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Statins

Jc3131 said:
Hello everyone. I've just breen to the Drs and been prescribed statins as my cholesterol is 5.5. I think good cholesterol was 2.0 and bad 3.5 (great bit of maths there).

The Dr said it's more common in t2 than t1, but to give it a try.

Im a bit wary of popping pills and I was wondering if anyone else takes them?

Cheers John
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I am not sure Statins are any good, and don't extend life. They may reduce your chance of a heart attack, but make up for it in other ways. They increase the chances of Parkinson's. If you want to increase your good cholesterol take spoonfuls of coconut oil in coffee.
 
dbr10 said:
Might be expensive. I always think if they were strong enough to have any real effect, they'd need to be on prescription
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It seems a little goes a long way. The labels say you should only have one a day, more is not good, if my memory serves me well...
 
hankjam said:
It seems a little goes a long way. The labels say you should only have one a day, more is not good, if my memory serves me well...
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They have made a difference to me at least! Supermarkets do their own versions which tend to me about half the price of the benecol ones too.
 
leking said:
They have made a difference to me at least! Supermarkets do their own versions which tend to me about half the price of the benecol ones too.
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I went for the asda branded ones. Blueberry ones had the least carbs in 5.9g per 100ml. The other flavours had between 6.4 and 7.2g per 100ml. They were £1.50 for 6.
 
Jc3131 said:
I went for the asda branded ones. Blueberry ones had the least carbs in 5.9g per 100ml. The other flavours had between 6.4 and 7.2g per 100ml. They were £1.50 for 6.
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You're meant to have them with your main meal too, so just add those carbs to your meal when you bolus for it.
 
leking said:
You're meant to have them with your main meal too, so just add those carbs to your meal when you bolus for it.
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I had them with my weetabix and im honeymooning at the moment so my body is dealing with small amount of carbs at the moment.

I just want to try and get cholesterol down naturally as I have another blood test in 6 weeks. I don't know if that test is too close to make a difference.
 
Jc3131 said:
I just want to try and get cholesterol down naturally as I have another blood test in 6 weeks. I don't know if that test is too close to make a difference.
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Our cholesterol changes all the time, just like our blood glucose does. It isn't static at all. Two tests on the same day will result in a different level.
 
Bluetit1802 said:
Our cholesterol changes all the time, just like our blood glucose does. It isn't static at all. Two tests on the same day will result in a different level.
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Ok cheers. I was 5.0 (3 bad and 2 good) when i was first diagnosed with t1.

Im now 5.5 and i eat healthier. I do eat a lot of cheese and peanut butter so that may contribute.
 
Jc3131 said:
Ok cheers. I was 5.0 (3 bad and 2 good) when i was first diagnosed with t1.

Im now 5.5 and i eat healthier. I do eat a lot of cheese and peanut butter so that may contribute.
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Stop worrying about your total cholesterol!!! It is the breakdown that matters, in particular the HDL and the triglycerides. For the best results for your next test make sure you have an early morning appointment, fast for 8 to 10 hours if you can do this on insulin, drink loads of water beforehand, and no alcohol for the previous 24 hours.
 
Bluetit1802 said:
Stop worrying about your total cholesterol!!! It is the breakdown that matters, in particular the HDL and the triglycerides. For the best results for your next test make sure you have an early morning appointment, fast for 8 to 10 hours if you can do this on insulin, drink loads of water beforehand, and no alcohol for the previous 24 hours.
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I love worrying.
 
On Trust me I’m a Doctor this week initial investigations show cholesterol lowering, if you use coconut oil instead of olive/other fats.
 
Jc3131 said:
Hello everyone. I've just breen to the Drs and been prescribed statins as my cholesterol is 5.5. I think good cholesterol was 2.0 and bad 3.5 (great bit of maths there).

The Dr said it's more common in t2 than t1, but to give it a try.

Im a bit wary of popping pills and I was wondering if anyone else takes them?

Cheers John
Click to expand...
Hi John,
Interesting question as I just had a similar situation and my numbers are almost exactly the same as yours. LDL - 3.27, HDL - 1.93, Trigs .52, total cholesterol - 5.44. My doctor wanted me to go on Statins due to the LDL number but I told him no due to the other two markers. I'm not convinced that higher LDL is necessarily bad and there's a growing body of evidence that LDL is not the bogeyman that it's been made out to be. After refusing the prescription from my GP he asked if I would see a cardiologist, basically to get the specialist to talk me into it, which I agreed to.
Last week I met with the cardiologist who took a look at my numbers, including my A1C (5.8) and said he didn't understand how they could be as good as they are without meds. I had already explained that I was following a keto diet, which initially he said was a bad idea but by the end of the consultation he was a different doctor, admitting that recent studies in fat concur with my stance. In his opinion, I do not need statins and he stated that he considered me a low risk for cardiovascular disease pending a stress test, which I'm doing this week.
Studies show that increased saturated fat intake for the three days prior to your blood test will lower your LDL significantly, yes I did say INCREASED fat intake, counter intuitive I know, but it works. I know of people that will eat large amounts of fat prior to their blood work just to shut their doctor up. Statins have many negative side effects and should be avoided in my humble opinion. Do some research, look at Dr. David Diamond's work and you'll get a better idea of what I'm talking about.
Good luck!
 
