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Marilynsretired
Marilynsretired Posts: 5,457 Member
Hi my name is Marilyn and I have been a diabetic for about 12 years now. Along with that came cellitus on my legs, and now Chronic Kidney Disease. On May 11 I had my last blood work done - cholesterol was to high and the kidney function had dropped. The normal GFR number is 60 and 2 years ago mine went down to 40 but with making some change I brought it back to 45. Well this time it has gone down to 34 which puts me into Stage 3 of Chronic Kidney Disease. And because of that I am having to make serious changes as the next thing to go could be my eyes unless I lose a limb before that. Not nice.

I got these result on May 18. In this length of time (3 weeks 3 days) I have lowered my weight by 11.5 pounds and on Tuesday I will get officially weighed so it looks like it might be able to say that in 4 weeks I will have lost 12 pounds. Hard work - very. Worth it - yes. Buy the way I am also obese so that doesn't help the situation either.

Thankfully with MFP food tracker I have been able to make the changes that the doctor wanted me to do. What he has told me to do (and I think this is good advise for anyone with diabetes ) is to (1) make sure I get in 8 x 8 oz of water a day (2) absolutely no salt = meaning no processed or fast food at all, anything with a label I am not now allowed to have as all processed food has to much salt in it. So am back to the basics of 50 years ago with respect to eating. (3) Am to limit animal protein to no more than 2 oz per day and preferably do not have animal products daily therefore going more whole food.

The number of nutrients with respect to our kidneys it 2500 mg but if you have diabetes should be lowered to 1500 mg. It can be tricky as salt is in pretty much everything - all fresh vegetables have some salt in it and all your animal proteins also have salt in it. By the way animal protein (including eggs and other dairy products) are high in cholesterol so if you want to make sure that number stays in line either limit those items to 1x a week or even less would be best

When he told me these 3 things to do I immediately cleaned out my pantry - hubby and daughter might not have been all that happy but they are now. Have been able to keep the sodium (I do not add any to my food) to 500 - 800 mg per day so when I have my next blood work done (will have it done on Monday) it should show some improvement.

By the way my A1C in May 2022 was A1C6.4 and I take one pill daily = trajenta 5 mg

As you might have noticed I have been added as one of the leaders - therefore I started up this chat room. Would really l like to see if there is any general conversations that we can have on this thread in order to help each other. Not to sure home many of this group are actually still active here on MFP or on this group but it would like to see lots of encouragement through this chat room - personally I find it difficult to post through pages of new threads - must be my OCD coming out

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Replies

  • 2t9nty
    2t9nty Posts: 1,585 Member
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    The 2 oz of animal protein would be a challenge for me. I do keep fluid intake up - on the order of a gallon a day.
  • Marilynsretired
    Marilynsretired Posts: 5,457 Member
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    Yes 2 oz of animal protein is not much but need to make this change due to Chronic Kidney Disease. The last 3 weeks have proved that having no sugar, no flour and no salt (except which is in food naturally such as fresh vegetables) - what a difference in how I am feeling and thinking. Swelling in my feet have gone down considerably. For the next week or 2 am going to see about going more vegetarian using lentils and beans for the protein - not sure if I can give up the animal protein completely but if it helps with my health it will be worth it. This is a way of life that the Lord is directing me to take so I will follow it.

    You get a lot of water which is good - everyone has to find the right balance - some need more some need less but good start is 64 oz which is what I am drinking now - somedays a little more (90 oz) and some days a little less.

    Question: what do you do to correct / handle your diabetes besides taking meds for it.
  • 2t9nty
    2t9nty Posts: 1,585 Member
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    I manage my BG with diet only - got off meds for it. My last A1C was 5.3, so it is working for me anyway, and I know this does not work for everyone. I don't have issues with the Chronic Kidney Disease either, I am happy to report. I keep net carbs under 20 (usually under 10).
  • 2t9nty
    2t9nty Posts: 1,585 Member
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    @Marilynsretired

    Results back from the blood draw yet?
  • Marilynsretired
    Marilynsretired Posts: 5,457 Member
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    How is everyone doing - rather quite here for a support group.

    Have you all have a good week, a good month? What does your day look like with regard to what you are doing for your health? Are you making progress?

    Today I got weighed and have lots 2.4 in the last week so a pleased with that.

    Went out to Denny's for brunch today. Did not do my research before hand to look out for sodium and potassium. What I had was an omelet for for seniors - should have asked them not to sold the cubed potatoes - but I ate them all - and now am suffering with sodium overload. Going to have to drink more than 90 oz of water to get rid of most of it.

