High Cholesterol & Hypothyroidism

High Cholesterol & Hypothyroidism

For many people with high cholesterol the underlying issue may actually be hypothyroidism. Rather than diagnosing and treating the hypothyroidism, many people are told they simply need to eat healthier, exercise more and take medicine to lower their cholesterol.

What’s worse is that sometimes doctors make us feel bad, like we must be fat, unhealthy people who have no control over ourselves when in fact it could be low thyroid.

 When the thyroid slows down (hypothyroidism), it also slows down the body’s ability to process cholesterol.
– Heather M. Ross, About.com

Certainly eating healthier and exercising are good, but cholesterol medicines (statins) have some scary side effects. But even more important, properly treating hypothyroidism could result in naturally lowering cholesterol, like it did for me and many others. On Stop the Thyroid Madness read people’s stories about how they lowered their cholesterol, not through statins, but through the right combination of desiccate thyroid medicine and other treatments.

When I was 18 years old, a doctor told me I had high cholesterol but no one made the connection to hypothyroidism. At that time in my life I was about 15lbs overweight. The doctor made me feel like I was fat and unhealthy, so I was therefore to blame for having high cholesterol at such a young age.

Now at age 41, on proper thyroid treatment my cholesterol is completely normal and healthy. Like me, if you have high cholesterol as a result of hypothyroidism learn more about thyroid symptoms, understanding thyroid lab work (even when the results say you are normal), and finding and good doctor:

 

Miss LizzyHigh Cholesterol & Hypothyroidism
Blood Pressure & Hypothyroidism

Blood Pressure & Hypothyroidism

According to the Stop the Thyroid Madness , blood pressure and Hypothyroidism can go hand-in-hand.

Apparently, it is common to have low blood pressure due to thyroid disease or being treated with T4-only medicines like Levoxyl, Synthroid, Extroxin, etc…

If untreated or treated with these T4-only medicine, low blood pressure can take an ugly turn into high blood pressure. Learn more. For some people, the root of solving blood pressure problems can be found in good thyroid treatment.

Before being treated for Hypothyroidism I had low blood pressure. On the Mayo Clinic website, the symptoms of low blood pressure can include:

  • Dizziness or lightheadedness
  • Fainting
  • Lack of concentration
  • Blurred vision
  • Nausea
  • Cold, clammy, pale skin
  • Rapid, or shallow breathing
  • Fatigue
  • Depressions
  • Thirst

For years I experienced many of the symptoms noted above. Especially lightheadedness or a woozy feeling when I stood up too quickly (or inverted like a in the yoga pose downward dog, lack of concentration for everyday tasks (my brain and thinking felt soft and foggy), overall fatigue and low energy, a low grade depression.

Sometimes we become so accustomed to symptoms we believe it’s “normal”. After being treated for Hypothyroidism with Natural Dessicated Thyroid medicine (and Iodine for me personally) these symptoms all cleared up and my blood pressure became normal!!

Treatment for Blood Pressure

According to Janie Bowthorp, of Stop the Thyroid Madness, common treatment for hypothyroidism symptoms (including blood pressure) include:

  • Iodine (if one is Iodine deficient)
  • Natural Desiccated Thyroid Medicine

Symptoms are removed, lives are returned to being active, moods are improved as is one’s entire health and well-being.

 

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Miss LizzyBlood Pressure & Hypothyroidism
Hypoglycemia & Hypothyroidism

Hypoglycemia & Hypothyroidism

At some point everyone has experienced Hypoglycemia, also known as low blood sugar. You may not know the term but you probably know the feeling. You wait too long to eat or eat high carb foods (say a bagel for breakfast), then within a few hours it feels like you hit a wall.  You might feel these symptoms:

  • Energy comes crashing down
  • Weak and Shaky
  • Irritable or Cranky
  • Hot (like a hot flash) or sweaty
  • Fuzzy head, trouble thinking clearly
  • Become ravenously hungry
  • Read more about Hypoglycemia symptoms

After eating a ridiculous amount of food, or having something really sugary your energy starts to recover slowly. It takes a while to rebound from the weak, lifeless state, and muster enough energy to get off the couch.

For over twenty years I experienced this kind of high-low energy cycle with Hypoglycemia.  At one point, before getting treated for Hypothyroidism and Adrenal Fatigue, I asked a doctor about Hypoglycemia. He simply dismissed it and said: “No, nothing can be done about it. Just drink orange juice when it happens.”  The problem was, I experienced Hypoglycemia about every two hours, that’s a lot of O.J.!  I’m no doctor, but one would think having energy crashes every two hours means something else is not right.

Also worth noting, in the middle of a working-out I would often get Hypoglycemia. For me this meant with any kind of physical exertion I would get really week, start shaking and nearly collapse with exhaustion. This was totally frustrating because I wanted to exercise, and the doctors told me to “lose weight I just needed to exercise more.” But when the Hypoglycemia wall hit that was it, workout over.  At that point orange juice just isn’t going to help.  So the looming question was why was I getting Hypoglycemia and could it be prevented?

When I finally researched Hypothyroidism and Adrenal Fatigue, I was amazed to see Hypoglycemia as a symptom related to both conditions. How interesting! Finally an explanation that made sense, other than “No, nothing can be done about it…”  With Hypothyroidism and Adrenal Fatigue, there are so many odd little symptoms it’s easy to pass them off as unrelated.  But solving the root may solve the problem, as it did for me.

The solution turned out to be — you guessed it — getting on the right treatment for Hypothyroidism and Adrenal Fatigue along with diet changes. In particular, when I added the Hydrocortisone for Adrenal Fatigue, I noticed a big improvement with the Hypoglycemia.  According to Wikipedia, Glucocorticoids like Hydrocortisone may help prevent or reverse Hypoglycemia.

