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Anyone been put on Statins?

coby

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,095
Location
Cheshire
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
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Social mixing most sport, Soaps!
Hi everyone,
My blood tests ( for first review since diagnosis 5 months ago) has come back saying that I have raised cholesterol ... a surprise to me since I'm moderately active ... not overweight ... and 'thought' I ate sensibly!
My GP goes on to say in the letter today that "looking at your profile it seems that you should be put on a Statin for reducing your risk of a heart attack or a stroke"
Has anyone else had to be put on Statins since being diagnosed with Type 2?
Does it cause any problems with taking Metformin too?
I know these are questions for my GP but she's not asked to see me to discuss, but merely informed me to ring the reception if I wish to have them, so that a prescription will be put out.
I know ... once on Statins, they are for life and I'm concerned about taking such a drastic step ... having still not got my head around having diabetes!
I would so appreciate any feedback please.
 
I'm on Atovasatin and it's not a problem with any other medication as I take it with insulin and I also took it with metformin ages ago but I found no problems with it as my colestrol was in the teens and now they are at 3 so I just never had any questions or concerns about any medication as long as it is not the slimming ones then I won't touch but I was given a few years ago but now I have lost the weight without them I never touched it
 
So do you recommend taking them?
 
I suggest you put "Statins" in the search box at the top of the page. There are many discussions about cholesterol and statins on the forums. Have a read and make up your own mind. Out of interest what was your "raised" level.
Regards
Mark
 
I normally do it like this if it is going to do me better I will take them as I want to have a little bit more life with family then I take it but if I don't like the side effects I don't touch them but with a satin I would say yes as I have had no problems with them and my cholesterol levels have come down from what they would have been and on it's own I don't know if I would have it as low as it will have doubled and I will have to have taken two of what I am taking now
 
Do you know what your cholesterol levels are? GPs like to put diabetics with cholesterol levels over 4 on statins. Mine was 4.7 last year. I have been on statins for seven years. I had no adverse side effects, but there are some views that statins raise bs levels.
Statins are not for life once you are on them. I have recently stopped taking mine to see if my next HbA1c is lower as a result, and how my cholesterol levels change. If they go higher I can resume the statins.
I did tell my GP and pharmacist that I would be doing this.
 
I also had a raised cholesterol reading following being diagnosed Type 2 Diabetic - I take the statin and the level has dropped to 3.3 and doctor is happy (about the only thing he is happy with - but that's a whole other topic). No adverse reaction and one less thing to worry over for me at least too many other issues like losing weight.
 
I've been taken off three statins due to liver function issues.. and am currently not taking them. My totals are +6 and it's a work in progress...
 
Fear not i was put on statins one at night 2years ago and my cholesterol is realy low now 4.3 and i feel great good luck.
 
Statins are known to be implicated in diabetes and may cause raised glucose levels. I was on them for a number years before I was diagnosed as type 2 in November 2013, and last summer I reduced my dosage with the agreement of my previous diabetes support doctor, and later took myself off them completely without asking him. My glucose levels have suddenly come down further since then, and I believe the statins (or rather current lack of!) are the reason for this as nothing else changed. I've told my current diabetes support contact who is also my normal GP and he isn't actually insisting any longer that I take should take them. My cholesterol and it seems my blood pressure too have come down since I started a low carb diet, so I'm not prepared to continue taking them for their other unspecified benefits that he used to argue that they had.

I'd suggest you do some careful research both on statins and on cholesterol to see what possible benefits or disadvantages they might actually have for you before you commit either way. But at least you've been offered them rather than having the thrust upon you!

Robbity
And PS: They are not necessarily with you for life. My cholesterol hasn't gone up over the last 10 months without them.
 
I'm a type 2 diagnosed in 2012. My total cholesterol was over 4 with HDL at 1.0, LDL over 2 and high triglycerides.

I was put on Simvastatin (20mg) and this improved things dramatically though with some side effects.
Now on Pravastatin 10 mg with total chol 3.2, HDL 1.7, LDL 1.9 and triglycerides 0.5.

Not sure why the Dr still wants me on statins, suspect it depends on my heart attack risk score.

HbA1c dropped from 52 at diagnosis to 42. Lost about 10 kg so probably need to lose a bit more!
 
I was put on statins 'as a precaution' when diagnosed 4 yrs ago, even though my cholesterol was low. I was also on metformin, then SR metformin, but metformin made me really ill, so with the diabetic nurse's agreement I came off all medication (after 4 yrs of hell!) to see how I would be without it. I'm still off metformin, but my cholestrol went up slightly from 3.4 with simvastatin to 5.8 without (LD 1.6 with meds, 4.49 without, HD no change) so have now started back on it with 20mg a day (40mg previously), but I'm now getting cramp at night, it stopped when I stopped simvastatin. So will keep a record of when I take statins and when I get cramp to see if there is any link.....
 
