Covid-19 rarely told stories

Intermittent Fasting and Covid-19 Walk into a Bar, I mean Body…

Jokes on me

I found out I needed a new primary care provider in July. I contracted Covid-19 the second week in August. First available appointment with my new primary care provider was Oct 25. I had to deal with Covid and Paxlovid reactions without the aid of a primary care provider.

I live in rural America and we run through medical staff like lotto winners run through cash.

I am grateful at least to have caught Covid-19 post vaccines and 2 years into the pandemic. I lost a little weight between the god-awful Paxlovid mouth and the loss of energy to do anything, much less cook.

I thought I should take advantage of this little kick start in weight loss as I was flirting with prediabetes. I’d tried all kinds of programs and plans to reduce weight, increase exercise, and lower my A1c number. Most diet-exercise plans backfire on me and I either lose no weight or gain a little. My A1c was creeping up to the dreaded 7- full on diabetes.

I came across some articles on Medium about how intermittent fasting helped some people lower their A1c number. I watched some videos then dove into the scholarly research. It looked like intermittent fasting (IF) might just be the ticket!

According to multiple reliable sources the IF advantage is that fasting shifts the body’s preference for relying on glucose to an ability to burn fat for energy.

Here is an article to help you start your deep learning journey on the topic of IF.

I began IF on August 20, 2022. I choose the 16:8 plan, fasting for 16 hours/eating within an 8 hour window. For a month I was dogmatic about it. I lost a little more weight, but more joyfully, my swollen legs and ankles were dramatically reduced. This reversal of decades of edema was incentive enough to keep going.

By Sept 20th the 16:8 plan was impossible to follow with my teaching and meeting schedule. I oscillated between 16:8, 12:12, and 10:14 fasting/feeding. The number on the scale also oscillated, up 12 pounds, down 14 pounds, back to starting point, dip below magic threshold!

I know I was dealing with water weight as Covid/Paxlovid had left me with severe dry mouth. I drank so much water. Between the anti-inflammatory benefit of IF and the increased water consumption to keep my mouth hydrated and throat functioning — I felt like I was living in the bathroom.

The coveted appointment for my physical and blood draw final arrived. I was three months into intermittent fasting. I was confident my A1c number would be lower, and I could get out of the pre-diabetic zone.

I open my medical portal 2 days later excited to see all my perfect/near perfect numbers. BUN good, sodium good, cholesterol astounding (primary care provider was ready to put me on a statin without even seeing any lab results!). Vitamin D was low and A1c…drum roll please…had DOUBLED! WTF.

DOUBLED? Impossible. Yet there it was in black and white with the red exclamation point. And of course rural America-I can’t get back to see my primary care until Dec.

My primary care did try to warn me in a way. During the physical he casually mentioned that Covid-19 was known to trigger diabetes in people who were border line. That worried me enough to do a deep dive research project on the topic.

In general, the virus has a preference for replicating in cells located in the pancreas. These cells are responsible for producing insulin. The disruption in insulin production raises the sugar/glucose levels in the blood (in my case doubled the glucose in my blood-not good!)

If you want to read the research for yourself here is a good place to start

My neighbor, who works in a hospital as administrative staff, affirmed the news-yes, the doctors have told her that diabetes is likely post Covid.

Jokes on me I guess, and I’m not laughing. With an A1c of 13, I am likely diabetic. I’ve already begun the stages of grief- I’m in denial.

Another rarely talked about Covid-19 after effect

The obligatory disclaimer-

I’m not “that” kind of doctor (medical). I am a PhD and diving into research is what I do. Of course this is my journey with Covid-19 aftermath, your’s may be different. I am sharing to encourage you to work with your medical practitioner and dive into the research yourself.

One thing that is clear to me- this covid-infection is not the flu!