That is interesting. My A1c is fine and pretty steady at 5.5 but my fasting glucose rose from the 80s to the 90s after I started the low dose statin. My totAl cholesterol dropped from 189ish to around 150. It isn’t doing much at all to budge my good cholesterol. I do not have a benchmark A1c from before statin. I often wonder if I really need to take it but the response from my provider is that it can’t hurt me and might help. I have no family history of heart issues.
Seeing the connection between blood sugar and statins is a negative for me. My Ha1C is fine, but fasting has always been around 105 or so - since my college days when they started testing it. I don’t care to get diabetes to try to prevent something statins aren’t necessarily shown to prevent.
I have an unfortunate strong family history of high cholesterol and early deaths due to heart disease and stroke. My cholesterol has been elevated since forever-I think I first tested it at 31 (I think I weighed about 105 pounds and had no health issues) and it was already well over the recommended level. I started taking statins in my 30’s (mostly on, occasionally off) even though my ratios are excellent; my HDL is higher than my LDL. Luckily, I have had no side effects and the drug does what it is supposed to do.
Recently, I talked to my very smart doctor about reducing the dosage because I worried about a connection between statins and increased blood sugar. My a 1C is normal and if anything, it’s decreased over time. @Creekland, my fasting blood sugar is also just over the 99 that’s normal and has always been, so I asked about it. She says as to the link between statins and blood sugar/diabetes, the increased risk is very small, both in the level of increase and in the number of people affected. As to the higher than normal fasting blood sugar, she does not think the fasting blood sugar is important on its own and that it’s more likely that that is a fight-or-flight reflex, much as white coat syndrome causes blood pressure to rise in the doctor’s office. I do my testing every six months so if things change, we will deal with it. She also mentioned that the statin is protective of the kidneys and generally reduces inflammation. According to her, the medical community ** as a whole ** regards statins positively; she joked that cardiologists would put it in the water.
It is interesting when family history plays a part. No matter what you do, your cholesterol level is sky high. I’m thin, eat well, exercise regularly…and still have always ended up with a total cholesterol at about 280, untreated. On the statin, the total goes to 170…and it’s only that high because my HDL is in the 90s. My point is that these drugs should not be demonized. For the right person they are life savers. You aren’t automatically endangering your health by taking them. You aren’t a lesser or weaker person by taking them–I often read posts with a clear implication that if you eat the right things and act the right way, you can avoid these medications. If they will do you good, and they don’t immediately cause side effects, by all means give them a try.
I’m another with a strong family history of high cholesterol BUT, in my case, no family history of heart disease. The cardiologist I saw looked at my cholesterol level and then I had a EKG, echocardiogram, stress test and calcium score test. He decided no statin for me. I passed the tests with flying colors - my calcium score was 0. I’m thin, active, eat fairly healthy, blood pressure normal, family history great. So … I guess I get to keep my high cholesterol. (I haven’t read this whole thread so don’t know if this is an anomaly or not but the cardiologist has a good reputation. I trust him so … FWIW … my cholesterol ranges in the high 200s upward and has since I weighed 90 pounds. My sisters are the same way.)
'Twould be nice to discuss this with a knowledgeable cardiologist to see whether they felt the things/symptoms I have are vascular related or from radiation - doing whatever tests could discern the difference - but… that’s not my call. Supposedly since my BP is normal, resting pulse is low, no fatigue, and all other “basic” blood numbers coming in fine - all is well. I just “need” statins to fix the high cholesterol.
I’ll admit I’m naturally in the camp of “our bodies are designed to keep themselves just fine given good food, sleep, and exercise,” but I’m not on the far end of that body of thought. Humans have flaws. If this is a genetic one I’ve inherited, I’d be willing to help it out, but if the “help” doesn’t do any good and hurts other areas - thus is the question I’ll need to answer in Sept.
I appreciate hearing various experiences - it gives me food for thought.
One can always not follow physician instructions or find one that agrees with your own particular mindset. I will question the addition of any drug going into my body and postpone the recommendation until I have had time to digest if possible but if ultimately the answer is it won’t hurt and might help then I will give it a whirl. I am also fully vaccinated so I can’t use an anti-preventive argument lol.
@momofthreeboys I’m VERY pro vax. That’s an entirely different issue.
This, to me - meaning literally in my situation - seems to be a choice of take a chance toward prevention vs take a chance toward hurting my endeavor to stave off diabetes that also runs in my family - both sides, multiple relatives (but they eat and exercise differently than I’ve chosen to do since college days anyway). I have staved off diabetes (so far anyway). Whether it’s been due to my choices or not is anyone’s guess, but one can’t help noticing the correlation.
