My endo said that now they recommend all diabetics to take cholestrol pills as it prevents heart disease. This makes me nervous because my cholestrol was elevated last time but I didn’t start the pills because I thought everyone had high cholestrol - My cholestrol was perfect until I went off my vegan diet to get more protein in… So of course now I have higher cholestrol.
I heard similar about BP pills. Mine has always been fine until this week. I had elevated BP (which scares me - scarey enough to have high blood sugar) which I thought was from new BCP which I stopped taking yesterday (but BP still high today!!) About a month ago my BP was perfect and always has been… What the hey?
Do all diabetics eventually need these pills or it is just temporary? I do have a lot of stress at work lately and stress over all my health issues.
There is a widespread standard recommendation that diabetics beyond a certain age should be on a statin without regard to test results or anything else; a blanket one-size-fits-all rule.
The last two times I tried a statin, the side effects were simply horrendous. Furthermore, my lipid numbers are excellent without it.
But when I refused to do it this time, my doctor had to add a formal notation to the chart stating that statin therapy was declined at patient request. Otherwise he would have been downchecked on his next performance review for failing to prescribe it and possibly not even paid for seeing me.
Setting aside the fact that the diet/cholesterol/CVD linkage is looking more suspect all the time, this is the kind of inflexible, unresponsive shotgun approach to medicine that permeates our system and that sends me ballistic.
Mmm…I do not like to cast any kind of doubt between any of us and Our primary Care Givers. These are important connections. So i will just say this:
Gather info from many sources. Yes, of course, from respected medical sources. But also from the DOC—the Diabetes Online Community…
The decision has to be yours. But you will find many, many of us find statins to be an offense to the body. I went on one for 6 months in 2006, and actually think it was a part of a package of events that tipped me over from prediabetes (which I no longer believe in) to the real thing…
Some few of us do okay on statins. Most, not…Blessings…Do keep us posted…
It depends on your situation. If you have low hdl and high ldl, high vldl and other factors like high bp/metabolic syndrome, history of cvd in you or your family you may need a statin for various reasons. There are other ways to lower ldl cholesterol such as prunes and red yeast(pretty much has all the same negative side effects as statins)
I would go to a cardiologist and see what he/she thinks. The main benefit of statins tends to be not for lowering cholesterol but for an anti- inflammatory effect which stops damage to the blood vessels caused by high bg in people with diabetes. It’s all pretty complex, it’s not just a matter of lowering cholesterol and in fact some people with too low cholesterol also have heart issues due to this. If you do take a statin you will need to take COQ10 too since they deplete you of this.
I tried one- I felt very dopey and I had increasing muscle pain so I had to stop after only a week or so. I have been told since my hdl is very high and for other reasons I’m better off without one.
Gosh, as if we weren’t taking enough meds already.
At the end, it has to be your decision. Just know that this guideline was probably influenced at some point by pharma lobbyists. who want to sell meds. for their profits.
Cholesterol guidelines were low for years, suggesting that almost every person aged above 50 had high cholesterol, but how can that be? came out, cholesterol naturally rises over age (as does BG and BP by the way), and that low cholesterol limit was only good for pharma, as they could sell more cholesterol-lowering meds.
just some insight from another point of view. in the end, of course, you’ll have to decide whether you feel safe without the additional meds or not. it is your decision, the doctor just gives you advice.
I can only add that while the Statins do work well on lowering my cholesterol #'rs the side effects of each were varied and pretty much unbearable. If they were not I would have stayed on them but the way I saw it is that they made me feel like I was 20 years older as far as muscle and joint pain. Stop taking the pill and would feel my actual age in about 3 days, all back to normal. Don’t have any idea what is in store for me in my 70-80’s but I’ll find out then (or not) instead of now.
In my continuing quest to educate myself about cholesterol, statins, and the true risks associated with each, I recently read The Great Cholesterol Myth. I found it very informative.
It is indeed. If you haven’t already done so, you might care to read “Good Calories, Bad Calories” by Gary Taubes. It covers some (not all) of the same territory and has some additional insights. Gary has been interviewed here on TuDiabetes within the past year; the video should be in the archives and available for viewing too.
I read that a few years ago and also thought it was very good. As someone with elevated LDL, but other numbers that are great, I feel the continuing need to keep myself educated so I truly feel that I’m doing myself no harm by staying off statins. Cholesterol has been given a bum rap. I love the little guy, he’s very helpful!
if the blood sugar range is normalized between 70 to 140 ( the more time in range ) it is possible to get good numbers - not the only factor but a contributing factor
Went off both thyroid meds and statin, and my thyroid levels went back to normal. Statins also increase insulin resistance and lower insulin production.
I wish that instead of following arbitrary standards for all and trying to prevent what has a few percent possibility of going wrong, they would investigate why things are going wrong (dyspareunia, scoliosis, mildly restricted breathing, weight gain) and fix them rather than either blaming me or insisting they don’t matter.
This mirrors my experience precisely. When I went low carb and got my BG numbers where they belong, my lipid numbers dropped precipitously, without any medication or medical intervention of any kind.
As of the moment I am not on any cholesterol medications or ACE inhibitors. I refuse to take something just because. My cholesterol levels are perfectly normal and my BP is already on the low side. IF and when anything changes I may reconsider but for now I’m not taking something I don’t need. My endo seems to be in agreement with my wishes says at this point I don’t have any significant risk factors and my health is overall good. We’ll see but for now NO, NO, and NO I am not going to take cholesterol medications.
I had the same talk with my endo 2 appointments ago. He said exactly what yours said: “all diabetics” should be on a statin and an ACE inhibitor. My cholesterol is fine, and my blood pressure is actually pretty low already - sometimes too low, which is documented in my chart (I assume) because they take it during every appointment. It’s been 80/50 before when I’m there. I wonder if he even bothered to check it out before prescribing a drug that may lower it even more. I told him I’d think about it (which I did! To be fair) but he didn’t bother to bring it up again last time.
Very few people benefit from a one size fits all approach
Is there something about diabetes that might raise the cholestrol that body makes? I always thought high cholestrol was from eating too many foods with cholestrol in them.
My doc just suggested taking fish oil. And increasing exercise to help increase hdl, which is too low for his liking. Everything else is low. Statins are controversial at best, once one gets away from manufacturer literature, with many serious side effects.
Actually i was pretty happy with my hdl. At least it is now in range where it used to be below range - low carb, high fat, and close to normal blood sugars.
Cholesterol is actually a vital part of every single cell in your body. The body produces it and diet is only a tiny contributor to how much you may have in your system at any one time. Diabetes and other diseases can increase cholesterol numbers in some people. It’s an individual thing. The recommendation for all diabetics to be on statins is due to the increased risk of heart disease diabetes can cause for some people. The book The Great Cholesterol Myth explains the faulty reasoning the medical profession has used regarding cholesterol and cardiac risk.
I do not have high cholesterol so we talked about it and she has allowed me to opt out of taking them. I am not a big fan of " everyone needs to take " . Nancy
