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Should I take statins?

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York69

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Should I take statins?

Newbie here. My apologies if this question has been asked many times before. I've read about statins and the more I read the more I don't like the sound of them plus I'm confused with all the different opinions.

I'm a 38 year old male and was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes nearly two years ago. I control my diabetes with 40mg of Gliclazide.

During the last six months I haven't really been watching what I've been eating, in fact I've been quite naughty. This hasn't affected my overall sugar levels but my cholesterol has risen to 5.

My doctor has now prescribed me 40mg of Simvastatin daily. This is also in line with new UK health rulings that all type 2s should take a statin.

I'm really uncomfortable with taking statins, especially at such a young age and do believe there's much more I can do in terms of diet and excercise.

Do you think I would be being foolish by not taking them?

Thanks in advance.
 
Your overall cholesterol is high but do you know what the breakdown is? The LDL and the HDL? It is possible that you may have quite good cholesterol even though the reading is high.You need to check if the HDL is quite high and the LDL is low ,this would mean you have plenty 'good' cholesterol and low 'bad' cholesterol.
Many of us here refuse to take statins.However that is our choice and should not influence you in this matter.There is a thread about Statins that is worth reading.Do a search and you will find it and the info may help you to decide one way or the other.
 
This month's Readers Digest has an article on statins. A total chol level of 5 is not high - its the target to be below, & can readily be reduced by diet & lifestyle changes - see page 90.
Last paragraph:
If these (diet & lifestyle changes) work to reduce your chol to a safe level of 5 or less, then the benefits to your health will almost certainly be longer lasting than taking a drug for the rest of your life.
Click to expand...
I took 10 mg of Simvastatin for a few months. The intense muscle pain was crippling. The pain stopped within a week of stopping the pills.
 
I thought this was worth reposting here. Reducing carbs has had a very beneficial effect on my cholesterol levels.

After 3 months on reduced carb & a massive reduction in overnight fasting glucose from 6.7 to 5.3, my HbA1c has gone up, but everything else is in the right direction.
The only medication is 2x500 metformin. No bp medication. I'm type 2 for 8 years.

My motivation for reducing BS is complications - beginning of retinopathy & muscle pain - I was crippled with pain 4 months ago & I feared my active life was over. Now that pain is almost gone.

Blood test & other results:
..................Jan 08...Aug 08...recommended
HbA1c...........6.8.......6.9........<6.0
plasma gluc....6.3.......6.1.......<6.1
total chol.......5.4.......4.3.......<5.2
hdl...............1.4........1.6.......>0.9
ldl................3.1........2.5.......<3.4
chol/hdl........3.8........2.8........<4.9
triglyc...........2.0........0.7........<2.2
wt................13 st......12 st 2 lb
....................82.6 kg...76.3 kg
height 5'8" (173 cm)
bp................135/75....125/73...<140/80
bmi...............27.6.......25.5......<25

Lots of benefits from reduced carb, but why the increase in HbA1c? Has my fat & chol been converted into Hb blood sugar to maintain the level? Has Murphy been active? Dr could not suggest a reason, but approved the benefits to general health. My chol has never been below 5 except when I took simvastatin for a few months.

Next blood test in 3 months.

IanD
 
I was given this dam stuff, made my ankles so soor and stiff it was hard to even stand.As a delivery driver this makes working very hard.
I have been told to go for a walk more, yea how when taking these things i have trouble standing , after i get home i stay there.
The only way i can work is by taking pain killers.
I stopped taking them over six mounths ago but this "wonder" drug keeps working even after you stop taking it.
 
Thank you to everyone for responding.

I've read so many negatives about statins, in particular Simvastatin, which is what I was taking. I have started to get muscle aches in my arm muscles and have decided to stop taking this altogether.
 
Hi York69, read this thread, pages 4 and 5 have advice from ally on how to reduce cholesterol, ally is a dietitian.
How about you give the plant sterols a try for about 3 months or so and if it hasnt worked you can always go onto statins after all? Discuss with your doctor of course, my husband was prescribed statins too, he had no side effects but didnt want to take medicines, he increased exercise, reduced carbs (he is not diabetic, but found too many carbs a day make him a bit sluggish), ate loads more vegetables and used Benecol/Flora products and now his cholesterol is fine at 3.1.

All the best

Karen
 
As far as Statins are concerned, when prescribed the Consultant made it clear that if I had any side effects I should report them immediately and she would change the prescription. She also said that changing my diet would have little impact on Cholesterol. I take Simvastatin and have no problems with it.

The same comments regarding side effects were made by the Consultant about Ramipril, the side effect being an inconsistent, irritating dry cough and Metformin where the looser than desired bowels greatly affected a few friends of mine. I have the cough but it tends to only irritate the other half if it starts during the night so we are both prepared to stay with Ramipril rather than find a more irritating side effect with something else. If I avoid certain fruits such as grapes, peaches, nectarines, pineapples etc., Metformin gives me no trouble.

My advice would be rather than stop a medication ask for and try an alternative. As I have mentioned elsewhere, my GP Practice will not alter medication without a referral to the Consultant (and the GP I deal with for my 3 monthly check-up is herself diabetic).
 
I also get the cough with Ramilrill but ok with Metformin its the Simvastatin that seems to lock my ankles and make walking almost impossible.
 
The benefit of statins in real terms in small. Hoever the fact that type 2 is a disease of 'early cardiovascular mortality', where 70% of us will have a heart attack or stroke, is sobering.

It is confusing as the direct casual relationship has not been proven in the normal population really . It is thought that statins may work by their anti-inflammatory effects and not by the effect on lowering cholesterol.

My own family history for heart disease is appalling, so far nothing in me. My cardiologist wants my total cholesterol down to 3.2 (and not just the 4.0 level advised for diabetics). 40mg Atorvastatin alone gets me down to 3.6. Ezetrol on its own (another class of cholesterol drug) gets it down to 4.0. Together they get my cholesterol down to 2.3.

I might decrease my atorvastatin to 20mg to see what happens. I am lucky that I have not had any side effects of statins.

Remember, yu can really only manage about a 15% fall in your own cholesterol level thru dietary changes. Therefore, you will be very unlikely to get your level down from 5.0 to 4.0 without a drug.

If you cannot tolerate statins, ask for ezetrol.
 
Interesting. I had a heart attack when I was 28 but have had no problems since and until diabetes was diagnosed no medication which might have helped avoiding a second. If inhibitors and statins reduce the risk, no matter how they achieve it, I will happily swallow them. I will never forget the seemingly helpless panic 35 years ago - 2 years after my very fit and active father died from a heart attack at 52.
 
That must have been a horrendous experience at that age! did the doctors not investigate any genetic links seeing as your father died so young?
 
I have been insulin dependant Type 1 for 36 years and was advised on Simvastatin about six months ago for reaching the ripe old age of 40 !!! Was told by my GP that if I suffered any sort of cramp to stop taking and go back and see them. I have had no probs with Simvastatin whatsoever and my cholesterol has gone down to 3.8.... 8)
 
Be careful, andyc, cholesterol down to 3.8 isn't necessarily a good thing. I was sent a statin prescription through the mail this year for the same reason as you. I was outraged.
I don't believe there's convincing evidence that higher cholesterol levels are harmful. Triglyceride levels are far more informative if you ask me, and insulin levels more important still.
I sent my statin prescription back by the way.

All the best,

fergus
 
This is really for fergus.
Like so many of us, I am on simvastatin. I haven't really noticed any ill effects, which I can lay for sure at its door, but my cholesterol was Never high. Now it's low, but I can't remember the last set of figures. Reading through this thread, I have just wonderd whether my fairly frequent severe cramp, in unexpected muscles might be the statin. I'm sitting here at the moment with a severe cramp in my right Quadriceps, which I can't persuade to "go off".
I can see why my GP would want me on the stuff, I've already had a stroke. After that they ultrasounded my carotids and found them clear. It was an odd stroke anyway, in that it happened over a period of hours and not suddenly at all. Yes, It was definitely an ischaemic stroke. I've seen the scan.
 
That's where my statin pain was, particularly after resting, & then moving my leg again. It was OK while I was still, but painful to get up or stand up.

Try leaving off the statin - it shouldn't cause a quick problem, but might offer a quick solution - but tell your Dr.
 
Hi hanadr,

I can see why my GP would want me on the stuff,
Click to expand...

Is this because he's being paid to prescribe statins, which he will be, or because it's doing you any actual good?

All the best,

fergus
 
martinbuchan said:
.....
Remember, yu can really only manage about a 15% fall in your own cholesterol level thru dietary changes. Therefore, you will be very unlikely to get your level down from 5.0 to 4.0 without a drug.
.....
Click to expand...
You can do better than 15% by diet. That is the conservative figure suggested by Flora & Benecol.

15 years ago a heart/diabetes screening test found my cholesterol was 6.4. That did not worry my Dr as there were no other indicators of possible problems.

When diabetes was diagnosed 8 years ago, my chol was 7.6. I immediately followed the low GI/fat/sugar/salt diet based on complex carbs as recommended, adding benecol/flora & oat bran. 3 months later my chol was 5.4. A reduction of 29%.

Over the intervening years, total chol has ranged from 5.0 to 5.4. January 08 was 5.4.

I started reducing carb in May 08. My August total chol is 4.3 - a further 20% reduction.

The total reduction from the peak level at diagnosis is 43% by diet alone.
 
Ian - you will get 30% with a portfolio approach - I have been using this for a while esp with those who do not want to take statins. Reducing sugar has the chol dec as well - we have been using this for years in fact. Actually inc fibre from cereals has a beneficial effect too
 
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