Thank you Marilyn. I had already decided that fat was a problem for me even though all the new diets like keto and paleo are okay with it. It just isn’t for me. I do know that when I eat the high carb meals I will need extra exercise, but the bg goes up and then comes back down, not the lingering higher bg that happens with fat. Thank you so much for your input.
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Marilyn,
thank you for this post. I too am T1, 50 years and LFPB diet. Feel better than ever . Eat 250-300 carbs/ day and TDD is 15 units. Walk 30 minutes daily. My LDL is 80, and I take 3 statins/week too. ( maybe i told you this?) I had a recent nuclear stress test that revealed some blockages. I have put off the cardiac cath for a few months but assume I too may need stents. Curious how the procedure worked for you?
Having cataract surgery this week. Did they come early for you too?
again, thanks for sharing great news.
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Hi Lisa, I love that you are eating so healthy now. How long have you been eating LFPB?
My need for stents in 2010 came on very suddenly after several months of extreme stress. In April of that year a friend died, a week later my Dad for whom I was a caregiver died, a week later I had kidney stones which had to be removed. During the procedure the doctor found a tiny bit of bladder cancer. Three months later my mom, for whom I was a caregiver died, and a week later, I more or less collapsed while hiking and I had my husband take me to emergency. I give you this bit of history, because I have wondered if so much stress had anything to do with my sudden need for stents. I was taken to a cardiology unit in a larger hospital and the next morning two stents were placed. I didn’t have time to do my usual extensive research, so worrying about dying, I just did what I was told. The staff had no problem with me continuing to manage my own diabetic care. I did not have a heart attack.
I think I stayed for one more night. 3 days after receiving the stents I was driving and running errands. It all was almost painless and very easy. My husband stayed in the room with me. The only sign I had that something was wrong on the hike, is that I suddenly became very fatigued and my arms became heavy.
I showed a need for cataract surgery in both eyes when I was 65. My vision was still fine though. The idea of eye surgery was much scarier than the procedure itself. My parents didn’t have cataract surgery until they were 83 or 84. My sister who is 4 yrs older than I am hasn’t needed surgery yet.
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Congratulations @Marilyn6! It is so great to see all your hard work pay off! And it is also great to see that once again, we all have different goals and different treatment plans to help achieve those goals! And when you find what works, it is such a good place to be.
I, like you, have been doing this for a long time. And I, like you, have major heart issues on both sides of my family. My Dad had his first heart attacking at 42, his father died early of a heart attack and my. mom’s Dadhad hear issues. So with my long term diabetes and family history, cholesterol has been a big focus. But I have been on a low dose statin for as long as I can remember. It was just always part of my treatment plan. The type may have changed over the years due to insurance changes, but it has always been there. And my numbers have always been good. Last go around cholesterol 146, triglycerides 44, LDL 61 and HDL 76. I don’t low carb, I just eat what I always call a balanced diet (you know the 4 food group type-I know I’m dating myself) I just eat a little bit of all food groups everyday. I also walk everyday and work a pretty physically demanding job.
So I guess my takeaway here is congratulations on your great success and as usual, we can all get to our goals, but our paths might be different.
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So glad that your cholesterol numbers are so good Sally. I have tried statins in the past but I always reacted very badly to them. I also was greatly influenced by books and some doctors who believe that cholesterol numbers don’t really matter. That didn’t work out too well for me in the long run. My LDL number was close to 300 when I received stents. I do still hold some anger at myself for not changing my diet sooner. I had a 4.7 A1c, but it was the high LDL that got me.
I agree that we each have to find what works each one of us. A healthy diet and exercise can work wonders. Congratulations on your success!
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Thanks for follow up, Marilyn.
I go by Bhakti now…not Lisa.
I will have the cataract done wed, then 2 weeks the 2nd one. In the meantime,they found some blockages on a nuclear stress test, and enlarged heart with electrical problems. I feel fine, although a little stressed and drained from all at once. {;us all the usual stressors related to T1, and aging mom and husband, animals, etc. I do think the stress is our worst enemy. LFPB lifestyle and yoga practice has saved me.
