I’m type 1 diabetic, my whole cholesterol was 4.6 and my bad cholesterol was 3.0
Tried two statins didn’t agree with me, now went to lipid clinic, was put on Rosuvastatin which agrees with me, the only problem is my sugar levels go skyrocketing for a good few hours after i take it. This is concerning, has anyone else have the same problem, I’m also have AF which I take a lot of medication but have no problem with side effects, I’ve increased my insulin a lot,should I continue with the statin or stopped it.
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Yellow26
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I can’t offer much help on the statin side of things however, I just wanted to say please don’t stop any medication without the advice of a GP / cardiologist first.
I hope others come by to help with your query soon.
Hello Yellow, like previous poster Tos92, unfortunately I can't help with your statin query, but I'd definitely consult your GP before stopping or changing any of your medication. I'm sure someone will be along soon who may be more able to assist with your question.
I have reported it to the lipid clinic but was told to carry on with the medication but was informed to contact the diabetic team which I will tomorrow, I was only wondering if anyone else have had the same problem.Thanks very much for the reply’s
Having never had a problem with high cholesterol I was surprised to be called back into my GP following a blood test. Now at risk of diabetes! The only difference Is that since an earlier blood test I am now taking statins. When I googled this I read that statins can raise it by 5%. The nurse said the benefits outweighed the risks. Not overweight and very careful with diet. Anyway just thought I'd mention it.
Hi Yellow, Rosuvastatin is the only Statin I can tolerate. I was told my bad cholesterol needs to be below 1.9. I'm just in the process of increasing it to get to the ultimate figure. I'm type 2 diabetic and I completely understand how different our diseases are. What time of day do you take your Rosuvastatin? I take mine last thing with plenty of water. My BGLs do go up but if I eat a good chunk of protein before bed it helps. I know you're not insulin resistant but I wondered if it might help? Or maybe some quick reacting insulin as well as your slow release when you take it? Do you have the opportunity for a pump? Definitely a talk to your Diabetic team is called for.But stick to your statins. I couldn't get on with two other sorts so I was told not to bother as my Cholesterol was OK. 8 years later I needed CABG x3 (which failed but that's another story) Keep at it, will definitely be worth it. All the best, Susie.
Thanks Susie, I have tried other statins but was bothered with pains in my arms and legs,as I work in the building industry I had to stop taking them. So the lipid clinic described these statins which I have no side effects than my blood sugars rising to a high I’ve never had before, increased my insulin but that didn’t do much to bring it that down. The statin I take at night time and I’m not allowed a pump because of the costs as I was told .
This is an important issue and I hope your diabetic team and your cardiology team will cross reference and record your reaction to the statin and look at the best options for you in light of the reaction.
Maybe there is ongoing research on this -you could ask and might ask about any trials on new/alternative meds.
I have family history of heart issues (not recognised by medics) and had bypass in 2022 having previously not been on any meds. Since then Atorvastatin, Bisoprolol and aspirin. Jan / Mar 2023 bloods show raised sugars - now pre-diabetic. My doctor too says benefits of statin outweigh risks. Would be interested if anyone knows of a statin that doesn’t raise sugars.
I too am type 1 diabetic and have been for the last 25 years. The GP referred me to a lipid clinic which I went to last week after waiting a whole year for the appointment to come through.... And then they kindly discharged me back to the GP!! I don't get the logic int hat but whatever!!
My total cholesterol is 5.0 (which they want me under 4) and my LDL is 2.5 (they want close to 2). I too have tried three types of statins: Simvastatin, Atorvastatin and Rousuvastatin which I had severve side effects. So much two of them I couldnt walk to do school trips and the other in bed with the worse stomach pain ever known. I'm still on Ezetimibe but isn't doing anything on its own so the lipid clinic has written to the GP to try Pravastatim or Bempedoic.
I'm nervous of trying more statins due to the problems I have had in the past. However keep on to your GP or lipid ...there is even more options such as injections once every two weeks if the statins can't be tolerated.
Trust you (and me!) can get it figured out so cholesterol can get down. We have enough other problems to worry about than dealing with side effects from meds!
Sorry to hear the problems you have with statins, I know they are more options but the usual you have to try all the statins first. I’m on ezetimibe, it has reduced the cholesterol slightly but not enough for their satisfaction. I’ve been type 1 diabetic for 3 yrs now, I did ask for a pump to control my insulin but was refused probably costs. I’m very high on sugar levels but have increased a lot my insulin but has only bought it down slightly, now the only change I had was the statin, is that causing the problem? I totally agree we diabetics have more on our mind , I’ve have a appointment tomorrow with the diabetic team so hopefully get some answers
I hope you can get some answers too. My GP appointment to sort statins is next week so see what happens next
Interesting you were refused a pump, I thought there were new NICE guidelines that all type 1s got them and CGM sensors too!
When I got my pump 6 years ago being unable to get HA1C levels under control (think over 8) was one of the stipulations. I hope you can get one cuz it has certainly changed my life. HA1C were hardly under 9 prior to the pump and now they're under 7.
