Update - being offered statins

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So had call from doctor this morning and have agreed to start Atorvastatin 20mg as my cholesterol levels are still high and then have to get my bloods checked again in 8 weeks. Hopefully no side affects and they can help get my levels down to a better number, slightly worried as i have read that they can raise blood surger levels so hoping this is not the case as have worked so hard to get my hba1c number down.
 
Chartom3 said:
So had call from doctor this morning and have agreed to start Atorvastatin 20mg as my cholesterol levels are still high and then have to get my bloods checked again in 8 weeks. Hopefully no side affects and they can help get my levels down to a better number, slightly worried as i have read that they can raise blood surger levels so hoping this is not the case as have worked so hard to get my hba1c number down.
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I always wonder why they seem to start on a higher dose rather than try say the 10mg and increase if necessary after the next blood test. I take the 10mg which has been enough to keep my cholesterol about 3.5 despite quite a high fat diet.
 
Leadinglights said:
I always wonder why they seem to start on a higher dose rather than try say the 10mg and increase if necessary after the next blood test. I take the 10mg which has been enough to keep my cholesterol about 3.5 despite quite a high fat diet.
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20mg isn't a particuarly high dose.
And I would guess the view is it's better to bring cholesterol down, then review it at the next test, rather than possibly lose several months of a dosage that doesn't work?

www.nhs.uk

How and when to take atorvastatin

NHS medicines information on dosage for atorvastatin, how to take it and what to do if you miss a dose or take too much.
www.nhs.uk www.nhs.uk
 
I have recently been "offered" statins because I have diabetes.
This has nothing to do with my cholesterol which is low.
The logic I was given was that roller coastering blood sugars put a strain on the heart.
I chose to minimise my roller coastering through diabetes management than take drugs.
 
helli said:
I have recently been "offered" statins because I have diabetes.
This has nothing to do with my cholesterol which is low.
The logic I was given was that roller coastering blood sugars put a strain on the heart.
I chose to minimise my roller coastering through diabetes management than take drugs.
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Well, it may be a bit of a generalisation, but it does seem a combination of diabetes and cholesterol can go hand in hand.

Diabetes

Type 2 diabetes and cholesterol both raise your risk of heart disease and stroke. Learn about the relationship between cholesterol and diabetes.
www.heartuk.org.uk www.heartuk.org.uk
 
travellor said:
Well, it may be a bit of a generalisation, but it does seem a combination of diabetes and cholesterol can go hand in hand.

Diabetes

Type 2 diabetes and cholesterol both raise your risk of heart disease and stroke. Learn about the relationship between cholesterol and diabetes.
www.heartuk.org.uk www.heartuk.org.uk
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But I don't have type 2 diabetes and do not have high cholesterol.
I was pointing out there may be other reasons for docs recommending statins.
 
Chartom3 said:
So had call from doctor this morning and have agreed to start Atorvastatin 20mg as my cholesterol levels are still high and then have to get my bloods checked again in 8 weeks. Hopefully no side affects and they can help get my levels down to a better number, slightly worried as i have read that they can raise blood surger levels so hoping this is not the case as have worked so hard to get my hba1c number down.
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I took Atorvastatin for 5 weeks and it has taken years to get back to anything like normal.
If you start to notice you are becoming forgetful or absent minded, it could be really important for you to assess if it is the tablets.
I have 'mother is the one on the right' written on a photo on the dresser - and I still recall quite vividly the moment I opened the back of the car just before Christmas '16 and found I'd just done the Christmas shopping for a second time.
The mental problems were not the only things. My body ached. I thought I'd have to go into a care home.
Some people have no trouble at all taking statins, but I do sometimes wonder how many dementia sufferers are simply affected by the tablets the care home staff carefully ensure they take every day.
 
