New HbA1c and cholesterol advice please

[Largesse1!]

Dear Forum,

Two months ago I was diagnosed with T2 with an HbA1c of 131 and BG of 19. Today I got the results of my new HbA1c which is 66.

I was prescribed 500g of Metformin x 2 and Gliclazide. I stopped taking the Gliclazide a month ago for various reasons.

Given that it's only been two months I'm very pleased with a 66. I hope I can half that again in another two months!

I told the GP it was down to the advice here and LCHF diet but she keeps calling it my low-fat diet. I've stopped trying to correct her because she is a GP not a specialist and entrenched with the longstanding NHS advice about diet which is understandable. As more evidence emerges it will filter through eventually, I'm sure.

The bad news is that she says my cholesterol is high at 6.4 but that's not unusual with T2 and I should go onto statins. I asked for a little more time as I would like to do more research.

What is your experience of cholesterol and LCHF diet? Do you think I can find a way to get it down without medication?

 

[rebrascora]

Hi.
Fantastic achievement in halving your HbA1c in such a short space of time. Since there will be some overlap of haemoglobin from before you were diagnosed and started on your LCHF way of eating, you should still see significant improvement by your next test.
As regards your cholesterol, do you know what your reading was when you were first diagnosed or pre diagnosis? I have read that it can go up a bit with LCHF before it comes down so I think you were right to ask for a delay on the statins. The other thing to know with cholesterol is the breakdown of the different types.... HDL, LDL and Triglycerides. It may be that you have a good ratio and the total is therefore not so much of a concern, or your ratios may be poor in which case a statin might me worth thinking about. I think many GPs just look at the total and want to prescribe statins.
I have been lucky in that my total is higher than they would like but my ratios are good and therefore they have not offered me statins and I have seen a slight decline since starting LCHF but I haven't had it checked for quite a while and I have increased my fat and decreased my carbs further since my last test, so I would be interested to know how I am doing now.

 

[DaveB]

Hi and well done. Sad that the GP is out of touch with the right diet advice - blame PHE. For Cholesterol you need to know the various lipids ratios preferably with a fasting blood test and ignore the total. High cholesterol/statins have nothing to do with diabetes but again GPs just follow the health mantra. If you do take statins, have the lowest dose that 'corrects' your ratios

 

[Perfect10]

My cholesterol is 7 and my GP says I don't need statins. My daughter however who is a specialist stroke nurse says I should be on them, the consultant she works with agrees but my GP still refuses?
Find it baffling as my LDL is 4, HDL is 1.5.
GP says I have a low Q risk of 6.7?
I want to try to reduce cholesterol myself but as I've just started on a LCHF diet I'm not sure it will happen.
There is a Q risk calculator online, apparently if your risk is greater than 20% you should be on statins? (The stroke consultant disregarded this though and said take statins)

 

[trophywench]

Well to be absolutely unbiased about it, both the cardiology consultant and your daughter would get short shrift from the NHS if they didn't tell a patient that, wouldn't they?

However, you are not either of their patients are you?

There can of course be side effects from statins - but of course nobody knows whether anyone will happen to get them or not.

 

[Vonny]

Hi @Largesse1!, I'm in the same position as you. Doc wanted to put me on statins because cholesterol reading was 5.7, but I asked to try for longer on the low carb diet. I'm back for bloods (3 month check) on 8th September and should get the results a few days after that. I'll let you know the result, although if cholesterol is anything like diabetes, we are all different! x

 

[Perfect10]

Well to be absolutely unbiased about it, both the cardiology consultant and your daughter would get short shrift from the NHS if they didn't tell a patient that, wouldn't they?

However, you are not either of their patients are you?

No I'm not a patient so they have nothing to gain from it, they deal with strokes every day, many of which could be avoided. High cholesterol puts you at higher risk of stroke and other things. You have to weigh up the risk for yourself.

 

[Drummer]

I don't see how anyone could say that a person would not have had a stroke if they had been taking tablets. There is no way to tell.
Examination of the blood tests of people who have died seems to indicate that living longer is something that happens to those with higher cholesterol, which goes against what we are told ought to be the case, but the numbers seem reliable.

 

[nonethewiser]

My cholesterol is 7 and my GP says I don't need statins. My daughter however who is a specialist stroke nurse says I should be on them, the consultant she works with agrees but my GP still refuses?

Well I've never had cholesterol issues, always normal last one being 4.1 with ratios good, yet statins were offered & initially declined.

Spoke with my Endocrinologist couple months back, they explained having diabetes in mid 50s puts me at heightened risk of stroke heart attack, saying even those with good cholesterol plaque can still break away in arteries leading to cardiovascular event, so this in mind started on low dose of 20mg Atorvastatin, 2nd month in taking them no side effects, majority dont but some do.

Seen first hand how strokes & heart attacks destroy lives, ask another gp opinion at surgery, sure they cant refuse request now you having diabetes + high cholesterol.

 

[Drummer]

Doesn't that rather assume that you have got plaque in your arteries?
Can they show any evidence of it?
One of my naughty pleasures is watching a nurse take my blood pressure.
They have even gone off to find another spignonononmeneter because there's is obviously broken.
Snigger.

 

[trophywench]

Story of pete's life @Drummer - after he had his prostatectomy they said they couldn't discharge him till his BP increased. Pete instead of in the afternoon when I'd arrived to do exactly that told them that was a shame since he'd be bed blocking until the day he died in that case so suggested they rang his consultant who would confirm that was his normal BP they were frightened of. He did and hence muggins was driving him home at approx 11pm rather than 3pm when I'd originally arrived to do that!

I hated it cos I'd known for ages that my remaining cataract interfered greatly with my vision at night and so normally avoided driving in the evening. We both survived courtesy of Pete emulating a driving instructor and forcibly 'adjusting' my errant steering ....

 

[DaveB]

I would recommend anyone to read 'The Great Cholesterol Con' by Dr Malcom Kendrick a UK doctor. 'Doctoring Data' is another good read from him.

 

[Madeline]

Similar here @trophywench; they’re used to me now, but I used to spend an awful lot of time in hospital lying flat and being fed sweet tea and biscuits to raise my BP. I can’t figure out how that works, but anyway eventually they decided to believe me that I naturally run ‘low’.

It has caused issues in the past, I fainted a lot when I was younger, and once fainted holding baby Eldest Madeline. GP prescribed a packet of crisps a day

 

[trophywench]

I like your old GP @Madeline !

 

[Madeline]

@trophywench he was lovely, long retired now but really old school and listened. Absolutely marvellous when I was pregnant and ill.

 

[Largesse1!]

Hi @Largesse1!, I'm in the same position as you. Doc wanted to put me on statins because cholesterol reading was 5.7, but I asked to try for longer on the low carb diet. I'm back for bloods (3 month check) on 8th September and should get the results a few days after that. I'll let you know the result, although if cholesterol is anything like diabetes, we are all different! x

oooh, i;ll be very interested. thanks for sharing.