Plotless!

[s'nic]

Hi

No forum seems to exist for me (please let me know if you DO know of an active applicable one)

I've done a ton of searching, and the diabetes uk forum seems both the best, and the most fitting as:
- I 've been diagnosed pre-diabetes (score 42)
- I need to lose weight, and I see you have a weight loss section
- I need food advice/recipes, and I see you have a food section
so maybe you can put up with me 😳

In full ...
Test results (creatinine) seemed to indicate I had kidney problems so I was pushing that with my doc, and he arranged full blood tests. At the start of this month I collected printouts of the tests (5 pages!), and long story short ...
- prediabetes
- high cholesterol
- high triglycerides
- kidney disease stage 3

As you can imagine this was a bit of a shock, so now I got to watch fats, carbs sugars, and keep salt low, and lose weight which of course meant overhauling my entire diet

Since then I was looking at insulin resistance, and following a link I found that liver problems can cause high HbA1c, high triglycerides and can result in kidney problems
Possible symptoms of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease are:
- tiredness / lethargy / malaise / no energy (which I have been battling for 3 years and wondering how if I had some kind of long covid)
- discomfort on the upper right side of tummy (where your liver is - I've had a pain in that location since 2020/2021, but thought it was from covid damage to the lung)
I'm doing my best not to jump to conclusions, and have requested a doctors appointment so I can discuss those concerns.

Oh, and I have an ectopic heartbeat as well to complicate things and make me unsure which symptom is associated with what

Sorry for the essay, but yup, that pretty much sums me up at the moment. Currently stuck between losing the plot, and falling apart 🙄

 

[Leadinglights]

Welcome to this forum, there are people with all sorts of Types of diabetes, prediabetes and those who have manages remission by adopting strategies which in some cases need to be compatible with other complications as well as diabetes as this can be difficult to find a regime which suits everything and there has to be a compromise.
However you are in a good position to be able to reduce your HbA1C towards normal by some modest changes to your diet. Reducing the amount of carbohydrates will be the most important thing so cutting out the more obvious cakes, biscuits (unless home made low carb ones) and sugary drinks including fruit juice and reducing portion sizes of other high carb foods like potatoes, bread, rice, pasta, breakfast cereals and basing meals on protein, meat, fish, eggs, cheese and vegetables and salads and fruit like berries. Many find that reducing carbs helps to also reduce cholesterol.
This link may help you with some ideas for modifying your diet, https://lowcarbfreshwell.com/
Symptoms don't usually appear until blood glucose gets well into the diabetic zone and sometimes not even then which is why people sometimes don't get diagnosed until blood glucose has become seriously high. You are lucky that you have a wake up call now.
Do you take any medication for your heart.

 

[s'nic]

Yes, I think I can turn around the HbA1C ... I do like sweets, cakes, and biscuits ... so cutting those will be key. I have looked at alternative recipes I can use, but so far not made anything.

One issue I do have is I need to cut fats out as well, so need to look at low sugar AND low fat baking. Well it's a general issue as low fat foods tend to be higher in sugar. I've researched diets with regard to all my conditions, and come up with a general plan of action, but tbh I'd feel better if I could speak to a dietician of some form or another - thats another question to ask the doc 🙄

I take a beta blocker for my heart, I just had an ECG again yesterday as the doc noticed my pulse was a bit uneven. My pulse is also slow - it can hit as low as 38 while sleeping.

btw, my bmi is currently 29, so primary target atm is diet overhaul, plus get that below 25
My general health has lead me to not eat much, I actually lost 28 pounds over 3 years with no diet and eating anything I felt like (which prob messed with my sugars/cholesterol). So I can't see weight loss as an issue ... main issue will be trying to eat enough healthy stuff. I get tired or start feeling unwell often when doing stuff even around the house.

 

[PerSpinasAdAstra]

Welcome 🙂 You're in the right place, or as right a place as can be found.

In October I was in a similar, but different position. I had:
HbA1c of 89 mmol/mol - very diabetic indeed
Very high cholesterol
Ridiculously high triglycerides
High Albumin to Creatine ratio indicating possible kidney problems

I lost a load of weight and everything improved. In January my cholesterol and triglycerides were normal. HbA1c was 39 mmol/mol but medication accounts for some of that. Albumin to Creatine ratio has improved greatly though still not in the normal range. My GP suggested high uncontrolled blood pressure for a long time may have caused kidney problems but that's just speculation as far as I know. I wasn't aware that a fatty liver could lead to kidney problems.

I'm not an expert in anything and this is not medical advice, though I'd say you're onto a winner with planning to lose weight. High HbA1c and triglycerides are indeed both associated with fat in the liver. As you've caught it early my guess is you have a very good chance at preventing your prediabetes becoming full blown diabetes if you lose enough weight to empty out the liver fat.

Very best of luck

 

[Leadinglights]

Yes, I think I can turn around the HbA1C ... I do like sweets, cakes, and biscuits ... so cutting those will be key. I have looked at alternative recipes I can use, but so far not made anything.

