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Statins

A

annie25

New Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
Hi after my DBN consultation today they told me my cholesterol was high and that l need to go on statins. 1 tablet a day. I have read that they cause side effects. Help!!!
 
Not everyone gets problems - I did, but if I'd been forewarned the effects might not have been half so bad as they were.
 
The first ones - Rosuvastatin, I had made me really nauseous the GP changed to Atorvastatin and no side effects.
Remember to take at night.
Good luck with them
 
Most drugs have possible side effects but that doesn't mean you will experience any only that you might.
And there are multiple different statins so if you do experience any issues, you can try a different statin.

High cholesterol definitely has unwanted side effects.
 
annie25 said:
Hi after my DBN consultation today they told me my cholesterol was high and that l need to go on statins. 1 tablet a day. I have read that they cause side effects. Help!!!
Click to expand...
Morning Annie as others have said some folk get side effects others do not ( personally I have not none at all since I was put on them 3 months ago). They can change dose rate or change the brand if you do get side effects.The target reduction with them is 40% so you need to balance the benefits of taking them with any negatives.
Good luck
 
If you are one of the unlucky people who are intolerant of all statins (like me), there are alternatives. After trying 3 different statins over 18 months, I was put on Ezitimibe. I had no side effects, and my recent cholesterol test put all my measures in the normal range. Chuffed!
 
I’m on Atorvastatin with no side effects. Depending on which one you are on, grapefruit is something to be avoided. Atorvastatin and simvastatin being two of them.
 
Hi @annie25

You may or may not get any side effects, it's a bit "pot luck" unfortunately.
I've been on both Simvastatin and Atorvastatin with no side effects at all.

I'm a bit naughty as I don't take them every night, I guess every other night, only because I forget to take them, but my cholesterol is still in normal range and has been for many years now.
 
I take a low dose of atorvastatin 10mg and have had no side effects but other half has tried 2 different ones and was getting side effects but as his cholesterol is normal he just doesn't take them. He was offered an alternative but when he read about them the possible side effects sounded even worse.
The message is many don't have any problems but you will never know unless you take them.
Other than depending on how you manage your diabetes then people can find that reducing carbohydrate intake helps to reduce cholesterol.
Did they tell you what it actually was?
 
I’m another who has been on Atorvastatin for years without any side effects. I’m on an odd dose of 30mg per day, but as my cholesterol is in range on this then it makes sense to leave it as it is. Definitely worth trying as high cholesterol increases risks.
 
annie25 said:
Hi after my DBN consultation today they told me my cholesterol was high and that l need to go on statins. 1 tablet a day. I have read that they cause side effects. Help!!!
Click to expand...
I was put on Atorvastatinby my GP which sent my BG very high and nothing I did would bring it down, once I came off those it returned to normal.
I didn’t take any for months because of that, however saw a consultant recently and he has prescribed Simvastatin 10mg to see how I go with that. Three weeks on and I am having no side effects. So I’m sticking with it.
It really does vary with each individual and it’s worth noting that the vast majority of people have no side effects at all.
 
I take a low dose statin (10 mg Atorvastatin) and haven't had any side effects at all.

I have yet to find out if they have made any difference to my cholesterol.
 
I was taking 20mg Atorvastatin
After 3 months, my cholesterol was way lower than the threshold so I campaigned (yes, it was not straightforward) to reduce my dose to the recommended starting dose. This was finally agreed (it took more than a month) on the proviso my cholesterol is retested after 3 months. I notice it is not included on my repeat - I guess that is to ensure I take the blood test.
I have no idea why I was started on twice the recommended dose when I was only just over the threshold. But I had no side effects.
 
I was put on Atorvastatin a little while after I was diagnosed with t2 as I'd had a missed diagnosis for years and the cholesterol was sky high. Like Helli above it was for an initial 3 months with checks at the end to ensure none of the more harmful side effects were happening before going on repeat prescription. Happy to say that it seems fine so far after about 8 months, I do seem to get a good bit of flatulence as the NHS website puts it which I think is that and not the Metformin which is a small price to pay. After 3 months the nurse at the doctors advised my risk assessment for heart issues was back from 50% over normal for my age to about on expectations so for me definitely worth while.
 
As above, all drugs have some possible side effects, but that does not mean you will get them.
Most people will have none.
Unfortunately my body is not tolerant of statins, despite trying three different ones, I did suffer quite severe side effects, eg: very bad muscle aches/pains, which took about six months to go, even after stopping taking them.
But the percentage of people who get side effects is small, and the percentage of those who then get severe side effects is even smaller, so I was just unlucky.
Luckily my cholesterol has reduced with weight loss and a change of diet, so I'm (almost) back in the normal range now.
Each individual has to weigh up the pros and cons of any drug they are being asked to take, as everyone's situation will be different.
If you still have concerns, maybe discuss them with your DN, or GP or Pharmacist?
Good luck with whatever you decide to do.
 
In my own case I started a statin, metformin and blood pressure medications all the same time, very shortly after being told was diabetic, and right before I started trying to lose weight fast and so completely changed up my diet. I experienced a pile of side-effects but in the end almost all of them turned out to be due to diabetes, rapid changes in my blood glucose levels and rapid weight loss. All but one went away when my blood glucose levels dropped and I stopped trying to lose weight. It was only then that I was able to tell that I really did have a side effect caused by one of my medications - mild cramps in my legs at night. It turned out to be the statin - I was switched from Atorvastatin to Rosuvastatin and the cramps disappeared. The side effect was real, but at the same time it was very mild and it took me almost a year to get a good idea of the causes of each of the 'side effects' I was experiencing.

It is true that statins can have side effects for a minority but it is also true that people are not at all good at identifying the cause when they feel under the weather. It's been shown in studies that the rates of people reporting side effects from statins are vastly higher than the actual, true rate of people who are negatively affected by they. If you give a person a pill that does nothing, a placebo, but tell them it's a statin they will often come to believe pains in their muscles or whatever are caused by the statin, even though they're not actually taking a statin at all, or any medication. People read up on the side effects or hear stories about them, feel ill or under the weather for another reason, and then blame the pill they just stared taking while in reality the cause is something else.

It is true that statins can cause side effect but do perhaps take things you hear or read online with a grain of salt. If I had come to believe that everything I was feeling in the early days were due to the statin I might well be posting things online or telling my friends about all the strange things that happened to me 'because of the statin', things that had nothing to do with the statin at all. Something to keep in mind perhaps when looking for information about statins online.

This video describes the 'nocebo' effect, and how it works:
 
I have had long standing problems with statins but have found one that I can live with. My wife takes double the dose I was taking that caused me a lot of grief and has no problems with side effects at all. Most people don't suffer either at all or unduly and that is likely to be what you find. Don't go looking for side effects, you will know if they are causing you problems and you probably won't have any. If you do have problems go to your GP and try some alternatives until you find one that works for you.
 
No side effects for me… the only change of note was the reduction in my cholesterol levels, which have dropped into their recommended levels for a person with T1 diabetes.

As many have said, the vast majority of people, even if they get side effects from one type, can take one of the others without problems.
 
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