way back prior to 2016 when I was not even close to being diabetic, like everyone else in my gp practice I had my annual bloods taken. Never a problem with readings and functions, my cholesterol was 5, my doctor very pleased because the British Heart Foundation then recommended no more than 6, so essentially I was good at 5. Each year it never changed above or below 5, that’s where it stayed. Jump forward to being diagnosed 2016 with type 2, and in early 2020, my bloods revealed a cholesterol reading of, you’ve guessed it, 5, so my gp prescribed 20mg once daily Atorvastatin. To my great surprise as my cholesterol hadn’t changed in years. I asked why he thought I should be on Statins suddenly when my readings hadn’t changed in years. My first bloods were taken in my 40s and way before type 2. I am now 72, and since 71 on statins, to me this is a big mystery hence the reason I queried it. The reply from the gp was quite simple, apparently if you are diabetic they prefer you cholesterol to be below 5———simples! Due to covid, currently I have no idea what any of my annual readings are because life as we know it is a thing of the past.
I have muscle pain and weakness which I can’t decide if caused by statins or my osteoarthritis, and I would love to know. I was told that 20mg was a low enough dose to cause no side effects. In the past 3 to 4 months I also have balance issues, mystery, but not happy!
