Statin thoughts……

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Teadance

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Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
Hi all,
scared to take statins, scared NOT to take statins.

4.12.23 20.3.24
TL 7.5. 7.1
LDL. 4.85. 4.46
Triglycerides 2.77. 2.6
Ratio. 5.6. 5.00
Non HDL. 6.11. 5.65
HDL. 1.35. 1.41

I have been on 50mg of Sertraline for some time and know it causes an increase in cholesterol. I know it’s too high but could try harder to cut down on cheese, red meat, full fat yoghurt and butter. I eat an otherwise healthy diet with occasional treats like chocolate. HbA1c was 48 three months ago brought down from 53. Really don’t want to take them, but don’t want to be stupid about it either. Just don’t know what to do!
 
Ps. ….please don’t scare me! Feeling a bit vulnerable right now. Had my car crashed into and written off last week. For tunately I wasn’t in it at the time!

Also, I thought about taking them for a few months just to lower it and then continue with diet and exercise but I’m scared by those who’ve experienced side effects which then take months to resolve!
 
I believe the business of not eating Sat Fats to control blood cholesterol is based on bad science. It's the liver that decides what fats go into blood and not directly what you eat. Some on the forums find when they go low-carb/higher fat their cholesterol goes down rather than up. So, keep the carbs down. I have statins mainly to keep my db nurse happy (!) but I don't let the dose level make me go below 4 total cholesterol as the brain needs it and I don't suffer any side effects. If you have side effects stop them.
 
Teadance said:
Ps. ….please don’t scare me! Feeling a bit vulnerable right now. Had my car crashed into and written off last week. For tunately I wasn’t in it at the time!

Also, I thought about taking them for a few months just to lower it and then continue with diet and exercise but I’m scared by those who’ve experienced side effects which then take months to resolve!
Click to expand...
I have taken 20mg of Asorvastatin for 13 years with no side effects at all. My cholesterol is just fine. Try them and find one that suits you. Sorry to hear about your car, must have been scary. I too take antidepressants. Good luck
 
DaveB said:
I believe the business of not eating Sat Fats to control blood cholesterol is based on bad science. It's the liver that decides what fats go into blood and not directly what you eat. Some on the forums find when they go low-carb/higher fat their cholesterol goes down rather than up. So, keep the carbs down. I have statins mainly to keep my db nurse happy (!) but I don't let the dose level make me go below 4 total cholesterol as the brain needs it and I don't suffer any side effects. If you have side effects stop them.
Click to expand...

The week before my blood test I ate a load of stuff with saturated fats, and my cholesterol was fine.
 
I upped the sat fats when I went pre-diabetic but the cholesterol went up so have gone back to low or no fat again. I know a few people on statins who have no trouble at all with them. One of my ex work colleagues had to try 2 or 3 before they found the right one for her but she was fine after that.
 
I've been taking atorvastatin for a couple of years with no side effects at all. Try them and see how you get on, there are different ones so I'm sure you'd find one to suit you and do share your concerns with your diabetic specialist, if you haven't already, so that you can make an informed choice. And well done on your HbA1c. I've got my check up in a few weeks so fingers crossed for some good numbers!
 
It's been Simvastatin for me for almost two years now, with no obvious side effects whatsoever.
.
 
Currently taking 20mg Atorvastatin with no side effects. I had very high cholesterol in October, I went on the statin and simultaneously lost a lost of weight, and my cholesterol is now lower than is natural for a man my age. I don't want to be on any medication or dose that I don't need to be on and intend to review it with my doctor some time after I hit my target weight, but I'm happy enough to be on it for the time being.

Weight loss often lowers cholesterol. You will find reports on the forums where people went on low-carb, high-fat diets and their cholesterol actually went down, though often the same people report that they lost weight, so it's difficult to pick apart the underlying factors. You will also find *plenty* of reports of people on high saturated fat diets who have matching high cholesterol levels. There's also a difference between genders - oestrogen affects cholesterol output from the liver and (not coincidentally) women tend to have a lower risk of cardiovascular problems than men until they reach their 80s, so reports of the effects of high fat diets on cholesterol levels in men and women are not directly comparable. I trust the heart health charities on this one - avoid saturated fat as much as possible, within reason, and where cholesterol levels remain high statins have their benefits.
 
If it's any reassurance these were my Cholesterol scores at the end of january. My doctor was quite happy to leave me go 6 months to see if I could use diet and lifestyle changes to lower them.
Cholesterol 7.7 mmol/L , triglycerides 2.4 mmol/L, non HDL cholesterol 5.9 mmol/L, LDL cholesterol 4.8 mmol/L, HDL cholesterol 1.8 mmol/L, TC: HDL ratio 4.3

The question you need to ask yourself is this.
Are you likely to make changes to your diet and exercise, and stick to those changes as lifestyle change, rather then a short term change?

