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LCHF Diet now been put on Statin

Great results Tiriane. I find adding flax seed which has great fats, causes constipation to go away!
Derek
Tirianne said:
Hi everyone, I've been reading through this interesting thread as I've got my GP appointment in a few days time and when I saw the DN just before Christmas for blood tests, there was a 'warning' that if cholesterol levels had gone up (again) then there would have to be a 'conversation about statins'. I'm following LCHF and when I got the results, I put these in to the calculator that's been mentioned and all the ratios come back as 'IDEAL' -so with a cholesterol total of 5 (LDL-2.3, HDL-2.1, TRI 1.1) which is up from 3.7 when first diagnosed with T2 in June 2015. However, my BP is consistently 65 / 110 and my HbA1c is now down from 84 to 38.... with a 25kilo weight loss. I know it's a personal choice, but I feel like I should be resisting statins - I do find the 'moral pressure' quite hard and yet I know that I am sensitive to any medication and always get side effects!
A quick question -although I have lots of veg, oatbran, nuts and seeds, I've developed quite bad constipation over the last 3 months... I take 500 MetforminSR and Vitamin D -nothing else... any suggestions gratefully received x
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My husband was prescribed statins with a 'throwaway' comment from the doctor of 'it's up to if you take them or not'! He decided not to particularly when it clearly states that you should take care if taking warfarin and other heart drugs which he is. When he saw another dr on Friday he was asked why wasn't he taking the statins and the dr, not liking his response, said he'd prescribe a lower dosed one. They haven't, and will not be, open so that's yet another waste of NHS funding although I suppose the surgery has benefitted from having yet another patient on statins!
 
Tirianne said:
Hi everyone, I've been reading through this interesting thread as I've got my GP appointment in a few days time and when I saw the DN just before Christmas for blood tests, there was a 'warning' that if cholesterol levels had gone up (again) then there would have to be a 'conversation about statins'. I'm following LCHF and when I got the results, I put these in to the calculator that's been mentioned and all the ratios come back as 'IDEAL' -so with a cholesterol total of 5 (LDL-2.3, HDL-2.1, TRI 1.1) which is up from 3.7 when first diagnosed with T2 in June 2015. However, my BP is consistently 65 / 110 and my HbA1c is now down from 84 to 38.... with a 25kilo weight loss. I know it's a personal choice, but I feel like I should be resisting statins - I do find the 'moral pressure' quite hard and yet I know that I am sensitive to any medication and always get side effects!
A quick question -although I have lots of veg, oatbran, nuts and seeds, I've developed quite bad constipation over the last 3 months... I take 500 MetforminSR and Vitamin D -nothing else... any suggestions gratefully received x
Click to expand...

What beautiful cholesterol levels and cholesterol ratios. I would be celebrating them, and gently and politely saying 'no' to statins. Mainly because I wouldn't want to mess with such lovely ratios!

Of course, you need to make up your own mind, so don't let me pressure you - any more than you should let the doc pressure you!
 
Tirianne said:
Hi everyone, I've been reading through this interesting thread as I've got my GP appointment in a few days time and when I saw the DN just before Christmas for blood tests, there was a 'warning' that if cholesterol levels had gone up (again) then there would have to be a 'conversation about statins'. I'm following LCHF and when I got the results, I put these in to the calculator that's been mentioned and all the ratios come back as 'IDEAL' -so with a cholesterol total of 5 (LDL-2.3, HDL-2.1, TRI 1.1) which is up from 3.7 when first diagnosed with T2 in June 2015. However, my BP is consistently 65 / 110 and my HbA1c is now down from 84 to 38.... with a 25kilo weight loss. I know it's a personal choice, but I feel like I should be resisting statins - I do find the 'moral pressure' quite hard and yet I know that I am sensitive to any medication and always get side effects!
A quick question -although I have lots of veg, oatbran, nuts and seeds, I've developed quite bad constipation over the last 3 months... I take 500 MetforminSR and Vitamin D -nothing else... any suggestions gratefully received x
Click to expand...

Cut some of the fibre out!! Some people do not do well with plenty of the fibre...
 
