Statins and cholesterol

[AnnM99]

Hi all,
I am hoping someone can help me.
I got a call today saying I needed to go on statins.
Is there someone who can tell me how bad my results are.
I eat low carb - 1 x metformin per day.
BMI 24.

 

[Melgar]

Hi there @AnnM99 , forum rules means we cannot advise you either way on whether or not to use statins. The choice will be down to you. If you don't mind me asking what are the results of your lipid panel?

I have a BMI of 19. My total cholesterol was out of range as were my LDLs. My HDL was good and my Triglycerides are consistently very low. Even though my HDL was good and my Triglycerides excellent my GP advised me to go on Statins, I resisted for several years , but I now take Rosuvastatin 10mgs. The statins have brought my LDLs in range which I am happy about. I do know that there can side effects :
aching muscles, gut distress, foggy mind, nausea, to name a few. I personally have no issues with the statins.

I take pro-biotic capsules everyday as I am on PPI's which are known to disrupt gut Microbiota. Full fat probiotic yoghurts work too. They have worked very well for me.

Going slightly away from your question, I looked into Probiotic supplements and statins too. When your microbiota is disrupted it can impact the smooth running of your gut which may result in digestive distress - diarrhea , flatulence and other gut issues. It can even causes foggy thinking as there is a relationship between your gut and your brain. It's called the Gut-Brain Axis.

Statin use has become a controversial issue, primarily in the general population. Your GP is in the best position assess your medical needs and health, but ultimately the decision is yours.

I have attached a scientific paper on statins use and probiotics. Its a bit of a tough read, but there are some interesting findings on statins and the gut microbiota and probiotic use.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11540068/

Edited for clarity

 

[Antje77]

I got a call today saying I needed to go on statins.
Is there someone who can tell me how bad my results are.

You didn't post your lab results so we can't really coment on them.
Some doctors like to prescribe statins to all diabetics, regardless of lipid levels.
And some diabetics have lipid levels that may be cause for some concern and a reason to consider statins.

I was offered statins because I have diabetes. My lipids are all well within all recommendations so I declined.

 

[KennyA]

There are a couple of NHS Quality and Outcomes Framework targets relating to statins and diabetes. These reward GPs for doing certain things for certain people. If you fall within these categories you will be offered a statin as a matter of course. I do and I was "offered" a statin. I refused the offer.

These targets can be found here: https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-conte...d-outcomes-framework-guidance-for-2024-25.pdf

The relevant indicators are DM022 and DM023.

 

[Outlier]

Same here. I decline statins every year based on my own research of proper scientific peer-reviewed papers in the public domain. It is your decision to make, and you can change it any time. We have quite a few threads on this which might interest you.

 

[RenatoB]

I was diagnosed diabetic in 2019 and was also put on statins , after lots of research i took the personal choice to go off them sbout a year ago , still take Metformin as long as i control my carbs BG sits between 94-110 mg/dl , also lost 20kg which did help . in any case next wednesday am booked for a full blood test , am very curious to see results , one thing about statins is there is a ton of research out there , which is a good and bad thing as there are as many pros as there cons ,