Statins?

EllanVannin I have checked with my husband and his was definitely 4.5 which the doctor wasn’t happy with for a 75 year old. We looked on line and the guidelines from the BDA say diabetics should aim for a total cholesterol level below 4. This does seem low but he is due another blood test at the end of this month so we will what it is after his efforts to bring it down.

Although his weight loss and low carb diet has brought his glucose levels into the normal range he has developed a problem of autophony in one ear. He saw the consultant today and he said this is associated with extreme weight loss. I think he is too thin and because of the cholesterol problem he isn’t eating foods high in fat which might increase his weight but also might raise his cholesterol level. It is a dilemma.

<i was prescribed Atorvastatin and during the year that followed I developed all kinds of immunosystem skin disfunctions: Excema, acne rosacea, dermatitis and sebhorric dermatitis. Also, an old operation suture which had been in my foot for thirteen years, unknown to anyone, infected and bled for nine months before working its way out of my skin.

I put this all down to statins and the dermatological hospital blamed these for overworking my liver and breaking down my immune system.

I have to say my MD is in total disagreement but she now prescribes me Armolipid Plus, which is an integrator containing barberis, fermented red rice and folic acid among other things,

Too early yet to say if it has had an effect on my cholesterol levels..

Am still being cured for thrush/psoriasis combined and it is over six months since I stopped statin intake.

Of course, I combine medication with an appropriate diet, which has brought down my trigliceride level, and the good side is that I've lost 8 kilos!

After several years on statins with no side effects I had an (unrelated) hospital admission 6 months ago. I was taken off statins then and gp agreed. I've been unwell since the summer and checkups have shown that BP was higher than it has ever been, but decreased a bit over a few months (from 140 to 130 when previously it had never been higher than 120.)
Coincidentally I recently did some family history research and discovered that strokes were recorded on the death certificates of both grandmothers. G'dad died of aortic aneurysm and father of myocardial infarction.
I feel I now have more information than I did before and plan to see gp with a view to going back on statins.

My risk factor is quite high - I have to tick the boxes on AF and migraines which I guess doesn't help. My cholesterol was over 7, in spite of no red meat, eggs, butter, alcohol, cheese etc. for decades. So I do take the statins at a small dose but am not really happy with it. But a 10 year risk of 34% is not brilliant, and it dropped to 25% as my cholesterol went down. So I guess I will just have to keep taking them.

I am also on an anticoagulant. I have only had two major episodes of AF and it feels like a bit of a sledge hammer, but consultant keen I should take them. I cannot take the beta-blockers as prevention of AF, as they rapidly trigger depression.

It is very hard to know what to do with so much conflicting information. But, as they say, life is a fatal disease.

I suppose what gets me down is that I would like to do is to cram in lots of great activities while I am relatively well - but I am a carer and I am just stuck at home watching life pass me by.

Statins are effective at lowering cholesterol and preventing cardiovascular disease; however, according to the study conducted by Ohio State University suggested that they may actually increase the risk of type 2 diabetes.
Source - www.myhealthyclick.com/cholesterol-drugs-may-double-the-risk-of-type-2-diabetes/