• Please Remember: Members are only permitted to share their own experiences. Members are not qualified to give medical advice. Additionally, everyone manages their health differently. Please be respectful of other people's opinions about their own diabetes management.
  • We seem to be having technical difficulties with new user accounts. If you are trying to register please check your Spam or Junk folder for your confirmation email. If you still haven't received a confirmation email, please reach out to our support inbox: support.forum@diabetes.org.uk

Two years on - one step forward, two steps back?

P

Pidgeonpost

Active Member
Relationship to Diabetes
At risk of diabetes
It's almost 2 years since my GP practice pinged me as prediabetic with a HbA1c of 43. The next 6 months saw me making some pretty major changes to my diet as far as carbs were concerned. This resulted in me losing around a Stone, or 6.3Kg which saw the level drop to 41.

In June '23 I was up again to 43, and when tested last week I was 46 despite having lost another Stone. Heading in the wrong direction, but hopefully recoverable before I acquire full Type 2 status. The summer months are busy, and I must admit I've relaxed a bit, perhaps too much. It's too easy to grab a sandwich or something similar when in a rush. "Must try harder" was a frequent comment on my school reports.

While trying to remain focused on this, I'm also on low dose blood pressure meds and the GP practice has been pushing me to start taking statins (Atorvastatin) for the last few years. I have so far declined, but they say I should really consider it seriously, largely based on my age (nearly 76). I'm half expecting a 'sales job' call from the Surgery next week. I've read and heard so many stories about the potential side-effects of these drugs, including on this forum, that I'd really like to avoid them, especially if my efforts to remain prediabetic or better fail and I'm having to take Metformin or similar. Feeling a bit stressed at the moment.
 
Hi, I see in your signature you are watching your carbs intake. Relaxing a bit is understandable, and potentially relaxing a bit too much can happen, but you can pick this up and turn it around.
I also had must try harder on my reports 😳

Is your cholesterol high, or is your GP pushing statins purely due to a combination of age, blood sugar and blood pressure? Accepting statins is a purely personal choice. If cholesterol is high you may be able to reduce it without meds.
 
You're right, I'm watching carbs but have always been prone to putting weight on easily; a fondness for the wrong things I guess.
My Patient records going back to 2014 show HDL ratios 3.9 (2014), 3.6 (2016), 4.0 (2018), 3.3 (2023), all these in mmol/mmol. There is only one reference to LDL cholesterol level and that was 2.5 mmol/L in 2014.
I can't remember the thresholds at present so must look them up. Rather frustrated that they make no reference to HDL/LDL levels in my latest blood test done only last Tuesday - unless they refer to them in other terms these days. I am on 4mg of Perindopril to control my blood pressure.
 
I also have a fondness for the wrong things, I have to admit I'm not in the mood to eat the right thing tonight :(

British heart foundation webpage has cholesterol info here
As I understand it GP's are pushing statins more for anyone with diabetes. You can raise the query with them of why they want you to have them, that way at least you are making an informed choice.
(I was offered statins, and like you I declined them).
 
Your blood glucose level is at an acceptable level for someone of your age and your low carb approach is maintaining that, if your concern is putting on weight then upping your exercise if you can may help a bit.
Unless your cholesterol has suddenly increased then those levels don't look too bad, they like people to be under 4 total cholesterol but sometimes the ratios are just as important. Many people do take statins with no problem but it is up to you whether to take them or not but do your research before making a decision.
 
Hope you are able to find some modest tweaks and changes to your menu to help steer things back to the levels you’ve seen earlier.

The research evidence to support statins being offered to anyone with diabetes is well established, and the benefits are well known. The positive effect of reducing LDL levels is cumulative over years, and the body can make any cholesterol it needs to function properly. Most people can take statins without any problems, or can find an alternative that suits them. We do have a few members who react badly to them and have been advised to use other strategies.

Have a chat with your GP or nurse and chat through any concerns you may have.

After having been a little uncertain about them for me as an individual for a while I began taking a low dose statin a few years back. Absolutely no problems at all, and the only effect I have observed is that all components of my lipid panel are now in the recommended ranges 🙂
 
Thanks for your comments folks. As suspected, my latest phone consultation with the diabetes nurse included further suggestions that I consider taking statins. With regard to cholesterol levels, she said that they don't focus solely on cholesterol levels these days, but they take into account a range of other factors - age, weight, height, diet, exercise levels, BMI, Qrisk2 assessment - maybe others. None of these are causing her great concern individually, but adding them all up they seem to think I should consider doing what the Government seems to think iis a good idea. I'm not yet convinced.
Coincidentally I had a face to face appointment with a GP on an unrelated matter last week. At the end of the appointment she asked was there anything else I wanted to discuss, so we did the diabetes and statins thing again, including intermittent fasting. I'm going to have a look at both the 16/8 and 5/2 options as it may be something that gives positive results with regard to diabetes and coronary health.
I'll be back! 🙂
 
Well, four months down the line and, sure enough, a recent appointment to check blood pressure (OK at home, always a bit elevated in the surgery), and another sales job on statins.

