From what I am reading it is being suggested in the new guidelines that all diabetics should take a statin. I am not on one. I am concerned about side effects. Do you take a statin? How do you do? Nancy
I'm on a low dose statin and have no side effects. I don't have high cholesterol, it is just to protect my diabetic body against heart problems.
Yes, there are new recommendations. But I have to tell you, they have some serious problems. They call for basically all diabetics to take statins even though there have not been any studies that show that they benefit us. And in general populations, taking statins doesn't seem to lead to any better mortality outcomes. In certain select populations, namely men who have experienced a heart attack, they have been shown to have positive benefit and probably make sense. But otherwise, I think it is a scam. Statins have never been shown to benefit women. The group that has put these recommendations together over the years has done a huge disservice to the public, the committee is riddled with conflicts of interest (the current team has half it's team members "on the dole") and many experts have raised serious questions. Heck, even the risk calculator they AHA provided was terribly flawed. In fact, the CVD risks posed by a high blood sugar are far greater than any level of elevated cholesterol, but nobody tells you that.
I'll never take statins and I'm so mad about this whole thing I may demand that my doctors just stop testing my cholesterol.
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Brian , I agree with you. Nancy
Pharma would like to put statins in our drinking water. I suffered thru every conceivable side effect for 6 months and never again. I take red yeast rice which is the natural "statin" from which Pharma created and patented statins, at which point red yeast rice as a supplement was no longer allowed to advertise that it was good for your cholesterol. I have side effects.....I DO have several friends who have had no side effects and are fine with.....Just look at all sides. So much work has been done recently which negates everything about the relationship between cholesterol and heart disease.....
Our bodies are very individual and very complicated.....Blessings
I also had some bad side affects that took 3 years to minimize. I took every type of statin for about 8 years. Some worse than others. I have been off them for 1 year now. I feel 200% better. I decided that the side effects are worse than what they are preventing. My endo nags me about getting back. I decided quality of life is a better benefit that a living vegetable with great cholesterol numbers.
I've been on statins for about 7 years and haven't had any problems.
Maurie
I do not take Statin meds ...my chol numbers are in the range ..I think it is a personal preference ...my GP and I discussed 3 days ago ...I have NO history that would qualify taking statins and as I said my numbers are in the range .I also mentioned this to a Doc, who lives with diabetes for 53 years on WDD..as he said we are " an experiment of one" and never discounted , that I don't consume Statins neither BP lowering meds . ..and I am 73 plus :)
PS I exercise regularly
My (former) doctor suggested I should take a statin, even though my cholesterol is 123. But then, he also suggested I take Lisinopril, only because I'm diabetic, even though my blood pressure is often near 80/50 in the morning. So no, Nancy, don't take anything until you do some research (there's some disturbing news about statins) and decide for yourself if you actually need something. A lot of people seem able to lower their cholesterol on a low carb diet.
Do you have a good HDL level Twinchick?
I'm not sure if this is across our country but according to my Endo, some others and the hospital Lab, I do not need to be on a statin since I have a high HDL level. It's supposed to be >0.90 and my last one was 2.76(my highest so far). My lowest that I know of was 1.53 but it's usually around 2.20. I'm still a bit unsure about this theory. I actually wondered when I saw my highest HDL, if a person's HDL can get too high? I'll have to ask my Endo at my next appointment.
As I mentioned here before, my former GP insisted on giving me a prescription for a statin and Altace about 4 years ago because I've had Diabetes for so long(52 years now). He believes all Diabetics should be on both medications.
My blood pressure generally runs between 94/62 and 128/85. It hovers around 112/75 mostly. I did not use the statin but I did use the Altace to keep him half happy. While on the Altace, I was almost passing out from dizziness, felt nauseated(sp) much of the time and lost quite a bit of weight which I didn't want to. I quit the Altace!
Out of all the theories about statins, I'm not sure whose theory is correct but I'm 92% sure that I've made the right choice for me....I hope!
Ooops--that should read I have NO side effects with red yeast rice.....
What does "unprocessed plant source" mean?
lol.. there is actually a chance statins could give you a heart attack if you don't supplement coq10.
I was very skeptical 10 years ago when my doctor suggested going on a statin. Reports were coming about Lipitor causing leg pains, muscle cramps, liver failure and whatever. I ended up settling on Simvastatin, a generic version of Crestor, and am happy to report, 10 years later, no side effects and cholesterol levels still perfect.
Depending on the ratios in your lipid numbers, only you can decide if you want to take a statin. Do your research (www.spacedoc.com) is one great site.
Be your own advocate, don't go by what "others" are telling you.
Best wishes!
By all means! Add CoQ10 to you supplements if you use a statin. Statins prohibit our systems from naturally making coq10. Our bodies naturally make this substance and coQ10 is inhibited by statins.
Best wishes!
My joints in my knuckles got very arthritic when I was on Lipitor. Cleared up within a month or 2 when I went off it. Maybe not a common side effect but not as rare as they would have you believe. I'm a type 1 and I haven't seen enough data on type1 and Statins to suggest that statins are worth the arthritis.
These 2 papers on statins might be worth a read.
I see there hasn’t been activity here for awhile so hope someone sees this! Dr prescribed Lipitor a month ago- was so wired , couldn’t sleep so quit after 5 days / had appt last wk & dr said try again -take 1/2 the 20mg dose… After 4 days, I had all over body aches bad --kinda flu like symptoms , low grade temp & now my tongue is beet red:(. Haven’t taken since Friday… Anyone else had these probs???
Janny--I was on one for 6 months. Never Ever again!! Red Yeast Rice is the natural source of ALL statins, but big Pharma patented statins and prohibited Red Yeast Rice from mentioning the benefits. Just study up on the latest research--not just on statins, but also on what is true about cholesterol.
As long as my triglycerides are low and my HDL is high, I don't worry about it! BUT. I do have several friends here who have never had any problem with statins. Don't be scared----it's the way it is---all of us need to be our own advocates, but you have to do the research and maybe even argue with your doc. But we really are all different, so take a breath and dig in for a little research and maybe a little trial and error!....And keep us posted!....Blessings.....
The first time I was sent to a Cardiologist "only because I'm a PWD" I was asked to start taking a Statin and was told that all diabetics should be taking a cholesterol med. I do not take one, never have, and have normal in range tests...I do take a prophylactic Blood pressure med to slow down kidney damage...and I do have the beginning stages of kidney damage.
Statins are a racket in my opinion and completely over prescribed. The benefits are questionable, as there is no proven link between a high cholesterol number and heart disease. There is, however a link between a high A1c and heart disease, and that is the number we as diabetics should be paying close attention to.