Seriously Thyroid?

I had my annual physical yesterday. I actually didn't have one in 2012 because I got a job in Massachusetts and moved much earlier than I originally planned, and then when I got here, I had to go a month without insurance. Then I was trying to play catchup with my specialists and just completely forgot to get a physical.

First things first, I'm hypothyroid...again! My TSH is back up to 6. So we have to increase my Synthroid. Shocking. This may explain why I lost 7lbs in my first week of Jillian Michaels Body Revolution but haven't lost an ounce since then.

Secondly, my cholesterol is still through the roof. When I was diagnosed with Graves' disease, I spent a few days in the hospital. They ran every test under the sun, including a lipids panel. My total cholesterol was around 150. One year later, after being on propylthiouracil (PTU - an antithyroid drug) and propranolol (a beta blocker to lower my heart rate) for 12 months, my total cholesterol had doubled to 294. My physician assured me this was because of the beta blocker, since I was eating relatively healthy and had just started exercising again once my heart recovered from the initial thyroid storm. He told me not to worry about it, and my endocrinologist echoed that sentiment.

As of this week, my total cholesterol went up even further to 301. What?! This makes no sense. I spent the entire summer riding my bike every day and going to yoga, spent the fall eating like a bird because I was recovering from surgery and couldn't exercise much, and have spent the winter thus far exercising like a mad woman and eating insanely clean, staying at a strict calorie limit and not eating back calories burned. I have not once gone over the recommended 300mg of cholesterol per day, and rarely come even close to that. My mom's side of the family all has high cholesterol, but a lot of them are overweight and never exercise, so I'm not willing to blame it on genetics because I do exercise and I am getting my weight under control, slowly but surely.

The breakdown is:
Triglycerides 130 normal
HDL (good cholesterol) 72.5 high - which is good!
LDL (bad cholesterol) 202 very high - which is very bad!

The fact that my triglycerides are normal is suspect to me. My new/old (2003-2007, and 2012-present) physician wants me to cut my beta blocker dose in half. I have been asking to ween off this drug for a year but neither my endocrinologist nor my cardiologist were willing to help me do this since my resting heart rate was still pretty high. She says she has never seen such high cholesterol in a healthy, active 28-year-old. Gee, that makes me feel awesome. My brother nailed it on the head when he said, "That must be disheartening. You've been working so hard and eating well." No s&*%. Ugh.

We'll be repeating both the thyroid tests and lipid panel in eight weeks. I am on a strict low cholesterol diet until then (even though I was already watching my cholesterol intake) and am going to do as much as I can to get that LDL down - adding ground flaxseed to every meal possible including the oatmeal I already eat every morning with my breakfast, using only olive oil instead of butter, not making baking any sweets I might be tempted to eat, and keeping up with my six-day-a-week exercise program. Lent couldn't have come at a better time because fish and nuts help lower LDL and I've added a lot more of that to my diet to make up for the meat and poultry I've given up until Easter. All of these changes plus cutting my propranolol dose in half had better help or else I'm going to end up going on a statin at the ripe old age of 28.

Basically, all of my health problems right now can be attributed to Graves' disease. I wouldn't be overweight from six months on prednisone and constantly fluctuating hormone levels, I wouldn't have needed eye surgery for thyroid eye disease, I wouldn't have shin splints likely caused by being overweight, and I wouldn't have high cholesterol caused by a drug I need to keep my heart safe.

Because I was feeling so sorry for myself after getting my results, I went straight to the McDonald's drive-thru and got myself a shamrock shake. And since I had my last tetanus shot in 1998 and was long overdue, I had to get my Tdap yesterday, which kicked my butt. I spent the entire evening in bed watching TV because I felt so emotionally dejected, physically rundown, and my arm hurt like a motherf&$%#@. It still does, but I already did my workout for the day and survived.

Onward.