Cholesterol

You'll always find a mixed response when the subject of statins come up on diabetes forums, but at the end of the day its your choice as to whether or not you take them and no one can force you, but personally if my own cholesterol was high then I'd certainly want to try them if all other options had been explored.

I was put on statins when I reached 50 (as a preventative measure) and was on them for a few years before I realised they were affecting my memory and stopped taking them.
2 years ago, after my brother died from a massive heart attack, my consultant suggested I try a different lower dose statin. That one gave me the worst headache ever but didn't affect my memory - just gave me slower thought processes.

I now take Benecol yogurts to keep my cholesterol lower.

Many people take statins and have no side effects.

I was put on statins years ago a long time before I was told I was diabetic, the doctor says to keep taking them as my cholesterol level is still very high I'm not arguing with him

click ‘view’ right hand side

http://www.researchgate.net/publica...olled_trials_to_aid_individual_patient_choice

Results: Among 14 primary prevention trials (46,262 participants),
statin therapy increased diabetes by absolute risk of 0.5% (95% CI 0.1–1%, p¼0.012),
meanwhile reducing death by a similar extent: 0.5% (0.9 to 0.2%, p¼0.003).
In the 15 secondary prevention RCTs (37,618 participants), statins decreased death by 1.4% (2.1 to 0.7%, p<0.001).
There were no other statin-attributable symptoms,
although asymptomatic liver transaminase elevation was 0.4% more frequent with statins across all trials. Serious adverse events and withdrawals were similar in both arms.


Conclusions:
Only a small minority of symptoms reported on statins are genuinely due to the statins:
almost all would occur just as frequently on placebo.


Only development of new-onset diabetes mellitus was significantly higher on statins than placebo; nevertheless only 1 in 5 of new cases were actually caused by statins. Higher statin doses produce a detectable effect, but even still the proportion attributable to statins is variable: for asymptomatic liver enzyme elevation, the majority are attributable to the higher dose; in contrast for muscle aches, the majority are not.


this study looked at the history of 60,000 Diabetics after av. 2.7

http://www.thelancet.com/journals/landia/article/PIIS2213-8587(14)70173-1/abstract

retinopathy HR=0.6 [decrease of risk]
neuropathy HR=0.66
gangrene of the foot HR=0.88
diabetic nephropathy HR=0.97
[neutral..........HR=1.0 ]
diabetes HR=1·17 [increase of risk]

the way I look at it ..if nothing else take statin for neuropathy, retinopathy and gangrene of the foot

Diet is also good for cholesterol lipids, this gives a good overview of blood tests and what they mean

Fayefaye1429 said:

Hi I have been told lately that i need to go on tablets for my cheolesterol as i have had diabetes for more than 15 years. Have people experienced this? i am pro it for my heart but i know i cant stop once i start. Love to hear your thoughts

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You need to find out your cholesterol breakdown before you can make an informed decision on statins. It's also in many cases possible to sort cholesterol by tweaking your diet a bit. So, what is your cholesterol breakdown and what does you way of eating look like?

Also remember that low thyroid function is a common cause for high cholesterol, particularly high LDL.

I had to stop taking them.
tried different brands and strengths.
Rocketed my BS caused pain in my legs and made me feel unwell.
I am now lowering my bad cholesterol and raising my good on the LCHF diet.

I eat a lot of spicy food and all's well.

JTL said:

I eat a lot of spicy food and all's well.

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sir, sometimes immunity to our body do matter...no disrespect!

rahul991 said:

sir, sometimes immunity to our body do matter...no disrespect!

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Just saying.
In fact I get cravings for spice if I go to long without .... like some do for sugar.
Never had a sugar craving though.