Hi to the community. I`m 56 male newly diagnosed. It was a shock to find I had Diabetes as I went to my GP with UTI infection and no Diabetic symptoms.I have gone through all the usual treatment. I take Metformin now with little or no side effects. I have lost 22lbs and my Hba1c level is 5.8 at the moment down from 9.8. Cut to the chase - My GP wants to start me on Statins and ACE inhibitors as she feels I am at risk with a QRISK of 27.5%. I DON`T WANT TO TAKE ANY MORE DRUGS THAT IS NECESSARY AND AFTER READING CONFLICTING REPORTS FEEL CONFUSED. I defiantly want to beat this thing with Diet and exercise as i have always been a sporty person, running, cycling, climbing and walking the 2 dogs. Has anyone else out there faced this issue?
6 months type 2 . GP prescribing Statins&ACEs
- Thread starter LiveinHope
- Start Date
Lamont D
Oracle
- Messages
- 15,932
- Type of diabetes
- Reactive hypoglycemia
- Treatment type
- I do not have diabetes
Hi, welcome to the forum.
I've tagged @daisy1 to give you the newcomers welcome information.
Do please read and take full advantage of the forum.
Yes, I have been in that situation, and I tried statins for nearly two weeks but side effects did me no good whatsoever.
So I discussed it with my GP, and because of my lifestyle, my GP agreed that at this moment a statin wasn't necessary.
It is yours and your GPs decision and you have to make your mind up, why it's recommended and weigh up the pros and cons.
Some posters don't have problems but some do.
Maybe it's not the answer you wanted, but we all have to go through this process with meds and if they help us.
Nosher835 I thank for taking the time to reply and welcoming me to the forum. As you say it is my decision but what is so frustrating is the conflicting information that is out there. I don`t smoke, I drink little, no family history of heart disease. Blood pressure is little high and my weight is dropping through diet and exercise. I do have Protean leakage in my urine.
- Messages
- 23,618
- Type of diabetes
- Type 1
- Treatment type
- Pump
- Dislikes
- Disrespectful people
@LiveinHope, Ace Inhibitors are often prescribed to patients with kidney problems, they are also prescribed for those at a high risk of kidney disease as they are said to have a protective effect.
Liam1955
Master
- Messages
- 10,964
- Type of diabetes
- Type 2
- Treatment type
- Insulin
- Dislikes
- Anti-Gay People, Self Centre People, Two Faced People and Bad Language.
Hi LiveinHope and Welcome to the Forum. I take an Ace Inhibitor of 10mg Ramipril every day and was told by my GP it protects the kidneys (as noblehead has already said).
NoCrbs4Me
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 3,700
- Type of diabetes
- I reversed my Type 2
- Treatment type
- Other
- Dislikes
- Vegetables
Yes, my doctor prescribed a cholesterol lowering drug and a blood pressure lowering drug. It's standard practice to prescribe them to type 2 diabetics. Since my blood glucose levels were normal at the time, I didn't take them. Eventually I saw a diabetes specialist and he confirmed I didn't need them.
daisy1
Legend
- Messages
- 26,457
- Type of diabetes
- Type 2
- Treatment type
- Tablets (oral)
- Dislikes
- Cruelty towards animals.
@LiveinHope
Hello and welcome to the forum
Here is the information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. A lot can be achieved with a suitable diet. Ask more questions and someone will be able to help.
BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEWLY DIAGNOSED DIABETICS
Diabetes is the general term to describe people who have blood that is sweeter than normal. A number of different types of diabetes exist.
A diagnosis of diabetes tends to be a big shock for most of us. It’s far from the end of the world though and on this forum you’ll find over 150,000 people who are demonstrating this.
On the forum we have found that with the number of new people being diagnosed with diabetes each day, sometimes the NHS is not being able to give all the advice it would perhaps like to deliver - particularly with regards to people with type 2 diabetes.
The role of carbohydrate
Carbohydrates are a factor in diabetes because they ultimately break down into sugar (glucose) within our blood. We then need enough insulin to either convert the blood sugar into energy for our body, or to store the blood sugar as body fat.
If the amount of carbohydrate we take in is more than our body’s own (or injected) insulin can cope with, then our blood sugar will rise.
