From 500 ml soft drinks daily to regular walk, diet change: Doctor shares diabetes patient’s incredible transformation journey

Changes in diet and regular walk helped a 30 year old man in reducing extremely high triglyceride levels. While we all have been always told to pay attention to diet and exercise, this is a glaring example of that.

Diabetologist Dr Rahul Baxi has shared an extremely interesting case on microblogging platform Twitter.

On October 19, Dr Baxi had shared the lipid profile of a 30 year old man who had been newly diagnosed with diabetes, then. The lipid report showed that the triglyceride level of the person was 3352.4, multiple times higher than the normal and acceptable level of triglyceride in the body. While the overall cholesterol was 440.7, more than double of the desirable range, the levels of low density lipoprotein or LDL and high density lipoprotein or HDL were less.

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500 ml cold drink daily!
It was the diet of the patient that had caught the attention of the netizens. He consumed 500 ml of cold drinks every day; and it was more than that if someone else was with him.

“30 yr, M

Newly diagnosed Diabetes

Breakfast- orders dosa or medu vada or vada pav

Lunch and dinner – “I like Chinese food, always from outside. I also like Thums Up”

“How much, 300 ml?”

“No, 500 ml or 1 L if someone is with me”

Meanwhile, the TG levels,” Dr Baxi had tweeted.

The Twitter thread initiated by Dr Baxi has been an open and active engagement place for doctors, experts and others since then.

Blood sugar range
To a comment asking about the FBS, PP2BS and HbA1C of the patient, Dr Baxi has replied, 320, 400 and 15.7%, respectively.

To those who are already aware of diabetes and blood sugar levels, this appears to be a serious case.

FBS or Fasting Blood Sugar is considered to be normal when it is 99 mg/dL or lower.

PP2BS or the postprandial blood sugar normal level is below 140 mg/dL.

HbA1C or the average blood sugar level for 2-3 months should be less than 5.7%.

High triglycerides and low LDL
Several Twitter users have pointed out the extremely high levels of triglyceride and low levels of LDL in the patient.

“Sir. TG very high! It looks to be Familial combined hypertriglyceridemia . They have high TG levels and high levels of very low density lipoprotein (VLDL). However LDL cholesterol and HDL cholesterol are often low. Diet high in carbs and alcohol intake can make the condition worse,” says Dr Sandeep Rai.

Quite expected. But LDL seems to be falsely low, no? Textbook case of full blown metabolic syndrome due to lifestyle, an ongoing pandemic, tweets Dr. Bhaumik Kamdar.

Do triglycerides matter?
Yes! Much of the general knowledge around cholesterol is that higher levels of LDL is bad.

Triglycerides do play an important role in the body. High amounts of these lipids harden the arteries increasing the risk of stroke, heart attack and heart disease.

Extreme levels of triglycerides as seen in this case leads to acute inflammation of the pancreas leading to a condition called pancreatitis.

The complications associated with triglycerides make it a potential marker of health.

Why was he recommended to take tests?
The patient was experiencing fatigue, nocturia and polydipsia due to which his physician asked him to take the test, says Dr Baxi.

Nocturia is a condition that wakes up the patient more than often for urination; this is commonly seen in older people and also seen in those having diabetes.

Polydipsia is a condition of extreme thirstiness.

But why the lipid test, when he was recommended to do a blood sugar test?
To this question which was asked by a Twitter user, Dr Baxi gives an ubiquitous answer which doctors hear on a regular basis.

“Good question, his family physician had asked him only for HbA1c and glucose levels because he had fatigue, nocturia and polydipsia. He said, “fir maine socha ki poora package hi kara leta hoon lab se”

However, that saved him as he could get a proper diagnosis on time.

Is it reversible?
Three days after tweeting the report, Dr Baxi had shared another screenshot of the lipid test on October 20, in which the triglyceride of the person is 1378 mg/dL, down by more than 2000 units.

“TG down by a couple of thousands with 3 days of dietary modifications and medications,” Dr Baxi tweeted. The patient was put on Fibrate and Saroglitazar apart from dietary changes.

On November 3, almost 15 days later, Dr Baxi shared another lipid test report in which the triglyceride level had further come down to 315 mg/DL. The normal range of triglycerides is less than 150 units. “And now repeated, down by a further thousand. He has made significant dietary changes and has started walking regularly. Glucose levels also improved,” tweeted Dr Baxi.

And he also gave up on cola!

Check the entire tweet here: