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cholestorol and diabetes

SHROPSHIRE_LADY

SHROPSHIRE_LADY

Member
I am type1 and just been told I have high cholesterol at 6.2 and should take statins because I am diabetic with type1. If the national average cholesterol level is between 4-7 then I fall into that group, why do doctors always use diabetes as a weapon to get you to do what they want. Or, is the doctor correct in saying this to me and why? advise please.
 
I was advised to go on statins,my cholesterol at the time was 5.3.
I didnt take them and at my last app my cholesterol was 4.7.The consultant said it was the best result he'd seen that day! We are all different but i definitely didnt need them and so i chose not to take them.
 
Strangely, more people die of heart attacks who have low cholesterol than high cholesterol. There is virtually zero benefit from taking statins unless you have already had a heart attack. A high proportion of people get debilitating side effects from statins which ruin their lives such as memory loss and severe pain. They are highly dangerous and have no real benefit.
 
My diabetes consultant explained to me that recommendation is everyone over 40 with diabetes is to take statins.
However, this recommendation is based on research on a group of people who do not exercise. There is no research for fit, active, slim people with diabetes.
Therefore, I was given the choice and opted not to take statins.
 
As I understand it statins increase BG levels. It is worth noting that certain foods are supposed to reduce cholesterol levels. As @helensaramay says the research into the links between Cholesterol and heart and stroke problems is not as the nice people offering us statins claim. On the other hand there does seem to be a link between the very small oxygented, glycated (rusty) LDL and heart/stroke problems. Ideally your triglyceride/hdl ratio must be less than 2. If it is less than 1 you probably have none of those nasty small dense LDL. If it is more than 1.2 you have. My GP/DN does not give me the ratio but she does give me enough figures so I can input it into http://www.hughcalc.org/chol-si.php . Since I love olives I am eating some of those every day and hope I will get a better result. I have to wait until September before I can test my theory though.

Beware the advice to drink red wine. Grapes produce resveratrol as a defence mechanism to protect themselves against preditors. Most growers use pesticides so the plant does not produce resveratrol. The same will apply to the resveratrol in the skins of blueberries and raspberries. You need to buy/grow these fruits organically to benefit from consuming them.
 
SHROPSHIRE_LADY said:
I am type1 and just been told I have high cholesterol at 6.2 and should take statins because I am diabetic with type1. If the national average cholesterol level is between 4-7 then I fall into that group, why do doctors always use diabetes as a weapon to get you to do what they want. Or, is the doctor correct in saying this to me and why? advise please.
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I know nothing about the challenges of type 1 but it is worth assessing how at risk of cvd you are on here https://www.qrisk.org/2016/index.php
 
The challenges for me are quite hard as I am over seventy, age does make a difference, I am coping with keeping my levels within the guidelines but sometimes make mistakes or mis calculation on the carb front, my husband has just been prescribed statins and is going to stop taking them due to side effects so you see this puts me off big time. I sometimes feel bullied with the doctors regarding this subject of statins but have decided not to take them come what may.
 
SHROPSHIRE_LADY said:
The challenges for me are quite hard as I am over seventy, age does make a difference, I am coping with keeping my levels within the guidelines but sometimes make mistakes or mis calculation on the carb front, my husband has just been prescribed statins and is going to stop taking them due to side effects so you see this puts me off big time. I sometimes feel bullied with the doctors regarding this subject of statins but have decided not to take them come what may.
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I had side effects (muscle weakness) when I took statins more than ten years ago. Ever since just about every doctor I've had consults with have tried to get me back on statins (without success). I just got a new doctor and he also suggested I go on statins. When I said no (more like h*ll no!), he guessed that I'd taken them in the past and gotten side effects. We had a nice chat about it and he said that almost all his patients that resist statins do so because they'd had side effects from them in the past. Then he said he was fine with me not taking statins and would not attempt to pressure me into taking them. I wish all doctors took this approach.
 
NoCrbs4Me said:
I had side effects (muscle weakness) when I took statins more than ten years ago. Ever since just about every doctor I've had consults with have tried to get me back on statins (without success). I just got a new doctor and he also suggested I go on statins. When I said no (more like h*ll no!), he guessed that I'd taken them in the past and gotten side effects. We had a nice chat about it and he said that almost all his patients that resist statins do so because they'd had side effects from them in the past. Then he said he was fine with me not taking statins and would not attempt to pressure me into taking them. I wish all doctors took this approach.
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Like you I was in statins for years. I had been suffering from muscle and joint pain. I stopped taking them about 2weeks ago and, surprise surprise pains have gone!! I will take some convincing to go back on them. At the end of the day, it is our choice. As allegedly I am an adult I can look at the risks and decide whether they are worth it!!
 
paula121s said:
Like you I was in statins for years. I had been suffering from muscle and joint pain. I stopped taking them about 2weeks ago and, surprise surprise pains have gone!! I will take some convincing to go back on them. At the end of the day, it is our choice. As allegedly I am an adult I can look at the risks and decide whether they are worth it!!
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I was taking the statins for only about a month before I got the side effects. I was pretty quick to stop taking them.
 
I sometimes wonder how I'm still alive. My total cholesterol has been over 7 since I started keeping records about 15 years ago. Shouldn't it have killed me by now?

My one attempt at taking statins didn't last long because of the side effects and didn't make much difference to my levels anyway. Luckily the GP has accepted that I will never take them again. According to all the reading I've done, they're of absolutely no use to females over 65 anyway.
 
Indy51 said:
I sometimes wonder how I'm still alive. My total cholesterol has been over 7 since I started keeping records about 15 years ago. Shouldn't it have killed me by now?.....................
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You pay your money, you take your choice.
Only thing for sure is something will.
 
amate007 said:
I would not advise any one to take Statins. They nearly killed me. There are other alternatives, more expensive yes but well worth it. Keep away from Statins. Go online and look at the side effects of Statins.
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I know people that would say the same for peanuts.
(Well they wouldn't to be fair, as they know everyone reacts differently, and know you can't simply blanket everything based on your own experiences. I've took statins with absolutely no side effects for instance)
 
SHROPSHIRE_LADY said:
I am type1 and just been told I have high cholesterol at 6.2 and should take statins because I am diabetic with type1. If the national average cholesterol level is between 4-7 then I fall into that group, why do doctors always use diabetes as a weapon to get you to do what they want. Or, is the doctor correct in saying this to me and why? advise please.
Click to expand...
A doctor told me some years ago that they like diabetics to have a lower than normal cholesterol reading. I was put on statins and then found out I was allergic to them and was taken off them. They now accept that my level is 5.3 and leave it at that.
 
I was on simvastatin when i got 1st diagnosed, ok for about 3 years then started to get pain in my hip, got to the stage that i struggled to bend, stopped taking the simvastatin and a couple of weeks later, the pain disappeared, couple of years later, was talked into taking atorvastatin, which took for around a year before I started to get pains in my hands, stopped taking them and again pain went, drs have tried to get me to take them and iv said no
 
elviscole said:
I was on simvastatin when i got 1st diagnosed, ok for about 3 years then started to get pain in my hip, got to the stage that i struggled to bend, stopped taking the simvastatin and a couple of weeks later, the pain disappeared, couple of years later, was talked into taking atorvastatin, which took for around a year before I started to get pains in my hands, stopped taking them and again pain went, drs have tried to get me to take them and iv said no
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Good for you - I think there may be long term side effects from statins that are not understood yet. By the way, you should update your signature as it says you are on simvastatin.
 
Statins get a bad rap IMO. The reason they are rx is because they reduce the incidence of coronary events in Type 2s. Furthermore they reduce the incidence of future coronary events (heart attack , stent) in people who have established coronary disease. Yeah, some people get muscle pains they blame on them, and some of that's true, but as a drug class they are amongst the safest on the planet. And they've been around since 1987. I take Lipitor 80/d is what I do, and coronary disease is one of the main things I treat, so I prescribe them like candy. Yawza!
 
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