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Type 2 Statins - GP insisting Simvastatin 20mg

Rachox said:
I have had several discussions with my GP about Statins, the last one just last week following my blood test. My numbers had improved from my last one which provided me with another string to my bow. My reasons against them are side effects including muscle pain, which anecdotally I’ve read may not resolve if you stop them. Higher blood sugars, as you say why undo your hard work to get them controlled? Also did you know that weight loss can initially cause your numbers to deteriorate. Anyway this blood test I did everything I possibly could to improve the numbers, I take Benecol each day and a vitamin B complex. I also fasted before the test, just drank water to plump up my veins for the nurse! My GP really backed off quite a bit this visit and we instead had a conversation about the new Q-risk score coming this year which gives me a more favourable score anyway!
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Hi @Rachox Did your discussions with the doctor cover whether your T2D (diet controlled) affects the new Q-risk score. It has always seemed odd that you have to add on big numbers even though you are not currently diabetic. I did my own numbers on the new tests and was very low risk if you can ignore the T2D.
 
BrianTheElder said:
Hi @Rachox Did your discussions with the doctor cover whether your T2D (diet controlled) affects the new Q-risk score. It has always seemed odd that you have to add on big numbers even though you are not currently diabetic. I did my own numbers on the new tests and was very low risk if you can ignore the T2D.
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Just a slight correction, I take Metformin so I’m not solely diet controlled. However he did agree with me that it wasn’t fair that all Type 2s score the same regardless of control. He did say, and quite rightly, that you’ll never know if you have suffered any damage between the start of your diabetes and diagnosis. There definitely needs to be graded scores for Diabetes, maybe score all diabetics a couple of percent as a blanket score but then add more as your HbA1c rises?
 
If you are unlucky enough to get the muscle pain it goes away when you stop the drug. Only about 1 person in maybe 5,000 gets any actual muscle "damage'' measure by CPK enzymes. That's REALLY rare. All the bad stuff's reversible.
 
TheBigNewt said:
If you are unlucky enough to get the muscle pain it goes away when you stop the drug. Only about 1 person in maybe 5,000 gets any actual muscle "damage'' measure by CPK enzymes. That's REALLY rare. All the bad stuff's reversible.
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I’m not risking being the one of 5000 that does get the permanent damage!
 
Rachox said:
I’m not risking being the one of 5000 that does get the permanent damage!
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Actually I've never seen that happen and I've prescribed statins since they came out. Muscle pain yes, liver function test elevations (reversible) yes. I think one weird bad thing I forget. that's it. I have a feeling the providers there get some sort of Good Do Bee quality points for doing this risk assessment and getting some people to take preventive therapy like statins. I don't use 'em a lot for that.
 
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Rachox said:
I’m not risking being the one of 5000 that does get the permanent damage!
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TheBigNewt said:
Actually I've never seen that happen and I've prescribed statins since they came out. Muscle pain yes, liver function test elevations (reversible) yes. I think one weird bad thing I forget. that's it. I have a feeling the providers there get some sort of Good Do Bee quality points for doing this risk assessment and getting some people to take preventive therapy like statins. I don't use 'em a lot for that.
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I had a drug some years ago and had a side effect quoted in the data sheet as 1 in 10,000!
 
TheBigNewt said:
There's a gazillion reasons for LFTs to be out of range. If it's statin they go back. If don't go back still blame statin.
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well it was normal before and then went mad when they put me on 80mg simbastatin sorry cant spell. think my gpwas mad to increase my dose by 8x. i refused it for a number of years then had a cardiac issue and am taking it at 10mg my bloods are off but not as bad as at 80mg. ive just had to go through a screening for liver conditions all normal apart from the alt and aft
 
Jan_P said:
My main concern with statins is the side effect of increasing blood glucose - when I am working hard to keep blood glucose under control why would I want to take a drug which increases it? - but GP insisting cholesterol is more important for diabetics than glucose control??
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Grrrrr. Glucose control is MUCH more important. Sorry just to assert, but it makes me so cross.

Evidence: suggest you read Peter Attia blog for in-depth on cholesterol, if you like science. Malcolm Kendricks is also good, if annoyingly jokey sometimes. Fact remains that lowering cholesterol for women has always increased all-cause mortality. Not one single study where it hasn’t. I would never take statins.

Read, research. Good luck!
 
Guzzler said:
I took Atorvastatin for one week. I'm lucky, I had a reaction after just five days and discontinued after seven. I feel that I dodged a bullet but my DN told me quite vehemently that statins do not cause muscle pain when I told her of my decision to discontinue. My GP blanked me when I told him of the reaction and continues to nag. Anyone wanting more details would benefit from reading Dr. Malcolm Kendrick's book 'The Great Cholesterol Con' (Kendrick is featured in the above clip). Thanks for posting.
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Atorvastatin 4Omg a day gave my dad uncomfortable muscles pain enough to prevent him from wanting to exercise and increase his bg reading by around 10%. The side effects took about two weeks to appear and a month to go away after tapering it off.
 
millenium said:
Atorvastatin 4Omg a day gave my dad uncomfortable muscles pain enough to prevent him from wanting to exercise and increase his bg reading by around 10%. The side effects took about two weeks to appear and a month to go away after tapering it off.
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Hi @millenium That really struck a chord. I have so often seen my Doctor and DN give me the blank look, over numbness in the feet, pins and needles, low B12, statin problems... It must be deliberate.
 
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