You've raised an important issue to which I would like to be able to provide an answer to but unfortunately I can't. Like yourself I couldn't tolerate a number of statins - Atorvastatin, Pravastatin and Simvastatin all gave me severe leg pains which stopped me exercising. I was then prescribed Ezetimibe on its own, but it had no effect on my cholesterol as it needs a statin to work with. Eventually I was persuaded to try Rosuvastatin and after a short bedding in period, I have not had any issues with it. Currently I'm on 10mg daily, but I haven't had any tests as to where I am in relation to diabetes since 2019 when I was fine. That was just before I started Rosuvastatin.
One option for your GP to consider might be to lower your Rosuvastatin dose and add Ezetimibe into the mix and see what happens. As I said, in my experience Ezetimibe is ineffective as a stand alone medication. Unfortunately my GP didn't understand that, hence why I got prescribed it. The situation was only properly progressed when I was refered to pathology at my local hospital where the ineffective nature of Ezetimibe on its own was determined and Rosuvastatin was prescribed. In incidentally my figures are 4.4 total baseline, 3.8 current with 1.8 of the bad stuff. If things slide I'd be happy to increase the dose, but I would say that your post has made me wary.
If you get some answers please let us know the outcome.
Thanks for that , I will let you know how I get on, just to let you know I looked up Rosuvastatin on the Diabetics UK and that statin comes out the worse for blood sugar levels to rise, but as someone said it’s better to get the cholesterol down
Indeed it is. However I am concerned about blood sugar levels, particularly as my annual blood test does not include HbA1c test. Now I know the potential issue with Rosuvastatin, I will try to get the test added next year, but my GP practice seems to be resistant to increasing the scope of the test. I've already tried to get my homocysteine level retested (I'm borderline on my current medication), but have been fobbed off for the past couple of years. I think I might need to go private. Hopefully not the HbA1c test as well. 😯
You might find this research from Manchester University interesting. The findings are different, the research suggests that:
"Rosuvastatin administered at moderate and high doses, and Simvastatin and Atorvastatin administered at high doses were the most effective treatments in patients with diabetes by using non-HDL-C as a primary measure.
The drugs lead to between a 2.20 to 2.31 millimoles per litre (mmol/l) reductions in non-HDL-C over 12 weeks."
Moderate to high doses.... oooh,I don't do those. All my meds are pretty much on the minimum dose and that's how I want them to stay. My GP on the other hand wants to ramp them up. Thank goodness I have the Clinical Pharmacist at the practice on my side. ☺
News from the diabetic team, I’ve reduced the statin to alternative days , it has bought my sugar levels down gradually, but that was after I’ve increased my insulin by double. I must admit no side effects with the Rosuvastatin compared with others, I’m getting monitored on my levels which helps, but to be honest no one at the diabetic team where against taking statins, so time will tell.
Rosuvastatin has quite a long half life, so it can be taken on alternate days. There is a study online that had been undertaken to determine its efficacy on alternate days as compared to every day.
After my skirmish with the 3 old-style statins that gave me leg pains, it took a bit of persuading to try another. I started on 10mg on alternate days and only increased to daily (at my request) when my annual blood test revealed my total cholesterol had jumped back up to 4.0. At the last test in April it was back down at 3.8 which was much as expected as a daily dose only has around a 20% additional effect over taking it on alternate days. I was happy to take the small reduction as I didn't want to jump up to taking 20mg on alternate days. Another advantage is I don't have to think about which day to take it.
I think I will purchase a HbA1c test next year so I can get an idea of where I stand. Diabetes is not in my family history as far as I know, so I would imagine the risk is low, but it would be good to have that confirmed. As for a homocysteine test... well I need to speak to my bank manager first. 😀
Sounds like a plan. When I started on Rosuvastatin at 10mg on alternate days it dropped my total cholesterol from 4.4 to 3.7 inside a couple of months. I had to feed it in at 5mg on alternate days to start with as it gave me a headache, but that went after a week or two.
I am diabetic on insulin my latest cholesterol was 5.1 and HDL 0.83 all of my glyceride just outside of normal range but no one has said nothing to me I once told GP that statins do not agree with me and he has left me alone if your statins are giving you hassle be prepared to tolerate cholesterol little bit on the high side otherwise you will end up in a rigmarole with no end
I was put on statins in February '23 , started with artovastatin and found my blood glucose was shooting up, and I am eating low carb, so the Doctor put me on rosuvastatin and I got the same result. recently had blood tests and have now found that I have stage kidney damage. I discussed this with the Doctor and have come off the statins completely.
I will be having another blood test in November to see if the kidney damage is reversed but I can already say that my blood glucose levels are now almost back to 5-7mmol. I test regularly and this is why I found out what the statins were doing.
Statins have played havoc with my body, remember though everyone is different.
Thanks for that information, I’m on Rosuvastatin on alternative days, but as you say the blood glucose levels shoot up. I’m worse at night when I take the statin, I used to take 10 units of insulin since I started the statin I’m up to 55 units which I thought was concerning, that’s 85 units of insulin a day. I did inform the diabetic nurse but was told to continue since I’ve no side effects,I am going to get my kidneys checked in three weeks time, so hopefully no problem with that. I am concerned but I suppose you must trust the medical staff.
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