Yes, “the medical community as a whole regards statins positively.” I’m genuinely not sure why. I’ve read a lot of direct research reports and see the prime benefit is to men who’ve already had a heart attack. Also that the statistical benefit to women is low. My doc said, “Yeah, but…” But that doesn’t convince me. Yet. I ready have leg/knee pains and don’tneed more. (Hey, maybe I should start CoQ10 now.)
I said I brought down my chol with diet and supps (more vegan, not entirely, fish oil, vit D, Cholestoff, a plant stanols/sterols product.) (The med community seems to say, why pay for a supp when insurance will cover a statin.)
I’ve got good genes. Lots of stress, but so did my mother and gm, we seem to have a high tolerance, but that’s no assurance.
Now my doc is retiring. Sigh. I feel like I’ll start this conversation all over again.
It’s very individual and if I didn’t have the family history that I do, I’d be a lot less enthusiastic and a lot more skeptical about statins. It bothers me very much that the benefit to women has not been clearly established. I’m not a cheerleader for any drug, believe me. I’d ask lots of questions and I’d be wary too. It’s your health and your body. My doctor says she is my paid consultant and she defers to my judgment.
On the other hand, I worry about people staying away from something that might extend their lives out of misplaced fear or the feeling that they should be able to bring their cholesterol levels down by behaving more “virtuously.” I know no one puts it that way but there’s definitely that sense that if you tried harder and ate better and lived better, you’d get rid of the bad numbers. Or maybe I’m just nuts. I felt like a complete failure because nothing I did lowered that darned LDL while around me people bragged about their red yeast and vegan diets and fish oil and their plummeting numbers. Lucky for me, I got over it and I am grateful that there is something-which has produced no side effects- that can prevent the premature deaths that three grandparents and two aunts faced.
Red yeast rice contains (naturally occurring) lovastatin, so those who “want to avoid statin drugs” but take red yeast rice supplements are fooling themselves.
OK, I didn’t mean that literally anyway.
@3girls3cats For me, it wasn’t being virtuous (I get your meaning.) It was a test. Partly to learn what I could do to change what I could control and partly to see how my body/my genetics responded (which we can’t always control.) The overall number dropped 12%, some numbers more, while the HDL stayed good. Call it lucky.
What bothers me isn’t just people who blithely say they’ll make changes and don’t. It’s also the ones who do go on meds and then use that as an excuse to go hog wild. I know too many diabetics who’d say, I’m on xxx, I can eat what I want. (My own mother was one and her complications were lousy.)
I’m no paragon. It was that self knowledge that drove me to try. I read a lot. Even the alt medicine folks say there’s a point where being on statins beats living with high risk. While my HDL is good, the rest aren’t “normal” yet. I discovered I just plain old like a lot of vegan recipes. I’ve also got more weight to lose. But I wanted to try.
Btw, lately, there’s some concern the quality of Red Rice Yeast isn’t controlled. There are also recs on what quality of fish oil one needs. And you need to up the fiber.
This is my concern regarding statins - they lower cholesterol and yet our brains need cholesterol to function. So, a statin can lower your cholesterol so low such that your brain function is impaired. It has been suggested that this may be one reason for dementia in the elderly. I"ve read articles on this but not the actual research. My dad’s dr poo-poohed this when I asked him about it but then he’s a strong advocate for meds in general, so I don’t see him as open to new information in this arena. My dad is dealing with memory loss and I"ve wondered if the statins are part of the problem.
Anyone have insight into this?
@lookingforward it wasn’t aimed at you, really. I hear it all the time and I saw it much earlier on in this thread. When you hear it in person, there’s this tinge of smugness that so often accompanies it. Drives me crazy. I agree with you though about the people who think the meds are magic bullets and don’t even try to make changes in their lives. I have cousins who share my genetic legacy and they are overweight and diabetic. They tell me that they have to have their diet soda because of their diabetes and then I see them eating dessert. Does not compute. Also makes me crazy. Lots of things make me crazy I guess.
@bookreader, I am also concerned about the link between dementia and lowered cholesterol. My mother is experiencing memory loss and shows signs of dementia. She also has severe hearing loss, a clear risk for dementia.
My father, on the other hand, is just fine. Both have taken statins for years. My doctor says the research is scant and the link is far from established. There are too many risks for dementia out there and it makes it hard to tease out which one is the greater risk. Cardiovascular disease itself puts you at risk-is this why those taking statins show greater incidence? I am planning to continue on the lowest effective dose and keep reading. Again, that’s an individual choice and for me it’s an easier one because the benefits for statin use in my case are pretty clear.
I too have had high cholesterol since I was a skinny minny 20 year old. I learned the hard way that I am one who cannot take statins. (at least the ones I was on which were Lipitor and Pravastatin) Perhaps there are others that would work for me, but because of my muscle and nerve damage I am so far choosing to not repeat.
