I am in my late 30’s and have good levels of both good and bad cholesterol. I was wondering if anyone has good levels and is still taking cholesterol meds? My PCP wants me to start when I turn 40 regardless of my numbers. but I’d rather not unless absolutely necessary.
Yes! We have to keep those numbers low too! Been on that med for 28 years. Also we tend to eat a lot of cheese.
No, in my opinion, if your levels are good and there is no clear evidence of heart disease. Statins are way overprescribed. They are a big money maker for the drug companies, who if they could, would put them in the water. Diabetes affects the liver and these drugs are rough on the liver as well. The link between dietary cholesterol and heart disease was first discovered during the Framingham Heart Study way back in the 50’s and is still being debated today. They found a waxy buildup in the arteries of people who had a heart attack. So, for years after, it was all about the fat. Now we find out that sugar is worse. It’s sugar that causes obesity and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. And the internal fat that contributes to heart disease. They just recently changed recommendations on egg consumption. Total cholesterol numbers are also becoming irrelevant as now it’s not only HDL’s and LDL’s, but also whether they are small particle or large particle. Try to get the new test. If you’re not taking other drugs that affect the liver, then consider the statins, but for me, it’s a last resort. Walt Crocker: Author “Diabetes! A Lifetime of Being Too Sweet.”
Yes, there is strong evidence that it helps to keep our LDL on the very low side, as close to 70 as possible. We now know that eating a low-cholesterol diet doesn’t usually help, and statins have been shown to be a very safe and effective way to lower LDL. I didn’t have a good experience with atorvostatin, felt more neuropathy than normal, but I have had good luck with pravastatin…no side effects for me and I’ve been taking it for years.
So @cierhianna , good question. I am sure you are on monopril for your kidneys? Lipitor is now generic and very cheap. My endo wants my LDL BELOW 70 (normal is 100) – that’s what they are saying is best for T1 today.
Doctors put you on assorted prophylactic medications to avoid the potential risks of danger even if you NEVER need it. If you found yourself with a blocked artery, you doctor would be at fault because the new guidelines say that we are at a very high risk for heart disease and kidney disease.
They will force feed you meds … I take Crestor … expensive.
Best
I still think they are overprescribed. I already take way too many prescriptions as it is.
No, I don’t take any meds besides insulin and my good and ldl and hdl are both in the mid 60s. My blood pressure is normally around 119 over 69. I can understand starting meds if I am at risk. But I’d rather not take something that may do more harm than good when I don’t really need it. Of course that may change. My numbers may go up and I will have to take them.
You sound like you are in super shape! I would tell the doctor she is being overly aggressive. My cholesterol and BG started going high in my late 40’s –
Not taking monopril - linisopril is odd for a T1 as it has a certain effect on the kidneys - not for BP.
How long have you been T1?
I’m in my 44th year.
I was originally diagnosed Nov 2013 as a type 2 by my PCP, but rediagnosed Aug of last year by an Endo. Looking back, I realize now that mmy PCP knew very little about diabetes as my A1C was 13 at time of diagnosis, but all my doc did was put me on glipizide. After months of still feeling aweful, I changed pcp because he didn’t want to put me on insulin and insisted I was a type 2.
WOW! I hear about it all the time with adult T1 – they are often misdiagnosed but with and A1c of 13 … There are still some trail experiments for newly diagnosed T1 — maybe some in your city? Are you making any insulin - c-peptide test?
I can only guess that I was making some insulin during my original diagnosis since the Glipizide did manage to lower my glucose, but I never got below the mid 200s. Honeymoon stage? So my doc doubled my dose to try to get numbers down. I really hope I wasn’t hasening the demise of my beta cells. I know there’s no evidence pushing the pancrious harder when it is in decline does that. Not that I can do anything if that was the case. But by August when my endo had me do a C-peptide test I had trace amounts.
I was diagnosed when I was 23 and the general doctor told me I was type 2 and sent me home on a pill as well. My cousin’s husband is a doctor and he thought something wasn’t right so he got me into his friend’s endo office. That’s when I found out I was type 1. It got way out of control before I was diagnosed correctly. Blurred vision, tingling legs, fruity breath, and I passed out for hours right before I got in to see my endo. I still for the life of me can’t figure out why nobody thought to take me to the emergency room! Anyway, with that in common, my doctor started me on baby aspirin as a preventative when I turned 30. I guess I have cholesterol meds to look forward to in a couple of years. I think it’s common for doctors to take preventative measures. I also am not asked if I want a pneumonia vaccination or the flu shot. They basically just do it routinely. However, I understand your concern with meds you don’t actually need as of yet. I feel the same way sometimes but then I think about how I really want to avoid complications at all costs.