The bad news
Research indicates that raised blood sugar levels over a period of years can lead to organ damage, commonly referred to as diabetic complications.
The good news
People on the forum here have shown that there is plenty of opportunity to keep blood sugar levels from going too high. It’s a daily task but it’s within our reach and it’s well worth the effort.
Controlling your carbs
The info below is primarily aimed at people with type 2 diabetes, however, it may also be of benefit for other types of diabetes as well.
There are two approaches to controlling your carbs:
Reduce your carbohydrates
A large number of people on this forum have chosen to reduce the amount of carbohydrates they eat as they have found this to be an effective way of improving (lowering) their blood sugar levels.
The carbohydrates which tend to have the most pronounced effect on blood sugar levels tend to be starchy carbohydrates such as rice, pasta, bread, potatoes and similar root vegetables, flour based products (pastry, cakes, biscuits, battered food etc) and certain fruits.
Choosing better carbohydrates
Another option is to replace ‘white carbohydrates’ (such as white bread, white rice, white flour etc) with whole grain varieties. The idea behind having whole grain varieties is that the carbohydrates get broken down slower than the white varieties –and these are said to have a lower glycaemic index.
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/food/diabetes-and-whole-grains.html
The low glycaemic index diet is often favoured by healthcare professionals but some people with diabetes find that low GI does not help their blood sugar enough and may wish to cut out these foods altogether.
Read more on carbohydrates and diabetes
LOW CARB PROGRAM:
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/low carb program
Eating what works for you
Different people respond differently to different types of food. What works for one person may not work so well for another. The best way to see which foods are working for you is to test your blood sugar with a glucose meter.
To be able to see what effect a particular type of food or meal has on your blood sugar is to do a test before the meal and then test after the meal. A test 2 hours after the meal gives a good idea of how your body has reacted to the meal.
The blood sugar ranges recommended by NICE are as follows:
Blood glucose ranges for type 2 diabetes
Access to blood glucose test strips
The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:
Therefore both structured education and self-monitoring of blood glucose should be offered to people with type 2 diabetes. Read more on getting access to bloodglucose testing supplies.
You may also be interested to read questions to ask at a diabetic clinic
Note: This post has been edited from Sue/Ken's post to include up to date information.
Hello and welcome to the forum
Here is the information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. A lot can be achieved with a suitable diet. Ask more questions and someone will be able to help.BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEWLY DIAGNOSED DIABETICS
Diabetes is the general term to describe people who have blood that is sweeter than normal. A number of different types of diabetes exist.
A diagnosis of diabetes tends to be a big shock for most of us. It’s far from the end of the world though and on this forum you’ll find over 150,000 people who are demonstrating this.
On the forum we have found that with the number of new people being diagnosed with diabetes each day, sometimes the NHS is not being able to give all the advice it would perhaps like to deliver - particularly with regards to people with type 2 diabetes.
The role of carbohydrate
Carbohydrates are a factor in diabetes because they ultimately break down into sugar (glucose) within our blood. We then need enough insulin to either convert the blood sugar into energy for our body, or to store the blood sugar as body fat.
If the amount of carbohydrate we take in is more than our body’s own (or injected) insulin can cope with, then our blood sugar will rise.
The bad news
Research indicates that raised blood sugar levels over a period of years can lead to organ damage, commonly referred to as diabetic complications.
The good news
People on the forum here have shown that there is plenty of opportunity to keep blood sugar levels from going too high. It’s a daily task but it’s within our reach and it’s well worth the effort.
Controlling your carbs
The info below is primarily aimed at people with type 2 diabetes, however, it may also be of benefit for other types of diabetes as well.
There are two approaches to controlling your carbs:
- Reduce your carbohydrate intake
- Choose ‘better’ carbohydrates
Reduce your carbohydrates
A large number of people on this forum have chosen to reduce the amount of carbohydrates they eat as they have found this to be an effective way of improving (lowering) their blood sugar levels.
The carbohydrates which tend to have the most pronounced effect on blood sugar levels tend to be starchy carbohydrates such as rice, pasta, bread, potatoes and similar root vegetables, flour based products (pastry, cakes, biscuits, battered food etc) and certain fruits.
