FracturedRabbit

I can't recall the exact quote, for an angio around 50k I think. The scan revealed that I had a 50% blockage in one artery, 37% in another, and the other two were clear. Not bad enough to need a balloon or stents; but enough to make me feel a little faint so he put me on beta blockers to fix that.
Eighteen months on and I don't need the beta blockers any more, lifestyle changes appear to have reduced the blockage. Calcium has increased 6%, but I put that down to pre-existing soft plaque being calcified. If you can keep the increase below 15%, the chance of a subsequent cardiac event is greatly reduced.

They injected the contrast and then started the scan, needs time to work its way round to the heart I suppose.

I had the stress test, and failed!

Doctor gave me the choice of an angiogram or a CT scan with contrast. The former is more expensive, more invasive and comes with its own set of risks, so I went with the CT scan with contract; where they inject contrast solution into your veins just before the scan. This enabled the doctor to identify the problem (clogged arteries) and the scan also produced a calcium score. I have subsequently had a CT scan without contrast to check on disease progression. The scan without contrast will give you your calcium score, (i.e. the amount of calcified plaque) but will not provide a detailed view of the arteries.

The scan with contrast cost my 18k baht. The scan without contrast cost me 3k baht.

The Calcium CT scan Sheryl refers to is the "gold standard" to evaluate whether you have atherosclerosis (and that price for Phyathai is very competitive). The resulting score will tell you how much calcified plaque you have in your heart arteries (if any). Score zero, and the likelihood of you having a cardiac event over the next 10 years is very low. If the result does show plaque, then at least you have a benchmark for the future.

23 hours ago, Swiss1960 said:

I live in Nongprue, I use Termite Tech (owner Chris) and happy with the results. His phone 082-207-1959, not sure about him taking new clients or not

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I second that recommendation. Chris is reliable and professional.

4 hours ago, brokenbone said:

well, i ended it today,, i can use my clothes again easily,

altogether i lost 22 kg, but i havnt got the determination to starve any longer, havnt had it for over a week,

the poor results lately due to increased food just makes it feel even shittier. i notice the apples makes any other restriction moot, must be a shedload of sugar in fruits

Congratulations! 22Kg is quite an achievement.

 

 Berries will give you less of a sugar rush than other fruits.

9 hours ago, WaveHunter said:

HOW NOT TO DIE - I wanted to post this...for what it's worth to you guys.  A friend just asked my advice on going "plant based" nutritionally for better health and I suggested she read a book I've always thought very highly of.  I thought I'd share this here.

 

 I was lucky to have had a family physician who was VERY much into proactively guiding her patients towards healthy lifestyles rather than just reaching for her prescription pad when things went bad.  She steered me towards a more plant-based diet, and recommended that I read a book called "How Not to Die" by Dr. Michael Gregor. 

 

As morbid as the title sounds, it is really an amazing book!  I highly recommend it to anyone and everyone who really cares about their health.   I think it is probably the best book on nutrition I have ever read.  It's not just a checklist of "superfoods" or dopey fad diets that many health gurus tout (often for their own personal gain). 

 

Gregor is a pretty smart guy and everything he talks about , he also backs up with sound science.  It's an amazing in-depth book that's actually very easy to digest!  Check it out on Amazon.  It's very rare to see a book on Amazon rated so incredibly high.  When you read some of the reviews I think you'll see why I like it.  I guarantee that many of the things he has to say will definitely surprise you!

 

Just click the link to see it on Amazon ????  

How Not to Die: Discover the Foods Scientifically Proven to Prevent and Reverse Disease

 

 

Not sure what this has to do with fasting... However, Dr. Greger does produce some interesting material; but it is very slanted towards vegetarian/vegan lifestyles to the extent he has been accused of cherry picking studies to support his claims. You won't find him discussing the merits of a carnivore diet for example!

15 minutes ago, WaveHunter said:

Somebody once told me something that I really like when it comes to the efficacy of different benchmarks like BMI and and getting all hung up with other sophisticated metrics for determining proper weight, body composition, etc. 

 

The BEST tool in the world is simply a full-body mirror!  Seeing your body with no clothes on, tells you EVERYTHING you need to know LOL????

I tried that, couldn't sleep for days!

I have been keto for 18 months. Marked improvement in mental clarity and physical energy. Slowed the progression of my heart disease and stopped taking beta blockers. Never going back to a high carb diet.


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I have made no claim regarding explosive strength. I don't even know, or care, what it is.

