1. My ophthalmologist checked my intraocular pressure (IOP), 6 weeks ago. One eye had a pressure of 23 the other 17. He said these pressures were elevated and I needed eye drops for glaucoma. I went in yesterday to be rechecked and my pressures were 10 and 12. The doctor believed this was an error so they rechecked it again and got the same reading. He said this was not possible without medication. I started "ketovore" a month ago and believe this is what corrected this.
I don't think you are recalling this experience correctly or some dire piece of information is being left out. But if it happened exactly as you are describing, you need to find a new eye doctor ASAP.
Normal IOP is considered to be between 11 and 21 mmHg. This would mean that your first reading showed one eye slightly elevated and the other as normal. Your doctor suggesting that you needed "eye drops for glaucoma" is preposterous. He didn't even screen you for glaucoma to make that statement. There are individuals with higher than normal IOP who never develop glaucoma just like there are individuals with normal IOP who do develop glaucoma. Risk of glaucoma varies and that risk has to be assessed carefully before glaucoma medication is administered. Many other underlying factors could be affecting IOP. Why he jumped the gun to glaucoma, with a single eye pressure result, is mind boggling to me. This is why I believe you are not recalling this correctly.
IOP varies considerably during the 24-hour cycle so why he would say that your change in IOP is "not possible without medication" is ridiculous. It is totally possible. A single eye pressure measurement at any given time, on any given day, in the doctor's office is only a snapshot of what the eye pressure truly is on average. This is why your doctor would have had to take multiple readings before he could determine if you truly have elevated IOP, what's causing it and what risk does it pose. Then he could determine what course of treatment you should have. My husband has had high IOP in one eye before, multiple times, and then it would be normal by the next reading. He was never been told he needed "eye drops for glaucoma" before and he actually has a family history of glaucoma. They simply monitor his IOP fluctuations, but he doesn't have glaucoma... yet.
This is precisely why I never take these anecdotal experiences seriously but low carb pages and groups run rampant with them. These stories always have missing information, incorrect information or exaggerated information in order to prove whatever narrative they want you to believe. I understand you are excited with "ketovore" but putting out these stories, that don't make sense, is not going to help anyone. Like I said before, there are many factors involved in the regulation of IOP. The reason that "ketovore corrected this" is because there was nothing wrong to begin with.
2. I lost 140+ lbs. but now I have kidney issues and will be seeing a specialist next month. I'm pretty sure all my health issues are 100% stress. My HbA1C is now 4.5, thanks to low carb. I just don't understand why I am having kidney issues now that everything has improved.
And I don't understand what your kidney issues are. You left that part out.
There are many types of "kidney issues". Not all kidney issues are related to diabetes, overweight/obesity or metabolic syndrome. I can be on the best diet and exercise program and still drop dead of a heart attack because not all heart issues are caused by diet and exercise. Sometimes organs simply mechanically fail because of some other underlying reason or even genetics. Certain medications also, when taken for the long term, cause kidney disease like blood pressure medications.
So, I can only go by the information you gave me, not by what you didn't. The fact you lost 140+ lbs., means you were significantly obese at one time and I don't know how long you were that way. I also don't even know if the loss of 140 lbs. got you to lean because you didn't say.
You said that your "HbA1C is now 4.5 which makes me believe it was much higher before. This means you were possibly diabetic or prediabetic at one time, but you also didn't say. Dropping your HbA1C to 4.5, which is something I haven't even been able to accomplish, is quite impressive. Too impressive actually. You should check your blood glucose lows. People in the low carb world always hoot and holler at low blood glucose numbers and HbA1Cs. They make it seem as if there is no bottoming out for these numbers but there is. Too low means big problems. The person with too low of these values is just as diabetic as the one with two high of them so, it is not surprising to me that you are having kidney issues. "Everything improved" is up for interpretation.
Diabetes is not a disease of high blood glucose or high HbA1C. It is a syndrome caused by poor blood glucose regulation which deteriorates insulin function over time. Abnormal release and over expression of insulin (insulin resistance) is notorious for damaging the kidneys. It takes decades for this to happen, but it eventually does and that is why kidney disease is such a common complication for diabetics. You can still have abnormal insulin function with a low HbA1C. In fact, it could be that over expression of insulin dropping your blood glucose so low. I would have really liked to see your fasting and postprandial glucose readings. After all, you have to explain that low HbA1C and nope, low carb is not the explanation. Are you on some type of medication?
This is why you have to be ultra careful when you listen to low carb zealots. Their goal is to just lower your blood glucose, as low as it can go, and they simply ignore everything else. Well, your blood glucose certainly lowered but at what expense? It appears your syndrome was still continuing unabated. Overweight/obesity/diabetes/metabolic syndrome have long lasting effects on the body, even after your blood glucose seemingly lowered and the pounds came off. I certainly would have needed more information so I could have some context of your issues.
