atorvastatin & blood sugar

[andyR57]

Hi. I am pre-diabetic but because my Triglycerides are very high the Doctor put me onto Statins. I have only been on them 3 weeks but already my fasting readings have increased by nearly 20% and am now well into my 7's and readings after meals that were showing below 7 after 2 hours are now high 8's or low 9's. and this is after 30 minutes of walking. After years of controlling my sugar levels I just feel I now have no control and it's all been in vain. The Doctor says continue with the Statins because at my age [66] the risk of stroke and heart attack is greater than the effects of Diabetes - but what a choice. Has anyone else had problems with statins and Atorvastatin in particular or got any suggestions or advise?.

 

[bulkbiker]

Has anyone else had problems with statins and Atorvastatin in particular or got any suggestions or advise?.

I have never taken a statin and never will, for full disclosure, but the side effects of them raising blood glucose are fairly well know.

What were your trig levels and how long had you water fasted before the blood was taken for the lipid panel?

 

[andyR57]

I have never taken a statin and never will, for full disclosure, but the side effects of them raising blood glucose are fairly well know.

What were your trig levels and how long had you water fasted before the blood was taken for the lipid panel?

Hi. Thanks for the reply. The trig was 8.8 very high despite a good diet and exercise and only slightly overweight and Doctor said it is probably genetic [which begs the question will the statins work]. It wasn't a fasting blood test either but Doctor said it didn't matter and should still be below 2.3.Certainly there was no food or liquid fasting in fact I had a cup of tea 10 minutes before the blood was taken late in the afternoon.

 

[Goonergal]

Hi. I am pre-diabetic but because my Triglycerides are very high the Doctor put me onto Statins. I have only been on them 3 weeks but already my fasting readings have increased by nearly 20% and am now well into my 7's and readings after meals that were showing below 7 after 2 hours are now high 8's or low 9's. and this is after 30 minutes of walking. After years of controlling my sugar levels I just feel I now have no control and it's all been in vain. The Doctor says continue with the Statins because at my age [66] the risk of stroke and heart attack is greater than the effects of Diabetes - but what a choice. Has anyone else had problems with statins and Atorvastatin in particular or got any suggestions or advise?.

You’d likely see improved triglycerides (and lipid profile overall) on a low carb way of eating, with blood sugars better controlled. Perhaps discuss this paper based on the real world results of Dr David Unwin in his GP practice in Southport with your doc - clear evidence: https://nutrition.bmj.com/content/3/2/285

And:

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1590610552921165824

 

[bulkbiker]

Certainly there was no food or liquid fasting

In that case the test was fairly pointless and in my view prescribing any medication on the back of the result would have been premature to say the least.

However I am only an informed patient not a doctor.


In your shoes I'd ask for another test for "confirmation" and then water only fast for 12-14 hours beforehand to ensure a "clean" result without dietary influence.
Then you'd be in a far better position to agree to taking the meds or not.

 

[plantae]

Good idea, but 14 hours fasting is far too long. 8 is good

 

[bulkbiker]

Good idea, but 14 hours fasting is far too long. 8 is good

Why is 8 good but 14 too long please?

For a fasting test I have always read that 12 hours is the recommended time.
For cholesterol many say 12-14 gives the cleanest results.

 

[plantae]

Because 6 hours is enough for surgery. 8 just gives a buffer. After about 8 hours there should be nothing left in you

You might be right about the cholesterol, I don't know about that

 

[bulkbiker]

Because 6 hours is enough for surgery. 8 just gives a buffer. After about 8 hours there should be nothing left in you

Its not about "nothing left in you" it's the impact of what you have eaten on your cholesterol levels.
Plus food can take a lot longer than 8 hours to exit the body. In fact up to 36 hours.

Digestion: How long does it take?

