I am an individual, not a set of tick boxes

[cocacola]

Back in December last year both myself and hubby had terrible coughs. I still had the cough when January arrived. Late one night I decided it was time to go to bed. It was around 1am and I started another coughing fit.
I went back to bed and felt discomfort in the middle of my chest area under my ribs. The pain started to get worse and I couldn't sit up or lie down because of the pain.
I woke hubby and told him I was in terrible pain. I was under the impression that I had strained my diaphragm when coughing.
We decided to ring the NHS Helpline for some advice. At this point I was pacing up and down the bedroom and breathing heavily.
NHS helpline decided I needed an ambulance and a few minutes later there were blue flashing lights outside the bedroom window.
The paramedics gave me the once over and stuck electrodes here, there and everywhere. They checked my blood pressure, which was fine.
They were convinced I had a heart attack, as one of the readings on the electrocardiograph wasn't quite right. I was of course back to my normal self by this time, fast approaching 3am and very tired.
Because I am type 2 diabetic, apparently I'm at more risk of a heart attack. I refused to accompany them to the hospital with strict instructions if I felt unwell again to dial 999.
A few days later I had an appointment with the DN. She arranged for me to see one of the GPs at the surgery and I was to go to one of the drop in clinics and have another ECG.
When I saw the doc, he offered me statins to lower my cholesterol levels. I was 4.1 which is slightly higher than my usual level.
I refused the statins as I was being sent for further tests at the heart clinic. I was then given the blah, blah, blah lecture.
To cut a long story short, I had further ECG testing, an echocardiogram and a heart CT scan. All tests came back clear and I was discharged.
I have since done a bit of research and now add a couple of spoonfuls of jumbo rolled oats to my breakfast. 3 months later my cholesterol level has gone to 3.9 and now it is down to 3.7. I've also increased my exercise levels. I'm not a couch potato as I walk my dog every day for at least 1-2 hours.
The point of the post is that I am so glad I did not accept the offer of statins from the GP. I felt like I was being put into a little box of symptoms and appropriate medication. I was being treated like a patient, instead of being treated as me.
According to the heart specialist my risk of having a heart attack is low.



Sent from the Diabetes Forum App

 

[noblehead]

Pleased everything worked out fine for you Cocacola!

As for the oats lowering your cholesterol, my own cholesterol is always low and I eat porridge for breakfast every morning, oats do supposedly help lower cholesterol although exercise does too, so just keep doing what your doing :thumbup:

 

[mcdonagh47]

Because I am type 2 diabetic, apparently I'm at more risk of a heart attack. I refused to accompany them to the hospital with strict instructions if I felt unwell again to dial 999.
Sent from the Diabetes Forum App

People who have had one heart attack are highly likely to have another - there is a 19% chance of another within 7 years.

people who are diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes have a 20% chance of a heart attack within 7 years of diagnosis.

Its because of those two contrasting sets of figures that one eminent diabetologist ( whose name I can't remember) said "Being diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes is equivalent of having had your first heart attack".

80% of T2s die of heart disease so its the major complication we are battling against. T2 has major microvascular and macrovascular effects, so T2 is, to all intents and purposes, treated a sub-species of heart disease.

Cholesterol levels in hunter gatherer populations ( which are taken to be human beings in their most natural state) are between 2.3 and 2.7. So, presumably, that's the area we should be aiming for.

Bierman's research in the 1990s showed that heart disease accelerated significantly at Total Cholesterol levels above 5. But he found the same tipping point for cvd in Diabetics occurred at a lower level of 4 TC. But LDL is the most troublesome form of chols and targets on that are being tightened all the time.

 

[Luna21]

People who have had one heart attack are highly likely to have another - there is a 19% chance of another within 7 years.

people who are diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes have a 20% chance of a heart attack within 7 years of diagnosis.

Its because of those two contrasting sets of figures that one eminent diabetologist ( whose name I can't remember) said "Being diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes is equivalent of having had your first heart attack".

80% of T2s die of heart disease so its the major complication we are battling against. T2 has major microvascular and macrovascular effects, so T2 is, to all intents and purposes, treated a sub-species of heart disease.

Cholesterol levels in hunter gatherer populations ( which are taken to be human beings in their most natural state) are between 2.3 and 2.7. So, presumably, that's the area we should be aiming for.

Bierman's research in the 1990s showed that heart disease accelerated significantly at Total Cholesterol levels above 5. But he found the same tipping point for cvd in Diabetics occurred at a lower level of 4 TC. But LDL is the most troublesome form of chols and targets on that are being tightened all the time.
mcdonagh47

Posts: 6
Joined: March 1st, 2013, 7:03 pm

Well, this may be informative reading, but it's also quite depressing for any T2's who have other health problems which may affect their heart!
What a downer on a wet Sunday afternoon - back to watching the Hungarian Grand Prix and the hope it's a good race to cheer me up! :silent: