Steve
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I may have crashed, but I'm no longer dumb!
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Post by Steve on Nov 4, 2017 12:05:05 GMT -8
Statins have many people worried. There is a lot of reaction to the side-effects that get listed —and they are scary— but doing some reading to get past the common remarks that mention the fear and the good reasons for statins makes it clear that they have more to offer than one might expect. Cholesterol? "Your body needs some cholesterol to make hormones, vitamin D, and substances that help you digest foods. Your body makes all the cholesterol it needs." — Nat'l Heart and Liver Board But we eat foods that add more cholesterol: meats (turkey included,) dairy, eggs, most oils (including popular coconut and palm oils.) So no doubt we all have concerns, diabetes increases the problem; the problem is atheroma: globules of fatty lipids that get stuck on the walls of our arteries and restrict blood flow. Not good. So our doctors issue us one of the many statins available. Should we worry? Not likely. After some possible initial discomforts, a statin reduces cholesterol but also does repair work on the endothelium. That's the real name of the cells that line arteries and is the system that allows gases to move out of the bloodstream and disperse to tissues. It also generates nitric oxide. But with age and just life (just breathing introduces free radicals that damage the cells) it gradually loses some effectiveness. Nitric oxide is a vasodilator and it matters. So taking a statin actually helps maintain, even repair the cells! This is good. Very good. So if you take a statin (and chances are you do,) add this to your list to ask your doctor about. And while you're at it, read about CoQ10 with regard to statins and muscle ache. Another thing to ask about. This is not medical advice, just gathered information from reliable medical pages. Question everything that sounds suspicious, but question the doctor, not me! But do share your thoughts. - - - "Certain statins work better when taken with a meal. Others work best when they’re taken at night. This is because the cholesterol-making enzyme is more active at night. Also, the half-life, or the amount of time it takes for half the dose to leave your body, of some statins is short." — HealthLinelink
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Post by hjg6578 on Nov 6, 2017 11:58:08 GMT -8
Statins have many people worried. There is a lot of reaction to the side-effects that get listed —and they are scary— but doing some reading to get past the common remarks that mention the fear and the good reasons for statins makes it clear that they have more to offer than one might expect. - - - - - Thank you for explaining the risks and benefits of statins in a very rational way. One point that I would like to add to the statin discussion is this: Statin drugs can lower CoQ10 levels. In fact, studies show that CoQ10 levels can drop by up to 40% due to statin drug use! (Source: -- BROKEN LINK REMOVED! See the correct info here.)) Low CoQ10 levels can be a concern because CoQ10 helps promote healthy heart function. This is because CoQ10 plays an important role in the production of 95% of the energy used by the cells in our body. The addition of a CoQ10 supplement to statin drug therapy can help rebuild CoQ10 levels. |
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Steve
Admin
I may have crashed, but I'm no longer dumb!
Posts: 169
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Post by Steve on Nov 6, 2017 20:37:39 GMT -8
Statin drugs can lower CoQ10 levels. - - - hjg6578 , welcome to this little group. And so far it seems every new name has introduced another drug to know about. I know I have heard the name Q10 but never really known anything about what it was. I need to mention right off that the QUICK quote feature may not be working right? I was reading your post and thought it sounded familiar! Then I realized it was my entire post about statins. I thought it confusing so I edited to remove most of my words, leaving just enough to connect to your input. But once I re-posted everything, I tried your link and it failed! The fact the link starts out with too much code ( http:// www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov...,etc.) makes me think it wasn't entered correctly. I won't try to "fix" anything else. But in the meanwhile, I thank you for your information about CoQ10. I have looked for more info and read a few sites. I want to find more to better understand how CoQ10 works? A few months ago I had never heard of nitric oxide, and now I know how important it is. I am prepared to find CoQ10 is yet another thing to understand. In fact I am going to my doc to get my latest A1c and I have a few questions. This will be another one I want to ask. Please take a few minutes to add an intro to tell us what your status is now? Type 2? How long? What current treatmen plan? |
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Post by hjg6578 on Nov 7, 2017 9:00:37 GMT -8
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Steve
Admin
I may have crashed, but I'm no longer dumb!
Posts: 169
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Post by Steve on Nov 7, 2017 9:54:03 GMT -8
statins lower CoQ10 levels.
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Good to see you back. I was thinking I would be seen as irritating for mucking up your first post. And now I'll say thanks for adding a corrected link. I will certainly be asking my doctor about this universal "need: for statins in light of the info you provided.I have stated in the heading that my doctors will not send other diabetics to this little forum because it is not run by a doctor or an R.N. who has credibility. I get that, but I (now we) do not dispense advice, rather we want to share things we have discovered, as you have now done, I can investigate CoQ10. In fact my doctor may learn something from me when I share some things I have learned about Jardiance, a fairly new drug (only three years on the market) that she started me on two years ago! See? It was a new item then, there are some details just approved by the FDA. So I will check CoQ10 and add it to the list. |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 29, 2017 6:52:31 GMT -8
Today was my Wellness check up. My Dr says he had to mention statins and ACE inhibitors because of the massive studies showing diabetics do better on them than off. My Cholesterol and BP are both fine. I see no need at this time for either drug. He said he was on the fence as well, as far as I was concerned, though admitting both he and his wife were on statins.
He did agree I could cut my Metformin down to 500mg a day, ( once ). We will see how the lab work in late Jan turns out. No lab work today.
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Post by hjg6578 on Nov 30, 2017 6:41:33 GMT -8
statins lower CoQ10 levels.
-- -
Good to see you back. I was thinking I would be seen as irritating for mucking up your first post. And now I'll say thanks for adding a corrected link. I will certainly be asking my doctor about this universal "need: for statins in light of the info you provided.I have stated in the heading that my doctors will not send other diabetics to this little forum because it is not run by a doctor or an R.N. who has credibility. I get that, but I (now we) do not dispense advice, rather we want to share things we have discovered, as you have now done. I can investigate CoQ10. In fact my doctor may learn something from me when I share some things I have learned about Jardiance, a fairly new drug (only three years on the market) that she started me on two years ago! See? It was a new item then, there are some details just approved by the FDA. So I will check CoQ10 and add it to the list. Interested to know if you discussed CoQ10 with your doctor and what their thoughts were. Also wondering what you may have found in your own research. |
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Steve
Admin
I may have crashed, but I'm no longer dumb!
Posts: 169
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Post by Steve on Nov 30, 2017 10:27:22 GMT -8
Interested to know if you discussed CoQ10... The more I experience medical help, the more I wonder how any of us get better? Well, that's a little rude, but I am more convinced that I have improved more because of Dr. Google than most of the time I have spent with doctors! Harsh? Consider that I had a toe amputated when a podiatrist ordered a simple insert for some standard diabetic shoes. My CROW boot was custom made from a cast of my foot. The shoes were off-the-shelf. Slight misfit, rubbed the side of my foot, neuropathy kept me from knowing it. An abrasion allowed an infection to start, a few days later the toe as removed. The doctor who did the work said the shoes should have been custom fit. Nice. So I just went for my A1c results. A computer snafu left the doctor with nothing to discuss, my meeting cut short, I was told to come back in March. No chance to ask about CoQ10. But I re-read that page of info from UMMC, then called my doctor's office to ask for my tardy A1c results. I have HDL: 40, LDL: 74, and total (including triglycerides) of 142. "Your non-HDL cholesterol level is found by subtracting your HDL cholesterol from your total cholesterol." So my Non-HDL is total minus HDL, so 102. This indicates I am low risk for heart disease. When I then asked about CoQ10, all I got was that I have no need to even think about CoQ10! So I say again, I got more info from a Google search than my doctor's assistant. But I have a friend who is dealing with a guy with serious heart issues as well as diabetes. She is with him at doctor visits, and I asked her to ask his doctor if CoQ10 would be worth a try? It isn't on my wish list but I'm glad you brought it up. |