The NHS says, as do some users on this forum, that side-effects aren't inevitable, but I've read so many reports online about them that I'd really like more evidence to show they will be of benefit to me rather than just being part of 'mass medication'. One of the side-effects can be elevated blood sugar; surely not what someone who is diabetic or pre-diabetic wants?

My indecision set me wondering which of the statins had the least reported side effects, what those side-effects were, and how quickly they disappeared if you stopped taking the drug. Searching online produced the name Rosuvastatin as showing fewer side-effects than some other statins. This sounded promising until a search on the name threw up this link in 'The Lancet'. The letter is a few years old, but are the same risks still there or has the drug been refined or redeveloped I wonder?

I know that ultimately only I can decide, but it ain't easy! :rofl:
 
Hi @Pidgeonpost I take Atorvastatin and I don't think I get any side effects or if I do I may be putting it down to getting older.
You could always try it and if YOU think it's doing you no good, just stop taking them, at the end of the day, you know your body better than anyone.

Alan
 
Thanks Alan. I don't 'work out' or run half-marathons etc., but I like to stay reasonably active physically and a few aches and pains go with the territory. I can live with that, but a life-long friend had severe muscle pains when he started taking statins. It seemed to take months to reverse things. I guess I won't know unless I start taking them....:confused:
 
Pidgeonpost said:
Thanks Alan. I don't 'work out' or run half-marathons etc., but I like to stay reasonably active physically and a few aches and pains go with the territory. I can live with that, but a life-long friend had severe muscle pains when he started taking statins. It seemed to take months to reverse things. I guess I won't know unless I start taking them....:confused:
Click to expand...
I guess it's a "suck it and see" scenario.

Can't be any more helpful than that I'm afraid
 
I was put on Atorvastatin when first diagnosed with diabetes mostly because I had very high cholesterol and with risk factors putting me 50% above the average risk of a cardiac event in the next 10 years. I was dubious but it seems to be working, last check up I was reassessed as about average risk. I may be lucky as the only side effect I seem to have is increased wind (almost a positive for the added ability to annoy my wife and daughter on demand, not so sometimes in random social situations).
 
Mark72 said:
I was put on Atorvastatin when first diagnosed with diabetes mostly because I had very high cholesterol and with risk factors putting me 50% above the average risk of a cardiac event in the next 10 years. I was dubious but it seems to be working, last check up I was reassessed as about average risk. I may be lucky as the only side effect I seem to have is increased wind (almost a positive for the added ability to annoy my wife and daughter on demand, not so sometimes in random social situations).
Click to expand...
"It's an ill wind that blows nobody any good" as they say, Mark. Thanks. 😉
 
Pidgeonpost said:
I know that ultimately only I can decide, but it ain't easy! :rofl:
Click to expand...

The evidence in support of statins for risk reduction is pretty unequalled. People with diabetes (even very well managed diabetes) are statistically more likely to experience adverse cardiac events. And hundreds of thousands of subjects have taken part in research projects over decades and results have repeatedly and reliably found clinically significant risk reduction.

If your caution is simply that you may experience some sort of side effects (which is a common concern), then I think the only way to know for sure is to give them a go for 6 months or so? Significant side effects are actually quite rare with them - and several users here simply swapped to a different one.

I was rather cautious for a number of years, but having been taking 20mg Atorvastatin for a few years now I've had absolutely zero negative effects, and only positive impact on my cholesterol levels.
 
Pidgeonpost said:
"It's an ill wind that blows nobody any good" as they say, Mark. Thanks. 😉
Click to expand...
I would tend to agree though with the suck it and see approach and what the benefit will mean for you. The info sheet with my tablets suggests neck pain and muscle fatigue are in the up to 1 in 100 of people taking the drug frequency.

If they work for you though I understand it to be very much you're on them for life as things will tend to reverse without them, in my case lowering the cholesterol through other means would be very difficult. My father in law had a bypass last autumn and was resisting going on them for that reason. He also suggested the NHS use them in great numbers which is going to impact the numbers of people who see side effects - if 1m use them 10,000 will get 1/100 side effects.
 
Thanks for your thoughts gents, they are appreciated. I'll keep you posted.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top