Yoga 20 years and Vegan 10 LF only 2 years but it proved to be the ticket.
Are we on personal e mail or is this going on the group . I hate to bore others with details. So much to share but will stop for now.
Keep up great work!We are all warriors on this path.
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@lisa-c1 It’s not a bore to hear it!!!
But just in case you want to personal message Marilyn, tap on Marilyn’s icon and a box will come up with a blue message box in the right top corner. That will link you to starting a private message strand to her.
I like hearing the success stories and how people are managing to cope with what life throws at us. It’s really nice to hear you got through stent surgery so easily Marilyn in case I ever need it I can cross my fingers I will do so well!
Heart disease runs rampant in my family. My Dad had his first heart attack when he was 54. My mom also had heart issues. My brother died when he was 57 from a major heart attack and I have a sister who has had issues for years. (grandparents also had issues)
I have no issues and they keep a close eye on it and I honestly think my vegan diet has helped keep it that way. It doesn’t mean I won’t, I’m just happy it hasn’t so far and I’m going strong!!!
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OMG Marie, that is quite a history. I never really knew that my grandfather died of a heart attack, since it wasn’t talked about, so I was totally shocked when I had to get stents. Hopefully it won’t be in your future. I am hoping that my new way of eating will keep me from needing more stents.
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It looks like you tried to send me a message, but it was printed here instead. Looking forward to hearing more from you Bhakti.
I will wait to answer until I hear more from you.
Just be careful with statins. I had borderline cholesterol problems, so my Endo put me on a low dose of Simvistatin. While it worked to bring my numbers into range, about a year after I started them, I started to feel weak, achy, and terribly fatigued. I got to the point where the pain was so bad that I could not walk easily, stand, or sleep. After two weeks of tests at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, I was diagnosed with Dermatomyositis. That also is an auto-immune disease, and there are some who say that it can be “triggered” by statin use. As diabetics, we all are more susceptible to further auto-immune diseases, so just watch yourself. I would not wish dermatomyositis on anyone.
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I am so sorry to hear that you have dermatomyositis SherryAnn. I have read that it can be a nightmare. Do you remember how much simvastatin you were taking? After we received heart stents in 2010 I tried several different statins and reacted badly to them quite quickly. I am surprised that it took a year for you to get so ill. I would take one several weeks and then have a lot of pain and difficulty getting out of the car. I have been very wary of statins since then. Since I have heart stents I feel damned if I do and damned if I don’t. I ride my 8 miles daily and eat a very heart healthy diet, but my cholesterol is still high without a statin.
Thanks for reaching out.
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I am sorry that I do not remember the exact dose, Marilyn, but I do remember that it was one of the lowest doses the doctor could prescribe. I am sure that I had the adverse reaction well before the first year on the drug; I just was too stubborn or too frightened to really acknowledge what was going on. By the time I went to Mayo, I had lost 17 pounds, and the doctors figured a good 8 of that was just muscle loss. Dermatomyositis almost killed me then, and it continues to try to flair up even now. I belong to a Myositis organization, and one of the newest posts is from a person who is newly diagnosed with a myositis that was statin induced. Although no definitive results are available, more and more evidence points to the fact that statins can cause problems with some people. That is why I caution everyone to be careful. You seem to be one of those people – like my husband – who will have cholesterol problems no matter what you do. You can probably thank your gene pool for that. Keep up the great work, though, with your diet and exercise. We all only can do the best that we can to keep ourselves healthy.
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Red Yeast Rice has a natural statin in it at a lesser strength and in fact the manufacturer of one of the statins took issue with how strong some of them were and lodged a protest over patent infringement and the companies now have to make sure they don’t get close to the strength of the prescription statins. the problem then is how much is in them??? Who knows. But they definitely didn’t seem to bother people like the prescription stuff and still lowered cholesterol significantly. We used to steer a lot of people towards plant sterols like Moduchol as an alternative, it didn’t quite work as fast and not quite as strong but brought extra health benefits with it.