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Post by hjg6578 on Dec 1, 2017 8:59:13 GMT -8
Interested to know if you discussed CoQ10... The more I experience medical help, the more I wonder how any of us get better? Well, that's a little rude, but I am more convinced that I have improved more because of Dr. Google than most of the time I have spent with doctors! Harsh? Consider that I had a toe amputated when a podiatrist ordered a simple insert for some standard diabetic shoes. My CROW boot was custom made from a cast of my foot. The shoes were off-the-shelf. Slight misfit, rubbed the side of my foot, neuropathy kept me from knowing it. An abrasion allowed an infection to start, a few days later the toe as removed. The doctor who did the work said the shoes should have been custom fit. Nice. So I just went for my A1c results. A computer snafu left the doctor with nothing to discuss, my meeting cut short, I was told to come back in March. No chance to ask about CoQ10. But I re-read that page of info from UMMC, then called my doctor's office to ask for my tardy A1c results. I have HDL: 40, LDL: 74, and total (including triglycerides) of 142. "Your non-HDL cholesterol level is found by subtracting your HDL cholesterol from your total cholesterol." So my Non-HDL is total minus HDL, so 102. This indicates I am low risk for heart disease. When I then asked about CoQ10, all I got was that I have no need to even think about CoQ10! So I say again, I got more info from a Google search than my doctor's assistant. But I have a friend who is dealing with a guy with serious heart issues as well as diabetes. She is with him at doctor visits, and I asked her to ask his doctor if CoQ10 would be worth a try? It isn't on my wish list but I'm glad you brought it up. Thank you for the update. That's really unfortunate that you were unable to speak with your doctor face to face about your results. They are under so much pressure to see patients in mass. Offices need more PAs/NPs on staff to help support primary care needs. I am getting off topic but in conclusion, I feel your pain. I am a healthcare professional and have many views that are outside of the "mainstream". I've developed these views from doing my own primary research and communicating with practitioners who bring a more integrative and functional perspective to medicine. Unfortunately, most people do not have the time, education, or access to do this themselves. There is a lag in the spread of the latest info. Glad your results are solid and I hope your friend gets the right info. |
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Steve
Admin
I may have crashed, but I'm no longer dumb!
Posts: 169
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Post by Steve on Dec 2, 2017 4:46:43 GMT -8
I am a healthcare professional... That's an interesting bit! Could you offer a little more information? In particular, are you diabetic? And how did you find this little forum? I have given up trying to get anything unique to be SEO bait when there are only so many words or phrases that people would search for, and with so little participation I am not about to pay for a domain name! This is a tiny fish in a big ocean of diabetes info. As for the need for more medical staff? It is disheartening to ask my questions and get such clipped answers, or in some cases, no answer at all! If you have read my posts about my BP experience, discovering beets and the quick results of lowering systolic, you will see that I researched the "why and how" and came across nitric oxide (NO) and that led me into the amazing details of its job in the system. Fascinated, I read more and more, and when I asked medical people why they weren't pushing beets instead of pills, I actually was finding some who had no idea what I was talking about! (Yet Amazon is loaded with energy-boosting supplements with NO. I had never had a reason to know this.) I'm no wannabe doctor but I am becoming more and more aware of how this stuff works. My doctors comment on the hard work I have done to get my A1c under 6.0, but my reply is that it isn't hard work at all to simply use my diet as my main medicine. I have tried to tell them how I wish the "Diabetes 101" class I attended had been more about glucose damage to capillaries than the emphasis on just weight loss and counting carbs. I really thought it was more Weight Watchers than learning about consequences of overdoing the sugar. But they tell me that would be "over the heads" of the audience. |
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