Getting More Answers

As y'all probably know, I got my thyroid and cholesterol levels back this morning.  My holistic doctor is amazing, and gave me the good news with the bad while also making me feel hopeful.

First things first:  My thyroid.

Apparently in mid-February, after my last appointment with Dr. Goodyear, my pharmacy switched my thyroid meds from Armour Thyroid to the generic brand, NP thyroid.  This seems to have really messed with all of my numbers, as my thyroid levels are now way out of whack, as if my thyroid doesn't even exist!

Reverse T3 came back at 7.5 (Low.  Range = 9-27)
TSH was 43.01 (High.  Range 0.45-4.5)
Free T4 was 0.5 (Low.  Range 0.8-1.8)
Thyroid Peroxidase antibodies were 60 (High - went up a few points.  Range 0-34)
Free T3 was 1.9 (Low.  Range 2.0-4.4)

Dr. Goodyear explained that generic brands are not consistently formulated, meaning that different labs make them with slightly different formulas every time.  He prescribed me a new thyroid medication that hasn't been known to have differences or issues with reliability, Nature Throid.  If my pharmacy tries to give me a generic brand, I'm going to have to make sure to fight them and call Dr. Goodyear.

So, because my thyroid is out of whack, my cholesterol and blood sugars are also out of whack.  Turns out I'm not fighting insulin resistance like I thought, as my LP-IR score came back at < 25 (range < 45).

As far as cholesterol goes, I have high cholesterol but good HDL and Triglycerides.

LDL particle number was 3354 HIGH (range < 1000)
LDL cholesterol, calculated was 322 HIGH (range 0 - 99)
HDL-C was 73 (in range > 40)
Triglycerides was 99 (in range 0 - 149)
Total cholesterol was 415 HIGH (range 100 - 199)
HDL-particle number was 24.9 HIGH (range > 30.5)
Small LDL-particle number was < 90 (range < 527)
LDL size was 22.3 (range > 20.5)
Large VLDL-P was < 0.8 (range = < 2.7)
Large HDL-P was 13.7 (range > 4.8)
HDL size was 10.2 (range > 9.2)

So, for lowering the cholesterol, Dr. Goodyear prescribed a new garlic supplement, as well as Vit K2, red yeast rice, and CoQMax Ubiquinol, along with my other supplements minus biotin.  He also said to eat fish 4x a week, cut back on red meat (beef in particular) and chicken/turkey, and to maybe try to add legumes, peas, and beans.  They are higher in carbs though so I don't know if I'll actually add those to my diet or not.

While I am worried about my cholesterol being so high and the risk of cardiovascular events is now higher than it used to be, he made me feel much better when he said that the cholesterol numbers will come down with a thyroid medication that actually works and these natural and gentle "statin" like supplements.  I should also see my blood sugars return to normal, and that will also help bring down the inflammation that is causing so many issues.

Please keep me in your prayers as I work to turn things around.  I know God's got me and everything under control, but this has been such an uphill battle and I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed with everything I have going on.