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What Are The Adverse Effects Of Taking Atorvastatin?
Question: I am HIV positive also diabetes runs in my family but I have not been diagnosed with it.my. doctor recently prescribed atorvastatin.(quite out of the blue) should I be concerned given thehealth issues I described?
Brief Answer:
it depends...
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
normally you shouldn't be concerned. There are some cases that either drug to drug interactions or side effects may affect your health. For patients with HIV, atorvastatin may become a problem if you're taking drugs for HIV. Some of them may interact with atorvastatin and most of the other statins. If you're taking treatment, please provide more details...
Regarding your family history, there is no immediate concern. Be warned though that most statins may impair glucose metabolism and increase your blood glucose levels. While they are not expected to actually cause diabetes, they may reveal a 'hidden' glucose metabolism defect and lead to diabetes earlier. Individuals with a perfect glucose metabolism won't be significantly affected. Individuals with pre-existing glucose metabolism problems (like many individuals with a family history of diabetes) may present with higher glucose levels than usual. In order to understand this, you've got to keep in mind that progression to diabetes is usually linear. You don't get diabetes 'all of a sudden' (in most cases; there are exceptions). You start with an impaired glucose metabolism which leads to a normal but higher glucose level which keeps rising over months or years until it gets so high that diabetes is diagnosed. Some individuals have a 'stronger' pancreas and may never become diabetic. Others may become diabetic early.
So in conclusion, although there are no immediate concerns, there are some things that your doctor has to consider.
I hope you find my comments helpful!
Kind Regards!
it depends...
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
normally you shouldn't be concerned. There are some cases that either drug to drug interactions or side effects may affect your health. For patients with HIV, atorvastatin may become a problem if you're taking drugs for HIV. Some of them may interact with atorvastatin and most of the other statins. If you're taking treatment, please provide more details...
Regarding your family history, there is no immediate concern. Be warned though that most statins may impair glucose metabolism and increase your blood glucose levels. While they are not expected to actually cause diabetes, they may reveal a 'hidden' glucose metabolism defect and lead to diabetes earlier. Individuals with a perfect glucose metabolism won't be significantly affected. Individuals with pre-existing glucose metabolism problems (like many individuals with a family history of diabetes) may present with higher glucose levels than usual. In order to understand this, you've got to keep in mind that progression to diabetes is usually linear. You don't get diabetes 'all of a sudden' (in most cases; there are exceptions). You start with an impaired glucose metabolism which leads to a normal but higher glucose level which keeps rising over months or years until it gets so high that diabetes is diagnosed. Some individuals have a 'stronger' pancreas and may never become diabetic. Others may become diabetic early.
So in conclusion, although there are no immediate concerns, there are some things that your doctor has to consider.
I hope you find my comments helpful!
Kind Regards!
Note: For more detailed guidance, please consult an Internal Medicine Specialist, with your latest reports. Click here..
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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