One issue I do have is I need to cut fats out as well, so need to look at low sugar AND low fat baking. Well it's a general issue as low fat foods tend to be higher in sugar. I've researched diets with regard to all my conditions, and come up with a general plan of action, but tbh I'd feel better if I could speak to a dietician of some form or another - thats another question to ask the doc 🙄

I take a beta blocker for my heart, I just had an ECG again yesterday as the doc noticed my pulse was a bit uneven. My pulse is also slow - it can hit as low as 38 while sleeping.

btw, my bmi is currently 29, so primary target atm is diet overhaul, plus get that below 25
My general health has lead me to not eat much, I actually lost 28 pounds over 3 years with no diet and eating anything I felt like (which prob messed with my sugars/cholesterol). So I can't see weight loss as an issue ... main issue will be trying to eat enough healthy stuff. I get tired or start feeling unwell often when doing stuff even around the house.

Just be careful not to confuse low sugar and low carb, things can be low sugar but high carb.
It is all carbs which convert to glucose not just sugar.
Low carb cakes, biscuits etc can be found on the website sugarfreelondoner.

 

[s'nic]

Welcome 🙂 You're in the right place, or as right a place as can be found.

In October I was in a similar, but different position. I had:
HbA1c of 89 mmol/mol - very diabetic indeed
Very high cholesterol
Ridiculously high triglycerides
High Albumin to Creatine ratio indicating possible kidney problems

I lost a load of weight and everything improved. In January my cholesterol and triglycerides were normal. HbA1c was 39 mmol/mol but medication accounts for some of that. Albumin to Creatine ratio has improved greatly though still not in the normal range. My GP suggested high uncontrolled blood pressure for a long time may have caused kidney problems but that's just speculation as far as I know. I wasn't aware that a fatty liver could lead to kidney problems.

I'm not an expert in anything and this is not medical advice, though I'd say you're onto a winner with planning to lose weight. High HbA1c and triglycerides are indeed both associated with fat in the liver. As you've caught it early my guess is you have a very good chance at preventing your prediabetes becoming full blown diabetes if you lose enough weight to empty out the liver fat.

Very best of luck

Turns out my first low GFR was a GFR of 55 in may 2021 ... but I was never told about it 😡
I only found out my 3rd GRF reading of 50 last august. I've had 2 more since then which were around the same, so am a little miffed that I wasn't informed. I've had high BP now and again, but it tends to be stress related, it's fine atm, and I'm not on any BP meds (tho the beta blockers I have for my heart will have some effect).

It's good to hear you have made huge improvements, it validates my plan of action. I made the choice of not having statins as all my other conditions make losing the weight a key target anyhow, so I figured go full diet control.

 

[s'nic]

Just be careful not to confuse low sugar and low carb, things can be low sugar but high carb.
It is all carbs which convert to glucose not just sugar.
Low carb cakes, biscuits etc can be found on the website sugarfreelondoner.

yes I know ty, I'm going low sugar, low fat (esp saturates), and trying to watch carbs too. But I gotta be honest, the sweets/cakes/biscuits would have been an issue (where's the blushing/embarrassed emote when I need it lol )

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Welcome to the forum @s'nic

Good to hear you’ve developed a plan of action to get you started. That’s such an important first step. Then you can adjust and tweak it as the weeks and months progress based on how your diabetes (and kidneys) behave, and whether your weight and results are heading in the direction you want 🙂

 

[s'nic]

Thanks
The kidneys aren't a big issue atm since, diet changes are only really needed in later stages. At stage 3 the key thing is control blood sugar, blood pressure and weight to slow (or potentially even stop) progression to later stages.

My main concern is my tendency to accidentally, or unavoidably do too much - then I crash and burn. Basically lack of energy combined with feeling unwell. On those days I lack the energy or will to even cook a meal (which last happened friday evening).
Today I cooked a BIG pot of food - I'll portion that so I have something in the freezer ready for such days

 

[Leadinglights]

Thanks
The kidneys aren't a big issue atm since, diet changes are only really needed in later stages. At stage 3 the key thing is control blood sugar, blood pressure and weight to slow (or potentially even stop) progression to later stages.

My main concern is my tendency to accidentally, or unavoidably do too much - then I crash and burn. Basically lack of energy combined with feeling unwell. On those days I lack the energy or will to even cook a meal (which last happened friday evening).
Today I cooked a BIG pot of food - I'll portion that so I have something in the freezer ready for such days

There are things you can keep in the fridge for easy meals like cooked meat, salads, cheese, boiled eggs, yoghurt or as you have already done make extra portions and freeze for home made ready meals.

 

[s'nic]

There are things you can keep in the fridge for easy meals like cooked meat, salads, cheese, boiled eggs, yoghurt or as you have already done make extra portions and freeze for home made ready meals.

The need to watch the fats (cholesterol) atm means less choice of items, so I do need to work on items that I will reach for on bad days.
I'm feeling unwell again today, chest feels bad, but no identifiable reason and I can't detect a noticeably uneven pulse so I'll just put today down as a rest day.
(I have pulsatile tinnitus - I hear my pulse 24/7/365 in my right ear, so if my pulse is particularly uneven, or elevated I do hear that)

 

[Leadinglights]

The need to watch the fats (cholesterol) atm means less choice of items, so I do need to work on items that I will reach for on bad days.
I'm feeling unwell again today, chest feels bad, but no identifiable reason and I can't detect a noticeably uneven pulse so I'll just put today down as a rest day.
(I have pulsatile tinnitus - I hear my pulse 24/7/365 in my right ear, so if my pulse is particularly uneven, or elevated I do hear that)

I would go for a normal level of healthy fats, they will help with cholesterol reduction. Still gives plenty choices.