
I Have Now Is My Cholesterol Was 225 High, LDL Was 147 High

My issue that I'm having now is since being on the prednisone I feel it has raised my sugar and my cholesterol especially my cholesterol in dangerous ranges that they want to place me on a statin drug. Should I take a statin drug or should I WAIT TO SEE WHAT HAPPENES WHEN THE PREDNISONE finally gets out of my system. Also, once you start a statin drug or something for sugar , will I have to be on this drug for the rest of my life especially if I'm losing weight. I don't know what to do. Of course, I don't want to have a heart attack or stroke but I don't want to be taken all this medicine if its not necessary. I tried to upload my lab reports but the system would not allow me to do so.. I hope to not be waiting long for a RESPONSE.
Please get back to me as soon as possible on how I should move forward. Thanks!
I would recommend taking statins.
Detailed Answer:
Dear,
I passed carefully through your question and would explain that increased cholesterol levels are not only related to prednisone, but also to high glucose levels and diabetes.
From the other hand, in patients with diabetes, even borderline cholesterol levels are considered atherogenic (with a high cardio-vascular risk). For this reason, we recommend to have lower levels of cholesterol in diabetic patients, in order to lower their cardio-vascular risk.
Coming to this point, I would strongly recommend taking statins in your clinical situation, in order to reduce your cardio-vascular risk. In my opinion they are really necessary in this situation.
If your cholesterol levels will drop too much after discontinuing prednisone, then you may decide to stop the statins.
Hope to have been helpful!
I remain at your disposal in case of further questions whenever you need!
Kind regards,
Dr. Ilir Sharka, Cardiologist


Not trying to be difficult but I really need to know all my options...
Thanks

Please get back to me soon because I hate waiting for so long for a response.
Thanks
My opinion as follows:
Detailed Answer:
Dear XXXXXXX
I don't think that you need to perform a coronary artery calcium score test as long as you don't have any symptoms suggestive of coronary artery disease (chest pain, shortness of breath, etc.). Besides, this test imposes you to the risk of radiation.
I agree with your doctor that prednisone could be the culprit of your increased cholesterol levels.
From the other hand, there is no reason to panic, because increased cholesterol levels do not immediately damage your blood vessels. You should know that coronary artery disease is caused by prolonged (for years) presence of cardio-vascular risk factors (diabetes, dyslipidemia, arterial hypertension, obesity, etc..) which cause a gradual damage (accumulation of fat ) in blood vessels, causing their narrowing.
So, there is no reason to panic if your body is exposed to dyslipidemia for a short period of time, as nothing serious is going to happen.
Coming to this point, I agree with your doctor that you may decide to wait and see your blood lipid profile after the discontinuation of prednisone, in order to judge better to start atorvastatine or not.
In the meantime, I would recommend a low fat and sugar diet and regular physical activity (aerobics can help lower LDL levels naturally).
To conclude, there no reason to think that you can not stop statins, once you start them. I would like to inform you that you can stop taking statins at any time! Doctors usually recommend stopping them for short periods of time and restart them, in order to reduce their adverse effects.
Hope you will find this information helpful!
If you have any other questions, please don't hesitate to ask me again!
Wishing all the best,
Dr. Iliri

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