Disgusting Statin Advice for Diabetics

[Dee]

I am so tired of seeing diabetics, like me, being advised to take statin poison. This is just unacceptable. XRN...this study came from the UK, sick 'em!


Statins for All Adults With Diabetes?
Study: One-Third Less Diabetes-Linked Heart Disease With Cholesterol-Lowering Drugs
By Daniel J. DeNoon
WebMD Medical News
Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD
Jan 10, 2008 -- One-third fewer people with type 1 or type 2 diabetes would suffer heart attacks or strokes if they took cholesterol-lowering statin drugs, a U.K. study suggests.
Cardiovascular disease eventually kills two-thirds of people with diabetes, notes Colin Baigent, FFPH, FRCP, of England's Medical Research Council. High levels of "bad" LDL cholesterol play a major role.
Statin drugs -- sold in the U.S. as Crestor, Lescol XL, Lipitor, Mevacor, Pravachol, and Zocor -- lower LDL cholesterol. In people without diabetes, the drugs cut the risk of heart attack, stroke, and other cardiovascular diseases. But it hasn't been clear whether people with diabetes get as much benefit.
They do, Baigent and colleagues find. The researchers pooled data from 18,686 people with diabetes enrolled in 14 clinical trials of statins.
The result: People with diabetes, whether they are male or female, get just as much benefit from statins as anyone else. If 1,000 people with diabetes took statins for five years, 42 of them would avoid heart death, heart attack, or coronary revascularization (bypass or stenting).
"We are saying that, after middle age, most everybody with diabetes is a candidate for statin treatment -- and at a large enough dose to give them a substantial reduction in LDL cholesterol," Baigent tells WebMD. "That is quite important, because the size of the benefit depends on the size of the cholesterol reduction."
The American Heart Association says it's best to have an LDL cholesterol level of less than 100 mg/dL -- and calls LDL cholesterol levels of 100 to 129 mg/dL "near optimal/above optimal."
Baigent and colleagues calculate that for every 39 mg/dL drop in LDL cholesterol, people with diabetes cut their risk of major heart events by one-fifth. An average dose of statins cuts LDL cholesterol by 57 mg/dL, which would lower this risk by one-third.
But not everyone with diabetes has the same heart risk, argues Bernard M.Y. Cheung, MDBChir, PhD, FRCP, professor of clinical pharmacology and therapeutics at the University of Birmingham, England.
"If you are crossing the street, you can choose to wear a helmet because it may save your life in case you are knocked by a car. You are relatively safer, although the absolute risk of this is quite low," Cheung tells WebMD. "But if you are riding a motorcycle, the helmet is going to be important because your risk of an accident is much greater."
Some people with diabetes have a lower heart-disease risk than others. For them, Cheung says, taking statins would be like wearing a helmet to cross the street.
"It was once believed that the mere fact of having diabetes gives a person the same risk of heart attack as a person who had a heart attack before," Cheung says. "We are now treating people's diabetes much better than before, and their baseline risk of heart disease is lower than before."
Cheung says everyone with diabetes should discuss cholesterol-lowering therapy with their doctors, but he does not think doctors should always recommend drug therapy.
Baigent disagrees.
"Even if a person has a 1% per year risk of a major cardiovascular event, there is still a benefit from statins," he says. "So for people whose risk increases over time -- and after middle age, that is most everybody with diabetes -- there is no point in not treating them with statins."
The study by Baigent and colleagues, and an editorial by Cheung, appear in the Jan. 12 issue of The Lancet.
SOURCES: Clinical Treatment Trialists' Collaborators, The Lancet, Jan. 12, 2008; vol 371: pp 117-125. Cheung, B.M.Y. The Lancet, Jan. 12, 2008; vol 371: pp 94-95. Colin Baigent, FFPH, FRCP, scientist, Medical Research Council, London. Bernard M.Y. Cheung, MDBChir, PhD, FRCP, professor of clinical pharmacology and therapeutics, University of Birmingham, England.

*http://diabetes.webmd.com/news/20080110/statins-for-all-adults-with-diabetes?page=2

[vipergg22]

Gee who do you think sponsored that report . These drugs are amazing aren't they . I heard you can even wax your car with them .

[Dee]

At the end of the Web MD article was this:

(If you have diabetes, has your doctor talked to you about a statins? Will you ask? Talk about it on WebMD's Type 2 Diabetes Support Group board.)

