Treatment FAQ

how does a statin affect my thyroid treatment

by Carmella Stamm Published 2 years ago Updated 2 years ago

Apart from improving plasma lipids and reducing circulating levels of hsCRP, intensive, but not less aggressive, statin therapy reduced thyroid peroxidase and thyroglobulin antibody titers, as well as tended to reduce circulating levels of thyrotropin.

In multivariable regression analyses, statin use was independently associated with normal thyroid function and lower TSH levels at the end of follow-up. Furthermore, the mediation analysis showed that the relationship between statin use and lower TSH levels was mediated by TC declines.Mar 2, 2021

Full Answer

What is the best brand of thyroid medication?

Key facts

  • Levothyroxine starts working straight away, but it may be several weeks before your symptoms start to improve.
  • The most common side effects of levothyroxine are caused by taking a bigger dose than you need. ...
  • Before you start taking levothyroxine, your doctor will do a blood test to see what dose you need. ...

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Why increase in thyroid medication?

Why Your Thyroid Hormone Levels May Be Fluctuating

  • The Changing Course of Your Thyroid Disease. Thyroid disease can progress or stabilize as the years go on, either due to the natural course of the condition itself or to ...
  • Medication Potency Differences. If you've started taking prescription thyroid hormone replacement medication from a newly refilled prescription or from a different pharmacy, your thyroid hormone blood levels may change.
  • When and How You Take Your Pill. If you're taking your thyroid replacement or antithyroid medication at different times each day, you might not be consistent about taking it on ...

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How can thyroid medications harm your thyroid?

  • Increased sweating
  • Mood swings/Irritability
  • Nervousness
  • Fatigue
  • Headache
  • Hot flashes/Sensitivity to heat
  • Tremors
  • Palpitations

How are thyroid stimulating AB destroying thyroid tissues?

Your results may show one of the following:

  • Negative: no thyroid antibodies were found. This means your thyroid symptoms are probably not caused by an autoimmune disease.
  • Positive: antibodies to TPO and/or Tg were found. This may mean you have Hashimoto disease. ...
  • Positive: antibodies to TPO and/or TSH receptor were found. This may mean you have Grave's disease.

Does cholesterol medication interfere with thyroid medication?

Recap. Drugs used to lower cholesterol can produce side effects that mimic symptoms of thyroid disease and interfere with thyroid medication absorption. People who have thyroid disease may also be more likely to experience side effects of cholesterol drugs.

Should I take statins with an underactive thyroid?

Because of this it is recommended that patients with hypothyroidism are not prescribed statins until the hypothyroidism is treated. Conversely – according to a nationwide US study of over 8,000 patients in 2014 - the long terms use of statins may reduce the risk of eye disease in people with Graves' disease.

Can you take thyroxine with statins?

Another point in planning for bedtime dosing of your levothyroxine is other medications. Ideally, levothyroxine should be the only medication taken at bedtime. Just as with morning dosing, it is best to avoid co-administration with other medications such as statins, blood pressure drugs, and metformin.

Can I take Lipitor and levothyroxine at the same time?

Interactions between your drugs No interactions were found between levothyroxine and Lipitor.

Is there a link between underactive thyroid and high cholesterol?

When you have hypothyroidism, your body doesn't make enough thyroid hormones. This can increase your cholesterol levels. In fact, research suggests that even slightly low levels of thyroid hormones can cause a spike in cholesterol.

Is there a link between thyroid and cholesterol?

Your body needs thyroid hormones to make cholesterol and to get rid of the cholesterol it doesn't need. When thyroid hormone levels are low (hypothyroidism), your body doesn't break down and remove LDL cholesterol as efficiently as usual. LDL cholesterol can then build up in your blood.

Can you take a statin at the same time as Synthroid?

Interactions between your drugs No interactions were found between atorvastatin and Synthroid. However, this does not necessarily mean no interactions exist. Always consult your healthcare provider.

Can statins increase TSH?

In multivariable regression analyses, statin use was independently associated with lower TSH levels and higher odds to be euthyroid (OR 2.335, p = 0.004) at the end of follow-up. Mediation analyses showed the association between statin use and TSH levels were mediated by TC changes during follow-up.

