Help, My Diabetes Nurse Wants To Put Me On Statins

[Dexterdobe]

I've just been told that my HBA1c is 40, down from 53 at diagnosis in November and 42 three months ago. The diabetic nurse told me that my cholesterol is high at 5.4 and that I need to see her so that she can prescribe statins. I've followed a HFLC diet and got my BS under control but I'm concerned the high fat intake has this caused the high Cholesterol level as I've never been told I have a cholesterol problem before. I'm not keen to take any medication, least of all statins as I've heard so many bad reports about them. Advice needed please?

 

[zand]

IMO 5.4 is not high at all. My DN was happy with mine at that level. I personally would not take statins whatever my cholesterol level was, but to reduce it from your relatively low level would be madness and asking for trouble. Low cholesterol is not a good thing we need it for our cells.

Have a look at this thread and watch the video.

https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/th...ailable-for-limited-time.149690/#post-1802319

 

[Pipp]

I've just been told that my HBA1c is 40, down from 53 at diagnosis in November and 42 three months ago. The diabetic nurse told me that my cholesterol is high at 5.4 and that I need to see her so that she can prescribe statins. I've followed a HFLC diet and got my BS under control but I'm concerned the high fat intake has this caused the high Cholesterol level as I've never been told I have a cholesterol problem before. I'm not keen to take any medication, least of all statins as I've heard so many bad reports about them. Advice needed please?

We done for your success at lowering your blood glucose levels.
Have you been given a breakdown of the cholesterol figures? Not all cholesterol is bad.
You have a choice whether or not to accept the statin prescription, but it helps if you can go to the appointment fully informed to counter any arguments the nurse puts forward.

 

[Rachox]

Did you lose weight when you started LCHF? Weight loss is often a cause of raising cholesterol levels, put simply that body fat sloshes around in your blood for a while. It happened to me, my test before last was 5.9, my last test was also 5.9 but critically the numbers within the 5.9 had improved, my HDL was up while my LDL and trigs were down. I have resisted Statins for two reasons, firstly they raise blood sugars, why undo all the good work I’ve done on that and secondly the horrible side effects that don’t necessarily go away when you stop taking them.

 

[sally and james]

I need to see her so that she can prescribe statins

The easiest way is to not make an appointment. She's unlikely to turn up on your doorstep!
You have made a decision, you don't want to take statins. It's your body, it's up to you. You don't even have to give a reason.
Sally

 

[Bluetit1802]

I've just been told that my HBA1c is 40, down from 53 at diagnosis in November and 42 three months ago. The diabetic nurse told me that my cholesterol is high at 5.4 and that I need to see her so that she can prescribe statins. I've followed a HFLC diet and got my BS under control but I'm concerned the high fat intake has this caused the high Cholesterol level as I've never been told I have a cholesterol problem before. I'm not keen to take any medication, least of all statins as I've heard so many bad reports about them. Advice needed please?

What is the breakdown of the cholesterol? 5.4 is by no means high. Before either you or your nurse can consider statins you need the breakdown of LDL, HDL and triglycerides. My cholesterol is 6.1 but a good proportion of that is HDL the good stuff, and my triglycerides are very low, which is also good and means that my "bad" stuff LDL is mostly made up of lovely fluffy particles that are good. It is the small dense particles that are bad.

Well done on your HbA1c. That is excellent.

 

[Dexterdobe]

I've just been told that my HBA1c is 40, down from 53 at diagnosis in November and 42 three months ago. The diabetic nurse told me that my cholesterol is high at 5.4 and that I need to see her so that she can prescribe statins. I've followed a HFLC diet and got my BS under control but I'm concerned the high fat intake has this caused the high Cholesterol level as I've never been told I have a cholesterol problem before. I'm not keen to take any medication, least of all statins as I've heard so many bad reports about them. Advice needed please?

Thank you, everyone, for your helpful replies.
I haven't spoken to this nurse before. She was very reluctant to give me any details about my results and I had to specifically ask her what my HBA1c and cholesterol results were. I'm going to go to the appointment and it will help me to know what to ask for. Clearly establishing what the LDL, HDL and triglycerides levels are is key. what the If she is difficult I will put in a complaint against her.

