Hi all, just something I don’t understand and wondered if anyone else has had my outcome. Since my heart attack 6 yrs ago I have been on all the usual meds and have 6monthly blood checks. 6 months ago my bloods showed Chronic Kidney disease (shocks to say the least) High cholesterol, and was pre diabetic! To find all this out in one swoop hit me pretty hard. I attended a pre diabetic course which if I’m honest I could have just read the printouts and got on with myself. The result at the end was exactly the same as when I started. Then I had ultra sound for chronic kidney disease. Now, this next part will make you think I’m mad but I wanted to put something to the test. Firstly I’m not saying this is right but I tried it. I did develop a sweet tooth and that continued and so I continued to eat sweet things knowing my blood sugar would be high . I also didn’t watch at all what I ate regarding saturated fats eg. So cholesterol will be high. My theory was maybe I need to get these high scores to really knock me into shape. Fwd to appt got results couple of days ago, my sugar levels are completely normal so no longer pre diabetic, my kidney results all normal so what happened to chronic kidney disease? Then my cholesterol best it’s ever been overall 4.2. So it would appear that diet has had no effect on any of these results. I had originally been doing all I could to get my results to where they should be and it didn’t work yet not watching what I eat has drastically bought my numbers down! I am in no way suggesting that this could work for others so I’m not advocating that this is right but it’s happened for me so now finally no more being worried about what I put in my mouth. Doesn’t make any sense really but I’m happy 😃
amazing blood results : Hi all, just... - British Heart Fou...
amazing blood results
Hi, I have CKD so have done a fair bit of research on it. The general rule for healthy kidneys seems to be staying well hydrated, keeping blood pressure down, weight in a healthy range, exercise daily, diabetes under control and avoiding NSAIDs and dark coloured fizzy drinks.
Whatever you have done has worked for you so well done, much as you say you haven’t been a saint, you had made lifestyle changes so hopefully that was enough to kickstart your body into fighting back, long may it continue!
My blood sugar swings between pre diabetic and normal, I think it can be influenced by medication, if you read the information with your prescription it will tell you. It could be as simple as what time you took your meds in relationship to when the blood was taken.Cholesterol can be affected not only by diet but level of activity.
I'm glad you're feeling happy but if you have had one heart attack I would sincerely recomnend that you eat as healthy a diet as you can tolerate, and generally pay attention to trying to have a healthy lifestyle.
Regard these tests which appear to be wrong as warnings of what you could be facing in the future. Not so much fun in the short term, but very helpful long term.
What medication can effect your sugar levels? I understand what you are saying but if it’s that simple why are you suddenly pre diabetic and in need of intervention if that reading could change within hours? I do see what you are saying though. Same with going from chronic disease to not having chronic kidney disease, don’t get it.
One I know for sure is Bisoprolol, and I have been prescribed other medication that can do the same.It depends on what blood test they did for them to say about CKD. The tests I have to check my kidneys can have erratic results, sometimes okay, other times looking dodgy.
The human body doesn't always make it easy to understand results, and there are many things that can affect them, so it isn't easy for we non medical people to understand.
Oh I take Bisoprodol twice a day. This is where dilemmas come in. Stop to save your kidneys or keep going to save your heart! 😏
No Bisoprolol might affect your blood sugar, I don't know if it may affect your kidneys.
Oh well save diabetes or heart and obviously it’s always gonna be heart
I think it’s worth paying attention to what @scentedgardener is saying. Blood glucose., cholesterol, BP, kidney function etc exist along a spectrum. Although there are diagnostic cutoffs at a particular number, it’s not as if there is zero risk at the upper end of the normal range which abruptly changes when you cross a certain threshold.
You need to pay attention to all of your numbers and observe whether there are any long term trends. It’s also worth mentioning that all of these parameters can trend downwards with weight loss. The opposite is also true. I don’t know if that’s been a factor in your case.
I can’t recall what the cut off number for pre diabetes is in the UK. I think it’s over 5.9% (not sure about the mmol equivalent). So if you go from 6.0% to 5.8% it’s enough to categorise you as “normal” but it’s still close to the prediabetes cutoff. It’s still not a good idea to be too complacent if that’s the case. Similarly with eGFR. At my hospital, 60 and above is normal but having a eGFR in the low 60s isn’t ideal. Your kidneys will still work well enough but if this is you, you might want to tweak your diet and lifestyle to avoid losing more function. Hovering around a diagnositic cutoff point isn’t a sign that all is well, but it’s still early enough to make meaningful changes.