Choosing better carbohydrates
Another option is to replace ‘white carbohydrates’ (such as white bread, white rice, white flour etc) with whole grain varieties. The idea behind having whole grain varieties is that the carbohydrates get broken down slower than the white varieties –and these are said to have a lower glycaemic index.
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/food/diabetes-and-whole-grains.html
The low glycaemic index diet is often favoured by healthcare professionals but some people with diabetes find that low GI does not help their blood sugar enough and may wish to cut out these foods altogether.
Read more on carbohydrates and diabetes
LOW CARB PROGRAM:
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/low carb program
Eating what works for you
Different people respond differently to different types of food. What works for one person may not work so well for another. The best way to see which foods are working for you is to test your blood sugar with a glucose meter.
To be able to see what effect a particular type of food or meal has on your blood sugar is to do a test before the meal and then test after the meal. A test 2 hours after the meal gives a good idea of how your body has reacted to the meal.
The blood sugar ranges recommended by NICE are as follows:
Blood glucose ranges for type 2 diabetes
- Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
- 2 hours after meals: under 8.5 mmol/l
- Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
- 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l
- Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
- 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l
Access to blood glucose test strips
The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:
- structured education to every person and/or their carer at and around the time of diagnosis, with annual reinforcement and review
- self-monitoring of plasma glucose to a person newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes only as an integral part of his or her self-management education
Therefore both structured education and self-monitoring of blood glucose should be offered to people with type 2 diabetes. Read more on getting access to bloodglucose testing supplies.
You may also be interested to read questions to ask at a diabetic clinic
Note: This post has been edited from Sue/Ken's post to include up to date information.
- Messages
- 8,934
- Type of diabetes
- Type 1
- Treatment type
- Other
@LiveinHope Hello and welcome to the Forum. You've been prescribed both Statins and ACE Inhibitors as, well, that's what they do with diabetes patients.
What you need to determine to help you make your mind up are a few items.
Firstly, get your blood lipids done, and make sure they are broken down into HDL, LDL and Triglycerides. When you have these results you can determine what is the correct approach for you to take. If these are determined to be good, then you need not do anything specific. You would normally address bad numbers by either taking statins or diet.
While the medical profession regards "High" cholesterol as a huge factor in indicating Cardio-vascular risk, there has been a lot of evidence published over the past couple of years that shows that a plain old Cholesterol level is not really of much value, and that the Triglyceride level is the most important factor in determining whether you should be concerned. There is also plenty of evidence that he best way to adjust your cholesterol is not to take statins, but to change your diet.
ACE Inhibitors, as @noblehead says, are given to those considered at risk of kidney disease. The reason they are considered to provide protection is that they reduce blood pressure, which reduces the filtration pressure within the kidneys. If your blood pressure is currently normal, then, while they may help some more, you have to balance whether you want to run with your blood pressure any lower than it is now. For reference, I would take normal as below 130/80.
It is of course entirely up to you what you choose to do. Both blood pressure and cholesterol can be affected by diet and exercise, so you may be able to gain similar effects without touching drugs. It's up to you!
What you need to determine to help you make your mind up are a few items.
Firstly, get your blood lipids done, and make sure they are broken down into HDL, LDL and Triglycerides. When you have these results you can determine what is the correct approach for you to take. If these are determined to be good, then you need not do anything specific. You would normally address bad numbers by either taking statins or diet.
While the medical profession regards "High" cholesterol as a huge factor in indicating Cardio-vascular risk, there has been a lot of evidence published over the past couple of years that shows that a plain old Cholesterol level is not really of much value, and that the Triglyceride level is the most important factor in determining whether you should be concerned. There is also plenty of evidence that he best way to adjust your cholesterol is not to take statins, but to change your diet.
ACE Inhibitors, as @noblehead says, are given to those considered at risk of kidney disease. The reason they are considered to provide protection is that they reduce blood pressure, which reduces the filtration pressure within the kidneys. If your blood pressure is currently normal, then, while they may help some more, you have to balance whether you want to run with your blood pressure any lower than it is now. For reference, I would take normal as below 130/80.
It is of course entirely up to you what you choose to do. Both blood pressure and cholesterol can be affected by diet and exercise, so you may be able to gain similar effects without touching drugs. It's up to you!