3. Is there a point where you need to stop eating "keto"?
A well formulated ketogenic diet does not ever have to be stopped.
4. Why do low carbohydrate/"keto" people keep pushing a diet that they can't even follow themselves? Yet they swear up and down it's the only way.
First, you can't be duped this easily. You should know the answer to this. The people who are pushing this stuff are people who get paid off it. It's their job to push it and minimize/hide when it doesn't work or people don't like following it. Of course they themselves can't follow it. The diet has no ravioli, pizza, biscuits, cinnamon buns, shakes, cakes and pies. When it does, they taste like &@^$. Nothing beats the real thing and there is nothing worse than searching constantly for alternatives to the junk you used to have, only to find out it doesn't live up to the hype. So yes, these people will always be unable to follow a diet where it is imperative that you stay away from junk.
I remember watching a video of a "low carb doctor" where he had the audacity to say that a "natural, low carb diet is full of delicious foods". He then listed nuts, spinach, berries.... WTF? Did he not think we knew those foods existed before? We never ate them for a reason. They taste like &@^$. Yes, I can eat broccoli but who wants to?
This is why I never patronize my readers. I tell them the truth so they know what to expect and don't become discouraged or disappointed later. The key to success is to know exactly what you're getting into beforehand and to understand why you're doing it and what happens if you don't. That's all you need as motivation.
Low carb diets, when followed correctly and not "a-la-carb counting", are restrictive, elimination diets that require diligent adherence and a high level of commitment. This is because tacos, cookies and brownies will be completely off the menu and so will 90% of all the other stuff you're used to eating. Good bye Italian restaurant unless you order the caprese salad only. The diet is only meat and vegetables. No shared desserts and of course, the cookie bar is gone too. You can't have your cake or eat it at all.
You can find delicious ways of preparing and seasoning your meat and vegetables but no, there are no French toasts or waffles or even French fries to go with it. There is no lemonade or corn dogs so your carnival visit might be hampered. At the movie theater you better bring your own bland nut tray or your bitter 90% chocolate bar because popcorn and Kit Kat bars are forbidden. You can go through your phase of trying to recreate these items to be "low carb" but you will soon learn that they aren't the same and not even worth the hassle of making. Those that cross that bridge, actually learn to live with their diet, enjoy it and they begin to obtain results. Those that don't, will continuously fall off the wagon and cry about it.
The goal of low carb is not calories or to fit into a bikini. The goal is proper blood glucose regulation. You are trying to fix the tree from the root upwards because trimming the branches is not solving the crooked trunk. This is why low carb diets are only beneficial for people who are ready for a metabolic intervention, not those simply trying to find a new diet to follow.
5. If blood glucose disparities set the stage for overweight/obesity/diabetes, how does fasting play into this? A lot of fat people do not seem to ever be hungry.
Fasting is detrimental for people who already have metabolic syndrome because it prolongs their "time in hypoglycemia". Basically this is lengthy exposure to low blood glucose. This further reinforces the metabolic adaptation towards high blood glucose, insulin and body fat. You cannot keep stable and proper blood glucose regulation when you fast for long stretches of time. Remember, if the person is overweight/obese, they already have a high insulin demand so prolonging the time in fasting blood glucose only drops their blood glucose lower than it normally would due to the presence of higher than normal insulin expression.
This is why people on exogenous insulin and/or blood glucose lowering medications are told to not fast for long stretches as this will only cause them more problems. Lows in blood glucose are the engine that drives the condition we know as metabolic syndrome/diabetes. Highs in blood glucose would be the transmission. This car is headed towards dialysis.
Some obese people are often hungry but there is a large percentage of them who are mostly not hungry. No hunger is usually a sign of "leptin resistance". This is why it's not surprising that the never hungry obese, are the ones with intractable obesity.
6. I've read that on "fasting days" it's okay to eat, you just have to keep calories under 500. I'm not sure if I have to worry about macros. Can I have a green tea?
I don't know what you're talking about. This must have come from some asinine protocol you were reading online but it's not reality. "Fasting days" while eating are called "eating days". "Eating days" under 500 calories are called "snacking days". Doing this for a prolonged period of time is called "starvation".
The only thing that's called "fasting" are 0 calories. Fasting is when you do not eat anything. Nothing at all. Not a thing. Well, except for your own body fat but if your leptin expression is through the floor, you won't be doing that either. So it's zero.
Also there is no such thing as "fasting days". You fast daily for a set number of hours. You don't "fast for days".
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