CzukayFan said:
Hi John,
Interesting question as I just had a similar situation and my numbers are almost exactly the same as yours. LDL - 3.27, HDL - 1.93, Trigs .52, total cholesterol - 5.44. My doctor wanted me to go on Statins due to the LDL number but I told him no due to the other two markers. I'm not convinced that higher LDL is necessarily bad and there's a growing body of evidence that LDL is not the bogeyman that it's been made out to be. After refusing the prescription from my GP he asked if I would see a cardiologist, basically to get the specialist to talk me into it, which I agreed to.
Last week I met with the cardiologist who took a look at my numbers, including my A1C (5.8) and said he didn't understand how they could be as good as they are without meds. I had already explained that I was following a keto diet, which initially he said was a bad idea but by the end of the consultation he was a different doctor, admitting that recent studies in fat concur with my stance. In his opinion, I do not need statins and he stated that he considered me a low risk for cardiovascular disease pending a stress test, which I'm doing this week.
Studies show that increased saturated fat intake for the three days prior to your blood test will lower your LDL significantly, yes I did say INCREASED fat intake, counter intuitive I know, but it works. I know of people that will eat large amounts of fat prior to their blood work just to shut their doctor up. Statins have many negative side effects and should be avoided in my humble opinion. Do some research, look at Dr. David Diamond's work and you'll get a better idea of what I'm talking about.
Good luck!
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I wouldn't put you on a statin and I wouldn't do a stress test on you either. I do stress echos every day where I work, but most of them are normal. Most people I do them on have already had a few stents, or a bypass, or both, and already take statins.
 
My mother had a terrible reaction to statins. Start on the minimum dose for a week and stop if you get any unexplained muscle pain also read little leaflet that comes in box
 
Jc3131 said:
Hello everyone. I've just breen to the Drs and been prescribed statins as my cholesterol is 5.5. I think good cholesterol was 2.0 and bad 3.5 (great bit of maths there).

The Dr said it's more common in t2 than t1, but to give it a try.

Im a bit wary of popping pills and I was wondering if anyone else takes them?

Cheers John
Click to expand...
My diabetes consultant once mentioned that my cholesterol was a bit high. I don't remember the exact numbers, but that is not relevant to my story:-)
She said the general advice was for everyone with diabetes over the age of 40 to have statins regardless of cholesterol.
However, that advice was based on research on people with diabetes who did not exercise: there was no research for people with diabetes who exercise regularly so there is no evidence that statins were necessary for me.
She gave me the choice which, unsurprisingly, I declined as, like you I am wary of popping pills.
 
helensaramay said:
My diabetes consultant once mentioned that my cholesterol was a bit high. I don't remember the exact numbers, but that is not relevant to my story:)
She said the general advice was for everyone with diabetes over the age of 40 to have statins regardless of cholesterol.
However, that advice was based on research on people with diabetes who did not exercise: there was no research for people with diabetes who exercise regularly so there is no evidence that statins were necessary for me.
She gave me the choice which, unsurprisingly, I declined as, like you I am wary of popping pills.
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As I've said many times that mainly applies to Type 2's, who are more prone to coronary events than Type 1's (who tend to be younger). And Type 2's tend to have higher lipid profiles, higher LDL, lower HDL, a bit higher triglycerides (which don't contribute to CAD nearly as much as LDLc does.) So where I work statins are indeed often times prescribed for Type 2's. Since I work at a Veteran's Administration healthcare facility we almost never see Type 1 diabetics, since they cannot serve in the military and are discharged if they develop it while they are in the service (medical discharge, service related).
 
Contrary to what you may read on various forums (which is always the bad stuff, a lot of heresay), as a class of drugs statins are one of the safest and most effective every created. When you see people with really high cholesterol and the coronary disease that results from it you take on a different attitude. Guy I came across today: 61 years old. 4 stents, then triple bypass (at age 50) 5 more stents, heart that's a POS now, can't do anything, blood clots in both legs and lungs. Stents in leg arteries too. Won't live to see 65. He wished he started on statins when he was 30 right? As for safety remember this: our FDA is one of the most conservative agencies in the world, Europe approves useful drugs and devices years before we get them here. And they nearly approved making statins available without a prescription, like ibuprofen and Nexium.
 
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