Do I really have to take Statins?

[HSSS]

Should that be 7.4? If the regular readings of 6 and 7 have been for more than 3 months I would have thought the HbA1c would be closer to 7 rather than 70.

I suspect hb1ac is reported in mmol not %. 74 is pretty **** high. Readings daily of 6 and 7 wouldn’t normally give this but they are noted as unusually low for the op so maybe they are since the last hb1ac and change of meds.

 

[HSSS]

Hi all, I have now moved and changed my practice and met the specialist diabetic gp once, however, after seeing the chest specialist today at the same surgery she had said there is a note ont he screen to say I must without fail take Statins. Now, I have had Simvistatin and Atorvastatin in the past and to be completely honest, my legs, groin and all seems to grind to a halt, I end up holding my rib cage because my chest is so tight I feel like I am having a stroke or something, I find it incredibly difficult to sleep when taking them and yet when I stop, all the symptoms disappear and hence why I keep refusing to take them.

I am now really anxious about the next meeting with this specialist only I know for a fact he is going to try and in my opinion bully me into taking them, I have sat here tonight and bitten all my nails only i no longer smoke so something has to go.

I just had my HBA1C back, 74 as usual and my cholesterol is supposedly through the roof at 6 instead of 4. I was told both those readings are likely to be up due to I am still fairly fresh post Radiotherapy, I am also having to take kidney tablets because of I believe it is called Proteinurea? where the kidneys let out protein in the urine anyway.
Also they are now saying they think it is a possibility I may have a kidney stone and have to have a scan shortly.

I honestly have no idea why my HBA1C is still high, I am still arguing with the diabetic nutritionists with regards them saying I really should be having porridge and / or bread every day and it makes me ill, i go jittery and light headed and some times something like 45 minutes after say- if I ate a roll I pass out- badly, now what on earth is that. Also, I have changed from taking 180 units of Insulin per day to a new tablet where you wee out the excess sugars and I am having readings of 6mmol and 7mmol pretty much all the time and they are the lowest readings I have had in a year, no insulin whatsoever, just the Empagliflozen 10mg once per day, if they put me on 15 mg a day I am certain it would take me to 5mmol but they have not yet and said they would after the review in December.

Please excuse my mini rants on this forum but I am literally aside myself with all of this, I just wish to get on with my life now that I am supposedly in 100% remission after the Radiotherapy and Lymphoma.. But I really would like to get my diabetes under control but I just think all this, eat bread nonesense and statin stuff has to stop else they shall end up killing me. I would sincerely appreciate anyone's advice or if you have been through similar and what can I do about it all.

.


Hell no.

If things they recommend are making you worse don’t do it. Tell them no you want alternative options.

For the record my total cholesterol was higher than yours last check at diagnosis I take no statins having refused them in favour of diet change to low carb.

Porridge is terrible for many type 2’s and so is eating bread. Tell them how you want to approach it and ask them to document your request. Test, test and test again if you lower your carbs to avoid hypos. If you run lower than comfortable then ask for meds to be reduced. They should be supporting you, not the other way round.

 

[Charis1213]

It is your choice , I was offered Metformin and Statins and refused both and always will refuse them. LCHF has lowered my cholesterol from 7.3 to 6.3 and blood sugar down from 106 down to 59 in 11 weeks. It can be done without medication .
If you've tried two types of statin and got side effects then they don't seem to be doing you any good .

There are lots of threads on here about statins , maybe take a look at them .

 

[Resurgam]

When taking Atorvastatin and Metformin the consequences were making me lose the will to live - how anyone could justify medication doing that - but I could not report it as I was taking two different tablets - so each one is just as safe and effective as ever, according to reports.
As you have a proven track record of problems, it doesn't seem logical to try again and hope for something different.

 

[Tophat1900]

There was a BMJ (possibly Lancet) straw poll of GPs to see who prescribe them for themselves or a family member, 60% said no. I asked my GP and she said "one", I got the impression she meant one she didn't like.

I wonder what the result would be if they just polled on how many GP's actually take them?

 

[Roseanne01]

The decision is yours, nobody else.



Very similar to my experience with statins. I bet no GP has been able to tell you how to avoid these well documented side effects. I bet they're not even aware that it's the prevention of the uptake of CoQ10 that is causing the muscle problems. Even Merck Pharmaceutical knew what caused the side effects as far back as 1990. They can't even refer you to any empirical evidence because Sir Rory Collins has got all the raw data from the original test results locked away, never to be revealed.



It is quite clear that taking statins is making you more ill and possibly become dependent on financial help from the state. A polite "NO" is all that's required. Don't accept any rubbish about "internet conspiracy theory", your pain is very real despite anything a so called expert says.



For a type II, porridge for breakfast is something of a no no, maybe some can tolerate it. Are they trying to prescribe you more medication?



Should that be 7.4? If the regular readings of 6 and 7 have been for more than 3 months I would have thought the HbA1c would be closer to 7 rather than 70.

The statin is a very difficult decision and has to be a very personal thing. I stopped taking them because I was fed up with the pain, the brain fog and poor sleep. I spent years not being believed and it sometimes just makes me angry that some GPs wear blinkers. There was a BMJ (possibly Lancet) straw poll of GPs to see who prescribe them for themselves or a family member, 60% said no. I asked my GP and she said "one", I got the impression she meant one she didn't like.

And i'd say the anti statin brigade is an internet conspiracy. My 72 year old husband has no side effects except the one where he’s the only male in his family to make it past 50 without a heart attack and make it past 55 alive. He has genetically high cholesterol. So go figure!

 

[Tophat1900]

And i'd say the anti statin brigade is an internet conspiracy. My 72 year old husband has no side effects except the one where he’s the only male in his family to make it past 50 without a heart attack and make it past 55 alive. He has genetically high cholesterol. So go figure!