Is it better to take levothyroxine in the morning or at night?

There is consensus that levothyroxine should be taken in the morning on an empty stomach. A pilot study showed that levothyroxine intake at bedtime significantly decreased thyrotropin levels and increased free thyroxine and total triiodothyronine levels.

Does 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl reduce thyroid autoimmunity?

Although 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase inhibitors are able to reduce thyroid autoimmunity in women with Hashimoto's thyroiditis, intensive statin therapy is required to produce this effect.

Does statin therapy help with thyroid?

The effect of statin therapy on thyroid autoimmunity in patients with Hashimoto's thyroiditis: A pilot study. Although 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase inhibitors are able to reduce thyroid autoimmunity in women with Hashimoto's thyroiditis, intensive statin therapy is required to produce this effect.

Does statin therapy reduce thyroid peroxidase?

Apart from improving plasma lipids and reducing circulating levels of hsCRP, intensive, but not less aggressive, statin therapy reduced thyroid peroxidase and thyroglobulin antibody titers, as well as tended to reduce circulating levels of thyrotropin.

What is statin drug?

Statin drugs are a class of cholesterol-lowering drugs (such as Lipitor, Crestor, Zocor, Mevacor, Lipostat, and many others) that block an enzyme that allows your body to absorb cholesterol.

Why is CoQ10 important for thyroid?

This compound helps your cells produce energy.

Does CoQ10 lower cholesterol?

On the other hand, statin drugs, which are used to lower cholesterol, may bring down the body’s levels of CoQ10.

Can statins cause heart problems?

Protect Your Heart. So, if you’re taking statin drugs and you have hypothyroidism, you’re obviously at risk for future heart problems and you’re probably lacking in a compound that could help protect your heart. Talk to your doctor about whether a CoQ10 supplement is right for you.

Can you take Q10 with diabetes?

It may also lower blood sugar levels, so it should not be taken by people with diabetes or hypoglycemia. If you have hypothyroidism and are on statin drugs for high cholesterol, it is worth it to talk to your doctor about the possibility of supplementing with Co-enzyme Q10 to protect your heart. Cardiovascular diseases are ...

Why are statins referred for radioiodine?

Recently it has been observed that many people on statins have been referred for special radioiodine studies because they have been found to have low to no thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) in their blood tests. Usually a low serum TSH suggests hyperthyroidism (overactive thyroid function) but these low TSH patients often had no signs ...

What does a low TSH mean?

Ordinarily this test is a very reliable indicator of thyroid function and a low TSH test means high thyroid function but the use of statins clearly was altering this relationship.

Can statins lower TSH?

The results of this study show that statins may falsely lower the serum TSH without al tering thyroid function , the condition observed in the 16 of the 29 statin users described above who had normal scans and uptakes on follow-up examinations. In so doing they mimic a clinical condition known as pseudohyperthyroidism or falsely overactive thyroid.

Can statins help with thyroid?

Alternatively there is another explanation. Statins may improve thyroid function in patients with hyperthyroidism.

How to manage thyroid and cholesterol?

Lifestyle changes can help you manage cholesterol and thyroid problems. Your doctor may recommend the following: Diet: An anti-inflammatory diet may lower inflammation from autoimmune thyroid disease and lower cholesterol.

Why are thyroid and cholesterol linked?

Why Thyroid and Cholesterol Are Linked. Thyroid hormones have several jobs. One is controlling how your body uses cholesterol and other lipids (fats). Another is helping your liver produce fatty acids, which store energy for you to use later. When thyroid hormones are out of whack, it affects all these processes.

What is the best treatment for hypothyroidism?

Treatment. Hypothyroidism is usually treated with the drug Synthroid ( levothyroxine ), a synthetic form of the hormone T4. Often, taking this drug is all it takes to improve thyroid levels and, subsequently, cholesterol levels.

What does high TSH mean?

Low Thyroid/High Cholesterol. One measurement of thyroid function is a hormone called thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH). Made by a small gland at the base of the brain called the pituitary, TSH tells your thyroid how hard to work. High TSH levels mean you have an underactive thyroid. Symptoms include: 1.

