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Honored Contributor
Posts: 25,929
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Call I just got from a Walgreens pharmacist

[ Edited ]

I just got a call from Walgreens. The pharmacist informed me that because I am on metformin I need to be on a statin drug.I told her No I don't - my total cholesterol is only 121. Heck , my cholesterol is what a person on statins hopes to achieve. She said it doesn't matter - any diabetic under 75 years old is supposed to be on statins no matter if they need it or not. I told her no I don't and that this conversation was over. 

For a long time now I have found that I feel the standards of caring for diabetics is very questionable. They have lowered the FBS number to a very low number(95 unless they lowered it again this year) after decades of it being a standard that FBS of 110 is the normal and you medicate those with FBS of 140.  Now the standard is to give statins - which can cause some people some pretty significant side effects -when they don't even have high cholesterol. ANYTHING TO MAKE A BUCK. 

Honored Contributor
Posts: 15,256
Registered: ‎05-11-2012

Re: Call I just got from a Walgreens pharmacist

@151949, you told her no. Move on. 

Honored Contributor
Posts: 25,929
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: Call I just got from a Walgreens pharmacist

And if it were true that you did need statins when your a diabetic - at the point you hit 75 years old you no longer matter.

Honored Contributor
Posts: 10,430
Registered: ‎05-15-2016

Re: Call I just got from a Walgreens pharmacist

and?

Honored Contributor
Posts: 16,577
Registered: ‎03-11-2010

Re: Call I just got from a Walgreens pharmacist

you are nicer than me

I let all calls go to my answering machine

Honored Contributor
Posts: 17,491
Registered: ‎03-10-2010

Re: Call I just got from a Walgreens pharmacist

As I said in another thread, doctors no longer practice medicine, insurance companies and pharmaceutical companies do.



===================================
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# IAMTEAMWEN
Honored Contributor
Posts: 15,256
Registered: ‎05-11-2012

Re: Call I just got from a Walgreens pharmacist


In 2017, the American Diabetes Association recommended that all people with diabetes take statins. Their reasoning is that controlling risk factors will help lower your overall risk for developing heart disease. These risk factors may include:

 

high cholesterol


high blood pressure


being overweight or obese


smoking


a high level of sodium in your diet


a low level of physical activity


The fewer risk factors you have, the better your odds of avoiding a heart attack or stroke.

 

Diabetes is a threat to your cardiovascular health partly because the extra glucose in your blood can injure your blood vessels. When your blood vessels are damaged, blood flow to the heart and brain can be disrupted. This raises the risk of a heart attack or stroke.

 

Diabetes can also affect your cholesterol by lowering high-density lipoprotein (HDL), or “good” cholesterol, and raising levels of LDL cholesterol. This is called diabetic dyslipidemia. It can occur even if diabetes is controlled.

 

Honored Contributor
Posts: 35,601
Registered: ‎05-22-2016

Re: Call I just got from a Walgreens pharmacist

I was on a statin for about 2 years...then my A1C went up. Doc wanted to put me on Metformin. If it's not one thing then it's another. I got it together and no longer need either one...say hallelujah!

Honored Contributor
Posts: 9,053
Registered: ‎06-14-2010

Re: Call I just got from a Walgreens pharmacist

When I started taking Metformin my doctor prescribed a statin.  I never had a cholesterol issue, always good numbers.  However, she explained when people are pre diabetic or diabetic prescribing a statin is the norm, I guess to protect the heart since diabetes can affect your heart.  I trust in my doctor and have no reason to doubt her.  Maybe you should tell your doctor about the call from the pharmacist.

 

I hate taking any medications and wonder about long term effects but it seems when older you are on these meds for good because it is thought the meds keep you healthy.  I say if your levels are good and have been, stop the meds and see if they remain so.  

 

It is a money maker for sure and that is the bottom line.

Honored Contributor
Posts: 13,913
Registered: ‎03-10-2010

Re: Call I just got from a Walgreens pharmacist

 

@151949

 

Since I am not a diabetic, I don't really do any research on it. I trust that those that are, know a whole lot more than I do, and follow what their doctor(s), and themselves have found works best for them.

 

Cholesterol levels I started doing what I could find back in the 1960's, when my GP told me that my 350 number was in the "normal range" for a then man in his 30's. Not much to be found, but I did find enough over many years of sticking with what was learned.

 

Total Cholesterol numbers can give a person a false feeling of thinking that is a good number, just that number standing alone. You and I both know that is not true. You went to nursing school, I did/have not.

 

However, since it was a top priority for me, not part of a full nursing curriculum, not sure that your knowledge about exceeds mine on this specific topic.  Total Cholesterol numbers mean little if the ratio's are, too high or too low, depending on which we are reading, again you and I both know that.

 

My total number, after educating myself and making major lifestyle changes, was never over 160, well within a supposedly "safe" range. It generally was closer to the 130-140 number. Add to that the fact that my ratio(HDL/LDL/VLDL) seldom reached a low 2.0, which is pretty low on the risk list. Generally was in the 1.4 to 1.6  range.

 

BUT!! Somehow my Right Coronary Artery managed to become 100% blocked, which equaled a heart attack accompanied by Aspiration Pneumonia. Then 5 years later my same Right Coronary Artery once again was 100% blocked, which equaled heart attack #2.

 

Just putting this info in this post for anyone that wants to think that a low Total Cholesterol Reading means that is all one needs to know about their lipid level. You and others can do with this info what you wish.

 

 

 

hckynut(john)

hckynut(john)