“Things haven’t really gone in the right direction. Have you considered a statin?”
I had my annual diabetes health check this week. I know, and have known for quite some time, that I need to do more to address my health issues. I have a list as long as your arm of diabetes-related maladies to manage. The nurse knows it, and so do I.
“Yeah, but I don’t want to change or increase the medication I’m taking. Not until you give me three months to try to turn things around through lifestyle choices.”
She smiled and said, “That’s okay, but you have to consider medication if the numbers don’t show us that you’re moving in the right direction.”
Fair enough, I thought.
We had a long conversation about what I need to do. We’ve been here before, of course, but this time I have to be careful. I need to lose weight at a pace I can sustain. I need to get my blood glucose levels under control, stop eating ultra-processed foods as a matter of routine, follow a low-carb version of the Mediterranean diet, bring my cholesterol down and make the effort to do at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise every day. Walking, in my case.
FFS!
It has become blindingly obvious to me that getting older makes all of this much harder. But do it I must. I used to think that I could chase type 2 diabetes remission simply by fasting a lot and following a ketogenic diet. That isn’t going to cut it this time around. I have asked my medical team to help monitor me closely as I make these changes. They have agreed.
The result from the urine sample I submitted at the appointment has given all of this greater urgency. My kidneys are leaking albumin into my urine. They are still filtering waste normally, but they are allowing a protein that should remain in my blood to pass through. It is a warning that the kidney filters are under strain, not that my kidneys are failing. Either way, we need to take this seriously.
My goal is to give myself a fair chance of avoiding more medication. However, I also know that this cannot become a point of pride or a test of willpower. After three months, the numbers will decide.
So, what am I to do?
We went out for our weekly food shop this morning, and the trolley looked very different. There were salads, vegetables, oily fish and other healthier choices. High-fat dairy will no longer sit at the centre of the way I eat. Ultra-processed foods and artificial sweeteners will become occasional exceptions rather than everyday choices.
This isn’t a promise that I will never eat another treat. It is an attempt to make the food I eat healthier most of the time.
These changes are important. I have a mortgage now, so I need to maintain my day job for the next several years, if not the next decade. To do that, I have to be as fit and healthy as I can be.
So, we’re back to keeping a close eye on our expenditure, watching what I eat and keeping my head down at work. The good news is that I have a supportive family and nothing to prove to anyone. Just stay off the radar and gently move forward, one step and one day at a time.
This isn’t going to be easy, but there is an entire range of health improvements waiting for me if I can make it work.
I will write about this again after my three-month review with the diabetes nurse.
Until then, adieu.