• Guest, the forum is undergoing some upgrades and so the usual themes will be unavailable for a few days. In the meantime, you can use the forum like normal. We'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the 2025 Survey »

Blood results great, but hard time expected

BrianTheElder

BrianTheElder

Well-Known Member
I went to see my diabetic nurse this morning for a check-up and my blood test results. Her first comment was "your results are excellent, how did you do it?". I said LCHF, which she had never heard of. My HbA1c was down from 41 in April to 31 in December, which earned an excellent on the blood test report from the doctor. She agreed to change my metformin from 1000 to 500 mg daily. I tried to say I wanted to come off statins as well, but was told with my cholesterol, that would be a problem. Complete brick wall on any discussion, so I gave up. My blood glucose was 4.8 this morning and my bp "perfect".
Fyi, my lipids were TC 5.8, HDL 1.7, TC/HDL 3.4 and non-HDL 4.1, which I was delighted with, especially the TC and HDL (up from 1.04). However, the doctor also made the written comment on my lipids "cholesterol has gone up to 5.8", which I think means he is going to grumble and resist when I try to get off statins at my next visit.
Do they always have to give us a hard time, even when we're doing well?
I am a man of 73 and I feel that a TC of 5.8 is good news for mortality and dementia.
 
You do realise that you don't have to take anything if you don't want to? What you put into your body is up to you. There is such a huge debate going on about statins that I would read around a great deal before deciding if I wanted them or not. Personally I wouldn't take them but as always it is your decision not your doctors.
 
Very well done. You made the decision to go LCHF, had you have followed standard guidelines you may have struggled to improve your HbA1C. I resisted statins and blood pressure medication and evidence has shown I was correct; make the decision you are comfortable with.
 
Well done, that is a superb achievement, and I agree, your cholesterol looks OK to me. The total cholesterol is fairly irrelevant. It is the HDL/LDL/triglycerides and ratios that matter. You don't say what your LDL and triglycerides were, and they are important to know. The NICE guidelines say all diabetics should be on statins, and that is why doctors prescribe them - and they also get paid for doing so. Do your research, read round the relevant threads on this forum (loads of them if you use the search box), find out your LDL and triglycerides, and then decide what to do.
 
Bluetit1802 said:
Well done, that is a superb achievement, and I agree, your cholesterol looks OK to me. The total cholesterol is fairly irrelevant. It is the HDL/LDL/triglycerides and ratios that matter. You don't say what your LDL and triglycerides were, and they are important to know. The NICE guidelines say all diabetics should be on statins, and that is why doctors prescribe them - and they also get paid for doing so. Do your research, read round the relevant threads on this forum (loads of them if you use the search box), find out your LDL and triglycerides, and then decide what to do.
Click to expand...
My practice does non-fasting blood tests as standard, I presume for economy. These tests only report TC, HDL and non-HDL. To get LDL and triglycerides, I would need a fasting test and I expect that will be one of the outcomes from my next visit. I would also like to find what type of LDL I have, but I'm not sure this is available on NHS. I will definitely get my iron and B12 checked as well. Any further suggestions?
One of my problems is that my wife doesn't read all the research that I do, so needs a lot of convincing as well. I feel she has a stake in this, so I have to listen to her wishes. I realise that at the end of the day, it's my body and my decision, but life isn't always that easy.
 
My practice no longer does fasting tests either, but I make sure I have a morning appointment for the blood tests and I fast anyway. You can always do this. I would ask next time for LDL and triglycerides to be included. These are normally standard with diabetic tests, and your doctor is behind the times not to take these into account before prescribing statins. I doubt you will get the type of LDL particles test on the NHS but I believe you can get them privately. I haven't looked in to this though. On my last test a few weeks ago I asked for Vit D, B12, and folate to be tested (out of curiosity mainly) My GP authorised these without question and also threw in iron for good measure.

I fully see where you are coming from as regards taking your wife's wishes into account. It would be the same in my household, but happily my husband read the research I found and stopped taking his own statins.
 
Congrats on the test results,

My Cholesterol levels have dropped to normal levels from the statins, but I have seen an increase in my BG due to them.

I told my doc I was stopping the statins for a couple of months till my next bloodwork was done.

She wasn't happy but annotated my notes as such.

Stick to your guns.

HTH
 
As bulkbiker has already said - your doc may prescribe pills but you don't have to file the prescription nor take the tablets. I had sky-high blood pressure for years and was taking handsfull of pills every day with rotten side effects and I felt like dog poo.
Then I stopped taking the things (gradually - some Mons, Weds and Fridays ...... others Tues, Thurs and Sats ...... day off Sunday) and bought myself a home tester. The BP stayed at 150/90 whereas in the surgery it was sometimes over 200/100 and I spoke to the chemist about it - she told me it sounded like white-coat syndrome.
Now I don't takesany pills at all (apart for arthritis pain as needed) and am steady at 130/80 which is fine - I test every day and write it down, then average over the week.
I'm sure you test your own bloods, so why not your BP every day too?
(I know its not an indicator of cholesterol) It would surely keep you re-assured .......
I know I shouldn't be recommending this - but you could try half a tablet or one every other day then ask for a cholesterol test after (say) a month?
And - well done with the LCHF - but enjoy Christmas too!
 
Back
Top