Diabetes and kidney problems

Luizam25

Dear MFP, I value your opinions immensely so I do have a new question.
Since diagnosed with T2 in 2010, I was prescribed medication for kidney (for having small amount of protein in urine). The medications used for this problem are the ones used for high blood pressure (for about 4 years my kidney situation was ok). But I never had high blood pressure, just the opposite. So all this medications I had to take usually make my blood pressure really low and I feel sick all the time. My doctor changed my pills from Avapro to Ramipril and now to Coversyl. The last blood work/urine test I and a week ago indicated new problems with my kidney: a high level of albumin (RU) of 125 - normal is below 31 and high albumin creatinine ratio of 10.7 and normal is below 2. So, my dr change me from ramipril to coversyl.

I did not start the new pill. The info about this medication indicates that it should be carefully used by people with diabetes using Metformin (like me) or people with kidney disease. I am so puzzled and upset.
What do I need to do to protect my kidneys?
I was told that meds are a must for my kidneys and - as I have already problems - I do not want stop medication.
But which one is the right one for me?

Any info/sharing of experience will help.

hookilau

I'm so sorry this is happening to you :ohwell:

I ran into an issue when I was first diagnosed last year similar to what you've experienced. Everyone's different of course but I thought my story might be worth mentioning.

I had microalbumin in my urine, I forget what the original value was. Anyhow, my endo wanted to prescribe meds to reduce my blood pressure as you've described. It's just what is done when this happens.

I had just started a Ketogenic diet to control my blood sugars & my targets were much lower than what my doctor had set for me. I had high hopes as I'd heard certain things can be reversed once blood sugars are reduced to normal levels.

bloodsugar101.com is a great resource to find out more if you're interested.

Anyhow, I had chosen to decline meds, after 3 months on my keto diet & basically eating to my meter, my UR test came back normal. I've had a third UR test that came back within normal limits since that first one. (I never ended up having to do the 24 hour UR collection test)

If I were you, I would start with bloodsugar101.com & read up. I was worried at first about starting Keto with possible kidney issues to begin with, however, it's a HIGH FAT diet with moderate protein. Since I get most of my calories from fat, my blood sugars are in the normal range, not normal for someone with diabetes, normal for someone without diabetes

Unless you are already on a low carb diet & getting fasting numbers below 100 mg/dl & <120mg/dl 2 hr PP, I would put to you that getting lower numbers will most likely improve the state of all related complications.

I wish you all the best :drinker:

Luizam25

Thanks a lot for your detailed answer. Your assessment makes a lot of sense. I am reading all the resources I have available and I do agree that it is vital to get control over my blood sugar. It is still a struggle in the morning to have good numbers.

hookilau

It was for me too...still is if I eat something the night before that is too high in carbs :ohwell:

Also, I've found eating to my meter the best way to figure out patterns that are peculiar to my diabetes. What works for one person, doesn't always work for another.

Some people can eat whole grains, I'm not one of 'em.

Lows follow highs as a general rule, so if you test frequently, you'll be able to figure out which foods to avoid. Fasting bg's are the last to go bad & so they are the last to get better.

Sometimes having a small protein snack before bed can help prevent whatever happens overnight to make your liver decide you need more glucose. A tablespoon of peanut butter perhaps. This helped me a bit in the beginning. Here are a couple of links to get you started.

http://www.phlaunt.com/diabetes/14045524.php
http://www.phlaunt.com/diabetes/14045678.php