While I was on the statins my blood glucose was always around 99 and has gone down since I stopped taking the drug. (which by the way must be via weaning)
The nerve endings in our bodies are protected by a myelin sheath. This sheath is partially made up of cholesterol. “Myelin Sheath. … Myelin is a layered material composed of phospholipid, cholesterol and protein that winds around nerve cell axons. Myelin insulates nerve impulses from neighboring nerve fibers, and it increases the speed of impulses through nerve axons.” Our bodies do need some cholesterol to properly function.
However…since statins help reduce inflammation and the level of inflammation in our bodies is thought to be an indicator of healthy/non healthy body and future quality of life, I have toyed with maybe taking 2 low doses a week to try and keep down my inflammation resulting from arthritis.
Last year my DH talked me into going on a 2 week no carb, corn products, preservatives or fruit diet. Two weeks later, I had my cholesterol tested and my total cholesterol dropped from the mid 200’s to the low 190’s. Of course now that I am off the starvation diet, my numbers have increased.
For many, statins are a good fit. For me, not so much.
@lookingforward I’m with you that I like to “test” things to see what I can control and what I can’t. I’ve been a science minded person from pretty much birth, so actual studies (not translated through media) and actual tests on “me” mean more than “so and so says this.” I know bodies vary. I know mine - and my whole maternal line - is weird in how it reacts to things - anything from pregnancy to carpal tunnel and the fact that even Fe supplements sent my body into a quick tailspin.
I want a combo of studies and personal effects overall, but for the personal, seeing what I can affect is my first step. Like you I know plenty who change nothing or who go on meds and consider that a free pass.
@bookreader Now I’m wondering if the higher cholesterol level has anything to do with how the brain works. I tend to score in the top of the top (top 1/10th of a percentage) in various problem solving games - and this after radiation and knowing my thought process has declined more than I’d like. It’d be interesting to see a correlation study between cholesterol levels and scores on similar brain function tests. OTOH, my C levels have been going up while I can sense that mental decline, including things like mixing up words in sentences daily (or more often), so who knows? It’d be an interesting correlation to see.
My MIL has end stage Alzheimers (Hospice level) and I don’t feel what I’m experiencing is anything similar to that. I have no idea what her C levels are though. She never went to a doctor when in her right mind and no one has asked since. Even if we got that number there’d be no previous comparison.
H has higher cholesterol than I do - and lower levels than I do on games - but still quite high compared to the general game playing population worldwide (all ages). I’d want to see that larger population to see if there were a comparison - not just a couple of anecdotes.
I finally got retested and I’ll share in case anyone else out there is interested in how diet and exercise can impact lipids.
Summarizing the background: My primary doctor saw my results of a January blood test and encouraged me to take a statin. I was reluctant and he suggested red yeast rice and retesting in April. I went home and started reading up on red yeast rice and had concerns. So I thought about it and decided to revamp my diet and get more consistent about intense exercise instead.
I did not go back in April because I had a GI crisis that lasted a few weeks which impacted my diet and exercise. Then I started again.
I (mostly) cut out meat except for skinless chicken, cheese, butter, eggs, peanut butter with palm oil, and tried to minimize sweets. I ate oatmeal and apples every day along with more fish, beans, nuts, avocados, and olive oil. I also took fish oil. I exercised intensely when I wasn’t sick or injured and walked the dogs briskly at least 40 minutes a day. My weight stayed the same.
This is the change in my lipids:
Total cholesterol dropped 33 points.
LDL dropped 22 points.
(Both of these went from the high to borderline high range.)
HDL went up 7 points. (always “optimal”)
Triglycerides went down 58 points! (Have always been normal)
LDL/HDL ratio went down 0.8. ( Has always been normal, too.)
I think this can be counted as a success, but when the medical assistant called with results, of course she said, “Talk to the doctor about cholesterol management.” Grrr.
My doctor is very focused on LDL so I think he’ll still recommend a statin. 
Regardless, I’m proud of myself. I could still lose ten pounds. And I could cut out the whole milk in my tea to try to further reduce saturated fat, but that would make me sad. I need some pleasure in life!
Same here, MAC. But fish oil instead of more fish, more fiber/high fiber foods, it needs to be quality olive oil (if I can find my list, will share. But they’re not all great, even WF brands.) And I did take Cholestoff, a supp. And Vit D (which I need anyway.) Not intense activity but sustained aerobic. Same sort of drop you note.
Now, my dietitian did warn me with all these changes, we wouldn’t know which did the trick and which were less effective.
Good job.
Ps. Word is, whole milk is ok. ‘Good fats.’
Note that increased exercise may change your body composition favorably (i.e. more muscle, less fat) even though your weight may not change.
Great results, MACMiracle. For a long time my cholesterol was in the borderline range thanks to rigorous diet and exercise - unfortunately there came a point where that wasn’t doing the trick any longer. Thanks to other risk factors, I’m now taking a statin but for me it beats the alternative!