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Re: Women Statin Drugs & Diabetes

For two years in a row my doctor kept saying I should be on statins. This year she gave up but still orders the blood tests annually.
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Re: Women Statin Drugs & Diabetes

On 11/10/2014 Ford1224 said:

My daughter picked up the Lipitor scrip for me yesterday and I tossed it into the basket of stuff I keep on my bed. I will not take it, I just finally agreed to get the doc off my back about it. It's only $2 for the prescription, so it won't break my bank if I have to keep getting it. I'm just sick of the lecture.

Dishonest, perhaps? Bad judgment? Maybe. I have just decided it's a better path for me right now to eliminate the battles I can.

In a few months I'll re-evaluate . . . not whether or not I will take it, but whether or not I will tell her I'm not taking it.

I also came home from my last doctor's appointment clutching my script for Lipitor, after having the same argument for the past 6 years with three different PCPs. I won't take a statin, but the doctor took the liberty of calling in the prescription to my mail-order pharmacy so now it's showing up at my door anyhow.

I know I'm a cynic, but I have to believe these doctors must be getting some kind of kickbacks from the drug companies. It seems like everyone I know over the age of 40 is taking a statin.

With the advent of the internet and so much information and medical studies available for the finding, I can't believe so many people will blindly take meds without doing some research on their own. I take Lisinopril for high BP but that's as far as I'm willing to go.

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Re: Women Statin Drugs & Diabetes

Pravochol has kept my cholesterol in check for years. I tried not taking it, and my cholesterol was quite high. I do not suffer aches from this drug, but my doctor tried me on Crestor and I could not tolerate it. I have been told diabetics should take a statin because of the higher risk of heart disease.
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Re: Women Statin Drugs & Diabetes

On 11/10/2014 SarahW said:
On 11/10/2014 Ford1224 said:

My daughter picked up the Lipitor scrip for me yesterday and I tossed it into the basket of stuff I keep on my bed. I will not take it, I just finally agreed to get the doc off my back about it. It's only $2 for the prescription, so it won't break my bank if I have to keep getting it. I'm just sick of the lecture.

Dishonest, perhaps? Bad judgment? Maybe. I have just decided it's a better path for me right now to eliminate the battles I can.

In a few months I'll re-evaluate . . . not whether or not I will take it, but whether or not I will tell her I'm not taking it.

I also came home from my last doctor's appointment clutching my script for Lipitor, after having the same argument for the past 6 years with three different PCPs. I won't take a statin, but the doctor took the liberty of calling in the prescription to my mail-order pharmacy so now it's showing up at my door anyhow.

I know I'm a cynic, but I have to believe these doctors must be getting some kind of kickbacks from the drug companies. It seems like everyone I know over the age of 40 is taking a statin.

With the advent of the internet and so much information and medical studies available for the finding, I can't believe so many people will blindly take meds without doing some research on their own. I take Lisinopril for high BP but that's as far as I'm willing to go.

SarahW, just on the off-chance that you may be taking Lisinopril unnecessarily, I was on it for quite some time and starting getting side effects from it. So I asked my doc about it and she just changed the prescription to a different ACE inhibitor. In the meantime, I had always had in the back of my mind that ibuprofen might be the cause of the HBP, so instead of taking the new med, I stopped taking the ibuprofen. Within three days I took my BP and it was lower, and within a week it was normal and has been ever since. I didn't even feel much of a difference from not taking the pain killer, the pain is pretty much the same. Every once in a while I'll take an Aleve, but that is no more than perhaps once a week and it's usually for a headache. I have gotten used to the pain and on bad days, I pretty much just stay in bed. (I have RA and severe osteoporosis.)

When I told my doc what I did, she didn't comment. I don't think she liked it. Instead of being happy for me that there was nothing wrong with my BP, that it was a side effect of the ibuprofen, she seemed annoyed that I did this on my own.

I don't pretend to know what the deal is with doctors and prescriptions, I have thought of everything from payoffs from Big Pharma to sheer ignorance to just plain laziness.

Anyway, I just wanted to tell you this because if you are taking any kind of NSAID, perhaps you should try stopping it for a while to see if it may be what is causing your HBP.

[I'm not trying to be your doctor . . . just telling my story.]

