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T ype1. Memory Loss : Old Age, Statins or Hypos ?

L

Louisc

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Hello Everyone,

I am a healthy 58 year old male, who has had Type 1 diabetes for 43 years. In the last 18 months my memory has deteriorated significantly and I am very concerned about this situation. Statins' receive bad press in the press on memory, and I have been using them for many years up to now. Has anybody experienced the same problem, and what if anything, can be done about it. I have had a few serious hypos over the years but try and keep my glucose levels under control. Is it simple old age? I have met many people in the late 60's who have excellent recall. Please share your experiences as I need to do something about it , if that is possible
 
Hello and welcome @Louisc

I'm presuming your doctor has done a few general,tests to rule out possible causes?
 

It is early in life to experience that... my father did have those problems too in your age...
first of all you have to be excamined by your GP have your blood numbers of all nutrients taken , to be sure you do not lack electrolytes, minerals or vitamines , especially vitamin B12 or vitamin D3 .................. a lack of vitamin B12 can sometimes look like a beginning dementia..
http://www.onegreenplanet.org/natur...k-for-when-choosing-a-vitamin-b12-supplement/


there are a few natural remedies that is said to help the brain remaining healthy and allert..
1. gingo biloba. 2. Alpha lipoic Acid/ lipoic acid type R 3. some says that coconut oil is good for helping dementia not to Progress... but as far as I am concerned it has not been scientifically prooved yet..
 
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Hello Louisc,
I have only just joined this forum, because I saw your post and felt I had to answer. I am older than you and was made redundant 12 years ago because of problems with my memory. In my case the cause was statins. It is possible to develop side effects at any time when you are taking a drug, on the first day, after a week, a fortnight or months or years. I had been complaining of having no appetite, muscle pain and just not feeling myself in that I couldn't think straight. My short-term memory was also affected. My complaints were put down to depression and I was offered anti-depressants which I refused. I was 50 when this happened.
I think you need to talk to your doctor about this urgently. I know that it is embarrasing to have to admit to a memory problem, but if you don't you are not going to get to the bottom of what is wrong. I have been on insulin since diagnosis 52 years ago and have learned that if you don't make a fuss, nobody listens. There are other possible causes for memory loss, yes, and obviously I can't guarantee your problem has the same cause mine did,
but
 
I have been taking Atorvastatin for years, mentioned memory probs to my GP and aches in joints but not really thought a problem was told I am quite healthy despite frozen shoulder/s. Sometimes but not always I forget I've said something but then remember I did sometimes hours or days later and 1 seem unable to remember new names! . I am 55 . Was not aware that Statins can affect memory.
 
Contd. -------- it is a possibility. I actually stopped taking the statin and went back to my doctor's 3 weeks later, with my appetite back to normal and my brain beginning to operate normally again. However, apart from being a type 1, I was otherwise very healthy with no complications.
Please don't take risks with your health. I too have had severe hypos and also wondered if that was the cause of my memory problem, but there are other explanations possible. Make a fuss and talk to your doctor.
Best wishes,
Joan
 
Apologies for split post ! Not used to this website yet. Yes, it's not a common side effect but is known to occur. I stopped taking my statin after reading a letter in a Diabetes UK magazine. The writer was a professor of History who had been given a statin and found himself unable to do his job properly within days. Can't quote you a date for the magazine but late in 2004. My notes at the hospital are now marked 'Intolerant of statins.'
 
It could be caused by a lot of things and the best thing to do is go and talk with your doctor before taking any personal steps
 
I think we all agree on that, Sauron.
 
Louisc said:
Is it simple old age?
Click to expand...

At 58 your not old by any means, I think its wise advice to speak with your gp about your memory issues. Best wishes.
 

There was a time when you could look at the NHS website and it would mention that muscle pain, poor sleep and brain fog were the major side effects of taking statins. It would seem that they now think it's something else probably thanks to Rory Collins.

The muscle pain is well documented, especially as Merck Pharmaceutical recognised that it was the lack of CoQ10 (caused by taking statins) that caused the muscle pain and were actually applying for a patent for a statin containing CoQ10 to prevent impending muscle pain. That was as far back as 1990, only 26 years and the stupid NHS are trying to suggest it's something else.

Brain Fog is something that I have had since taking Atorvastatin in 1997, my forgetfulness led to me losing my confidence in presenting and training people in IT related topics and I stopped working. I stopped taking statins 3 years ago but the side effects remain to a lesser degree. However, more recently I have noticed that my short term memory is appalling and I have taken an online test for short term memory where I got a score of 75% and response time of 1700 milliseconds against an expected norm of 90% and 900 milliseconds.

I expect that if I go to my GP she will say don't be daft, it's your age, but then GPs have come out with that sort of **** since I started taking them in 1997 when I was 45. I have seriously considered going to see a lawyer, but it's probably a waste of money. I have tried very hard to ignore the conspiracy theory type books, but the facts remain that there is a lot of evidence to suggest these drugs don't agree with everyone. I believe that in the US there is an ongoing class action. Not just side effects but Diabetes as well. This might be of interest https://healthimpactnews.com/2014/t...s-big-pharma-defends-billion-dollar-industry/
 
Thanks David that's very interesting.
 
Statins affected my memory too. I began to think that it was a built in device to make you forget the other side effects that you are having from ingesting statins! My memory is perfectly OK now that I am not on statins...
 
I'm so glad that there are other people who know what I've been talking about from their own experience. I'm used to being dismissed by most doctors as some sort of lunatic. The usual response is a bland 'Statins are usually well-tolerated.' Every time I go back to their diabetic clinic I have another argument about what happened to me. It was only when I got to speak to a consultant, who accepted what I said, that a note was made on my records. Until then , for about 10 years I was pressured to take statins on every visit. I can never escape this saga because I am still forced to explain why I refuse to take statins by junior doctors who haven't read my notes. I switched my GP recently and this new one asked if I was willing to talk to medical students who were observing at the surgery the morning I was there. I did willingly and he thanked me afterwards. He is rare in that he accepts that statins can have damaging effects. I wish there were more like him.
 
azure said:
Hello and welcome @Louisc

I'm presuming your doctor has done a few general,tests to rule out possible causes?
Click to expand...

I have not consulted the doctor about this problem at all. The surgery these days are like 'production lines', and it is now taking 2.5 wks on average just to get an appointment, hence my reluctance to use this method. I suppose I should really go through the normal route of contacting the surgery first, but I can guarantee it will be a long drawn out process.
 
Just a question, the muscle pain is it constant or is it only when doing certain movements?

Regards

Martin
 
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