Hi, I’m 48 years old and have been a type 1 diabetic since I was 10. I am well controlled, good weight, low blood pressure and normal cholesterol level. My GP has advised that I go on statins because of being in a high risk group and over 40. Having looked into statins I am worried about short and long term side effects and would like to hear from other type 1 diabetics who are either taking statins or have decided not to. I understand the benefits but am concerned and looking for reassurance really. Thank you in advance .
Type 1 Statins
- Thread starter AmeliaK
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Look, this one feels like a bit of a religious debate. There are those on here who are adamantly against them, others are happy to follow NHS recommendations. There are a number of threads on the subject.
I'm on a low dose, but there is heart disease in my family and my cholesterol is high without them. I haven't personally noticed any side effects.
A lot of doctors prescribe it just because you're diabetic, if you're well controlled I might want a better argument than that. The NHS CVD risk calculator gives you a massive increase both for being diabetic (with no way to enter control or length of the illness) and for living in certain post codes, so you get recommended statins just because you're T1.
I'm on a low dose, but there is heart disease in my family and my cholesterol is high without them. I haven't personally noticed any side effects.
A lot of doctors prescribe it just because you're diabetic, if you're well controlled I might want a better argument than that. The NHS CVD risk calculator gives you a massive increase both for being diabetic (with no way to enter control or length of the illness) and for living in certain post codes, so you get recommended statins just because you're T1.
Rokaab
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Statins address an arbitrary perceived risk of a disease that may not, and may never not, actually exist in the person being 'treated'. It's everyone's individual choice as to whether or not they choose to take them, but I think it's daft if you don't even have elevated cholesterol.
porl69
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I have been on statins for a long while now. Had a really high cholesterol level a long while back. I am on a really small dose.
There is always a debate on if we should be taking them or not. From what you are saying @AmeliaK I can't see why your doctor is telling you that you should be taking them
There is always a debate on if we should be taking them or not. From what you are saying @AmeliaK I can't see why your doctor is telling you that you should be taking them
I suffered several side-effects as a result of statins. The most devasting was short-term memory loss. I was a computer programmmer and found my job increasingly difficult as a result. I had to keep making lists and checking through them as someone diagnosed with Alzeimer's might be advised to do. I lost the ability to construct a reasoned argument, since I became unable to hold all that had just been said in my memory and recall the relevant data to refute what was being suggested. My husband says my personality changed and that the person he had married had been replaced by a stranger. I knew something was wrong but nobody would listen.I believed my memory problems were due to age. At the time, I was less than 50. My GP wanted to put me on anti-depressants, but I didn't believe I was depressed, just desperate for someone to tell me what was wrong. When I was made redundant from a job I had always loved, I had difficulty marshalling my thoughts in an interview. I also lost my appetite completely. I felt empty but never hungry, so it became more difficult to get the required carbs down.
Finally, I read a letter in the Diabetes UK magazine from a university professor who had found himself unable to do his job after less than a week on statins. This sounded so like my own experience that I stopped. Some people can take statins without ill-effects, others find their lives destroyed. My husband says the woman he married was back within a fortnight. My appetite also went back to normal fairly rapidly. My memory improved over time, but very much more gradually. I would say it took years for my mind to function normally again.
If you decide to try statins, keep a log recording your health mentally and physically when you start, the drug and dose etc. Also record any change in yourself you notice. Muscle aches and pains are the only side effect doctors seem to be aware of. There are many others known. Memory problems are a known side-effect, but few of us want to admit we can't remember, which makes it particularly dangerous. If you review your log regularly, you may spot a side-effect before things get so bad as to cause lasting damage. Think carefully about this. Best wishes. Sorry for the lecture. It's because I feel very strongly about this.
Finally, I read a letter in the Diabetes UK magazine from a university professor who had found himself unable to do his job after less than a week on statins. This sounded so like my own experience that I stopped. Some people can take statins without ill-effects, others find their lives destroyed. My husband says the woman he married was back within a fortnight. My appetite also went back to normal fairly rapidly. My memory improved over time, but very much more gradually. I would say it took years for my mind to function normally again.
If you decide to try statins, keep a log recording your health mentally and physically when you start, the drug and dose etc. Also record any change in yourself you notice. Muscle aches and pains are the only side effect doctors seem to be aware of. There are many others known. Memory problems are a known side-effect, but few of us want to admit we can't remember, which makes it particularly dangerous. If you review your log regularly, you may spot a side-effect before things get so bad as to cause lasting damage. Think carefully about this. Best wishes. Sorry for the lecture. It's because I feel very strongly about this.
Hi. First you need to know your fasting lipids profile so get a blood test done or look at your last results and the various ratios. NICE sets a total of 4mmol for diabetes and 5mmol for non-diabetics. The numbers are largely plucked from thin air and the total means little. If you are well controlled and don't have a family history of circulation problems then you might want to side-step the statins. I do have a small dose as I did have some heart issues and don't suffer side effects but many do have the usual muscle pains due to muscle destruction
Grant_Vicat
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Hi @AmeliaK I was routinely put on statins when they first came out. Over time I started to have pains, especially in my legs, even though I was physically very fit. I stopped taking them and all improved. In 2011 it was suggested that I try a different type (Simvastatin) and I came out in an all body rash. I am therefore listed as allergic to them. In 2013 I had a pancreas and kidney transplant and they tried to put me on statins along with Aspirin. As a French medic said to my brother "Le gateau anglais" was not going to work in this case. Six years later my blood chemistry is perfect apparently. I agree with those above who feel that doctors dish them out to anybody who is more than 40 and Type 1. I do realise that the nature of type 1 will put the patient more at risk, but since they are under the spotlight, they are probably less likely to have a disaster than Joe Average. Keep healthy!
Resurgam
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I am type two, but I think I should add that a few weeks on Metformin and Atorvastatin and I was becoming suicidal.
The aches and pains were dreadful, my sense of taste altered, the Metformin (I think) was trying to turn me inside out, but I am a folk singer and could not remember my songs plus I was wandering around unable to remember what I'd been doing. I burnt so many dinners!!
Just before Christmas 2016 I went to the supermarket and bought the things for Christmas, wandered around looking for the car - then found that I'd already done the shopping and left it in he car. That really frightened me.
It took about two years to get back to singing without the words in front of me.
It was a little longer before my muscles could get me upstairs in a normal way most of the time.
I still can't stand the way tea tastes these days - I used to do storage testing for Allied Lyons so tasting was my profession.
The aches and pains were dreadful, my sense of taste altered, the Metformin (I think) was trying to turn me inside out, but I am a folk singer and could not remember my songs plus I was wandering around unable to remember what I'd been doing. I burnt so many dinners!!
Just before Christmas 2016 I went to the supermarket and bought the things for Christmas, wandered around looking for the car - then found that I'd already done the shopping and left it in he car. That really frightened me.
It took about two years to get back to singing without the words in front of me.
It was a little longer before my muscles could get me upstairs in a normal way most of the time.
I still can't stand the way tea tastes these days - I used to do storage testing for Allied Lyons so tasting was my profession.