I was SO offended by that article that I joined the Web MD message board to have my say. Here is my posting:

"I read the WebMD article "Statins for All Adults With Diabetes?" Following the article was this question:

(If you have diabetes, has your doctor talked to you about a statins? Will you ask? Talk about it on WebMD's Type 2 Diabetes Support Group board.)

So, here I am.

I cannot in good conscience let the article go by about statins being such a grand idea for diabetics. I am type 2 diabetic

I was prescribed a statin in 2001. Long story short, with in 8 weeks I began having serious issues. Blood tests for statin toxicity came back normal. I was kept on the statin for almost 3 years. The bottom line is I developed 19 NEW health problems while on the statin. I was only 43 at the time my statin nightmare began. I have not taken a normal step since, and that has been over 6 years ago. I am confined to using a cane and wheelchair, due to muscle and nerve damage. (Remember, this damage occured while all blood tests to monitor for statin problems were NORMAL.)

Lest you think I had "rare" adverse effects, think again. I have talked to approximately 100 ppl, in person, that have been on statins, and at least 80% have had problems. I have encountered complete strangers in public using canes or wheelchairs who had the same results from statin use that I had...complete destruction of their lives. Plain and simple.

My own non-diabetic husband was also on a statin during the same time I was. He became extremely weak, his personality changed drastically, he developed short term memory issues, and lost muscle mass. He has been lucky and regained much of his health since quitting the statin in April of 2004. But it took a long time, and he still struggles with stamina, and memory problems.

Everyone has to make their own decision about statin therapy. I advise you to do your own research before you assume this is a safe class of drug.

After much research of my own, I am not convinced that statins have any good benefit at all. Not even for diabetics. The statin took away all my ability to do anything physical at all, which took away an important tool for managing diabetes.

You may want to visit these sites for more info from those damaged by statins, and read of their experiences. Then at least you can make an informed decision. These are only a beginning. I googled "statin adverse effects" and came up with 57,600 results. What does that tell you?

*http://www.spacedoc.net/board/

*http://www.gopetition.com/online/11757.html

*http://talkingstatins.com/"

[ksxroads]

Me too. Following my husband seeing a CBS report on people experiencing adverse reactions primarily this segement focused on transient global amnesia... he convinced me, then my doctor that I WAS having problems. Of course the doctor suggested switching... yet within a few days memory was an issue, finally I agreed with my husband. Then a few weeks later tried it again and within a day he said you are taking that *&$#@ again.


[color=red]"I was only 43 at the time my statin nightmare began. I have not taken a normal step since, and that has been over 6 years ago. I am confined to using a cane and wheelchair, due to muscle and nerve damage." [/color]

During this time mid 40s I also developed physical problems for which there was no concrete evidence to suggest a cause so I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia... I was a healthy happy person, yet my health declined muscle and nerve damage - fibromyalgia... I don't think so I truly believe it was directly related to the statin medication. So I am having to take an early retirement as I just cannot continue to work full time.

My mother even though I tried to explain to her my problems with statin medication was placed on a statin. Within a years time she was unable to keep her balance, memory was gone... all family members commented yet no one listened to my tirade on statin medications. Finally when she landed in the hospital with suspected minor strokes causing memory and balance problems, I spoke with her doctor about my experience and gave him information from Dr Graveline's website. He took her off the statin med and she is doing better. Yet I do not think she will ever fully recover.

Before the Dr because of my diabetes heart risk put me on a statin, I managed to control my diabetes with exercise and diet. Now I struggle to walk a straight line ... and I was no rocket scientist yet I was not without an inquiring mind... yet today there are times I couldn't find my way out of a card board box!

I'd laugh if it wasn't such a serious situation. There are so many out there who are unaware. Hazel

[Dee]

Hi Hazel,

Sorry you joined the ranks of the statins victims. You will at least get understanding and support here, it is a wonderful group of folks.

I can't work outside the home anymore either, I had to quit my part-time job of 16 years, a year before I even knew that I was so messed up from Pravachol.

I simply could not do it anymore, I could barely function.

I was lucky in finding a job I can do from home on the internet, but even that is an incredible challange, and I can only work a very few hours each week.

The real cost of statins on society will never be fully realized.

Glad your here, if any help is to be had, this is the place to be:)