Type 2 Statins or not....

[Annina]

Hi

Been to the GP and advised as always that I start to take statins as my Cholestrol is high, 9.0%. I have been low carbin since 2012 with no medication until 6 months ago SR Metaformin only. Blood pressure is fine, weight is fine I am 56kg.

I have resisted statins for a few years and now I am not sure because I have a little retinopathy in both eyes, what have you decided to do ?

Annina

 

[PenfoldAPD]

I was prescribed statins when I was all new to this, in August I stopped - principally as I'd become more educated. My GP doesn't know, but will shortly Maybe a bit reckless, but my cholesterol was done to 3.6 on last blood test so low carb is working for me.

Best of luck, stay well

 

[JohnEGreen]

I have recently stopped taking my statins due to the bad reports about them. But I think that if you are worried about your cholesterol levels and you don't think you can bring them down by other means then it may be worth while following your doctors advice. But if you do I would seriously consider making sure you take something like CoQ-10, as a supplement.

 

[spendercat]

Personally not. My mother suffered agonising back pain and was unable to lift her arms above shoulder level. Symptoms of "arthritis" that disappeared and never returned when she stopped Statins. no way I am risking that.
However, what are your Hba1c numbers?
I had retinopathy when I was first diagnosed, and it reversed itself when my Hb came down to around 6.0, my cholesterol improved a lot as well.
You say you are diet and metformin controlled, so I can't help wondering if your numbers are going too high and you need to reexamine your diet and the amount of carb you are eating. Just a thought.

 

[psignathus]

Retinopathy can progress with high cholesterol especially if you smoke and also with high blood pressure. Normally I would say no to statins but your situation needs carefull consideration with your doctor. I would be asking my doctor to investigate why my cholesterol is at 9. my personal cutoff for cholesterol is 8. that is when I would make some dietary changes such as swapping or reducing saturated fat for something else. Also lots of exercise if possible.

 

[noblehead]

I have resisted statins for a few years and now I am not sure because I have a little retinopathy in both eyes, what have you decided to do ?

The advice for people with diabetic retinopathy is to keep their bg, bp and cholesterol levels in check, if you look at the following website it will say as much:

http://www.diabeticretinopathy.org.uk/back_diabetic_retinopathy.html

My eldest brother (not diabetic) was diagnosed with high TC level the same as yours, , he initially went on a high dose of Simvastatin which was later lowered as his cholesterol levels began to normalise, he's now off the statin and keeps his cholesterol under control by dietary means and regular exercise, but the choice is yours and yours alone whether you start on statins or not @Annina

 

[robnewt]

Hi

Been to the GP and advised as always that I start to take statins as my Cholestrol is high, 9.0%. I have been low carbin since 2012 with no medication until 6 months ago SR Metaformin only. Blood pressure is fine, weight is fine I am 56kg.

I have resisted statins for a few years and now I am not sure because I have a little retinopathy in both eyes, what have you decided to do ?

Annina

Hello Annina
I started to take statins almost 2 yrs ago. I had high blood pressure and was 76 yrs at the time.
Shortly after starting on statins I started to lose weight steadily and over the course of 6/8 months my weight dropped from around 11st 8lbs to below 9st. at one time. I was eventually diagnosed with type 2 and am now steady at 9st4lbs and been on insulin for about 9 months.
The statins "coincided "with lower cholesterol and BP but its strange that my diabetes started shortly after I started taking statins. Some time ago I was told that I had some background retinopathy but at last visit there was no mention of retinopathy so I am assuming its OK.
Best of luck

 

[Geminigirl]

Hi, I was on Simvastatin from diagnosis several yrs ago with no obvious side effects, then when I started a new med for something else they changed it to Atorvastatin and I felt like I had been hit by a truck within days, I ached all over.
Reluctantly GP put me back on Simvastatin again and things Calmed down.
Strangely he said it's usually the other way round!
I wasn't happy about having them but my Dad had Angina and my Mum had Arterial probs and eventually a heart attack so I guess with me being "cuddly" and T2 with that history I felt the benefits outdo the risks.
It's up to you of course and I would never tell someone to take or not to take.
Some think they are the work of the devil and the press is very confusing with conflicting articles. I guess for now I will carry on.
Btw, at diagnosis my Cholesterol was 5 so wasn't high. It's now 3.5 but trying to get the breakdown between good and bad is a nightmare, they treat it a bit like a state secret!