Digestion takes about two to five days, depending on your system.

www.mayoclinic.org

 

[plantae]

You might be right. I need to read more

 

[Robbity]

I agree with @bulkbiker regarding fasting times and have always tried to make sure I go at least 12 hours, which is probably a normal overnight "fast" time between evening meal and breakfast anyway!

But a bit longer isn't a problem for me because for much of my life since my teens I've not been a regular breakfast eater.

I also believe that long term statins were in part cause of my T2 diagnosis, and when I was eventually able to persuade my (temporary) diabetes support GP that I could stop taking them, I saw an improvement in my glucose levels.

 

[Outlier]

I fast daily for around 18 hours, more if I can, but if hungry I eat sooner. No problem at all, and I used to get VERY hungry pre-keto on 3 "healthy"meals a day. I always do a water fast before a blood test.

 

[saky]

Hi. I am pre-diabetic but because my Triglycerides are very high the Doctor put me onto Statins. I have only been on them 3 weeks but already my fasting readings have increased by nearly 20% and am now well into my 7's and readings after meals that were showing below 7 after 2 hours are now high 8's or low 9's. and this is after 30 minutes of walking. After years of controlling my sugar levels I just feel I now have no control and it's all been in vain. The Doctor says continue with the Statins because at my age [66] the risk of stroke and heart attack is greater than the effects of Diabetes - but what a choice. Has anyone else had problems with statins and Atorvastatin in particular or got any suggestions or advise?.

Even my triglycerides were high 142mg/dl.
Took statin with finifibrate for a while.
Then stopped statin.
Since I was low carb for pre-diabetes.
My triglycerides were 54mg/dl, hdl-69mg/dl, ldl-124mg/dl and recently jan28th it was 60mg/dl, hdl-64mg/dl, lol -161
Want to go back on staying for high ldl

 

[HSSS]

Because 6 hours is enough for surgery. 8 just gives a buffer. After about 8 hours there should be nothing left in you

You might be right about the cholesterol, I don't know about that

Surgery fasting is about the risks of aspiration etc. A blood test fasting is about the lingering effects of food and digesti9n. Different objectives.

 

[Resurgam]

I took Atorvastatin for about 5 weeks and it destroyed my memory and I became suicidal - luckily I got a shock just before Christmas '16 when I realised just how badly my memory was affected so I threw out the tablets and relied on diet alone.
My cholesterol went down and I gradually recovered from all the aches and pains and the dementia.

 

[andyR57]

Thank you all for your replies. I have stopped taking the Atorvastatin and after two days my blood glucose was much improved - the only issue I have really ever had is the fasting readings and normally 2 hours after most meals [except pizza] I am well below 7.8. I have gone onto a low carb diet and after only a week my fasting reading was 5.5 this morning, the lowest it's been for 3 years and just hoping its not a fluke because I have had some contradictory reading. Yesterday for instance I had bran flake for breakfast and my fasting reading was 6.3 and after the bran 7.0. Today fasting was 5.5 but after the same breakfast but with soya milk it was 7.7 - a rise of 2.2 compared with 0.7 yesterday.. The label for the soya says no carb and no sugar so a bit puzzled to be honest. Anyway low carb seems to be the way to go. I also read that Statins reduce Vitamin K2 in he blood which actually increases risk of heart attacks and stroke and this was the deciding factor to come off the statins. What effect my low carb diet [ about 100-120g carbs daily from about the 220 I was having] will have on my triglycerides remains to be seen I guess but early days.. .

 

[Julia is a type 1diabetic]

I'm on Atorvastains to I started them yesterday evening

 

[bulkbiker]

I'm on Atorvastains to I started them yesterday evening

Any particular reason why?

 

[Julia is a type 1diabetic]

Any particular reason why?

Yes because my cholesterol is high

 

[bulkbiker]

Yes because my cholesterol is high

Do you happen to have the full lipid breakdown?
Total cholesterol is, in my view, a poor number to use as an excuse to prescribe a medication.
Also how long had you water fasted before the bloods were taken?