 

[dbr10]

I've just been told that my HBA1c is 40, down from 53 at diagnosis in November and 42 three months ago. The diabetic nurse told me that my cholesterol is high at 5.4 and that I need to see her so that she can prescribe statins. I've followed a HFLC diet and got my BS under control but I'm concerned the high fat intake has this caused the high Cholesterol level as I've never been told I have a cholesterol problem before. I'm not keen to take any medication, least of all statins as I've heard so many bad reports about them. Advice needed please?

Best to get a breakdown. 5.4 is not that high.

 

[Bluetit1802]

Thank you, everyone, for your helpful replies.
I haven't spoken to this nurse before. She was very reluctant to give me any details about my results and I had to specifically ask her what my HBA1c and cholesterol results were. I'm going to go to the appointment and it will help me to know what to ask for. Clearly establishing what the LDL, HDL and triglycerides levels are is key. what the If she is difficult I will put in a complaint against her.

I would ring reception as soon as and ask for a print out of the test results. You are entitled to these. With that in your hand you can be far more prepared for anything she has to say. I would never walk in to a meeting with nurse without knowing the results beforehand. You will also be able to see all the other bits and bobs they did - liver and kidney functions and full blood counts. These are as important as the glucose stuff. Make sure the receptionist knows you mean blood test results, not a full medical report, or you may be charged and find problems.

 

[KK123]

Thank you, everyone, for your helpful replies.
I haven't spoken to this nurse before. She was very reluctant to give me any details about my results and I had to specifically ask her what my HBA1c and cholesterol results were. I'm going to go to the appointment and it will help me to know what to ask for. Clearly establishing what the LDL, HDL and triglycerides levels are is key. what the If she is difficult I will put in a complaint against her.

Good for you! Stick to your guns, ask her to explain specifically why she is talking about statins, ie, the science behind it. I can guarantee she won't have a clue because she is merely spouting the 'guidelines'. My levels were over 7 and my Doc firstly said 'what are you eating to cause that'?, I explained my low carb and medium fat diet, she um'd and ah'd, said 'well it's easy to get confused over fats' and thrust a diet sheet at me and said don't eat cheese or too much meat. Then she looked at the hdl & trigs when I told her to, the hdl was 2.75, the trigs 0.6, so she said 'well you must be eating a good diet I suppose' and on and on it went. She did not have a clue and she was the diabetes specialist GP.

 

[kitedoc]

I would say keep your appointment, your nurse is a member of your health team and a valuable resource now and in future
Listen to your nurse, who is trying to do his/her job, and following some guidelines presumably from the NHS
Ask about the HDL (good) and LDL (not so good) fractions of the total cholesterol, what they signify and whether they are in range.
Talk to your nurse about what the pro and cons are of leaving things be and rechecking your cholesterol in an agreed time ? 3 month ? 6 months depending on when tests can be repeated. vs the advantages of starting stains stat ( stat as in now)
Asking about the side-effects of statins also provides you with a reason to perhaps hold off off that is your feeling.
This way you have not burnt any bridges, you have maintained your health relationship with your nurse, allowed her to do her job and negotiated an outcome that seems best to you at the time.

 

[dbr10]

Thank you, everyone, for your helpful replies.
I haven't spoken to this nurse before. She was very reluctant to give me any details about my results and I had to specifically ask her what my HBA1c and cholesterol results were. I'm going to go to the appointment and it will help me to know what to ask for. Clearly establishing what the LDL, HDL and triglycerides levels are is key. what the If she is difficult I will put in a complaint against her.

You were probably thinking she was there to help you.

 

[Crocodile]

Thank you, everyone, for your helpful replies.
I haven't spoken to this nurse before. She was very reluctant to give me any details about my results and I had to specifically ask her what my HBA1c and cholesterol results were. I'm going to go to the appointment and it will help me to know what to ask for. Clearly establishing what the LDL, HDL and triglycerides levels are is key. what the If she is difficult I will put in a complaint against her.

