Atorvastatin and raised blood sugar

[Lilysmiles]

I was on simvastatin 40mg for many years and 2 years ago my Dr changed my medication to 20mg atorvastatin. My blood sugar has increased to the point of needing lifestyle changes. Has anyone noticed the link between statins and diabetes or is it just me?

[sleeksheep]

Has anyone noticed the link between statins and diabetes or is it just me?

It is a well documented fact that statins do this to those who are already pre diabetic.

Despite beneficial reductions in LDL cholesterol and apolipoprotein B, atorvastatin treatment resulted in significant increases in fasting insulin and glycated hemoglobin levels consistent with insulin resistance and increased ambient glycemia in hypercholesterolemic patients

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

I was on Atorvastatin 10mg ( then 5mg because of muscle pain before discontinuing with Drs approval ) I was pre diabetic when first prescribed and found it did increase my fasting insulin by 40%.

It all comes down to what your risk factor is .

[ling in reply to sleeksheep]

Did u change to another statin or cholesterol medication?

[sleeksheep in reply to ling]

No statins as I could not tolerate them. Havent had statins for over 6 years.

My Cardiologist has put me on Repatha but I am yet to start , not to concerned as my CT Angiogram was all clear.

Cholesterol 4.6

Trig. 1.5

HDL. 1.1

LDL 2.8

[DakCB-UK in reply to sleeksheep]

I thought LDL over 5 was needed to get authorized for Repatha. Are you not in the UK?

[sleeksheep in reply to DakCB-UK]

Not Uk , authorized by private cardiologist in Western Australia.

[Hidden]

I had similar experience on 10mg atorvastatin, as well as muscle pain, blood sugar went up to readings of 11 on my home blood sugar monitor, changed to Rosuvastatin and no more problems, typical blood sugar reading now 5! ask to change to Rosuvastatin or go back on simvastatin! your GP should not have a problem with that, its your body!! if he refuses, change GP!! I and several friends of mine are on Rosuvastatin and none of us have had any problems, thats my advice, obviously im not a Dr, up to you, but it looks like the statin is causing it, as it did for me, to make lifestyle changes instead of stopping atorvastatin is frankly crazy!! its really simple, statin causing high blood sugar? you change statin!! not behave as though you have diabetes! really if you have problems getting a prescription for Rosuvastatin, or going back on simvastatin you must change GP!!

[Lilysmiles in reply to Hidden]

I have appt to see my GP early next month I will certainly ask to have my statins changed, Your right it’s my body anf if I’m refused I will change GP. In the meantime I’ve stopped taking Atorvastatin.

[Hidden in reply to Lilysmiles]

That sounds good, but if your not going to take your statin again, and cant see your GP for a few weeks, please follow a low fat/low salt/low sugar diet! and keep portion sizes on the small side, i would hate for anything to get worse before you see GP again!

[Marz]

Raised cholesterol can also point to low thyroid. On the NHS website it does suggest correcting the thyroid before taking statins. If Hypothyroid then statins are not a good idea.

How is your VitD level ?

[Batty1 in reply to Marz]

I think it should be required for any doctor to do a complete thyroid panel before considering statins.

[Marz in reply to Batty1]

I so agree with you. Too many folk are told their thyroid is fine when only the TSH is tested - sometimes the T4. However T3 levels are very rarely tested - and if LOW in range can be the cause of raised cholesterol levels. So full and correct thyroid testing is required for ALL 🌻

Years ago before the Statin Bonanza began - people had thyroid treatment when cholesterol was raised. It's about low metabolism affecting the liver - making it sluggish ....