 

My insulin is (now) not an issue. Given I am already in ketosis, an 18 hour fast should be sufficient to boost autophagy and other healing mechanisms. If it doesn't, fine; as I say I like not eating for an extended period and am sure it must be better for me than shoveling food down my throat throughout the day. 

With fasting I always think of total food deprivation for multiple days. What your describing is intermittent fasting. Something that can be useful for insulin peaks.

What i don't get in your case (your body your idea's) is why if you are going zero to low carb would you also do intermittent fasting as your already curbing the insulin respons by removing carbs. How much more is that smaller window of eating going to help you ?
 
You are right that carbs are not needed, but carbs are also the most efficient fuel. Its like comparing gasahol (fat) with a high octane fuel (carbs) for performance cars. You don't need the carbs but for certain kinds of training they are highly beneficial.  
 
Its almost impossible to BUILD muscle without carbs. (proteins are important but insulin is too and insulin comes mostly from carbs)

I am healing myself from atherosclerosis using a low carb diet plus intermittent fasting. I don’t eat for eighteen hours because I don’t feel the need to and it feels good and I believe it helps.

There is a body of opinion that fat is a more efficient fuel, especially for the brain, but little point debating it. We all choose the lifestyle that works for us. I know I feel better running on fat and can windsurf for longer without being exhausted than I could 2 years ago.


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Agree, and would go further and say carbohydrates are not necessary at all (whether fasting or not). All essential nutrients (those which we have to consume because the body does not make them) are provided by either protein or fat. You could live without carbs and some people do.

The word “fasting” seems to get people upset, I prefer “time restricted eating”! I restrict my eating to a 6 hour window each day.


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On 2/25/2019 at 10:27 PM, Lumbini said:

What was your score and why did you do another scan with dye after the first scan to get score without dye if you don’t mind me asking ?

 

Great you are investigating this FracturedRabbit ... I started testing fasting insulin when I check fasting glucose and HA1c and that has really uncovered even more and a few months ago did a 100 gram three hour Glucose Tolerance Test OGTT with insulin and glucose tested at each hour interval not just glucose . That test was really affordable and along with the fasting insulin, fasting glucose and HA1c I learned so much and all done one morning after I fasted night before and very cheap . I guess Dr. does not order unless you ask because they want to have you as a regular customer when you turn diabetic and have coronary artery and heart disease . No money in health the profit seems to be in disease management not health care .

 

 

 

 

Sorry, I didn't answer the "why".
I initially went to see a heart specialist because I was feeling consistently light headed, something wasn't right. A stress test revealed a problem with my heart once it hit 138bpm; it couldn't cope!
Doc offered an angiogram, but suggested a scan with contrast as a cheaper and less risky alternative (he  had me at "cheaper!). This revealed that one artery had a 50% blockage and another 37%; the other two were clear. 

As well as showing the problem, the scan also kicked out a CAC score. The second scan, 14 months later and without contrast, was to see how the disease had progressed and whether my lifestyle changes had helped (the doc gave me statins which I threw away).

 

I wrote something about my experience: https://www.pattayadays.com/2019/02/attacking-the-heart-attack/

My very traditional Thai mother in law, who lives out in the sticks, had fatty liver disease. Local doctor doled out the usual pills. We suggested she try a low-carb diet, and surprisingly, she did. The fatty liver is gone, she no longer takes the pills; and the doctor just does not comprehend how that could happen!

Those who argue that fat causes Diabetes type 2 need to consider that the disease is caused by insulin resistance; and, unlike carbs, fat does not spike insulin; so it cannot be a contributor. However, if you gobble down vast quantities of carbs, and fat, then that is not going to be good for you!

And this paper shows the dramatically reduced risk of a cardiac event if you can keep the annual CAC increase below 15%.

 

https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/full/10.1161/01.ATV.0000127024.40516.ef

For those planning to use CAC scanning as a means of tracking the progress of their atherosclerosis, this paper includes a table (table 3) showing average  increase in CAC scores for around 1,000 subjects over a two and four year period. 

 

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0735109705010326

 

 

And who is this "our"?  Information I have is there is no standard and that it varies greatly between centers and that 3 mSv (one year background radiation) is normal (dated 2018) for heart calcium check.  
https://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/pdf/safety-xray.pdf
 

Sorry,should have pasted source:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4752888/

I did a lot of research before deciding to have a second scan and the general consensus was that a CAC scan typically used around 0.7 msv.

We all have to evaluate the perceived risk and act accordingly. For me it is important to track if I am beating atherosclerosis, your risk assessment may well be different.