Daphne917 said:
My husband was prescribed statins with a 'throwaway' comment from the doctor of 'it's up to if you take them or not'! He decided not to particularly when it clearly states that you should take care if taking warfarin and other heart drugs which he is. When he saw another dr on Friday he was asked why wasn't he taking the statins and the dr, not liking his response, said he'd prescribe a lower dosed one. They haven't, and will not be, open so that's yet another waste of NHS funding although I suppose the surgery has benefitted from having yet another patient on statins!
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Clearly your GP doesn't have a concordant relationship with your husband, one is passing the buck and the other is being paternalistic.
There is an ongoing debate about the causes of coronary vascular disease and whether cholesterol is a precipitating factor. Also the effects that statins may have are also debated, it is known that they can cause type 2 diabetes in patients who are susceptible to the condition.
Bear in mind that cholesterol is essential in the body, it is involved in the synthesis of vitamin D and some hormones.
https://drmalcolmkendrick.org/ is worth a look at as is his book "The great cholesterol con"; Dr. Kendrick is a practising GP. There appears to be growing evidence that statins are not all they are cracked up to be and may not be for everyone.
 
All the time there is a fiscal benefit to the GP Practice for prescribing statins, there will, in my mind, be a question mark over the Doctors' motivation
 
walnut_face said:
All the time there is a fiscal benefit to the GP Practice for prescribing statins, there will, in my mind, be a question mark over the Doctors' motivation
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I would be very surprised if most UK doctors prescribed statins on the basis of financial benifit! I shall ask my daughter who is a GP. Derek
 
I stopped taking statins back in March 2015. I have repeatedly requested that they be removed from my prescription, yet the doctor ignores my request and I show on their records as being on statins.

Now tell me the surgery is not doing it for financial gain.
 
lindisfel said:
I would be very surprised if most UK doctors prescribed statins on the basis of financial benifit! I shall ask my daughter who is a GP. Derek
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I for one would be very interested to hear her reply...well if you ask her if there is any financial gain to the Practice for prescribing statins..rather than personally of course.. Also don't forget according to the lovely "Guidelines" we should all be on them anyway if we have Type 2 and total cholesterol above 4. Because that's a nice number presumably...
 
To those in the know, how much is a GP/practice actually paid for each statin prescribed nowadays?
 
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I too would love to hear an "insider's" view on targets. I had an optic nerve problem in August that was attributed to a stroke. Following being prescribed a blood thinner, my eye returned to its normal position. Ironically I had just reached a lifetime low for my cholesterol, but the doc insisted I remain on Atorvastatin "now more than ever". I'm of the opinion that I will never achieve the low blood sugar I want while I take statins.
 
lindisfel said:
I would be very surprised if most UK doctors prescribed statins on the basis of financial benifit! I shall ask my daughter who is a GP. Derek
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This is the Quality and Outcomes Framework, "the annual reward and incentive programme", http://content.digital.nhs.uk/qof. GP practices are rewarded for the quality of care given to patients, this includes monitoring and treating long term conditions. Therefore, there is an incentive for GPs to prescribe statins, antihypertensives etc.
 
Brewers23 said:
This is the Quality and Outcomes Framework, "the annual reward and incentive programme", http://content.digital.nhs.uk/qof. GP practices are rewarded for the quality of care given to patients, this includes monitoring and treating long term conditions. Therefore, there is an incentive for GPs to prescribe statins, antihypertensives etc.
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That appears to say it's a voluntary process, and has no guide to the incentives, but as you say, it does lay some sort of possible structure to reward good care, and penalise poor service.
 
If you go to Patient Group Meetings you will quite often hear your doctors talking about hitting Qof Targets....
 
It depends surely whether they are telling people to change lifestyles or just take their tablets etc???
 
donnellysdogs said:
It depends surely whether they are telling people to change lifestyles or just take their tablets etc???
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They told me to change my diet, but they said to switch from the greggs, to the eatwell plate, and only eating enough for one eatwell plate, not a household, the devils.
(obviously out to make me worse, simply for money for achieving targets)
They also gave me drugs, to keep me alive in the meantime.
 
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