Diabetes and Satins

[JimQ]

New to this forum.. I am wondering if anyone on this board is in the same situation i am. I am diabetic for couple of years, age 50's. I suffered a heart attack 3 weeks ago, so Doctor started me on statins(lipitor). It seems my sugar goes uncontrolled once a while...
Question for audience.. what is the best statin that works for diabetics?
Thanks in advance..
Jim

 

[connie104]

Hi Jim and welcome , just speaking from personal experience I take atorvastatin and have has no problem with them but everyone is different so may not suit everyone .


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[douglas99]

Can't tell you that.
It's the best one that works for you.

Personally, I'm on simvastatin, cheap and cheerful, no side effects, not needed any others, not tried any others, no idea if it does anything good or bad, or not, but I'm taking it anyway.

All my bloods are good though, so I'm sticking at that.

 

[pavlosn]

I am on rosuvastatin (Crestor) which for me has worked better than lipidor.


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[Thommothebear]

I was on simvastatin and had lots of issues, muscle pain, unexplainable bruising etc and as far as cholesterol comtrol was concerned worse than useless, also developed glucose intolerence and eventually diabetes while I was on it. i changed to atorvastatin (lipitor) about 15 months ago due to severe side effects from simvastatin (and the fact it wasnt working) and have had very few problems since, still not convinced it lowered my cholesterol at all, that didn't happen till I went low carb.


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[JimQ]

Thanks for the input.. I have been doing some research on the web but wanted a "real people input" below is the research i found on internet.
http://www.webmd.com/cholesterol-management/news/20130523/could-statins-raise-diabetes-risk
" Certain statins -- the widely used cholesterol-lowering drugs -- may increase your chances of developing type 2 diabetes, a new study suggests.
The risk was greatest for patients taking atorvastatin (brand name Lipitor), rosuvastatin (Crestor) and simvastatin (Zocor), the study said.
Focusing on almost 500,000 Ontario residents, researchers in Canada found that the overall odds of developing diabetes were low in patients prescribed statins. Still, people taking Lipitor had a 22 percent higher risk of new-onset diabetes, Crestor users had an 18 percent increased risk and people taking Zocor had a 10 percent increased risk, relative to those taking pravastatin (Pravachol), which appears to have a favorable effect on diabetes."

 

[Daibell]

First although most if not all statins cause a small increase in blood sugar they have very little to do with diabetes i.e. they are not a diabetes medication and I'm not aware of any 'best' one in relation to diabetes but to avoid statin side effects some people have to move to a different statin

 

[Totto]

The only case where statins seem to work really well to protect health is when you are male and have had a heart attack.

Hubby was on statins for a couple of years but complained of muscle pain, more so during the brief period of 40 mg instead of 20 mg. I convinced his Dr to unprescribe it last autumn, and now he, hubby that is, is out of muscle pain. It took a few months, and he was only on 20 mg of Simvastatin.

 

[Thommothebear]

I was started on 5mg simvastatin, BG was normal initially but started to rise within a few months. After a 7 or 8 years I was on 40mg and cholesterol and BG continued to rise and side effects started, most noticeably many large bruises appearing without reason. Doctor said I had to change to atorvastatin as increasing to max dose simvastatin would be too dangerous for me and she thought atorvastatin would possibly be more effective at the same dose and eliminate the side effects. The side effects disappeared within two weeks, but a couple of months later I got the diabetes diagnosis, however that was looking pretty inevitable by that time anyway


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[CollieBoy]

I was on simvastatin but muscle pains made me quit. I was below 4 so I was only on it because the big book said so!
For you the best statin is the one that works for you.

 

[Ditzy47]

I’ve been on Rosuvastatin for a couple of months now. Changed from Atorvastatin because of side effects. HbA1c was 61 and having been diet controlled for 21 years it was decided I take Metformin. Have been on that for a week and BG today 15.1, higher than ever. I also have to take Imodium because otherwise I can’t go out.

Question is, has the introduction of Rosuvastatin increased the level of glucose in my blood or is it all a big coincidence?

 

[catinahat]

Hi @Ditzy47 it a very old thread so I doubt if you will get many replies from the original posters.
A quick Google for the side effects or rosuvastatin reveals new onset T2 at 3rd on the list. So if rosuvastatin can cause T2, it seems unlikely that your raised levels are a coincidence
Common side effects of rosuvastatin include:

• Muscle pain.
• Joint pain.
• Diabetes mellitus, new onset.
• Sore throat.
• Headache.
• Weakness/lack of energy.
• Dizziness.
• Creatine phosphokinase (CPK) increased.