Sadly a friend of mine has gone from mid range prediabetic to borderline diabetic despite going on the NHS course. He was previously someone who paid attention to his health and kept himself fit, but it may well be that his genetics and his age are no longer in his favour. It’s not his fault. He was already going to the gym etc and he found the NHS course helpful, but despite his best efforts and being proactive, it wasn’t enough.
How bizarre . As you say, not recommended that anyone else tries this as your situation is unique to you and what appears to be beneficial in your own circumstances could be lethal for someone else.
What meds were you on prior to discovering the CKD and which were dropped as a result of that diagnosis?
I wonder if that underlying kidney problem was creating/exacerbating/contributing to the other issues and treating that has rebalanced your systems.
What has your doctor thought about this improvement and what conclusions you can take from it?
I suppose in an ideal world we would all get preventative holistic check ups which would enable us to understand underlying health conditions and react appropriately before they become more serious.
That is amazing because the exact same experience happened to me,same pre diabetic tests, cholesterol, apart from the kidney disease,5 years after heart attack...I religiously stuck to my meds,walked every day was to say the least abit hard on myself,then all my blood tests came back high,so I relaxed,had some chocolate, extra treats,nice food,and guess what?all my tests came back normal,much the same as you..From my experience I now believe that being too strict on my health regimen caused me stress and once I relaxed and slowed down so did my body which appeared to work better for me.I still walk daily,and continue my meds,and eat healthy but not forgetting to balance everything else out for a healthier lifestyle, physically, mentally and more mindful of my needs 😊
wow that’s interesting. Personally I have suspicions about blood results meaning the nhs seem to focus on something like for example diabetes and they set up all these sessions nationwide and now need to fill them and suddenly thousands of us become pre diabetic and get sent to these sessions. The Chronic kidney disease came completely out of the blue within six months resulting in ultra sounds to see whats happening and those results showed nothing and it’s now been forgotten other than being told it’s probably down to meds. The cholesterol, well another nhs group session was offered which I turned down and amazingly my cholesterol corrected itself with no help from me. No meds changed in the 6 yrs I’ve been on them. It’s all a mystery but I suspect the answer lays somewhere between the GP and the nhs goals they have to reach. Having said that, as insinuated by some replies, I will continue to check myself diet wise etc but my main point was I have spent months worried sick over these results thinking all sorts of doom and gloom to find out that now nothing is as supposedly as it was. Thanks for you reply 😀
I was suddenly listed with chronic kidney disease a couple of years ago. I found it by accident, rang GP in a panic as nothing had been said, only to be to ld "Oh take no notice. It's just nice who have altered the figures at which we must record it. As you get older kidney function does deteriorate a bit but now it has to be recorded"
I did wonder that. I guess that’s why I was sent for ultra sound to make sure it wasn’t too bad. But yes it scared me to death too but as you said the millions out there not being kept an eye on have probably all got CKD to some point and also are pre diabetic so I guess to some extent we are lucky to be monitored but unlucky that we have to be.
Being monitored would be good if you could ever get an appointment to arrange treatment if necessary. My annual bloods are on Jan 3rd so we'll see what it comes up with this time. I expect my cholesterol to be up because my diet has slipped.
My diet definitely slipped which why I was surprised. It would be interesting to know how you get on. Can I ask what you take for your cholesterol?
Simvastatin. Tried atorvastatin but it didn't suit me.
I am on atorovastatin and Ezetimibe. That was added a year ago so maybe it’s that that has finally kicked in and lowered cholesterol?
So far simvastatin is doing ok. I'm allergic to a lot of tablets so I won't rock the boat unless I have to. I'll try to get back on track after Christmas.
No! Honestly??
I can definitely resonate with your experience, on the other hand , apart from the unnecessary worry,wer being well monitored by the NHS, thankfully, good luck on your journey,and take care 😊
Yes I agree we are totally. I have terrible anxiety since my HA and so these little glitches or whatever they are really effect me. No worries now for another six months at least 😂😂
It seems odd that they diagnosed CKD after just one abnormal blood result?
CKD - One of life's mysteries that Doctors keep locked away in their cabinets and don't seem to take that much attention too, or don't see it as an issue.
If patients were to ask about CKD, the majority on forums such as this would find that they do have it, its just a case of where they sit in the spectrum. Most doctors will monitor the kidney function from blood tests, particularly the eGFR, the lower it gets the more serious CKD becomes.
I'm currently in Stage 4, one step away from dialysis with an eGFR of 22 most recently this month. This is due to a number of factors, not least problems from surgery and meds.
Best wishes
it’s always the same isn’t it? Take something for this but it will cause that. Best wishes to you
Walnuts and blood lipids
Type 2 Pre-Diabetes Range
statins
