I wanted to give an update as I have been on treatment now for T2D for 31 days, I have settled into the daily routine and feel overall that everything at this point is heading in the right direction. My PCP is very encouraged and seemed to agree as well with the positive direction.
My first full day of testing BG was on 7/23/20. The before Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner numbers were 370 mg/dl, 306 mg/dl, 261 mg/dl. Today, 8/22/20 my BG before Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner numbers were 118 mg/dl, 125 mg/dl, 120 mg/dl. This improvement is with 1000 mg Metformin before morning meal and 1000 before evening meal, improved diet (much lower carb), greatly increasing my daily exercise, and weight loss; from 247 lb to 230 lb.
As to my Lipid Panel questions, I am looking for your experience and opinions, in full understanding that this is a Diabetes Forum, not a Doctors office.
Please see the uploaded capture below. How do the numbers look to you? Do you feel that the numbers warrant the addition of the statin Crestor (Rosuvastatin) 10 mg once a day? My PCP wants me to start taking it on Monday and then check the Lipid Panel numbers again when I do my full Lab work during the second week of September.
Thank you in advance for your time and anything you decide to share!
My endo thinks my numbers have always been fine. My GP has been of the opinion that every diabetic should be on a statin no matter what their numbers are. My cholesterol/HDL ratio is 2.26 and my triglycerides are 67. Although she didn’t say a word to me this last telehealth visit. She has either given up recommending a statin, she forgot or decided I’m okay. I’m really not sure lol. She has said I am one of her patients that pays the most attention to taking care of their health. I am not sure what that means except I do exercise every day, and eat pretty healthy.
I think we have to decide for ourselves what’s okay. Heart disease is really prevalent in my family. I have chosen to not take a statin It could be a mistake on my part. Who really knows? I think that’s why we have to make that decision for ourselves.
My doctor has tried me on every statin ever made and yet I’ve never had a high cholesterol . I finally gave up on the idea I was getting upset stomach from it.
My doctors have also tried to get me on Ace inhibitors but I was getting light headed all the time so now I just take insulin and my numbers are still great 33 years later.
The more weight you lose and the more you exercise will improve all your lipids more than the drugs can do.
Yes, I wonder if it was an Endo looking at my numbers if that would be the case as well! I was told by my PCP during our video appointment (sounds similar to your telehealth visit) on Friday afternoon that any Diabetic over 40 years of age should be on a Statin regardless of the presence of high cholesterol or not. I believe the words used were “as a preventative due to Diabetic complications, with or without a family history of heart disease.”
I completely agree that it is something we have to decide for ourselves. As my wife said when I told her of the PCP’s request that I go on a Statin: “…it is your body, only you can make the decision if it is necessary or not for your health.” Honestly, I am still on the fence, which prompted my reaching out to get the experiences and opinions from supportive members here, like you!
First off, Timothy is my brothers name; it made me smile when I saw it!
Your negative experiences with Statins and the lack of high cholesterol to warrant their use is exactly what my concerns are with my PCP’s request. My little voice inside that guides my thought process on things like this is saying: “But wait, where is the evidence showing that a Statin is needed at this point and time?" I am honestly not opposed, I just have never been one to choose prescription medications as preventative. Over my life it has been only when they are necessary to help my body to regain control or heal, like the Metformin I currently am taking for high BG.
I am so encouraged that you have been able to use only insulin to maintain numbers that are still great for 33 years (and counting… ). I guess I want my PCP to slow down the medical narrative enough to have the opportunity to see what my weight reduction and exercise, a healthy diet, along with my lifetime of nutritional supplementation, can do to improve my lipids and overall cholesterol number. I will paraphrase the thought of one the wise members on this forum who said: “Diabetes treatment is generally not a sprint, but a lifelong marathon for most of us”. With a little over a month in, I am still searching for a supportive pair of shoes and comfortable socks…
Your Cholesterol indices are in line for a non-diabetic, but any qualified endocrinologist will tell you that your HDL is low and your Calculated LDL is high. If you can avoid the statin, it would be beneficial to keep the calcium in your heart lower and arteries in general less apt to build plaque.
Two routes, I have worked with and have worked well for me are 1) Take a heavy dose of Vitamin C for at least 3 and preferably 4 weeks and get another Cholesterol test. The problem with Vitamin C is that it goes through your system very fast, so would really need to take it very frequently, as in hourly would be best but what a pain. To mitigate this issue I take Liposomal Vitamin C 1400mg per 2 tablet serving as these are in effect time delay capsules of Vitamin C. I take 3 capsules when I get up, 4 with lunch and 3 at bedtime. That is a total of 10 capsules per day or 7 grams of vitamin C daily. This dropped my LDL-C from 95 to 60 and boosted my HDL into the 70’s. This is a short experiment and a Lipid Panel retest is cheap, even if you have to pay for it. If you get loose stools with this many capsules a day, walk back 1 capsule at a time until you find the perfect balance. Start slow with maybe a maximum of 5 capsules per day spread out as evenly as possible and slowly every day increase by 1 or 2 until you reach your limit or a maximum of 10 grams/day. I do not endorse this product but this is what I take and is quite inexpensive when you buy with a $5 off coupon which they are currently running.
Get a lipid panel that includes subfractionation. That will let you know if you really have a detrimental cholesterol issue you need to fix with statin or food or exercise or a combination of each. If you need more information on how to interpret results, send me a private message and we can chat about it. Again, I don’t endorse this company but I believe they offer the best subfractionation test available and in relative terms are more cost effective than other labs. I usually get this one:
Wow, thank you for the comprehensive look at my numbers and your examples on what you do!
I am already a firm believer in daily Vitamin C and take it in the morning and evening, 6000 mg total. I used to get another Liposomal Vitamin C from an online Doctor, Health and Supplement site, but when COVID-19 started, my auto ship every 90 days from this company stopped and has remained out of stock. Since then, I have only been using Ester-C and Kirkland 1000 mg Vitamin C. I believe I will look into purchasing this alternate Liposomal Vitamin C, as I have always liked to diversify the different types of supplemental Vitamin C I take each day.
Thank you for the lipid panel information and the idea for inclusion of subfractionation. I will certainly check into that as I am so new at this I don’t even have a clue yet of just how clueless I actually am!
As I hoped, this forum has given me a few things to look at that can make the decision easier, or at the least, on adding a Statin or not a lot more informed. I will certainly keep you in mind as a source of additional information for how to interpret my test results. Thank you for making private messaging/chats available to me!
). I guess I want my PCP to slow down the medical narrative enough to have the opportunity to see what my weight reduction and exercise, a healthy diet, along with my lifetime of nutritional supplementation, can do to improve my lipids and overall cholesterol number. I will paraphrase the thought of one the wise members on this forum who said: “Diabetes treatment is generally not a sprint, but a lifelong marathon for most of us”. With a little over a month in, I am still searching for a supportive pair of shoes and comfortable socks… 