Cierhianna, I was given several statin drugs. All of them made my leg muscles ache badly. While this was going on a friend and co-worker who was taking a Lipitor generic drug had a severe reaction to that drug and ended up permanently disabled.
Scared me so I stopped taking any of it. I take so many Rx, and my cholesterol is fine. Just remember, you have the choice to take or not take any drug. Find a doctor you really trust and ask questions. I go into a doctors appointment with a list of things I want to know. Through the years I have been fortunately to have had many wonderful, compassionate doctors who have my best interest at heart and will be very honest with me.
Being diabetic is a full time job. You don’t want complications. It just gets worse for some of us no matter how hard you try.
No, I certainly don’t considering I am already totally blind, which is unrelated to my diabetes, as I was born with glaucoma. Started losing my sight in my teens and lost it all in my early 20s . It’s kind of funny, I never got into drugs, or smoking, or did anything that would compromise my health because I didn’t want other complications, but I ended up a diabetic. my
To those who recommended statins to keep the LDL low, I don’t think you read this question very well; they are low. My endocrinologist keeps pushing them too, though my numbers ARE below 70 as I am a plant-based whole-foods vegan, (sorry, diet DOES help!!) However, she is also Type 1 and over 40, and told me she doesn’t take them “yet” either. Also, I have a sister who has a PhD in biochemistry and does research for a pharmacology company, and recommended I NOT take them unless my numbers are actually bad, and I can’t improve them with diet.
Statin use is GREAT for drug companies. Taking additional medications that I don’t really, really need makes me want to give up.
PS I’ve been Type 1 for 28 years.
I’m now 51. I’ve been on a statin for about 10 years. I also take a lisinopril to maintain kidney health. I recently asked my doc if I could go off the statin, and he reminded me that a diabetic has the same chance of a heart attack as someone who has already had one.
<strongHi folks, thought I’d give you an update to my question about cholesterol meds. I spoke to my Endo about it the next time I went in for my A1C and she agreed there was no need for me to go on meds yet. I found a new PCP because the previous one was giving me such greif over going against his recommendation. Got my results back for my annual physical and bloodwork. My total cholesterol this time around was even better than last years. My good cholesterol did drop to 61but my bad cholesterol also dropped to 51. No mention of cholesterol meds from this new PCP. I’m very happy I stuck to my guns. I will enjoy it while it lasts.
Cholesterol is NOT a problem, the whole idea is based on fraud. When Dr. Ansel Keyes (a nutritionist BTW) “established” the “theory” (which it still is) that cholesterol is a problem leading to heart disease he went to great pains to “prove” it. He went all over the world looking for places that had people that fit his theory, while going past MOST areas that disproved it. For instance 1 of his selected areas was in Italy, but he totally ignored Franc, right next door to it, where people eat a very high saturated fat diet and have the lowest incidence of heart disease…
Furthermore our brains are 60% fat, much of which is cholesterol, and it’s also the feedstock for many of our hormones, which are made from cholesterol as the building blocks for Progesterone, DHEA, Testosterone, Estrogen. So you want to reduce cholesterol so you will have too little of these and be healthy?
Also note that the entire model this is based on is wrong from the start. Cholesterol is our blood vessels ONLY defense against inflammation in the artery walls. It sticks on inflamed areas to try to keep them from erupting under stress, which floods the artery with scar tissue and THAT causes a heart attack. In other words you need to avoid and control inflammation, NOT cholesterol.
Statins are a gold mine for drug companies! Once started people continue using them for the rest of their lives and never question it. There are some 200 bad side effects from statins, so WHY do we take them?
Cholesterol is NOT a problem, the whole idea is based on fraud. When Dr. Ansel Keyes (a nutritionist BTW) “established” the “theory” (which it still is) that cholesterol is a problem leading to heart disease he went to great pains to “prove” it. He went all over the world looking for places that had people that fit his theory, while going past MOST areas that disproved it. For instance 1 of his selected areas was in Italy, but he totally ignored Franc, right next door to it, where people eat a very high saturated fat diet and have the lowest incidence of heart disease…
Furthermore our brains are 60% fat, much of which is cholesterol, and it’s also the feedstock for many of our hormones, which are made from cholesterol as the building blocks for Progesterone, DHEA, Testosterone, Estrogen. So you want to reduce cholesterol so you will have too little of these and be healthy?
Also note that the entire model this is based on is wrong from the start. Cholesterol is our blood vessels ONLY defense against inflammation in the artery walls. It sticks on inflamed areas to try to keep them from erupting under stress, which floods the artery with scar tissue and THAT causes a heart attack. In other words you need to avoid and control inflammation, NOT cholesterol.
Statins are a gold mine for drug companies! Once started people continue using them for the rest of their lives and never question it. There are some 200 bad side effects from statins, so WHY do we take them?