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Statins - Your experiences please :)

I have taken Simvastatin for about 5 years now and have never had any problems with them. I don't actually know what my cholesterol level is now
 
I have tried two different statins but had pains in legs each time so stopped taking them, my GP said that should persevere as the pains will go away when body used to them but I decided myself not to continue!
 
Thanks Maxwell
 
More ammunition Squire Thanks Mike
 
With your trigs at 0.5 it means your body is carrying the LDL around in a form to process as energy and not store within the fat cells. That is good and a sign that you are low carbing.
 
Andrew Colvin said:
With your trigs at 0.5 it means your body is carrying the LDL around in a form to process as energy and not store within the fat cells. That is good and a sign that you are low carbing.
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Hi @Andrew Colvin
How are you?! Merry Christmas and a happy New Year!
Is LDL the cholestrol which sticks to the side of stuff causing the blood flow to block but not all LDL does? It's just that I am permanently arguing with the doc who is pro statins and I want to have the arguments clear in my head. Why is HDL and why is an elevated level of HDL good? What art trygycerides and what role do they play?what is LDL? If you know the answer to these questions and can explain them in simple terms I would be extremely grateful!
 
Is the second set of results with the help of statins? It's not clear from your post.
When I was diagnosed T2 in November 2013 my cholesterol was 5.5. I was prescribed Metformin and I embarked on a low calorie weight loss regime which included cutting out all my beloved cheese. I also walked every evening.
In February my cholesterol was down to 4.5.
By this time I had found this website and began a LCHF diet (max 50g per day). In May my cholesterol had increased to 5.4. Members here assured me that an increase sometimes happens in the beginning when there has been dramatic weight loss. Since end of May/beginning June I have been medication free (metformin). At the end of November my HbA1c was 38 (November 2013 it was 115 and 116 - as it was repeated). My cholesterol total had moved down slightly to 5.3.
My BP is excellent, on the lower normal range. My BMI is 25.8, down from 44 in September 2013. Yesterday I went for my annual review and the diabetes nurse was very pleased with me. My GP had placed a note on my file to say I need statins. I said no and the nurse agreed. Statins have been offered each time and each time I've refused. I asked for a printout of my results but forgot to pick it up, but I think everything was moving in the right direction.
I know some here will pick up on the fact that I've mentioned I cut cheese out and my cholesterol level went down, then went up again when I reintroduced cheese. Please note that I'm not saying it's the cheese. Other things may have been in play. I had also stopped the porridge because of the increase in BG it gave me.
I've recently reintroduced the porridge. I'm waiting for new test strips so that I can begin testing again (I've been test resting but sticking to safe foods for me). I've been slowly increasing carb intake to between 50 and 100g because I'm nearing my ideal BMI. Still eating cheese. Added benecol.

Sorry, I've digressed a little but my main point is I would rather try to lower my cholesterol through diet than a statin, given the side effects some have mentioned. If I was s lot higher, might think about it.
 
And what's the significance of the ration they quote? Please? Thanks.
 
Hi PT

Thanks for taking the time to reply.

Yep, 2nd results were after tablets. Mike
 
It is weird that some people can take them with no side effects and yet others have a terrible time with them.
They crippled me, my legs were so painful when I walked that I had visions of ending up in a wheelchair. I could not drive, my memory was failing fast and others around me were noticing a change. They had been prescribed as a precautionary measure after a heart attack and genetics.

Dr. stopped them and things returned to normal slowly, it probably took about six months. This was about 10 years ago.
Was asked recently if I would like to try them again albeit a smaller dose of a different one but I refused and my Dr. understood why. There was no way I was going to try any of them after my previous experience.
My brother, not a diabetic, takes them and has no side effects.
 

Yep ...... I reckon they are / have set me back some months in recovery CC. I took them as a "so what" behind Metformin and BP tablets and anything that I thought was wrong, I blamed on them. Time will tell, but I label statins as my worst enemy.

Still, good from my point of view that it's 31/12/2014 ..... NY will tell
 
My dad takes them after a bypass and has no ill effects but my friend who is a nurse and diabetic had to give them up because he could no longer walk from the busstop to work on them. I refused them even though my cholesterol was a high- my GP wants me on them but the GP that told me my results reckoned that sorting diabetes would sort it too. I will see at my review in May I guess.
 
Thanks CE and as NY closes in down here. I wish you well Take good care

Mike
 
Mike D said:
Hi PT

Thanks for taking the time to reply.

Yep, 2nd results were after tablets. Mike
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So it's the statins that helped bring down your cholesterol? Not diet alone. Be prepared for s possible rise if you stop the medication.
I think I would prefer a slightly higher level rather than painful side effects from statins.
 
peacetrain said:
So it's the statins that helped bring down your cholesterol? Not diet alone. Be prepared for s possible rise if you stop the medication.
I think I would prefer a slightly higher level rather than painful side effects from statins.
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No PT. In my opinion it was ALL down to exercise and diet, not the meds. Convinced about that 100%
 
Mike D said:
No PT. In my opinion it was ALL down to exercise and diet, not the meds. Convinced about that 100%
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Certainly diet and exercise help Mike, give it a few months and go back and have your cholesterol levels checked post-statins.
 
noblehead said:
Certainly diet and exercise help Mike, give it a few months and go back and have your cholesterol levels checked post-statins.
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Will do brother Have a great NY which is 33 minutes away downunder
 
I was on Pravostatin but came off them when I began getting severe dizzy spells which went almost immediately after stopping them. My DN and I are also convinced that they increased my BG levels. Since cutting down on the carbs my latest hba1c results is 42 and my cholesterol is now 4.2 with LDLs at 2.3. However my brother is on them and seems to have no issues.
 
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