Chartom3 said:
So had call from doctor this morning and have agreed to start Atorvastatin 20mg as my cholesterol levels are still high and then have to get my bloods checked again in 8 weeks. Hopefully no side affects and they can help get my levels down to a better number, slightly worried as i have read that they can raise blood surger levels so hoping this is not the case as have worked so hard to get my hba1c number down.
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Hope you get on well with them @Chartom3

I started 20mg a day in the autumn, and my lipid results are all now just the right sides of the lines suggested by the guidelines. And I've had no signs of side effects either. 🙂

Hopefully you will have as positive an experience. 🙂
 
helli said:
I was pointing out there may be other reasons for docs recommending statins.
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The financial benefits of getting a % of their patients onto them?
 
travellor said:
If they were really harmful, we'd soon know.
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Depends rather how long the effects take to show.
The explosion in Alzheimers for example and the brain having a high % of cholesterol... makes you wonder.. well for those of us with a more enquiring mind it does.
 
bulkbiker said:
Depends rather how long the effects take to show.
The explosion in Alzheimers for example and the brain having a high % of cholesterol... makes you wonder.. well for those of us with a more enquiring mind it does.
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:rofl:
You like high cholesterol.
Crack on.
As was said fill your boots.
Enjoy your single meat diet, BSE?
 
I'm supposed to have been on them for decades. Bugger that for a game of soldiers.
 
I've just started on atorvastatin, and am happy with the choice I've made. I read as much as I could about statins on reputable websites (ie heart charities, diabetes UK, plus some research papers I found via google scholar), and balanced the potential side effects against the potential benefits.
I wasn't under pressure from the GP to take them. I was offered them a year ago and said no, as I wanted to try lifestyle measures first, as the NICE guidance suggests I should. A year later, my lipids were worse, so I asked the GP at the medication review, and she put them on my prescription. If I'd not raised statins with her, I don't think I'd have been offered them, as we'd mostly talked about diabetes medication.
I'm also relaxed if the GPs are incentivised financially to prescribe them, they're financially incentivised by NICE to do other things which are beneficial to patients, ie diabetes reviews, health screening for women etc.
As for a link between dementia and statins, I've looked for this in google scholar, and found a metaanalysis which says "In total, a pooled analysis of 36 studies found that statins were associated with a decreased risk of dementia (OR 0.80 (CI 0.75-0.86). " from the European society of cardiologists.
There's lots of "woo" about how bad they are, yet they're massively widely prescribed. At worst, if you take them and have bad side effects, you can stop taking them. At best, they prolong your life with a better quality of life, as you have a reduced risk of heart attacks and strokes.
Ultimately, I support people making the right decisions for their own health, be that taking statins, or not taking statins, as long as it's an informed decision after speaking with health professionals.
 
Windy said:
I've just started on atorvastatin, and am happy with the choice I've made. I read as much as I could about statins on reputable websites (ie heart charities, diabetes UK, plus some research papers I found via google scholar), and balanced the potential side effects against the potential benefits.
I wasn't under pressure from the GP to take them. I was offered them a year ago and said no, as I wanted to try lifestyle measures first, as the NICE guidance suggests I should. A year later, my lipids were worse, so I asked the GP at the medication review, and she put them on my prescription. If I'd not raised statins with her, I don't think I'd have been offered them, as we'd mostly talked about diabetes medication.
I'm also relaxed if the GPs are incentivised financially to prescribe them, they're financially incentivised by NICE to do other things which are beneficial to patients, ie diabetes reviews, health screening for women etc.
As for a link between dementia and statins, I've looked for this in google scholar, and found a metaanalysis which says "In total, a pooled analysis of 36 studies found that statins were associated with a decreased risk of dementia (OR 0.80 (CI 0.75-0.86). " from the European society of cardiologists.
There's lots of "woo" about how bad they are, yet they're massively widely prescribed. At worst, if you take them and have bad side effects, you can stop taking them. At best, they prolong your life with a better quality of life, as you have a reduced risk of heart attacks and strokes.
Ultimately, I support people making the right decisions for their own health, be that taking statins, or not taking statins, as long as it's an informed decision after speaking with health professionals.
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Absolutely.

I've been on high dose rosuvastatin for just on 5 years now. Zero side effects, excellent lipid improvements, and together with other measures they have allowed me to be a lot more active than most 62 year olds despite having the legacy of a completely blocked femoral artery from PAD.
 
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