If you are overweight, then weight loss will help your liver deal better with fats. Exercise will also help your liver deal better with fats.
I have not seen any studies contradicting the standard 'eat less total sat fats', so at present I am losing weight, getting more exercise, not worrying about healthy fats, but am reducing saturated fats.
I'm also reducing carbs a bit (still trying to get into this lower carb eating thing)
EDIT: just to clarify, I won't know if my approach works for me until I get my 6 monthly blood test around july
 
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DaveB said:
I believe the business of not eating Sat Fats to control blood cholesterol is based on bad science. It's the liver that decides what fats go into blood and not directly what you eat. Some on the forums find when they go low-carb/higher fat their cholesterol goes down rather than up. So, keep the carbs down. I have statins mainly to keep my db nurse happy (!) but I don't let the dose level make me go below 4 total cholesterol as the brain needs it and I don't suffer any side effects. If you have side effects stop them.
Click to expand...
Thanks I generally try to keep to lower carbs but do have cheese etc. Doesn’t seem to be having the desired effect. I agree about not going too low. Glad you’ve got your level stable.
 
snowball12 said:
I have taken 20mg of Asorvastatin for 13 years with no side effects at all. My cholesterol is just fine. Try them and find one that suits you. Sorry to hear about your car, must have been scary. I too take antidepressants. Good luck
Click to expand...
Thanks. Great that you’ve not had side effects. Do you know if your cholesterol levels have increased with the antidepressants?
 
Maz2 said:
I upped the sat fats when I went pre-diabetic but the cholesterol went up so have gone back to low or no fat again. I know a few people on statins who have no trouble at all with them. One of my ex work colleagues had to try 2 or 3 before they found the right one for her but she was fine after that.
Click to expand...
Thanks. I just feel I probably need to reduce the fat aswell as the carbs.
 
I take a low dose statin 10mg atorvastatin with no problem and even though I eat cheese, butter, full fat yoghurt, cream, eggs, my cholesterol is low 3.5 and triglycerides 1.25. But I do low carb 70g per day
 
Paula1158 said:
I've been taking atorvastatin for a couple of years with no side effects at all. Try them and see how you get on, there are different ones so I'm sure you'd find one to suit you and do share your concerns with your diabetic specialist, if you haven't already, so that you can make an informed choice. And well done on your HbA1c. I've got my check up in a few weeks so fingers crossed for some good numbers!
Click to expand...
Thanks. I get the feeling they just want you to take them. Good luck with your check up!
 
PerSpinasAdAstra said:
Currently taking 20mg Atorvastatin with no side effects. I had very high cholesterol in October, I went on the statin and simultaneously lost a lost of weight, and my cholesterol is now lower than is natural for a man my age. I don't want to be on any medication or dose that I don't need to be on and intend to review it with my doctor some time after I hit my target weight, but I'm happy enough to be on it for the time being.

Weight loss often lowers cholesterol. You will find reports on the forums where people went on low-carb, high-fat diets and their cholesterol actually went down, though often the same people report that they lost weight, so it's difficult to pick apart the underlying factors. You will also find *plenty* of reports of people on high saturated fat diets who have matching high cholesterol levels. There's also a difference between genders - oestrogen affects cholesterol output from the liver and (not coincidentally) women tend to have a lower risk of cardiovascular problems than men until they reach their 80s, so reports of the effects of high fat diets on cholesterol levels in men and women are not directly comparable. I trust the heart health charities on this one - avoid saturated fat as much as possible, within reason, and where cholesterol levels remain high statins have their benefits.
Click to expand...
Interesting. I must admit it’s hard to shake the ‘reduce sat. fats’ mantra. I still think it’s worth me giving it a go.
 
Teadance said:
Thanks. I get the feeling they just want you to take them. Good luck with your check up!
Click to expand...
s'nic said:
If it's any reassurance these were my Cholesterol scores at the end of january. My doctor was quite happy to leave me go 6 months to see if I could use diet and lifestyle changes to lower them.
Cholesterol 7.7 mmol/L , triglycerides 2.4 mmol/L, non HDL cholesterol 5.9 mmol/L, LDL cholesterol 4.8 mmol/L, HDL cholesterol 1.8 mmol/L, TC: HDL ratio 4.3

The question you need to ask yourself is this.
Are you likely to make changes to your diet and exercise, and stick to those changes as lifestyle change, rather then a short term change?

If you are overweight, then weight loss will help your liver deal better with fats. Exercise will also help your liver deal better with fats.
I have not seen any studies contradicting the standard 'eat less total sat fats', so at present I am losing weight, getting more exercise, not worrying about healthy fats, but am reducing saturated fats.
I'm also reducing carbs a bit (still trying to get into this lower carb eating thing)
EDIT: just to clarify, I won't know if my approach works for me until I get my 6 monthly blood test around july
Click to expand...
Thanks s’nic, I could definitely do to lose a couple of stones. I’m surprised your doctor was ok with you trying to lower your levels yourself. It’s what I want to do, as long as it’s safe to do so. I like your question and yes, I would put those measures into practice. I REALLY don’t want to take statins.
 
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