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Statins are a very individual thing. Some people have no side effects. I was 7.2 and tried them for 18 months. My level came down to 3 but I had dreadful side effects. Over the 18 months I was tried on 3 different sorts but in the end was taken off them. I offered to try a different cholesterol reducing medication - yes they do exist - but was told instead to take a cholesterol lowering drink daily (like Benecol) and follow a low fat diet (but watch out for the carbs as low fat usually means increased carbs due to added sugar). My level is now usually 5.2-5.4 (except when I was ill) but my ratios are good. Good that you've been given a choice.
First I should say that the nurse said they were the worst side effects she had come across, and I know since talking to various doctors, that I was extremely unusual. Please do NOT take this as typical.
Pain in all the joints and muscles - from top to toe. I could not sit, stand, lie down or move. Pain in my feet/knees when walking, and hands when holding things, getting up or turning over. I went from an active power walker to a shuffling old lady.
Sleep issues, depression and tiredness, due to the constant throbbing pain.
Rashes and swelling, from my feet, creeping up my calves, and round my waist.
Worst of all - total faecal incontinence. I had no sensation or control of my bowels, and leaked constantly, day or night, lying, sitting or standing. I was reduced to wearing incontinence pads.
In the end I told the nurse I would rather have quality than quantity of life. I said if this is what statins did to my bowel muscles, what were they doing to my heart muscle? Which is when they took me off them. It took 9 months for the side effects to go completely. Whenever I get a new GP, they want to put me back on statins. I flat out refuse, referring them to my medical records which say "extremely sensitive to statins". In fact I am sensitive to most medications, including antibiotics and blood pressure tablets, but am lucky enough to have found things I can take.
You might find that taking your Lantus at bedtime (assuming you don't go to bed at 8pm) or possibly in the morning when you wake up is a better option. Lantus has a peak of activity about 5 hours after injecting I believe and most people need less insulin in the depths of their sleep (1-3am) but experience something called Dawn Phenomenon which can start to kick in about 4-5am or sometimes not before they actually set foot out of bed (Foot on the Floor syndrome). Most people also need much more insulin during the early part of the day than they do at night, so taking it early in the morning can be a better alternative for some people. These are just things to bear in mind if you start going low at night but high through the day.
Some people find Lantus peaks and troughs quite a lot so you may find your blood sugar is swinging up and down a lot with it (on the other hand it should be more stable if you are taking more, it's much more spike/plummet-y on low doses). As you are increasing it I'd say it's worth setting an alarm for about 3am occasionally to test to make sure your blood sugar isn't plummeting in the night (NB if you are an extreme owl like me, or an extreme lark, that would need to be an hour or two later/earlier!).
Glad your appointment was helpful and that the DSN is taking your opinion into consideration - that's always a good sign!
Hi. Only go onto stains if your blood test lipds profile i.e. LDL, HDL, Trigs etc show ratios that are out of range. The Total figure is pretty meaningless but GPs/DNs don't seem to understand that. I am on statins and have no problems but my wife had severe liver pain within a day or so of taking them and had to stop. She had had Hep A previously which the GP ignored. Statins can be harmful to the few so be careful - they aren't sweets.
I had severe memory problems when taking them. Thing that finished me off was suddenly forgetting my only sister's name whilst in the middle of having a conversation with her - but it cost me my job as well because I was losing whole meetings and therefore not doing things I'd agreed to do. Because of constantly forgetting stuff, I had to treble check everything I did do to try and make sure I'd done it right and not missed anything and therefore could not handle anywhere near a sensible amount of work.
I had severe memory problems when taking them. Thing that finished me off was suddenly forgetting my only sister's name whilst in the middle of having a conversation with her - but it cost me my job as well because I was losing whole meetings and therefore not doing things I'd agreed to do. Because of constantly forgetting stuff, I had to treble check everything I did do to try and make sure I'd done it right and not missed anything and therefore could not handle anywhere near a sensible amount of work.
My friend got very disoriented and dizzy. She found herself in a shop with no idea how she got there. And this was within 48 hours of the first pill. She was taken straight off them.
So, contrary to what the DSN was preparing me for, my day time readings are getting better than my morning readings. I've never had more than one reading that wasn't in the red before so I'm very pleased, but frustrated about the morning things.
Wondering about changing the timing of my Lantus, but a bit nervous about that tbh. Will chat to DN about it on Tuesday I think.
Regarding statins, I was told the recommendation is that everyone with diabetes and over 40 should be on statins.
However, this is based on evidence from research showing the benefit for people who are sedentary and overweight. At the time they were offered to me, there was no evidence that there was any benefit for someone active and not overweight.
Given this, I chose to decline the offer to spend NHS money on something with no clear benefit and potential nasty side effects.
This was some time ago but statins have not been offered to me since.
Status
This thread is now closed. Please contact Anna DUK, Ieva DUK or everydayupsanddowns if you would like it re-opened.