How to treat low cholesterol and overactive thyroid?

An overactive thyroid and low cholesterol can both be improved with medication, radioiodine therapy, or surgery directed at stunting the overproduction of thyroid hormone.

How much of the time does a thyroid problem correct cholesterol?

A large study of people with hypothyroidism and high cholesterol showed that treating the thyroid problem corrected cholesterol levels 60% of the time. 11

What does it mean when your cholesterol drops?

A sudden drop in cholesterol can be a warning sign of hyperthyroidism (overactive thyroid).

How to prevent statin side effects?

Try coenzyme Q10 supplements. Coenzyme Q10 supplements may help prevent statin side effects in some people, though more studies are needed to determine any benefits of taking it. Talk to your doctor first to make sure the supplement won't interact with any of your other medications.

What drugs interact with statins?

Some drugs that may interact with statins and increase your risk of side effects include: Amiodarone (Cordarone, Pacerone), a medication for irregular heart rhythms. Gemfibrozil (Lopid), another variety of cholesterol drug.

Can statins cause heart attacks?

Having too much cholesterol in your blood increases your risk of heart attacks and strokes. Statins block a substance your liver needs to make cholesterol. This causes your liver to remove cholesterol from your blood. If you think you're experiencing side effects from statins, don't just stop taking the pills.

Does statin help with heart attack?

Sign up now. Statin side effects: Weigh the benefits and risks. Statins are effective at lowering cholesterol and protecting against a heart attack and stroke, although they may lead to side effects for some people. By Mayo Clinic Staff.

Can statins cause liver damage?

While statins are highly effective and safe for most people, they have been linked to muscle pain, digestive problems and mental fuzziness in some people who take them and may rarely cause liver damage.

Do statins increase blood sugar?

Statins prevent heart attacks in people with diabetes, so the relevance of the mild increase in sugar values with statins observed in some people is unclear. The benefit of taking statins likely outweighs the small risk to have the blood sugar level go up. Talk to your doctor if you have concerns.

Can statins cause diabetes?

It's possible your blood sugar ( blood glucose) level may increase when you take a statin, which may lead to developing type 2 diabetes. The risk is small but important enough that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a warning on statin labels regarding blood glucose levels and diabetes.

What is the role of the thyroid gland?

One of the essential roles of the thyroid gland is to produce hormones that support the liver process and remove excess ‘bad’ cholesterol from the body. If you have an underactive thyroid ( hypothyroidism. Hypothyroidism. "a term used to describe an under-active thyroid gland".

What causes high cholesterol?

High cholesterol (hypercholesterolemia) is often caused by poor diet. Eating too many foods that are rich in LDL (the bad cholesterol) leads to a build-up of this fatty substance in the blood, which can cause blockages in the veins and arteries and significantly increase your risk of heart disease, heart attack and stroke.

What is the term for an overactive thyroid gland?

Hyperthyroidism. "a term used to describe an over-active thyroid gland". ) can result in lower cholesterol levels. This doesn’t have associated health concerns and there isn’t any specific medical evidence to support this as yet. ​1​.

What is the best treatment for high cholesterol?

Treatment. The usual treatment for high cholesterol is statins although there are non-statin options. ​6​ Understanding the cause of high cholesterol is vital prior to determining the best course of treatment.

Why is cholesterol important?

Cholesterol is very important for hormone and nerve cell production and making bile acid (used to digest food). ​1​. There are 2 main types of cholesterol – often referred to as good and bad cholesterol. High-density lipoprotein (HDL) is often referred to as ‘good’ cholesterol. This is because it helps to get rid of unwanted cholesterol in ...

How to know if you have high cholesterol?

The only way to determine if you have high cholesterol is to have a blood test. ​2​ This can be arranged by your GP or specialist. Using the same blood sample, technicians can identify thyroid and cholesterol issues. It is likely that you will be required to fast for 8 – 12 hours before your test. ​1​

Why is LDL bad for you?

Then there’s low-density lipoprotein (LDL), which is known for being ‘bad’ cholesterol because it causes blockages within the vascular system, resulting in circulatory issues.

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