk. Over 200 total was considered high. But, then you've got to look at the reasons it's high.

In my case, my total is 215, but I have very high HDL (the good kind) -- at 87 (anything above 60 is considered protective against heart disease). If HDL wasn't so high, my total numbers would be below the 200, but that wouldn't actually be a better situation because the more HDL you have the better (from omega-3s like you get in supplements, salmon, certain nuts, etc.). A better way that they're beginning to evaluate risk is the ratio of your total versus your HDL. An ideal ratio is between 1 and 3.5. A higher ratio indicates greater risk. So in my case that's 219/87 = 2.47, which is in the ideal category.

And, then docs will also look at non-HDL levels and triglycerides as part of the analysis. Non-HDL levels below 130 are ideal and triglycerides below 150 is considered good. My non-HDL level is 128 and I've got rather low triglycerides at 36.

So if you just looked at my total cholesterol, you'd think it was bad at 215. But you look at (1) the ratio of HDL to total, (2) non-HDL level and (3) my triglycerides level, it's flippin' fantastic. So, depending on what your specific numbers are, it may make more sense to get a second opinion if your doc is only looking at total cholesterol to assess risk (that's the old school methodology).

Here's a little blurb on it from Mayo clinic:

How important is cholesterol ratio?

Answers from Francisco Lopez-Jimenez, M.D.
For predicting your risk of heart disease, many doctors now believe that determining your non-HDL cholesterol level may be more useful than calculating your cholesterol ratio. And either option appears to be a better risk predictor than your total cholesterol level or even your low-density lipoprotein (LDL, or "bad") cholesterol level.

To calculate your cholesterol ratio, divide your high-density lipoprotein (HDL, or "good") cholesterol number into your total cholesterol number. An optimal ratio is less than 3.5-to-1. A higher ratio means a higher risk of heart disease.

Non-HDL cholesterol, as its name implies, simply subtracts your HDL cholesterol number from your total cholesterol number. So it contains all the "bad" types of cholesterol.

An optimal level of non-HDL cholesterol is less than 130 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL), or 3.37 millimoles per liter (mmol/L). Higher numbers mean a higher risk of heart disease.

http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/high-blood-cholesterol/expert-answers/cholesterol-ratio/faq-20058006

lindsey1979 wrote: »

Answers from Francisco Lopez-Jimenez, M.D.
For predicting your risk of heart disease, many doctors now believe that determining your non-HDL cholesterol level may be more useful than calculating your cholesterol ratio. And either option appears to be a better risk predictor than your total cholesterol level or even your low-density lipoprotein (LDL, or "bad") cholesterol level.

To calculate your cholesterol ratio, divide your high-density lipoprotein (HDL, or "good") cholesterol number into your total cholesterol number. An optimal ratio is less than 3.5-to-1. A higher ratio means a higher risk of heart disease.

Non-HDL cholesterol, as its name implies, simply subtracts your HDL cholesterol number from your total cholesterol number. So it contains all the "bad" types of cholesterol.

An optimal level of non-HDL cholesterol is less than 130 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL), or 3.37 millimoles per liter (mmol/L). Higher numbers mean a higher risk of heart disease.

http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/high-blood-cholesterol/expert-answers/cholesterol-ratio/faq-20058006

This is spot on. All the recent studies support the use of the ratio calculation. Due to insurance involvement the bureaucracy is holding back implementation of this.

It's not that it's bad, but carries a higher incidence of risk. Not that this has any bearing on an individual, but how much of medicine is going.

I'm torn on this one. I agree with @editorgrrl regarding the medical marvels. I work in pharma, but like @lazieats
, very anti-Rx - largely due to the number of adverse events I see on a daily basis. I don't take it until I absolutely need it.

Is that a 3day walk pic?

TSH is a bit high (should ideally be 0.3-3.0) most docs try to keep it below 2.0 after total thyroidectomy. This may be having an impact on your cholesterol.

My wife has done one and we want to do one as a family as our kids are getting old enough to due this. She is doing the color run with our five year old daughter next year and we all do a few local mud runs - great stuff!

It's the attitude you put forward that makes the most difference in this - just keep focusing on the positive and simply minimize those negative elements you have no control over. Sounds like you've got a great attitude!