They're your tests and you own them. I'd be demanding them in no uncertain terms. At least you seem to know what to look for now. My total cholesterol was 6.0 but trigs only 1.0 and HDL 1.7 but I think my GP was concerned about the LDL being 3.8 so he suggested a statin. He knows I've been keeping carbs down so the extra fat I'm eating to make up the kilojoules might be the reason. Truth is that while trying to get the carbs right ( I'm on 20g per meal and 30g if it is really low GI ) I paid no heed to the saturated fats. We've agreed between ourselves that I'll try the minimum dose for 3 months and at the same time fix my consumption of good and bad cholesterols to a better ratio. If they come down then I'm off the statins. We're both happy with that. At least I have a very decent GP that listens and is switched on. Sounds like your nurse should learn just who the customer is.
Good luck with it anyway.
Glenn

 

[Bluetit1802]

@Crocodile

Just a brief look at your lipids shows me your ratios are very good.

 

[rab5]

Its your health... if you dont want to take them dont take them.

I dont understand people who negotiate with their doctors/nurses when it comes to them trying to put chemicals in our bodies.

Just saying...... My parents would have been very easily impressed with doctors & Co. Times have changed. As a patient we are in total control........

 

[rab5]

I would say keep your appointment, your nurse is a member of your health team and a valuable resource now and in future
Listen to your nurse, who is trying to do his/her job, and following some guidelines presumably from the NHS
Ask about the HDL (good) and LDL (not so good) fractions of the total cholesterol, what they signify and whether they are in range.
Talk to your nurse about what the pro and cons are of leaving things be and rechecking your cholesterol in an agreed time ? 3 month ? 6 months depending on when tests can be repeated. vs the advantages of starting stains stat ( stat as in now)
Asking about the side-effects of statins also provides you with a reason to perhaps hold off off that is your feeling.
This way you have not burnt any bridges, you have maintained your health relationship with your nurse, allowed her to do her job and negotiated an outcome that seems best to you at the time.

What you say seems reasonable..... but I would not put myself through any stress even having to think about explaining myself. As for being worried that I might upset the nurse because she has a job to do. Yeh right...... If I had done what the nurse wanted me to do........ my future would be my feet falling off, going blind, kidney failure etc etc etc

The sooner some of these clowns are questioned the better. Im not judging all doctors and nurses by the way. My best mate is a GP.... bless him lol

 

[lessci]

It's your choice whether to take them or not, personally I do, but that's because we have hypercholesterolemia in the family, even so I'm not 100% convinced that being a pre-menopausal woman it makes much difference

 

[NicoleC1971]

Thank you, everyone, for your helpful replies.
I haven't spoken to this nurse before. She was very reluctant to give me any details about my results and I had to specifically ask her what my HBA1c and cholesterol results were. I'm going to go to the appointment and it will help me to know what to ask for. Clearly establishing what the LDL, HDL and triglycerides levels are is key. what the If she is difficult I will put in a complaint against her.[/QUOTE
Another thing to bear in mind is that GP practices are incentivised (£7.50 per patient I am told) for reducing LDL by prescribing these drugs whether or not this is beneficial to the patient so be prepared to take those breakdown figures away to think about it before she gets out the prescription pad!

 

[dbr10]

What you say seems reasonable..... but I would not put myself through any stress even having to think about explaining myself. As for being worried that I might upset the nurse because she has a job to do. Yeh right...... If I had done what the nurse wanted me to do........ my future would be my feet falling off, going blind, kidney failure etc etc etc

The sooner some of these clowns are questioned the better. Im not judging all doctors and nurses by the way. My best mate is a GP.... bless him lol

I always find DN appointments too stressful, mainly because of the diet advice nonsense, but not just that. A recent stunt was changing frequency of blood tests without telling me. Still trying to get a doctor's appointment to change it back. Unless I thought that they might actually be some help, I wouldn't bother.

 

[Dexterdobe]

Did you lose weight when you started LCHF? Weight loss is often a cause of raising cholesterol levels, put simply that body fat sloshes around in your blood for a while. It happened to me, my test before last was 5.9, my last test was also 5.9 but critically the numbers within the 5.9 had improved, my HDL was up while my LDL and trigs were down. I have resisted Statins for two reasons, firstly they raise blood sugars, why undo all the good work I’ve done on that and secondly the horrible side effects that don’t necessarily go away when you stop taking them.

Rachox. My weight fell from 14 st 6 lb to 12 st 2 lb in four months. In the past three months, I have lost just 3 lbs. I need to get the breakdown from the surgery.