Yes, he has a genetic condition. Totally different situation compared to people who are having stains pushed on them needlessly.

 

[Tophat1900]

Counteracting an evil that raises blood sugar while it causes horrid pain is not confrontational; It's common sense.

Oh, and by the way, some docs consider becoming diabetic an acceptable risk of taking statins:

https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/full/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.112.122135

Not just diabetics, Interestingly enough in the UK, the head of the Cholesterol Treatment Trialists has stated everyone over 50 regardless of cholesterol levels should be on statins. This group has a major impact on policy and receives hundreds of millions of dollars in funding.

 

[DavidGrahamJones]

i'd say the anti statin brigade is an internet conspiracy.

As a member of the anti statin brigade I can report with 100% honesty that the leg muscle pain, the brain fog and poor sleep that I experienced are no conspiracy. Neither is Merck Pharmaceutical's patent application of of 1990 to add CoQ10 to "prevent impending muscle pain".

I am very pleased that your husband has no side effects that he is aware of, but in the same way as I accept that some people will not have side effects then I would hope that you can accept that some people have problems with statins and it isn't anything of a conspiracy. These side effects are well documented by the NHS and even 500 GPs when replying to a BMJ straw poll answered by a 60/40 majority that they would not take them or prescribe them to a family member.

 

[Mike d]

And i'd say the anti statin brigade is an internet conspiracy.

And I'd say you need to start reading (A LOT) about hundreds of other experiences of people on this site.

Not just your direct family.

It's only now I have recovered what I lost. When I tracked it down to them (could NOT have been anything else) I was and still am ropeable

 

[Daphne917]

And i'd say the anti statin brigade is an internet conspiracy. My 72 year old husband has no side effects except the one where he’s the only male in his family to make it past 50 without a heart attack and make it past 55 alive. He has genetically high cholesterol. So go figure!

I wouldn’t say it is an internet conspiracy just people using the internet to research and being able to make up their own minds with the information that is now available. In addition there are some people, such as your husband, who require drugs to control a condition. That said my mother suffered muscle pains from statins, was prescribed 4 different makes to see if they were better but, because she was of the generation that ‘Doctors know best’ kept taking them. Ironically she died of a heart attack when she was 73 so what was the point. My brother also takes statins with no apparent side effects however when I was on them my hba1c rose from 48 at diagnosis to 54 and I suffered dizzy spells and sleep disturbance. I have now been classed as statin intolerant by my GP. @miffli the decision is yours as to whether or not you take statins however, before deciding, do your research and don’t let anybody bully you.

 

[bulkbiker]

And i'd say the anti statin brigade is an internet conspiracy. My 72 year old husband has no side effects except the one where he’s the only male in his family to make it past 50 without a heart attack and make it past 55 alive. He has genetically high cholesterol. So go figure!

Why? I'd say it's more the well informed people who have done some research rather than just accepting what they are told? FH (assuming that is what your husband has) is now thought to be a disease of blood clotting factors and once they are over 30 usually live longer than non FH people. Maybe high cholesterol is protective? That's what some studies not funded by statin makers seem to suggest.

 

[Ponchu]

If you want to keep your doctor...


I filled the script & have not taken one. I won’t ever take them.

It’s underground resistance.

Pharma & Food Industry dictated terms to me for decades.

No more.

 

[LittleGreyCat]

And i'd say the anti statin brigade is an internet conspiracy. My 72 year old husband has no side effects except the one where he’s the only male in his family to make it past 50 without a heart attack and make it past 55 alive. He has genetically high cholesterol. So go figure!

Your alleged "Internet conspiracy" is in fact my personal experience. I had major side effects with both Simvastatin and Pravastatin and had that duly noted on my medical records. I do not take statins and my surgery is happy with my cholesterol levels and ratios.

I post about this on the Internet (which is this site, obviously) as personal experience and I am not "conspiring" with anyone when I do this.

 

[carty]

When I refused statins when first diagnosed with diabetes my GP said that not everyone gets side effects ! And when I was asking for strips on prescription and I said I was saving him money by not having statins he said it was a cheap drug anyway !
Carol

 

[JohnEGreen]

If you want to keep your doctor...


I filled the script & have not taken one. I won’t ever take them.

It’s underground resistance.

Pharma & Food Industry dictated terms to me for decades.

No more.

This is what I now do every time I have them removed from my repeat prescription at some time they reappear not at my behest.

For me the biggest problem I have with statins is what the devil to do with all the accumulated boxes of them that are filling my shelves.

 

[Daphne917]

This is what I now do every time I have them removed from my repeat prescription at some time they reappear not at my behest.

For me the biggest problem I have with statins is what the devil to do with all the accumulated boxes of them that are filling my shelves.

Take them back to the chemist.

 

[JohnEGreen]

Take them back to the chemist.

Suppose I could do that. though I was thinking on the lines of building a life size model of the Cutty Sark.

 

[vic hill]

same for no no no for diabetes doctor . and my dialysis doctor at the time 2004 and only just recent A FIRM NO
i forget what he said it is my right but my main reason is what i have heard to many aches but i need to know what and when i am going low or high with my diabetes not being told it may be the STATINS
but i am sure i am wrong but thats that s
vic

 

[Daibell]

First find another nutritionist as, like so many, he/she hasn't a clue about nutrition so what's the point? Ref statins my cardio also told me to get my cholesterol further down as he was following all the 'research' that cardios are fed. In other respects he's excellent. If statins give you muscle problems don't take them; simples. Any muscle pain can be muscle destruction so not a good idea. I do take some statins but I don't have muscle issues. Do follow a Low carb diet