Formerly Ford1224
We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. Elie Wiesel 1986
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Re: Women Statin Drugs & Diabetes

On 11/10/2014 SarahW said:
On 11/8/2014 Ford1224 said:
On 11/8/2014 SarahW said:
On 11/8/2014 Ford1224 said: <p class="quote_author">Hckynut, with all due respect, this is about older women who have never had a heart attack, not older men who have.{#emotions_dlg.rolleyes}

Exactly. No one disputes that those who have had heart disease or heart attack are best served to take the drug.

Here is an enlightening video fro Dr. Oz (and I am NOT a fan of Oz at all, but in this I agree with him.) CLICK!!

Unfortunately this link cuts out at the best part. {#emotions_dlg.crying}

Sorry, Ford. Both parts of that show are on his website; just look for Part II by scrolling down the page. (As a Dr. Oz detractor, I have to applaud his stance on this hot topic.)

Will do! Thanks!!

Formerly Ford1224
We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. Elie Wiesel 1986
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Re: Women Statin Drugs & Diabetes

On 11/10/2014 Tissyanne said: Pravochol has kept my cholesterol in check for years. I tried not taking it, and my cholesterol was quite high. I do not suffer aches from this drug, but my doctor tried me on Crestor and I could not tolerate it. I have been told diabetics should take a statin because of the higher risk of heart disease.

I disagree with your last statement, which is in fact is the topic of this thread. New findings are that statins cause diabetes in some women. The decision to take statins should be based on consideration of all risk factors, and doctors seem to be doling them out with alarming frequency.

Diabetics (particularly Type II, non-insulin) can often take charge of their own health by eating a healthy, relatively low-carb diet and getting plenty of exercise. There are Diabetes Forums where the statin topic is discussed extensively and many medical studies are reviewed.

I hope that any woman handed a prescription for a statin will take the time to do some research before starting the drug, and have a meaningful discussion with your doctor. Our health is ultimately our own responsibility.

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Re: Women Statin Drugs & Diabetes

On 11/10/2014 Ford1224 said:

SarahW, just on the off-chance that you may be taking Lisinopril unnecessarily, I was on it for quite some time and starting getting side effects from it. So I asked my doc about it and she just changed the prescription to a different ACE inhibitor. In the meantime, I had always had in the back of my mind that ibuprofen might be the cause of the HBP, so instead of taking the new med, I stopped taking the ibuprofen. Within three days I took my BP and it was lower, and within a week it was normal and has been ever since. I didn't even feel much of a difference from not taking the pain killer, the pain is pretty much the same. Every once in a while I'll take an Aleve, but that is no more than perhaps once a week and it's usually for a headache. I have gotten used to the pain and on bad days, I pretty much just stay in bed. (I have RA and severe osteoporosis.)

When I told my doc what I did, she didn't comment. I don't think she liked it. Instead of being happy for me that there was nothing wrong with my BP, that it was a side effect of the ibuprofen, she seemed annoyed that I did this on my own.

I don't pretend to know what the deal is with doctors and prescriptions, I have thought of everything from payoffs from Big Pharma to sheer ignorance to just plain laziness.

Anyway, I just wanted to tell you this because if you are taking any kind of NSAID, perhaps you should try stopping it for a while to see if it may be what is causing your HBP.

[I'm not trying to be your doctor . . . just telling my story.]

Thanks, Ford. I always appreciate someone trying to help me. I don't take any NSAIDs except to treat the occasional headache. I do have elevated BP and for a couple of years I took HCTZ. My doctor changed me to Lisinopril because I had a tendency to be dehydrated from the diuretic.

My mother died from kidney failure brought on by untreated high blood pressure, so I am very cognizant of my BP. I watched her live out her last few years on dialysis 4 days a week, and I don't want to find myself in that same situation.

As for doctors and prescriptions...it may be a combination of the things you have mentioned. Lazy, kickbacks, whatever. Unfortunately, it may also be because people would rather pop a pill than try to live a more healthy lifestyle. My brother was recently diagnosed as Type II diabetic, and he happily takes his Metformin daily while continuing to sit in a chair and eat high carb foods that elevate glucose levels. I guess he thinks the "magic pill" is all he needs, instead of actively monitoring his blood glucose and his diet for a better result.

