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Type 1 and Statins.

michita said:
I’ve been offered statin by both gp and diabetes consultants and I said no thank you. What I don’t get is gp and consultants only talk about total cholesterol level. They don’t seem to notice my high HDL and low Trig or what they mean. They don’t even talk about the breakdown. So I don’t really feel they know much about the subject sadly...
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I saw a Lipid Consultant and he was dismissive of my HDL (2.45) and trigs (0.5), he said LDL was a negative marker in itself (mine is 4.2). So to be fair to your Dr & Diabetes Consultant, they ALL seem to think the same.
 
KK123 said:
I saw a Lipid Consultant and he was dismissive of my HDL (2.45) and trigs (0.5), he said LDL was a negative marker in itself (mine is 4.2). So to be fair to your Dr & Diabetes Consultant, they ALL seem to think the same.
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Interesting ... what did you think of the lipid consultant? Your numbers are super good. high HDL and low trigs are definitely good I wonder why he/she was dismissive ? They are supposed to be the experts. It’s not fair to us.
 
As a T1 for 49 years I feel very conflicted about statins. In the past, I've obeyed doctors' advice and as a result had two successful T1 pregnancies and got through to now with minimal medical complications (on again off again background retinopathy, cataracts which may have been caused by age and living in Southern hemisphere). So I've trusted their advice in the past and am alive as a result. It's hard to turn down a drug which they all seem convinced will help me. (And I know I'm a cardiovascular risk, since I've had medicated blood pressure for several decades and both my parents have/had heart issues). If you believe everything you read on the internet you could become a flat earther or (shudder) an anti-vaxxer. So there's a big investment in believing the advice of your GP and/or diabetic specialist, who, in theory, should be more informed and in a better position to judge the risks than me.
 
My cholesterol is slightly above the limit but my doctor said he would not rush with a statin prescription. So, no statins for the time being for me.
 
michita said:
Interesting ... what did you think of the lipid consultant? Your numbers are super good. high HDL and low trigs are definitely good I wonder why he/she was dismissive ? They are supposed to be the experts. It’s not fair to us.
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Hi Michita, he was a very distinguished 60 odd year old Consultant who had clearly been in the business for years. A very nice man who explained all about cholesterol at the end of which (when I asked him directly whether my HDL & trigs were good and therefore maybe balanced the LDL), said 'Yes, they're ok but LDL is a risk marker on its own and it needs to come down'. What can you do! He prescribed statins (which I haven't taken) but the letter he sent to my Docs had my Doc phoning me and telling me I need to take them also. To be fair to him, I got the impression that if I wasn't diabetic he might have said 'let's see' but with me being 'diabetic' and in the view of the Professionals, that was a second risk marker. (As an aside my blood was tested for FH and against 12 other cholesterol genetic markers, I was negative for FH but highly polygenic for the other markers, ie, highly likely my propensity towards higher LDL is genetic). I haven't seen him yet to discuss those results in more detail but at least I know it's not my 'diet' as my Dr seems to think...even though I barely eat any fat, saturated or otherwise....I know you can by the way).
 
Craig1978 said:
Thanks for this, similar to me and good to hear!
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I frequently offered them because in my area (surrey) there is a checklist of things and getting a diabetic to take a statin seems to win them a point along with checking feet, blood pressure, protein in urine.
You can take a statin but that should be based on whether it will a) make you live any longer - ask for mortality stats b) will it give you undesirable side effects (in the normal population side effects are reckoned to be up to 33% of patients though their severity varies).
I am female and active with a high HDL/LOW triglycerides combination plus active. Blood sugars have been running moderately high so I have doubtless got some cardiovascular damage after 37 years' diabetes but even so I don't feel that statins would be beneficial because it is extremely unlikely that I will live a single extra day as a result of lowering my ldl cholesterol.
 
KK123 said:
Hi Michita, he was a very distinguished 60 odd year old Consultant who had clearly been in the business for years. A very nice man who explained all about cholesterol at the end of which (when I asked him directly whether my HDL & trigs were good and therefore maybe balanced the LDL), said 'Yes, they're ok but LDL is a risk marker on its own and it needs to come down'. What can you do! He prescribed statins (which I haven't taken) but the letter he sent to my Docs had my Doc phoning me and telling me I need to take them also. To be fair to him, I got the impression that if I wasn't diabetic he might have said 'let's see' but with me being 'diabetic' and in the view of the Professionals, that was a second risk marker. (As an aside my blood was tested for FH and against 12 other cholesterol genetic markers, I was negative for FH but highly polygenic for the other markers, ie, highly likely my propensity towards higher LDL is genetic). I haven't seen him yet to discuss those results in more detail but at least I know it's not my 'diet' as my Dr seems to think...even though I barely eat any fat, saturated or otherwise....I know you can by the way).
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Thank u for the response :-) my LDL was at one time above 6 but I knew it was to do with my Lchf diet. I still don’t think your 4.2 is that high (is it also supposed to go up as we get older) but i know I am not a doctor.... and I can see how it can be worrying. I hope your next meeting with him goes well and let us know how it went
 
