Toronto, ONCan we talk? Thank you. This is written in the first person as the subject at hand is Crestor and I have been mandated to take the stuff by my doctor. I fit the profile: I am middle-aged and my so-called “bad” LDL cholesterol is a tad on the high side. For various reasons he has me on 30 mg per day, which may be reduced going forward as needed. I hope so. Because I might have Crestor diabetes.
I don’t like taking medication of any kind - not even for a headache, if I can avoid it. While I agree that modern medicine is an amazing thing, it’s also true that once you start taking medication for one thing, suddenly you find yourself taking another medication to fight the side effects of the first one, and then a third to counteract the second, and so it goes. It doesn’t happen all the time but it can, depending on the individual, and that’s a train I don’t want to ride.
When I was prescribed Crestor three years ago or so - maybe four now, as it can all be a blur - I was made aware of the Crestor side effects, of which I was already aware due to the fact that I write about the stuff. Muscle soreness is common. Crestor rhabdomyolysis is a less-common and rare side effect of rosuvastatin (Crestor) characterized by the breakdown of muscle tissue and its absorption into the bloodstream. Rhabdomyolysis is thankfully rare, as it’s extremely serious and in some cases can be fatal.
And then there’s Crestor diabetes, which is also a rare side effect. I was hopeful that wouldn’t happen to me, as I have no risk factors that I know of for diabetes: I am not grossly overweight, I am reasonably active, I eat well, I don’t smoke (never have), I don’t consume a lot of sugar and there is no history of diabetes in my family save for my maternal grandfather; although he is not a blood relative as it turns out, so that doesn’t count.
And so it was a surprise to find, following a routine blood test, that I am what they call “pre-diabetic.” Further tests have not come in yet, but suffice to say that for the moment anyway, I remain in that uncomfortable zone that suggests that I could be diabetic - but maybe not. And if I can further watch my diet, lose those few extra pounds and step up my exercise even more, perhaps I will control it that way without the need for, say, Actos that could give me bladder cancer.
But if I keep taking Crestor, am I doomed to full-blown Type 2 diabetes?
My own father, who is at a healthy weight, a non-smoker, is active and has the biggest sweet tooth I have ever seen, is 82. The only pill he takes is a low-dose aspirin once a day. He has never taken cholesterol medication in his life. He likes his ginger ale, he eats cookies by the bagful, and he is not diabetic.
I take my coffee and tea black, I don’t drink soda, I’m active and at a healthy weight (certainly not obese), I don’t have a sweet tooth and thus limit my sweets. Always have.
And I’m pre-diabetic. Me? What’s going on here?
A dose of 30 mg of Crestor a day is considered a higher dose. And I am required to take it unless I dismiss my doctor’s advice and expertise and stop taking it - perhaps trading in one problem for another. I wonder, then, that by continuing on with Crestor at 30 mg per day indefinitely, am I dooming myself into a diabetic state through Crestor issues?
As it is, I’m done with sugar. I’m also swearing off breads and things that turn to sugars in the body. I’m going to lose those few extra pounds, really step up the exercise and eat lots of oatmeal to see if a) I remain in the pre-diabetic state and, b) if my bad LDL cholesterol comes down to the point where I can take a smaller dose of Crestor, or get off it altogether.
I never had muscle soreness before Crestor. And I didn’t land in the pre-diabetic zone before Crestor.
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