    Otherwise am following my plan and generally feeling so much better -what is doing me in (this past week has been horrible re pain) is the new med I was given for pain - yes it took the pain away but gave me far to much codeine which produces horrible constipation and water gain - it has been 11 days and just starting to feel free of this drug.

    So now that I have shared how about someone else?

  • 2t9nty
    2t9nty Posts: 1,585 Member
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    I have been staying the course with keto. I have lowered calories a little to lose a couple of pesky pounds that have crept back. I get an A1C in July. It has been pretty routine for me. It seems as if a lot of people I know have been getting sick - flu - that sort of thing. I have dodged that bullet so far.

    Eating out is always a challenge!
  • Marilynsretired
    Marilynsretired Posts: 5,457 Member
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    Seems like we are the only one that responds to our messages - it would be so nice to hear from more but I guess everyone is doing fine and doesn't need support - but that is ok - I will manage, I am recovering.
  • Marilynsretired
    Marilynsretired Posts: 5,457 Member
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  • Marilynsretired
    Marilynsretired Posts: 5,457 Member
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  • 2t9nty
    2t9nty Posts: 1,585 Member
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    I had some pudding tonight made with avocado and Dutch Cocoa. It was really good.
  • Marilynsretired
    Marilynsretired Posts: 5,457 Member
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  • 2t9nty
    2t9nty Posts: 1,585 Member
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    Today has been the 4th of July meatfest here - hope everyone is doing well...
  • Marilynsretired
    Marilynsretired Posts: 5,457 Member
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  • 2t9nty
    2t9nty Posts: 1,585 Member
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    I have a blood draw Friday, so before long I will have an A1C to report. This doctor does not like to post the numbers on the portal until someone from the office calls first to tell you everything is fine. My appointment is the 15th.
  • judyvalentine10
    judyvalentine10 Posts: 65 Member
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    Hi. I'm a Canadian diabetic, so our morning finger pricks are different, but our A1C is measured the same. I do the best I can food wise. I recently realized that I am not a binge eater, but rather an uncontrolled eater. There is a difference, and it is easy to control when I think about the consequences.
    I am a little overweight(20lbs) and my last A1C was 7.2% which is considered high, but in my case if I go below 7%, I get a lot of lows.
    The reason for this is because in 2013 a simple ERCP to remove a gallstone went terribly wrong. I was hospitalized for 4.5 months with necrotizing pancreatitis. When I left the hospital, my pancreas was 50% smaller. A year later, I started getting fistulas from my pancreas to the side of my torso. Every time this happened, a little more of my pancreas atrophied. I now have 10% of my pancreas that works. They performed a surgery to find the fistula and fix it up. My pancreas was sown to my small intestine, and life goes on. I still have the occasional pancreatitis flare up, but it's something I've learned to live with.
    I will always be diabetic now because of all this nonsense.
    I have eliminated junk food from my home, which is pretty easy since I live alone. I have changed the times I have my meals, so I'm less inclined to have an evening snack.
    I take Apidra, Toujeo, Metformin, and recently my doctor added Jardiance on the advice of my cardiologist. Apparently I had a blockage in my right coronary artery. They put in two stents, and everything is fine now.. Back to regular exercise, which is much easier now.
    So, I'll check in time to time to see how everyone is doing.
  • Marilynsretired
    Marilynsretired Posts: 5,457 Member
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    nice hearing from you @judyvalentine10 - look forward to updates whenever you can post them

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  • 2t9nty
    2t9nty Posts: 1,585 Member
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    So, I'll check in time to time to see how everyone is doing.

    Hey! Good to hear from you.

    One of those things that really strikes me from time to time is how blessed we are to have modern medicine.
  • judyvalentine10
    judyvalentine10 Posts: 65 Member
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    2t9nty wrote: »
    So, I'll check in time to time to see how everyone is doing.

    Hey! Good to hear from you.

    One of those things that really strikes me from time to time is how blessed we are to have modern medicine.

    I thank my lucky stars that I live where I do. After all those months in hospital, and subsequent visits and tests, post operative care, I never paid a cent. And now that I'm 65, most of my meds are covered by the provincial government. After a $100 annual deductible, I pay $4.00 per prescription. The only one the government doesn't cover is the needles for my insulin pens, but my private insurance covers 80%, so I can't really complain.
  • Marilynsretired
    Marilynsretired Posts: 5,457 Member
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  • Marilynsretired
    Marilynsretired Posts: 5,457 Member
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