Good news: Mom’s A1C dropped from a 12 to a 7. ( was on Lantus/Humalog since May, recently started Tresiba/Humalog).
Bad news? The Endo said there is a lot of protein in her urine and that her c peptide test was very low*( 0.2) which may indicate kidney damage…She wants my mother to get a CT scan just to make sure but…
There are many ppl( know- it all’s) that advised my mother to not use Insulin. They said horrible things such as, insulin causes kidney damage etc. Now that the Endo wants her to get a CT scan done just to be sure, my mother is freaking out. I, however don’t believe Insulin causes Kidney damage- if anything I think it prevents it.
Please keep my mother in your thoughts, I’m really hoping everything is okay with her kidneys.
Good job on bringing her a1c down. I think the low c peptide indicates she should have been on insulin a long time ago, not that she has kidney damage…
Although the protein in her urine may be caused from previously out-of-control diabetes— you’ve worked hard to bring it under control. Hoping for the best.
I’m surprised a CT-scan would be ordered, prior to additional blood and additional urine testing for protein. Did she do a 24 hour urine collection ? There is also a ‘GFR’ ratio that indicates kidney function. CT-scans, particularly with a dye can be particularly harmful to kidneys.
I have had numerous times where my GFR was ‘bad’, but on subsequent testing, it was fine, and this was considered normal to flucuate. Being dehydrated and high sodium diets can also impact the results.
GFR - glomerular filtration rate is the best test to measure your level of kidney function and determine your stage of kidney disease. Your doctor can calculate it from the results of your blood creatinine test, your age, body size and gender. Your GFR tells your doctor your stage of kidney disease and helps the doctor plan your treatment. If your GFR number is low, your kidneys are not working as well as they should. The earlier kidney disease is detected, the better the chance of slowing or stopping its progression."
That’s great Tinsyl… great work on the a1c! The most likely scenario is that the higher blood sugar while not using insulin caused the kidney damage. I hope she is ok and it’s not severe. I think the 24 hour test should show more.
I’m sorry to hear about your mother. I’m sure you are very concerned. Having a very low c-peptide suggests that you mom has almost no insulin production herself and that insulin is absolutely needed. As to the protein, I would urge you to not freak out too much. The microalbumin test is very sensitive and might show protein in the urine but doesn’t necessarily reflect bad kidney disease. And I don’t believe the chronic kidney disease (CKD) caused by diabetes is not diagnosed with a CT scan. Instead a CT is used to see if you have kidney stones or cysts or other things. If your endo does think your mother has CKD he should refer you to a specialist, a nephrologist. And as @rgcainmd says, an EGFR test is routine and you should be able to see right away if your mom is experiencing CKD. I always like to get full copies of my test results from my doctors. I also signed up at QuestDiagnostics so that I can go right to them for copies of my test results.
Really just summarizing what has been said already . . .
If your mom really does have kidney disease, the probability is so overwhelming as to approach certainty that the high blood sugars are what caused it. Insulin doesn’t do that. If it did, every NON diabetic person with plenty of insulin would have diseased kidneys.
The idea that insulin hastens bad outcomes is deep rooted in our culture, and it’s absolute, utter, pernicious rubbish. It exists because too many doctors—way too many—view insulin as a last resort and fail to prescribe it until it’s almost too late to do any good anyway. Insulin is life. And with a c-pep reading as low as your mom’s, she almost certainly needs it, irrespective of other factors.
I agree, my mother’s readings have been so much better since Insulin ( specifically, after adjusting the units with Tresiba). Prior to Insulin, on a daily basis- her readings would be in the upper 400’s!!!
Thank you rgcainmd, her ct scan is on Monday, the 12th…hoping everything goes well. I will keep everyone posted once I hear of any updates.
Interesting, I have never heard of Purines before…but I did a quick reading on which foods contain them and luckily, my mother’s diet doesn’t consist much of it. Thanks Ladalady
Actually, I have online access to all of the testing she has done and I have not seen that a GFR test has been done? Now this raises some questions for concern, why the doctor wait so long?
My mother has not had a GFR test done, as I checked her online records just now. I am in the process of emailing her doctor and requesting that she gets this done immediately. Not sure why the doctors have not yet?
I refuse to believe Insulin causes kidney damage, otherwise every single individual relying on Insulin to survive, would pretty much have kidney disease. I spent the last couple of days trying to convince my mother
Mother’s ct scan is this monday…will keep everyone posted.
