T1 Diabetes and Statins
Hi everyone,
My partner is a T1 diabetic for the last 29 years. He is 39 years old. He is generally in good health. Over the past year or so he has sometimes gotten cholesterol tests back which are according to his drs. normal if you don't have T1 diabetes, but they all suggest he should go on statins.
I (and he) are unsure how to proceed. My first instinct is that the drs. don't have any skin in the game and we should do more research and gather some data to see if this is a good idea. After all he will be taking this medication for a long time if he starts.
Do any of you have an opinion about long term use of statins? Did you ever have to make a similar decision? Thank you for reading!
Below are numbers from one of his tests:
Cholesterol, Total 187 <200 mg/dL Desirable Triglycerides, serum 84 <150 mg/dL Desirable Cholesterol, HDL 51 >39 mg/dL Acceptable
LDL Cholesterol 119 <130 mg/dL Near or above optimal Chol HDL Ratio 3.7 <6.0 Non HDL Cholesterol 136 <160 mg/dL Near or above optimal
Tags: cholesterol, statins
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Jen on
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I am in the same boat. My LDL cholesterol was 2.7 (104 in U.S. measurements), my HDL was 1.5 (59 in U.S. measurements), and my total was 4.6 (178 in U.S. measurements). I don't remember what my triglycerides or the ratio was but both were well within the normal range.
I just got a new endo and he said these numbers would be fine for a non-diabetic but people with diabetes should have their LDL below 2.0 (70 in U.S. measurements). In fact, every doctor I have seen for the past five or so years, endo or not, has mentioned cholesterol medication even though my cholesterol is "normal" for someone without diabetes. I reluctantly accepted a prescription for the smallest dose of Crestor, but I haven't filled it (it was prescribed almost a month ago).
I read up on what foods can help lower cholesterol and will try those as well as continue to lose weight, and I will tell him this at the next appointment. I just am NOT comfortable taking medication for something that is apparently normal when I am only 30 (if I was 50 I might reconsider).
So I am hoping my cholesterol is lower at the next appointment just form dietary changes and exercise. My endo said he didn't think it would be possible for me to get my cholesterol that low without medication.
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Permalink Reply by WWGirl on -
Hi Jen,
Interesting. Thanks for replying, its very helpful to know what people are thinking about this. My partner also happens to be not at all overweight (maybe a little underweight for his height) and we eat a supposedly very healthy diet - barely any sugars and low on carbohydrates, so we don't fell we can even do anything more in this direction.
Sometimes I suspect that the endos and drs have all been fed this line about having to go on statins and they just repeat it. We need a good way to convince ourselves whether this is really the right thing to do or not, with all the evidence in hand.
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My diet is already quite good, but I looked up foods that specifically help lower cholesterol and am trying to eat more of them. I don't know if it will work, but we'll see in a couple of months.
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Permalink Reply by WWGirl on
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Right, I understand your point. What foods did you learn lower cholesterol?
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Permalink Reply by WWGirl on
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Woops - sorry about this. The test results were not formatted well.
[Cholesterol, Total 187 <200 mg/dL Desirable], [Triglycerides, serum 84 <150 mg/dL Desirable] [Cholesterol, HDL 51 >39 mg/dL Acceptable]
[LDL Cholesterol 119 <130 mg/dL Near or above optimal] [Chol HDL Ratio 3.7 <6.0] [Non HDL Cholesterol 136 <160 mg/dL Near or above optimal]
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Permalink Reply by still_young_at_heart on -
I've been on statins for the past 5 years with no side effects. My endo suggested increasing my dose when my LDL came in at 95 at my last appointment because he said he likes to be aggressive on cholesterol because he's seen the devastating results of strokes and cardiac events on people with diabetes.
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Permalink Reply by WWGirl on
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Thanks for your reply still_young! Can I ask how old you are? So it sounds like your number of 95 LDL is already rather lower than what my partner has - 119 LDL.
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Permalink Reply by still_young_at_heart on
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I'm 62. From what I've heard, the current standards would consider an LDL of 119 to be on the high side even for someone without diabetes.
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Permalink Reply by WWGirl on
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Indeed, it is a bit on the high side. I am unsure what to think about this: I have read there are two kinds of LDL and one of them is bad and the other good. I have no idea which kind this one is. Secondly, I wonder if this is somewhat high because he eats a lot of eggs (2-3 whites and 1-1.5 yolks every day). I am going to try to look at a more numbers if he has them for the LDL values.
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Permalink Reply by Capin101 on
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Diabetics are at an increased risk of a stroke or heart attack. Therefore, the medical community has lowered the recommend goals for blood lipids for diabetics. Statins are also supposed to be helpful to kidneys.
I think if a diabetic is otherwise healthy and has cholesterol levels that would be in range for an average person, then it is their choice if they think a statin would be beneficial. One other note: if your partner chooses to start taking statins, then his medical team will not want him to stop taking it without very good reasons.
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Permalink Reply by WWGirl on
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Capin101, that is good to know and take into account for sure. Do you have references/papers which show the arguments for deciding to lower the recommended goal? Obviously, intuitively it sounds like a good idea. I am just wondering exactly what the science is.
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