Good Cholesterol so why statins

[Emjay1581]

Hi, I was diagnosed on Monday with Type 2, and the doctor has given me Metformin and Statins. I dont understand the reason for the Statins, as my Cholesterol is 4.4. I have asked the doctor and the diabetic nurse, and the response i got was that it assists with lowering cholesterol. I know this - but why do i need it now? I just got the brush off. Is there anybody that can give me further advice?

 

[Indy51]

There are many threads around the place on statins if you do a search for them. It's a very difficult subject to advise other people on and really requires personal research to decide what is acceptable to you personally.

That said, there appears to be very little evidence that statins help women at all. In fact, as women age, a higher cholesterol level appears to be protective. Yours is already lower than I'd be happy with.

 

[sanguine]

Hi welcome @Emjay1581

I wouldn't take them on 4.4 (or at all actually).

They need to get your agreement, they can't force you to take them.

As Indy says, have a look around at some of the other threads on the subject.

 

[Emjay1581]

Thank you for the responses. Think its something im going to pass on taking for the moment.

 

[Mike d]

It is a very divisive debate (I stopped them in January after 6 months as i KNEW they were doing me no good at all) but others take them without side effects. Those levels look fine and good on ya for questioning why you were prescribed them in the first place. Wished I had.

 

[JTL]

Question it with a view to actually getting a comprehensive answer.
If you do let us know what that answer was and what you think of it.

 

[Indy51]

If you're interested, I've dug out some of the links I have for statins and women:

http://www.whp-apsf.ca/pdf/statinsEvidenceCaution.pdf
http://www.virginiahopkinstestkits.com/statinswomen.html
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1973295,00.html
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3303886/

Note in the conclusions of the last study:

"If our findings are generalizable, clinical and public health recommendations regarding the ‘dangers’ of cholesterol should be revised. This is especially true for women, for whom moderately elevated cholesterol (by current standards) may prove to be not only harmless but even beneficial."

 

[jack412]

Thank you for the responses. Think its something im going to pass on taking for the moment.

* disclosure : I take a low dose statin because I think they are good for my vascular system.

you can ask for a copy of your tests
I think the trigs and HDL breakdown of your lipids is more important, you can have 4.4 but have low HDL and high trigs /TG and therefore not as good as 5 with high HDL and low trigs/TG

 

[CollieBoy]

It may be a case that they have put you on satans sorry statins without thinking.

 

[Daphne917]

When I questioned why they wanted me to take statins with a cholesterol fig of 5.5 which was considered OK pre-diagnosis I was told that diabetics were more at risk so their levels should be lower and they were beneficial - I took them, my BS went up by at least 1.0% and I kept having dizzy spells so I stopped taking them. My cholesterol is now 4.2. The decision is yours however read up on them and their possible side effects so that you can make an informed decision re which way to go. Unfortunately I didn't until I'd been taking them for a while and I wasn't testing at the time so it wasn't until my next hba1c check that the rise in my BS was noticed.

 

[phoenix]

This article explains the UK guidelines on diabetes, cholesterol and statins ..
They 'should be considered' if the risk of CVD in the next 10 years is greater than 10%. There is a link to a risk calculator.
http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/diabetes/treatments/statins_and_diabetes_001904.htm

 

[noblehead]

I would go back and discuss with your Dr why they think you should be taking a statin, but you should ask for a fasting cholesterol check so that you can get a full lipid breakdown of your cholesterol. Here are the the target cholesterol levels that they want people with diabetes to aim for:

• Your total cholesterol level should be below 4.0mmol/l.
• LDL levels should be less than 2.0mmol/l.
• HDL levels should be 1.0mmol/l or above in men and 1.2mmol/l or above in women.
• Triglyceride levels should be 1.7mmol/l or less.

Good article btw @pheonix.

 

[Daibell]

HI. If it was me I would not think it necessary at 4.4. The important thing is not the total cholesterol but the HDL/LDL ratio. Did the GP explain the possible side effects; for a few quite serious. If you Google the web and follow some of the links given here, you will find much of the research evidence is highly questionable and 'adjusted' to suit big pharma.

 

[Enclave]

Quoted from diabetes my way web, it makes things clearer ..

"Treatment for cholesterol is usually offered to all people with diabetes over the age of 40, regardless of baseline cholesterol measurements, because research suggests that it is beneficial. Your doctor can discuss this further with you."

 

[Robinredbreast]

Hi, I was diagnosed on Monday with Type 2, and the doctor has given me Metformin and Statins. I dont understand the reason for the Statins, as my Cholesterol is 4.4. I have asked the doctor and the diabetic nurse, and the response i got was that it assists with lowering cholesterol. I know this - but why do i need it now? I just got the brush off. Is there anybody that can give me further advice?

Hi,Emjay it's your body, if you don't want to take medication, then don't. Always ask the 'professional's' for a proper answer to your questions, if it's still a brush off, weigh up the pro's and con's, as it's you who would be taking them.
Good luck RRB

 

[Amanda61]

Hi welcome @Emjay1581

I wouldn't take them on 4.4 (or at all actually).

They need to get your agreement, they can't force you to take them.

As Indy says, have a look around at some of the other threads on the subject.

My cholesterol was 4.9 when the doc put me on them.
After 1 month of being on the LCHF diet and the statin, my levels went down to
3.8. Worth it just to get that result.

 

[Donna68]

My DN says 5.0 is acceptable, 4.0 is good. So she only 'offers' them at over 5. I was 5.3 at my first test - if it is sill at that level next time she will 'offer' them. As long as my diabetes is in remission I will refuse them. And she will accept that. My sister's was at 5.2 - she reused the offer.

 

[Daisytoy]

Im newly diagnosed with diabetes, I wouldn't take statins and I recommend everyone reads The Great Cholesterol Con by Malcolm Kendric which is a revelation to say the least!!!

 

[Daibell]

Hi. I've just finished Malcolm Kendrick's follow-on book 'Doctoring Data'. An essential read but scary. Kendrick is a cardiologist and UK GP. His research of the data shows that more people die early from LOW cholestrol than from HIGH cholesterol. The data supporting statins has been fudged over the years to suit big pharma. There is no real evidence that high cholesterol is bad for your health but few in the medical profession are prepared to break ranks and say it.

 

[phil1966]

It's amazing how they try and hand out statins to anyone and everyone, but try and get some test strips out of them and you'd think you'd asked for the crown jewels!

My cholesterol was up slightly at my last HbA1c (probably due to the large amount of weight I'd lost very rapidly) and the first thing the doc said was "I'd like to give you statins". I said I'd rather wait 6 months and see what my cholesterol is then (by which time my blood should have stabilised) and she was fine with that.

Out of interest, I've just used the risk calculator linked above and even with my last cholesterol reading my current risk is only 8.4% so I will resist all attempts to give me statins.

On the subject of the risk calculator, is the weighting for diabetes simply because we've got it or because they expect your blood sugar to be higher than a person without? The reason I ask is that my diet is so tightly controlled that my blood is never out of the non-diabetic range. My understanding was the risks from diabetes are pretty much mitigated if your blood sugar is normal, but I thought I'd ask if anyone knew for certain