Diabetes, CKD and depression

[MarkGeordie]

Hey everyone,

It’s been a while since I was last online the forums. I was in a nice steady place with my diabetes. This has been a little rocky again but my hba1c is now back at 71, so heading in the right direction.

Not sure if anyone remembers but I started to have issues with my kidneys and high potassium levels.

After the strikes, etc, and much delay of about 4 months, I got to see the renal team.

They have struggled to get my medication at the right levels to control things such as my symptoms, potassium levels and high blood pressure because when they increase one thing it goes and impacts something else.

I have been officially diagnosed as stage 3b CKD and very close to crossing the line into stage 4 with quite severe symptoms and impact on day to day life.

I am now feeling very low and depressed because my consultant said we need to start having the conversation regarding transplantation because of the rapid speed in decline he expects the progression will be sooner rather than later.

I tried talking therapies but after 3 sessions I discharged myself because I wasn’t getting anything from it.

I have just started some counselling that one of the kidney charities offers, so hopeful they can help me a little.

Trying to persuade the diabetes team to give me the new pump too that is tubeless, they have an MDT meeting to discuss on the 17th.

Thanks for reading!

Best wishes,

Mark

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

So sorry to hear how your kidney problems have progressed in recent years.

Good to hear your HbA1c has been heading in the right direction.

We have a few members sharing notes of their stage 2-3 Kidney disease here

Eck! Stage 3a Chronic Kidney Disease!

During yesterday's chat with a GP (I has specifically requested one of the diabetes leads - there are two) it emerged following the course of the diuretic Furosemide after decades of CKD (Chronic Kidney Disease) Stage 2 I have gone to CKD Stage 3a. He will have the kidney function tests repeated...

forum.diabetes.org.uk

including @MikeyBikey @PattiEvans @Martin.A and @Flower

Sorry to hear the talking therapies haven’t helped. Have you been offered meds? Or other options like ‘social prescribing’ (groups/interests etc). Hope you can find a toolkit to help take the edge off your low mood. Depression can make everything else so much harder to manage

 

[s'nic]

Hopefully the progression will not be as fast as feared. Reading your post it sounds like they maybe tried a potassium blocker. Did they give you any dietary advice? Hopefully you can slow the progression a little.

My last efgr was 48.8 which is an improvement on the 44.7 last september. I really want to try prevent it slipping into the 3b territory.
I was not given any advice by my doctor, but did reading up and as a result am trying to avoid those foods which are highest in potassium, phosphates and oxalates. I had started to eat spinach on the grounds that it's supposed to be super healthy, but then found it's super high in oxalates

One of the advices I have seen was about soaking foods higher in potassium to leech it out, and always boiling those foods rather than steaming or microwaving so more is removed. Also cutting the item in smaller pieces prior to cooking to maximise the potassium removed during boiling.