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I'm on Atorvastatin too, (several years now) and not very impressed to learn recently that apparently 45 % of people on this drug develop diabetes later in life. I can't seem to get any "number" for my cholesterol from my surgery other than "6". Its meaningless without the full breakdown.
 
bulkbiker said:
I suggest you put "Statins" in the search box at the top of the page. There are many discussions about cholesterol and statins on the forums. Have a read and make up your own mind. Out of interest what was your "raised" level.
Regards
Mark
Click to expand...
Hi Mark,
My letter doesn't say. All it says is that my cholestrol has come back raised. I have to go for a review with the diabetic nurse on 20th of this month. It will be my very first visit to her since diagnosis.
 
I'm glad you told me that they do not have to be for life as that was what put me off. I hate taking drugs.
 
You have lost me with all the numbers. I do not un
derstand numbers I'm afraid. People on here always put numbers and it's double dutch to me! Ha ha
 
My cholesterol level was 5.5 and after low carbing is now 6 but the actual lipid profile has improved. The total number is meaningless (I'm not convinced that all the numbers aren't meaningless but lets assume there is some good science here). So after 6 months of low carb my total had gone up by 0.5 but that was a result of an increase in the so called good HDL. Both my LDL and Triglycerides had gone way down.
Personally I would not touch statins. There is no evidence they work for women and I don't believe in the overmedicalistation they seem to be pushing on us. Given the NHS has been telling us for years to eat low fat and high carb (and we all know where that has got us) I am highly disinclined to think they've got it right on statins.
But it's your call.
Do check the breakdown first though and note that too low a cholesterol level has been shown to be dangerous and that the average increase in lifespan from taking statins is at best about 4 days! Many people suffer debilitating side effects while taking statins so the quality of life goes down, while they get to live a whole 4 days more if they are lucky!
 
coby said:
Hi Mark,
My letter doesn't say. All it says is that my cholestrol has come back raised. I have to go for a review with the diabetic nurse on 20th of this month. It will be my very first visit to her since diagnosis.
Click to expand...
There are a huge amount of differing opinions on the possible benefits of statins and their side effects. There is also an argument that unless you have had a cardiac event they don't do much for you and also that for females they seem to be less effective. There is also the school of thought that says older women benefit from having slightly higher cholesterol. Personally I will never take them. but as with all these things you need to do a lot of reading and decide for yourself, and that's you making the decision not your HCP.
 
Interesting, a recent study on the side effects of statins found that people experienced all the known side effects of statins - even when they were taking the placebo. If you tell people about side effects it seems many of them will report them whatever.

I'm not saying people are making it up, but I for instance, have a number of health problems - IBS, high blood pressure, I had some nerve damage from a slipped disk, and I have scoliosis, as well as T2D. Until I lost some weight recently, I had a hiatus hernia. I was on statins and am still on Metformin, but I've no idea what is side effect from drugs and what is my illness and what is just getting old. I've stopped taking statins while I'm on the LCHF diet, to see if how it affects my cholesterol levels, but I'll have no hesitation in starting them again if the levels are bad.
 
I was given the option of statins as my cholesterol reading was 5.6...Type 2 on low carb diet. After discussion about what the possible risks are (mainly muscle pain to varying extents and slight increase to BP) and what the supposed benefits are...I declined and my diabetes specialist was not concerned at all. My renal doctors (I had a kidney transplant..not due in any way at all to be diabetes as I got diabetes from steroids taken post-transplant) generally agreed with me...why take something that may or may not help certain things to varying degrees (that I may never ever need to deal with) with a small risk of certain side effects? I will take meds if I NEED them. I'm on enough meds as it is, and no-one can tell an individual that a certain statin will not mean some impact on your system due to its combined cumulative effect with certain other drugs. Also, the figure being high is far from conclusive in terms of being a negative issue. it is increasingly clearer that those of us on a low carb diet (or those who don't eat "enough" carbs) may find overall cholesterol levels rise because the good cholesterol tends to increase. Yes, there is good and bad cholesterol, and so a breakdown of the overall figure is more helpful. I did pick up the prescribed statin but didn't take any until I had discussed it and understood more about cholesterol (just basic stuff)...and I have never taken them. I suggest you check out what cholesterol is before decided whether or not to actually take any statins...but, @coby , I wouldn't get worried about it at all. Having looked into things a bit more now - I frankly do not focus on my overall cholesterol number at all!
 
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