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The dose for a CAC scan seems comparatively low:
“Our results demonstrate that coronary calcium scoring results in a mean exposure of 1 mSv across multiple scanners and centers. We found no significant difference in effective dose between genders, weight classes, or ages up to age 75 years. It should be noted that in large patients, the organ doses cannot necessarily go up just because volume CTDIvol and mSv goes up. A great deal of attenuation occurs in the adipose tissue. These findings do not mean that large patients receive larger organ doses. Prior reports of doses and subsequent cancer risks are most commonly estimated by a study by Kim et al. [6] which calculated cancer risks based on a median effective dose of 2.3 mSv (more than twice the current doses observed)”

As an aside, I spent a week in Chernobyl three months after my scan! Still not glowing.


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18,000 baht was with contrast and at Pyiathai, Sri Racha. The score was 134.
2,900 was without contrast at BPH and the score was 146, 14 months after the first scan.
Expect your quote is for no contrast.

For an accurate comparison you really need the same machine and maybe even the same operator, but as annual CAC increases seem to run at at least 25%, I think my increase is ok. I am not taking statins....

https://ac.els-cdn.com/S0735109705010326/1-s2.0-S0735109705010326-main.pdf?_tid=faf35a91-00db-4b55-8b18-dd9bf5a0c27e&acdnat=1551106884_59515b22ec71a4ff3aefb918bb4b5c99


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I paid 2900 for a CAC scan at BPH Pattaya (was a promotion price) with a 128 slice scanner. This was without contrast (you don’t need a contrast injection for a CAC score). In 2017 I had a scan with contrast which also produced a CAC on a 64 slice machine, cost me 18,000 baht.
Perhaps they are quoting you “with contrast” which you don’t need for just a CAC score?
Not sure how much difference you will see between different slices. My CAC on the 128 slice was 6% higher than the 64 slice taken 14 months earlier, which I took as an indication that I have brought the inflation/ insulin resistance under control.


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Fasting blood sugar is not the best indicator of your metabolic state. Try testing in the hours after eating, or preferably get a fasting insulin test and check your Hba1c.

You can reverse your diabetic symptoms and remove the need for medication by changing what you eat by substantially reducing your carbohydrate intake.


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A long time ago, but I had a work permit for five years based on a non-B. The day I stopped work I went to immigration with my employer who cancelled my work permit. I then went to another desk and got a retirement extension. Fifteen years on, my original non-B is still the basis for my retirement extension.

3 minutes ago, robblok said:

For the Keto die hards who think calories don't count .. just ingest 100 ml of MCT oil every day on top of what your eating now. Its just 900 calories in fat.. but as people say in keto land calories dont matter. Keep this up for 3 weeks and check your scales. That would settle the debate once and for all. 

I have never heard anyone doing keto saying calories don't count, of course they do. But when you're body has switched to burning fat rather than carbs, if you consume fewer calories then the body will take what it needs by consuming body fat. If you reduce calories while running on carbs, your metabolism slows down to compensate and the body doesn't switch to fat store consumption.
There is another huge benefit of keto which is often not recognised outside of weight loss interests, drastically cutting your carb consumption addresses the problem of insulin resistance which is the cause of so many of today's chronic illnesses. I do keto, not for weight loss, but to tackle my atherosclerosis.

The scan itself is quick and painless; but when they inject the contrast you will feel a hot feeling in your head which then extends down your body. Not painful, but surprising, even though you are warned about it! The machine may make a noise, but it is not for long and easy to tolerate.

22 minutes ago, robblok said:

Your obviously ignoring what we ask. We ask for proof that Keto is better then other diets. There has been a meta study comparing Keto and other diets and the result was that Keto did exactly the same for weight loss as the other diets. I am sorry that its not what you want to hear.

 

Nobody ever said that Keto does not work, I am disputing it works BETTER then other diets if people adhere to the diet (Keto wont work if you don't adhere to it neither will other diets)

 

You got intermittend fasting

You got keto

You got paleo

You got normal reduction while eating healthy (that is what I am on just means eating healthy foods and not too much no carb fear)

"We" didn't ask. Nyezhov asked for research on keto, which I provided. 
It is extreme, and there are other approaches to nutrition which are also effective. You choose the route that you feel will work for you.

I discovered I had atherosclerosis 18 months ago. I did the research and decided that going keto, with other lifestyle changes (more exercise, intermittent fasting, plenty of sleep), was my best chance of beating it. I feel better than I have for years, but only a CAC scan later this year will evaluate whether I have succeeded in halting/reversing the spread of the disease.