Last edited by a moderator:
Hi. I agree with Tim2000. Total cholesterol has little relevance. Do ask for your LDL, HDL and Trigs and check the ratios. The recommendation to have statins like low-fat is based on suspect and manipulated data so do your own research. I take minimum dose Ramipril 'cos my BP is very slightly high but it gets higher as you get older and GPs don't always realise this. Neither of these are Diabetes drugs.
Interesting! Begs question why prescribe? I feel I can get all my factors to a safe measure with Diet and Lifestyle with taking arguable medication.
Thanks Tim for this info. I was told my QRISK is 27.5 at the moment. Again I feel i can reduce all the factors that make up this result with Diet and lifestyle. Great Forum!
- Messages
- 8,934
- Type of diabetes
- Type 1
- Treatment type
- Other
As an aside @LiveinHope, you can go and work out your own qrisk score here: http://www.qrisk.org/
What the doctor said was that you have a 27.5% chance (basically 1 in 4) of having a heart attack or stroke over the next ten years, so it may be worth retaking it.
What the doctor said was that you have a 27.5% chance (basically 1 in 4) of having a heart attack or stroke over the next ten years, so it may be worth retaking it.
NoCrbs4Me
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 3,700
- Type of diabetes
- I reversed my Type 2
- Treatment type
- Other
- Dislikes
- Vegetables
It is actually the standard protocol to prescribe a statin and a blood pressure med to type 2 diabetics, regardless of cholesterol levels or blood pressure levels, although many doctors do not follow this. I think it is because it is assumed that people can't keep their blood glucose levels in control. And probably this is mostly true, since the standard of care is to tell people to eat a high carb/low fat diet and not self test their blood glucose levels. This pretty much guarantees that one's type 2 will progressively get worse. I think they do this for job security. It can't be because they don't know any better, since doctors are generally extremely smart people.
seadragon
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 316
- Type of diabetes
- Prediabetes
- Treatment type
- Diet only
One of the biggest risk factors for heart attack/ stroke and indeed type 2 diabetes is in fact age. And there ain't no amount of statins or anything else that is going to make me any younger!
Seriously though if you don't feel you want to add medications then do your research, get your lipid panel done, lose weight if that's needed, keep up the exercise, re-examine your diet - LCHF seems to help most people with both blood glucose levels and their lipid profiles - and make your own choices. Your doctor does not have to live your life and you are the best judge of how you feel and whether the trade off in possible side effects is worth it to you. Bear in mind that many people admitted to hospital with heart attack or stroke have perfectly normal cholesterol levels.
I was recommended metformin and statins as a pre-diabetic but instead went LCHF diet and 'normalised' both blood glucose levels and lipids. Latest recommendation from doctor was 'no action needed'.
I know nothing of ACE inhibitors.
Seriously though if you don't feel you want to add medications then do your research, get your lipid panel done, lose weight if that's needed, keep up the exercise, re-examine your diet - LCHF seems to help most people with both blood glucose levels and their lipid profiles - and make your own choices. Your doctor does not have to live your life and you are the best judge of how you feel and whether the trade off in possible side effects is worth it to you. Bear in mind that many people admitted to hospital with heart attack or stroke have perfectly normal cholesterol levels.
I was recommended metformin and statins as a pre-diabetic but instead went LCHF diet and 'normalised' both blood glucose levels and lipids. Latest recommendation from doctor was 'no action needed'.
I know nothing of ACE inhibitors.
Thank you all you have been very helpful. I can clearly see that this forum speaks from experience and offers objective support and advice. I will think on it further. Regards MarkOne of the biggest risk factors for heart attack/ stroke and indeed type 2 diabetes is in fact age. And there ain't no amount of statins or anything else that is going to make me any younger!
Seriously though if you don't feel you want to add medications then do your research, get your lipid panel done, lose weight if that's needed, keep up the exercise, re-examine your diet - LCHF seems to help most people with both blood glucose levels and their lipid profiles - and make your own choices. Your doctor does not have to live your life and you are the best judge of how you feel and whether the trade off in possible side effects is worth it to you. Bear in mind that many people admitted to hospital with heart attack or stroke have perfectly normal cholesterol levels.
I was recommended metformin and statins as a pre-diabetic but instead went LCHF diet and 'normalised' both blood glucose levels and lipids. Latest recommendation from doctor was 'no action needed'.
I know nothing of ACE inhibitors.
