Statins

[Thegaffer]

Good afternoon.

I was diagnosed with Type 2 many years ago, but now I'm in remission thanks to losing 7 stone in weight. Currently, I'm just under 5.0 and waiting for updated results. Recently, I received some other results regarding my cholesterol, and my GP believes I should take statins. While my HDL & LDL levels are a bit questionable, I believe I can manage them through diet and exercise. I stopped going to the gym about 18 months ago due to a new job role, but I think a little bit of hard work is all it takes. I've attached the results and would appreciate some feedback.

 

[MrsA2]

I'd suggest you read the Clot Thickens by Dr Malcom Kendrick and listen to various YouTube by him and Dr Robert Lustig .
There's also threads on here, search statins in the box top right, then make your own decision.
Imho your total cholesterol is 4.3 which is within normal range, but double check I'm not a doctor

 

[Art Of Flowers]

See https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/do-you-take-statins-do-you-know-why.204141/#post-2702557

 

[MissMuffett]

I don't quite understand, can diabetes go into remission? So you're kind of healthy now? I hope that's the case, but I haven't heard of such things.

Hi @rubyparkfj Yes type 2 diabetics can definitely go into remission and several member of this group have done so. It’s not to say that if they started eating high levels of carbohydrates they would stay in remission. Once a diabetic always a diabetic but well within the realms of being healthy and not getting the symptoms of the disease.

 

[eventhorizon]

Nearly all people with diabetes are recommended a statin at around 40 years old, whatever their blood work says.

 

[TheSecretCarbAddict]

Nearly all people with diabetes are recommended a statin at around 40 years old, whatever their blood work says.

Can't remember what I was listening to recently, but there was a suggestion that it is the secondary anti-inflamatory and blood thinning action of statins that can benefit diabetics in addition to having cholesterol lowering impact. While my cholesterol has massively improved by going on low carb diet and my statin dose has been reduced to a quarter of what I used to take, my GP is cautious to get me completely off until all other tests stabilise and I can consistently show I'm in remisson.

 

[KennyA]

I don't quite understand, can diabetes go into remission? So you're kind of healthy now? I hope that's the case, but I haven't heard of such things.

Yes, and since the definition of remission was altered (consensus report, 2021, link below) it's very possible to be officially "in remission" while still having blood glucose levels that are well out of normal range.

Consensus report: definition and interpretation of remission in type 2 diabetes - Diabetologia

Improvement of glucose levels into the normal range can occur in some people living with diabetes, either spontaneously or after medical interventions, and in some cases can persist after withdrawal of glucose-lowering pharmacotherapy. Such sustained improvement may now be occurring more often...

link.springer.com

For this definition, you would only have to have a BG level of under 48 mmol/mol and not had any glucose-lowering medication in the previous three months. No mention of being symptom-free or anything else. In my case I had a large number of symptoms while my BG was in the mid-40s, so I could, according to this definition, have technically been "in remission" while still having symptoms and being quite unwell. I don't therefore find this definition satisfactory, although it is one that would be very easy to have a payment attached to it "for success".

In contrast the definition my GP used was a full calendar year at normal BG levels (ie below 42) with no glucose-lowering medication in that time.

I like "kind of healthy" - it's like that. I have some permanent nerve damage, which I guess after over four years is not going to get any better. All of the acute symptoms have gone, and I have had normal BGs since my last diabetic reading in January 2020. I've lost about a third of my starting body weight - around 40 kilos. And I still aim for around 20g carb/day. I'm diabetic and always will be, but controlled. Kind of healthy.

 

[Outlier]

My ex-GP (retired) referred to my diabetes being "well controlled" which I find much more acceptable than "remission" because to me "remission" means that the illness has ceased to exist although the tendency is still there and could reactivate at any time. But my diabetes has gone nowhere, and if I went back to a normal diet for non-T2s, it would immediately push my readings into the diabetic range.

 

[Art Of Flowers]

I don't quite understand, can diabetes go into remission? So you're kind of healthy now? I hope that's the case, but I haven't heard of such things.

If you have Type 2 diabetes you can get your blood glucose levels down to non-diabetic levels using a Low Carb High Fat diet.

Unfortunately, in the past medical advice for diabetes has made diabetes worse. It suggested eating carbs and taking more and more medications to keep blood sugars lower. People were not encouraged to test their blood sugars and only told to eat less sugar.

Drugs like metformin only lower blood sugars by about 1 mmol , so is not much good if your fasting blood sugars are regularly above 10 as most people are when they are diagnosed. My blood sugars were 13 when diagnosed and I was given metformin. I was given a glucose meter by my diabetes nurse and using that I found that my glucose levels gradually reduced as I cut out food with sugar in it and reducing high carb food.

 

[Thegaffer]

A little off topic