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Re: Women Statin Drugs & Diabetes

On 11/10/2014 SarahW said:
On 11/10/2014 Ford1224 said:

SarahW, just on the off-chance that you may be taking Lisinopril unnecessarily, I was on it for quite some time and starting getting side effects from it. So I asked my doc about it and she just changed the prescription to a different ACE inhibitor. In the meantime, I had always had in the back of my mind that ibuprofen might be the cause of the HBP, so instead of taking the new med, I stopped taking the ibuprofen. Within three days I took my BP and it was lower, and within a week it was normal and has been ever since. I didn't even feel much of a difference from not taking the pain killer, the pain is pretty much the same. Every once in a while I'll take an Aleve, but that is no more than perhaps once a week and it's usually for a headache. I have gotten used to the pain and on bad days, I pretty much just stay in bed. (I have RA and severe osteoporosis.)

When I told my doc what I did, she didn't comment. I don't think she liked it. Instead of being happy for me that there was nothing wrong with my BP, that it was a side effect of the ibuprofen, she seemed annoyed that I did this on my own.

I don't pretend to know what the deal is with doctors and prescriptions, I have thought of everything from payoffs from Big Pharma to sheer ignorance to just plain laziness.

Anyway, I just wanted to tell you this because if you are taking any kind of NSAID, perhaps you should try stopping it for a while to see if it may be what is causing your HBP.

[I'm not trying to be your doctor . . . just telling my story.]

Thanks, Ford. I always appreciate someone trying to help me. I don't take any NSAIDs except to treat the occasional headache. I do have elevated BP and for a couple of years I took HCTZ. My doctor changed me to Lisinopril because I had a tendency to be dehydrated from the diuretic.

My mother died from kidney failure brought on by untreated high blood pressure, so I am very cognizant of my BP. I watched her live out her last few years on dialysis 4 days a week, and I don't want to find myself in that same situation.

As for doctors and prescriptions...it may be a combination of the things you have mentioned. Lazy, kickbacks, whatever. Unfortunately, it may also be because people would rather pop a pill than try to live a more healthy lifestyle. My brother was recently diagnosed as Type II diabetic, and he happily takes his Metformin daily while continuing to sit in a chair and eat high carb foods that elevate glucose levels. I guess he thinks the "magic pill" is all he needs, instead of actively monitoring his blood glucose and his diet for a better result.

It's understandable then that you would take the HBP med, and I would too under those circumstances. Fortunately for me, it was the NSAID and not my body. I had thought it strange when I was diagnosed with HBP, since I had had low to normal BP all of my life, and low BP is the norm in my family. I do think anyone who is prescribed a HBP med should check a possible medication cause first . . . but obviously in your case, the HBP is real and you are wise to take the med.

I'm sorry about your mom.


Formerly Ford1224
We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. Elie Wiesel 1986
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Re: Women Statin Drugs & Diabetes

On 10/20/2014 millieshops said:
On 1/15/2012 hckynut said:
On 1/9/2012 nightowlz said:

They just said on the news that women have a 48% greater risk of developing Type II Diabetes if you take a statin drugs. http://yourlife.usatoday.com/health/medical/diabetes/story/2012-01-09/Study-links-statins-to-higher-...

Anyone on statin meds as prescribed by their doctors should put all their trust in their doctor and not on articles one sees or hears. If you don't completely trust this doctor I suggest to everyone that they find one that the trust, completely.

Reading about "NEW STUDIES" does nothing but confuse most all of us. I'll do my own research along with that of my doctors and I will feel quite comfortable with all the prescriptions meds I am now taking with their advice.

This is and always has been my view on "the latest studies say??????"

John - Love your answer.

There are as many opinions as there are people, as many reactions to drugs as there are people who take them.

So many medical opinions are based on personal experience. For most of us that means 10 people or fewer. I trust that my doctor has had exposure to many, many more users than that. I trust that experience.

I also have lived long enough to know no meds come without risks and that's there can be risks in taking no meds, too. Tough life!

Millie

I agree, if we followed the "latest studies" why take any medicines at all? Physicians know that the majority of patients are not going to exercise on a regular basis or consistently eat healthy.
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Re: Women Statin Drugs & Diabetes

That's my goal, to not take any medicines. I still take blood pressure meds and probably will for life.