[Linda_Lincolnshire62]

I have been on statins for twenty four years. I started on 80mg Simvastatin first and then five years ago I was put on 40mg Atorvastatin. The Doctor changed my statin as she said she thought Atorvastatin would control my cholesterol on a smaller dose of statin. She was correct. I had no problems with either statin The reason I was put on statins was after the menopause my cholesterol went from 7 to 10. Statins were not available for my Mother who died at age 70 years. I am now 74 years and consider myself lucky to have been treated with statins. My first Doctor said my cholesterol was difficult to control. At the time if 80mg Simvastatin had not brought my cholesterol down I would have had to go to a specialist clinic. I am lucky I can tolerate statins

[Corrine1]

I have been taking 20mg of atorvastatin for 1 month now and have noticed a rise in blood sugar. I've also just had HbA1 result which is higher than normal. I am worried about this as have been trying to control my diabetes by diet and don't want to get worse.

[Lilysmiles in reply to Corrine1]

You can try a different statin but research them first. I have stopped taking it for 3 months and then having a blood test. I’m eating low fat and low sugar and cut out bad carbs. Drs will never admit there is a problem with statins and blood sugar but it’s well documented and Atorvastatin keeps coming up with the highest risk

[Corrine1 in reply to Lilysmiles]

Thanks for your reply. I wonder if Atorvastin is the cheapest? I've been doing a lot of research but much is conflicting although some statins apparently don't have an effect on blood sugar. I've started doing time restricted eating and going low carb so hope that helps. I was prescribed them by a pharmacist who works for our health centre. You'd have thought she would have prescribed one with less risk for diabetics but perhaps that's too much to ask!

[Corrine1]

I completely agree - in my case I'm thinking is it a coincident that my blood sugars are increasing at the same time I've been taking statins? It's only when I looked into it I found there is a connection. I would have thought any responsible prescriber would have prescribed one that there isn't this risk of just to be on the safe side as there are others that don't have this effect!The main reason I started taking them was because my grandfather had a stroke when he was a bit older than me and so I thought they may reduce my risk.

[Lilysmiles in reply to Corrine1]

Drs are sold on the idea that Statins are a wonder drug.. Diabetes is no joke. Some people cannot take them. There must be something else they can prescribe to lessen bad cholesterol surely

[Lilysmiles]

Actually Atorvastatin are quite expensive and it’s Simvastatin that are the cheapest

[sandybrown]

Response not very help full?

[Corrine1]

I agree but it seems lot of studies show that statins do significantly prevent deaths from cvd so presumably they must be helping in some way despite the side effects.

[Corrine1]

The pharmacist who prescribed them said there was a 40% reduction in risk of cvd events. Could you share any links to evidence/studies showing this isn't true?

[Corrine1]

Thanks for that, I'll definitely read it.

[Corrine1]

So far I've only been able to read extracts of the publication as it says to read the whole article have to pay £75! Do you know where I can read it for free - looks interesting.Another thing, don't you think NICE would have taken this study into account when making their guidelines and if they did chose to ignore it?

[sandybrown in reply to Corrine1]

Hello,

How did you get to the point where it ask you you pat 75 pounds?

Would it be possible for you to provide a link? thank you.

[Corrine1 in reply to sandybrown]

I just googled the title and then opened all the relevant ones. The only one I could find that gave access to the whole text had to be bought unless you were able to access it from a university site. I'll see if I can share it later but can't atm.

[sleeksheep]

Here are 2 pdf links ( bottom two ) and a full review of what is in the pdf's - crossfit

crossfit.com/essentials/sta...

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google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q...

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google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q...

[sandybrown in reply to sleeksheep]

Thank you for providing the three links, I have saved to three documents on my PC to read later.

[Corrine1]

Thankyou for all your informed suggestions which will be a great help to me in researching this subject. For some reason the links that sleeksheep has provided won't open on my phone. I'll try them on my PC tomorrow to see if that works. I'm using Google which may be the problem. Thanks again, really appreciated.

[Corrine1]

Thankyou so much for the link- I was really pleased to get it and I'm glad to say that I have successfully opened it! I've also watched a couple of Dr Peter Langsjoens videos on YouTube which along with the other references you provided has given me a lot to get my teeth into 😀