When I learned that carbs and simple sugars are hard for people who have Hypothyroidism and Adrenal Fatigue, it all started to make sense.  For years I would eat a bagel or cereal for breakfast which spikes the blood sugar, then two hours later my blood sugar would come crashing down causing Hypoglycemia (low blood sugar). Of course, as I later learned being carb sensitive, drinking a glass of orange juice was terrible for me (and started the whole high-low cycle all over.)

On the diet side, I removed simple carbs from my diet, replaced them with protein and fat, and started eating every two hours (rather than 3 meals a day, or worse, one meal a day!).  It was pretty incredible to feel the difference in my energy and thinking.

These days I am much more stable, I rarely have Hypoglycemic crashes (even during exercise) and my weight stays in a healthy range.  Before the Hypoglycemia hits, I am now able to recognized the early signs of hunger (just the slightest stomach pang) which prompts me to eat a snack (nuts or cheese, maybe with some apple). Before exercising I always eat this kind of snack and it works great to keep me going through the workout.

I know there is so much to learn, and it can all be overwhelming.  Go easy on yourself and take it one bit of info at a time. When the energy is stable and you think clearly the rest gets so much easier!

 

Miss LizzyHypoglycemia & Hypothyroidism
Candida & Hypothyroidism

Candida & Hypothyroidism

Are your carb cravings out of control? Do you have allergies or sinus headaches which don’t respond to treatment? Recurring infections like colds, ear aches or sinus infections?

Do you have symptoms of IBS, flatulence, bad breath or acid reflux? Or mental emotional difficulties like attention deficit, depression, irritibility, poor memory? Or perhaps have cold hands, cold feet or a cold nose?

If you’ve been getting thyroid treatment but still these and other health issues which won’t go away, its possible you might have another condition called Candida. Thyroid and Candida problems are direclty related and both may need treatment.

Most commonly we hear about Candida in the form of yeast infections of the genital area, but less commonly discussed is Candida’s affect on the whole body. Here is my experience with Candida…

Yeast in Unexpected Places

After I was on thyroid treatment for over a year, even though I felt a lot better in general, I still experienced low energy and lethargy, frequent sinus headaches, sinus infections, post nasal drip, chest congestion, wheezing, irritability and other symptoms.

Also I experienced a painful, red, itching, burning rash on the corners of my mouth, and the inside of my elbows. Over the years I had asked doctors and dermatologists about this rash but they didn’t have a diagnosis.

When I explained the symptom to Dr. Brummer, my super awesome doctor, he was the first one to suggest it might be “Thrush” or Candida, more commonly known as yeast overgrowth. I never had yeast infections in my girl parts, but he explained that yeast is throughout our bodies and when the body is out of balance the yeast can overgrow and cause many health problems.

Also Dr. Brummer asked about, ahem, my bowel movements. On a side note, bowel movements are a really important indicator of body health. More on that later. Anyway, I explained that some days I was very constipated (which is part of low thyroid) and other days I would have very loose stinky bowel movements (sorry TMI, but its important).

Dr. Brummer explained that the bowel movement problems and smell could definitely be Candida. Candida lives in the intestines so it can cause bad gas as well as bad breath. In fact, people who have IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) may in fact be battling Candida.

How Yeast Grows

As noted on Overcomingcandida.com, the primary factor for yeast overgrowth is the use of antibiotics, especially over a period of time with repeated uses. The antibiotics destroy bacteria allowing the yeast to grow. In women, its common knowledge that antibiotics can cause vaginal yeast infections.

But what if the yeast infection wasn’t just in the girl parts? What if the yeast overgrowth was in the entire body? And what if it affected men the same way? That’s exactly what happened to me.

Yeast also feeds off of simple carbohydrates like sugar, grain, rice, potatoes, and alcohol. I always felt pretty awful after eating simple carbohydrates but never knew why. It happened because the yeast would make me crave carbs, then it would feed off the carbs, causing a yeast bloom which caused the various symptoms like sinus infections, thrush, flatulence and more.

So in addition to having yeast on my mouth and skin, I believe it was in my lungs, intestines, and also in my sinuses.

Allergies, Sinus Infections or Candida

For twenty years I had terrible sinus headaches and sinus infections. I would get sinus infections with a bad fever and chillsat least four to five times a year. Each time the doctor would give me antibiotics. When the antibiotics stopped working, they would put me on 3 week cycles of antibiotics. I was on antibiotics for years.

Over time, I believe, low thyroid and antibiotics led to Candida overgrowth in my body, and especially in my sinuses. Without knowing about the Candida connection, doctors continued to prescribe antibiotics for sinus problems when in fact the antibiotics were a big part of the problem!

The Candida Thyroid Connection

On Stop the Thyroid Madness, Mary shares her story of being undiagnosed hypothyroid and developing Candida. Eventually someone on the Yahoo Thyroid group explained told Mary:

Hypothyroidism causes low body temps which allows fungal overgrowth. Get the temps up and the fungal/yeast will have nowhere to live.”

Some research even indicates that Hypothyroidism can be caused by Candida. Either way, there is a clear connection between Hypothyroidism and Candida.

Candida Symptoms

Here is a full list of Candida Symtpoms.

Treating Candida

If this sounds like you, there are treatment options for Candida. I will write a follow-up post with detailed treatment instructions.

More Resources

To learn more about Candida visit these websites:

Candida in the Sinuses

Curezone Candida Discussion

Candida Thyroid Connection

Miss LizzyCandida & Hypothyroidism