BTW I love how WebMd says this
“Red yeast is POSSIBLY SAFE for most people when taken by mouth for up to 4.5 years.” But they will keep you on a statin forever.
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Years ago my husband tried taking several non statins for his high cholesterol including red yeast. Unfortunately it didn’t do anything for him. I will try it though since I never did. Thanks for reminding me.
I found a great supplement which is bringing down my blood pressure and I think I will be able to stop my prescription med. I am very pleased. I only started a med for BP this past winter, and I don’t like the side effects. Tonight I will take half my med dose again since my BP was 105/45 this morning which is too low for my comfort. 105 is fine, but 45 is just too low.
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Hi, Well done! I too have been diabetic type 1 for over 60 years. I’m well over eighty and touch wood am in good health despite not having figures like you eg. AIC 7.7. I haven’t seen too many Drs. over the years but one, now dead , put me on 20 mgs. dayly of statin 20 yrs. ago… I keep active but have to admit I have yet to get my bike out this summer! I haven’t a clue how many carbs I eat but do try to balance food intake with insulin jabs - greatly assisted by the recent acquisition of a continuous glucose monitoring system. This allows me to go to bed with lower blood sugar readings knowing I’m going to wake up next day!!! Keep up the good work. Jim Moore, Canada. PS I have been using pork insulin until recently - it is hard to find and expensive in this age of synthetics.
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So great that you are doing so well Jim! That is marvelous. I have no idea if I really have to have a non diabetic A1c. Sounds like you have done fine with a higher one. Do you have many problems with neuropathies etc? You are doing what works for you and I am certainly impressed. Sounds great that you got an CGM. It would be awful to feel like you might get too low at night and not wake up. Bet you are sleeping better now.
Thanks so much for writing Jim.
Thanks for sharing Jim! Where in the world do you find pork insulin these days, and what do they charge per vial?
I gave it up 24 years ago (prior to which I had stopped taking basal Lente / ultra-Lente / NPH and was only doing multiple daily injections of “Toronto”).
Jim S - Calgary
I’d be interested to know what supplement you use to treat high blood pressure. I recently cut my daily blood pressure med in half and now experience better readings. I take an angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) class drug, now taking 10 mg instead of 20 mg I took for years. I measure my blood pressure almost every day and my 30-day average is 110/68 mmHg.
Terry, last night was my last tiny dose of Losartan Potassium. I had been taking 50 mgs but my blood pressure was still higher than I wanted to see it. My last four readings have been 122/68 110/61 119/61 and 119/57. I haven’t taken it yet this morning. Not quite as low as your recent average, but I am happy with these readings. I will post here if my readings today, without the minuscule dose, rise.
The product is Carditone by Aylish Herbs. I found it after searching for a supplement and reading the many positive comments.
Now if I could just find a substitute for the tiny bit of statin I am taking. I am really getting tired of burning feet. I can’t believe that I actually have neuropathy because of a medication.
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Hi Marilyn/Jim, Tks your interest. Yes I have neuropathy - no pain and doesn’t effect my driving although it is a pain trying to convince the auto licensing bureau!!! Pork insulin is available from Rexall in Calgary. It is called Hypurin.It is nph. It is approved by Health Canada although I don’t believe it is covered by any provincial health plans. It used to cost me Cdn$90-100 a vial ie very expensive! It is imported from the UK although I believe the maker is owned by an Indian company - however I have not been able to buy it in India. ( I went there a couple of times for tooth implants and saved a bundle over N. American prices for the same treatments - highly recommended!) I too was on Lente/ ultra-lente - unfortunately it is no longer available as of all the different insulin regimes I have tried over the years this combination gave me the best control.Jim
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