 

[Prem51]

Hi @Annina I took Simvastatin for about 7 years. Apart from some upper arm/shoulder muscle pain for the first few weeks i didn't have any side effects.
However statins are supposed to raise blood sugars, so they may have contributed to my T2 diagnosis, among other factors. Since adopting a LCHF approach to eating, my total cholesterol did increase from 4.7 last year, to 6.1, but the HDL/LDL/triglycerides ratios have improved. I stopped taking the statins four months before my last HbA1c test.

My GP wants me to go back on statins, but I am trying to tweak my LDL figure of 4.2 (HIGH RISK) which was the worst.
However because my HDL figure had improved to 1.6 (OPTIMAL), the HDL/LDL ratio was 0.38 (GOOD).

My GP has suggested I eat more avocadoes/salmon/nuts and cut down on dairy fats and see what my cholesterol is like after 6 months. I think if my ratios are still ok I will resist taking statins.
Having said that if my total cholesterol was as high as yours I would probably take the statins.

Do you know what your HDL/LDL/triglycerides figures are and what their ratios to each other are?

 

[Pinkorchid]

It is totally your choice they can't make you take them if you don't want to but I can see why your doctor may be worried as your cholesterol is quite high.. I take them myself have done for some years and have not had any problem with them as in muscle pain or anything else but as I am not typical for T2 have never been overweight and was only diagnosed last year at the age of 76 after my annual blood test it could have been the statins that caused it but I will never know that. Stopping them would not make any difference to me now

 

[spendercat]

Statins are known to trigger diabetes.
That came out about two years ago but was promptly buried news.
The manufacturers of statins say that the drop in cholesterol justifies the increased risk of diabetes.
The only problem is that there are no studies confirming any statistical link between high cholesterol and fatal heart attacks.
That is buried news too.
Statins are worth literally billions to the manufacturers, they will do anything to prevent any news getting out to discredit the drug.

 

[Freema]

Hi

Been to the GP and advised as always that I start to take statins as my Cholestrol is high, 9.0%. I have been low carbin since 2012 with no medication until 6 months ago SR Metaformin only. Blood pressure is fine, weight is fine I am 56kg.

I have resisted statins for a few years and now I am not sure because I have a little retinopathy in both eyes, what have you decided to do ?

Annina

I think 9.0% is very high isn´t it..?

maybe you could change your low carb diet to some fats that doesn´t contain cholesterols at all... as saturated fats you can eat coconut-meat and coconut oils.. and then change to more nuts instead of dairy fats ,bacon and fat in meats, but I don´t know what you do eat on a dayly basis...can you inform us of that maybe ?

maybe also eat some vitaminC on a daily basis and garlics , the last known to lower cholesterols... the first helping to keep the blood vessels healthier

and maybe eat some more fibres , and maybe HUSK in your yoghurt ; http://patient.info/medicine/ispaghula-husk-for-constipation-fybogel-ispagel

 

[Freema]

I think maybe if my numbers were that high, I´d take statins for a shorter while just to get my numbers down to about 5.0

 

[Geordie_P]

I'd go along with Freema on this. My triglycerides were 32.2 mmol/l, and the doc put me on Rosuvastatin. He's actually said I should do another blood test and can probably come off it now as I've lost so much weight, but I really had to go on them for a while as my numbers were so high.

 

[NoCrbs4Me]

I will never take statins again.

 

[JohnEGreen]

Never say never again.

 

[NoCrbs4Me]

I never will say 'never' ever again.