Anyone else got a doctor who try's to force drugs on to them?

Re statins; they are a non-thinking tick box response. I was pushed onto statins with a sub 4 chol level!
Low carbs/highER fat diet seemed to do it for me once I ditched them due to muscle/joint pains!
The LCHF diet might help with the HbA1c as well!

 

Yep. Similar situation here. I refused them. My lipids have come down significantly on my low carb/higher fat diet.

 

What are you using your calorie controlled diet for? Is it weight loss or a means of applying portion control to your meals?

 

Yes he tried 3 years on a run. I tried to resist, eventually he prescribed Fluvastatin . I was found to be diabetic whilst suffering from some muscular disorder . The advice that came with the drugs stated under no circumstances should you take these tablets if I had any muscular problems. They went in the bin. As did the Metformin . I changed to a low crab diet and I am doing very nicely thank you.
It is my body and my choice what to put into it.

 

Did you not find you had more impact on your blood sugars when using the lower carb?

 

I too cant tolerate statins except for one certain brand/formula 'only' .
So I just take/use this one one only .

Yes some HCP's think any formula/type of pill can help to cure all .

I have - patient medical drugs intolerant - listed on my records .
Then they always ask me my intollerances .
This is one way around this real problem for me .

 

Why don't you ask him for a fasting cholesterol test with a breakdown of all components. You will have a good case to argue why you are refusing them if they are in the ideal levels.
Nobody can force you to take them and they need to back it up with evidence as to why it is essential for you.

 

Were you following the low carb sensibly? If you found it upset you, maybe you weren't including the right nutrients such as fibre. It is quite common for people on low carb to suffer constipation. The secret is to drink loads of water and make sure your fibre intake is sufficient.

 

The Dr tried to get me to go on statins and gave me a prescription for them. I decided not to fill the prescription and when I went back to the Dr's for my next 3 month diabetes test - we discussed my reasoning and he agreed I didn't need to take them as having followed a LCHF diet my cholesterol levels (the bad part) had much improved, as had my BS levels. I know there are some additional benefits in taking them not just for cholesterol reasons, and without knowing your medical history I would suggest you see another Dr in your practice and explain how you feel...to see if they really are necessary for you. Even then you don't have to take them, but at least you will have a better understanding.

 

I seem to recall reading that Metformin had LDL lowering properties as good as if not better than statins so I can't see why they want you on statins as well. I was told by one GP at my practice that meds weren't necessary for my higher cholesterol levels as sorting diabetes would sort it, while my own GP wanted me on them but said it was my call. I declined so will see what my next test shows. I suffer from fibromyalgia so don't need anything that might give me aches and pains.

 

My one idiot dr tried to push we nearly came to blows l think the whole surgery could hear the yelling match we had... hub sat there laughing hysterically to himself. Upshot l do not do statins, refuse them and even if l have a heart attack ditto.
l LCHF and may be in the 25% who get higher cholesterol on the eating plan as l have gone up however it could also be the amount of weight l have lost pretty quick that has made it rise. Either way l aint touching them.

 

I, too was pushed to go on statins despite my cholesterol being *barely* above the desired range. (It is now well within normal, just a few months later.) I took the script and had it filled, despite my trepidations. I took it for 2 nights and thought I was going to end up in A&E. I was already sick as hell with the Metformin (which took 4 months to settle, despite being on the SR version since Day 1). The statins made me feel like I was derranged. I was dizzy as hell and vomited a couple times. I stopped taking the statins after the 2nd night and told my GP on my next visit. He argued with me and I said I didn't care, that there was no way I was going through what I went through those two nights ever again. He said he'd have to record my refusal on my chart. I said, "Go ahead, Darling. I'll even sign it if you need me to."

 

I'm lucky I seem able to tolerate most medicines, and with a cholesterol in the high 7s accepted that statins were the best option. they have brought it down to 5.5ish and it now seems stable and the doctors aren't pushing any further tablets to get it down more, they even say that the side effects of anything stronger is worth the limited benefit. They also have agreed to reduce my Metformin after my last HBA1C, so there are good HCP out there.

You say low carbing doesn't work for you, I would ask how low you are trying to go with the carbs. I manage at about 100 - 120g of carbs a day and still have managed to bring my BS levels down considerably. I still consider I have a balanced plate I just hadn't realised how many carbs I was eating. it might be worth adding yours up and seeing if a small reduction could help and then slowly reducing the amount until you find a balance between your BS and your stomach problems.

The other suggestion is a supplement like Psyllium Husks which I found very good for dealing with the side effects of Metformin.

 

I think part of the problem is a failure to treat a patient as a person and to see them as just another cog in the tick box quality care machine. Many of the GPs at my practice have the bedside manner of a slug, a problem which will only worsen as more and more of the care is offered over the phone or online. It isn't enough to be a four A* student to get on the medical degree course.. You need to be able to deal with people as individuals not just as high risk groups etc. Also, it is easy to forget best practice when it is tied to financial rewards. Far better that GPs had a ceiling salary independently of targets which may or may not be based on good science. We are conditioned to think that science offers some sort of objective reality when in fact it is as biased as any other academic discipline through ties to industry. And what works in one research project may or may not replicated in a wider population. There is plenty of evidence that higher cholesterol may be beneficial as we get older, in women and some evidence that its role in CVD is overplayed and misunderstood.

 

My own GP told me I needed to stay on statins even though my cholesterol level had dropped dramatically - because of "other benefits". Then someone on the forum told me that my very low level was unsafe, so I stopped taking them. When I finally saw my practice diabetic "expert" doctor, I told him that I'd stopped, and that I wanted to at least cut down on dosage and he agreed. I'm biding my time and will have another go at one or the other of them when I next get test results.

Robbity