Statins

[paul.johnson]

Does anyone know if it makes a big difference as to what time you take your Statins (cholestrol) and bp pills,i work night shift 4 on and 4 off,i take mine before breakfast and then go to bed at 7.30am,and still take them in morning on my days off,Can you start taking them at different times to match my days off, my chol is 4.2 and bp 102/72

 

[trophywench]

Dunno about the statin, but BP drugs they usually advise you to take before you go to bed, think it's in case you get a sudden dip in your BP, it saves you falling over or something LOL

Both your BP and chol figures look great - did you have to bring em down by much?

 

[Vicsetter]

Dunno about the statin, but BP drugs they usually advise you to take before you go to bed, think it's in case you get a sudden dip in your BP, it saves you falling over or something LOL

Both your BP and chol figures look great - did you have to bring em down by much?

Not true, it depends on the drug, I take one in the morning and one in the evening (used to be +1 other different ones in the evening).
The patient leaflet with the pills will say when to take them.

 

[paul.johnson]

my bp was 135/80 and chol was 5.4,gp says it would be better to get lower in the long term.lol,been type1 now 26yrs and he tells me that 2yrs ago

 

[paul.johnson]

the leaflets do tell you when to take,but they dont say if you work nightsand then have 4 rest days.lol

 

[Vicsetter]

my bp was 135/80 and chol was 5.4,gp says it would be better to get lower in the long term.lol,been type1 now 26yrs and he tells me that 2yrs ago

No doubt it helps your gp to hit the QOF target for cholesterol🙄
(it's actually the ratio of LDL/HDL and Trigs that is supposed to be important, has that been measured?). It depends how long you want to live, an extra couple of months important to you?

Can you not find a common time for taking your pills, whether you are on or off?

 

[paul.johnson]

i just thought i may be able to have both pills at 7.30 am when on shift then miss a day,then take before bed in the evening,but not sure if you can do that as each changeover would only leave a 12 hour gap.

 

[MCH]

i just thought i may be able to have both pills at 7.30 am when on shift then miss a day,then take before bed in the evening,but not sure if you can do that as each changeover would only leave a 12 hour gap.

I take the statin before bed and the BP before breakfast. They are different in whether you should take them before or after food so that is something else to consider.

I would personally be wary of messing around with the gaps between tablets that much, but why don't you speak to your pharmacist and see what they think?

 

[Vicsetter]

Whilst unable to give medical advice, I cannot see any harm in skipping either tablet - it may depend on the BP pill as to whether this will have a significant effect. If you have to do a treadmill stress test you have to come off the bp pills for about 3 days so they flush out of the system (not a pleasant feeling as my heart rate went up to a steady 100bpm even at rest, this was post heart attack).
I should ask your GP what they suggest you should do, or just wing it.

 

[MargB]

Mmmm, I take the statin before sleeping as that is supposed to cut down on the possible side effects. The BP tabs are taken in the morning after breakfast.

Shift working is something else. You probably need to discuss this one a 1-2-1 basis either with your gp or you could try a review with the pharmacist.

Missing the occasional tab is not a big deal but as you are a shift worker, it would be more frequently.

It would be interesting to know what you find out but afraid I can't say one way or the other.

 

[Northerner]

I'm with MargB, I was told take the statin before sleeping (whatever time that may be). I wonder if it would be possible to take two half doses on the 'transitional day' so you are getting a full dose overall but not in danger of 'doubling up', or just taking a half dose. I would imagine that, unless you are on doses where an increase would have a big impact (e.g. already on max dose available) the overlap times would not be too troublesome. Pharmacist or GP should be able to advise - as you say, they must have come across this situation in others before, but I don't think we have a lot of shift-workers on the forum to share their experiences with you.

Let us know when you find out! 🙂

 

[MichaelB]

I also work shifts including nights every few weeks, I take all meds including metformin SR at 10pm ish everyday, whatever shift I am working this seems to work well for me.

 

[paul.johnson]

Thanks for replies,will chat with pharmacist tomorrow🙂

 

[thelis]

I was told to take statins at night but with a certain antibiotic (can't remember which one) stop the statins until the antibiotic course had finished.

 

[Austin Mini]

Statins last thing before bed. BP pills at breakfast time. Shift work sounds awful especially if you swap about a bit could muck your pill timing up good and proper.

 

[StephenM]

Originally I was taking statins last thing but after a change was told to take them first thing. My BP med is split ? before bed and first thing ? as if I take it all first thing I can suffer hypotension. I think the timing of the BP meds is more important. If the pharmacist cannot advise go to see your GP. He may refer you to a specialist nurse or clinic who should have more experience of this situation.