michita said:
Thank u for the response :) my LDL was at one time above 6 but I knew it was to do with my Lchf diet. I still don’t think your 4.2 is that high (is it also supposed to go up as we get older) but i know I am not a doctor.... and I can see how it can be worrying. I hope your next meeting with him goes well and let us know how it went
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Hi there, I will report back! I'm not worried by the way but I know how it would worry some people when they are being badgered. x
 
Craig1978 said:
Had a follow up appointment with my Diabetes nurse today, and it's been recommended that I start taking Statins. Apparantly, NICE has now recommended people with Type 1 and over 40 should be given the option to take them. I should add that my Cholesterol is there or there abouts correct.

I have no problem at all taking them, but just wondered if anyone here already takes them, and if they have had any issues or side effects etc?
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I have been put on two types and had a bad reaction each time fist was really bad flu like symptoms and muscle ache second time up set tummy and slight flu like .
 
KK123 said:
I saw a Lipid Consultant and he was dismissive of my HDL (2.45) and trigs (0.5), he said LDL was a negative marker in itself (mine is 4.2). So to be fair to your Dr & Diabetes Consultant, they ALL seem to think the same.
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Hi,
I’ve read a few books on books on statins, helpfully recommended by kind forum users. Dr. Malcolm Kendrick believes that the statin / heart disease hypothesis is based on flawed evidence, and illustrates his belief with valid documentation. However, for various reasons this hypothesis became the consensus so the fact that a Lipid Consultant (I’ve never come across one of these) and a Diabetic Consultant are of the same opinion wouldn’t be surprising as they are both taught this hypothesis.

I would highly recommend the following books by Dr. Malcolm Kendrick;

The Great Cholesterol Con: The Truth about What Really Causes Heart Disease and How to Avoid It

A Statin Nation - Damaging Millions in a Brave New Post Health World

In any case, I think that all medication carries risk and possible side effects , even the humble aspirin. Its always best to question what we put into or onto our bodies whether medication, food, or creams etc. and weigh up the pros and cons of any substance, especially if we take multiple medications, then we definitely have to understand how they interact with one another.

Personally, after being recently told to take Statins and declining the offer I’ve had all sorted of tests done looking for CVD, prescribed by the diabetes specialist to prove I needed to take them ... the results however came back perfect (I have gorgeous arteries and heart in perfect working order)

Obviously this is a personal account and everyone is different.. but apart from type one diabetes, I do not come from a family with a history of heart disease ... our burden is the cancer gene ... so my only risk factor is type one ... and as @MeldCP and others have said as long as we keep blood sugars low as much as we can ( not easy, I know) we have a much lower risk of CVD than basing everything on cholesterol levels.

Ps in Kendrick’s books he talks about how much we need cholesterol... it’s not the demon it’s made out to be. Even if you find you don’t agree with him it’s a very interesting read.
 
I too was told that due to my cholesterol levels being slightly high Ishould go on Statins. I said no.
Then later, after my cholesterol levels improved, I was told I should go on Statins. Because, well, "I am getting older". Seriously, the specialist did this.

The issue is more complicated than "lowering cholesterol". There is good HDL and bad LDL cholesterol. Highs of one and lows of the other are also important to understand. So simply having "high cholesterol" isn't good enough.

The doctors don't go into the details. And they certainly don't go into a route cause analysis to discover what is high and how it got high. The first thing they do is treat the overall high levels with Statins. And Statins do more than simply block cholesterol being released into our system. They also block the release of things like CoQ10. This is what it does

"It is a component of the electron transport chain and participates in aerobic cellular respiration, which generates energy in the form of ATP. Ninety-five percent of the human body's energy is generated this way. TTherefore those organs with the highest energy requirements—such as the heart, liver, and kidney—have the highest CoQ10concentrations."

Omg, scary. No wonder people can suffer horrible side effects. Much like what happened to my brother.
Also, I've read reports saying that there is no evidence that Statins prevent heart attacks.

So my take is, Statins are one of the worse drugs that has ever been peddled by medical professionals. They make them rich and people ill.

Finally, watch the documentary called Statin Nation. Scary.
 
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