Control Blood Pressure to Manage Diabetes
Weird. My doctor as already been concentrating on this.
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Weird. My doctor as already been concentrating on this.
Tried a Glucerna meal replacement bar again today, and it worked out pretty well. It's more carbs than I am used to, but saves a stop to pick up break if I'm running late. Or stopping to cook.
I really like the snack bars and haven't touched a real candy bar since I started keeping plenty around. I keep a couple of boxes in my closet at school and here at the house. 140 calories and 23 grams of carbs. Not bad, and certainly better than your average snickers bar.
I am not sure about the shakes. I think they are too high in carbs and calories. I am interested in hearing other people's opinions, but I think I have trouble controling my blood sugar after I've had one. They are 220 calories and 29 carbs.
However, I tried a meal replacement bar (Chocoloate Peanut) for breakfast this morning, and for a fast, breakfast it wasn't bad. They could be crunchier, especially since they are peanut flavored. 220 calories, 32 grams of fat.
I had a lot of problems this week with being tired, and as a result did some uncontrolled eating, so I'm going to try to plan better.
I'm also taking my first trip as a diabetic -- I need to go to Austin for a teacher workshop. I'm taking Friday to get there, staying there Friday night and Saturday night and coming back on Sunday. I'm staying at a suite type of hotel, which I've found is the best option. In the past, when staying at a regular type of hotel, I wake up to every noise. This hotel has the bedrooms on the side opposite of the corriders and that has helped in the past.
I'm also taking my food with me. I've got a really nice cooler that plugs into the truck or the wall in a hotel room and has worked in the past. That will help me stay on track better.
Went to the grocery store and picked up plenty of low-carb snack foods, cheese, mostly. I find I do better if there are more good choices in the house then poor.
Anyway, I'm going to focus on keeping stress low, and not getting too tired. Hope that solves the food problems.
Don't use the links, scroll down (the links do not work)
Really good guide to exercise for diabetes!
I did it again....
I made it to the gym every day.
I did resistance training every other day for 3 times.
I did 30 minutes of cardio -- either walking or elliptical trainer every day.
I won the most posts in a contest the gym was having, waiting for the drawing.
And there is a second contest ending. We get a punch on a card every time we show up. I've got 8 cards since January 1.
Fun stuff!
So my goal for next week is:
30 minutes of resistance training
30 minutes of cardio
or
45 minutes of cardio
5 days -- and use the gym at the hotel I am staying at next Saturday.
Thought more on this today.
To get a mail order script, at the least, I have to call doctor's office, ask for script, go to doctor's office to get it (or beg for mail), check it make sure it is right, send it to mail order pharmacy.
Oh, and I have to find out the shelf life of Depo, so know when to order it, and how to keep it (I think room temperature is okay).
At the most, I have to make an appointment -- and option most fair to doctor, as he doesn't get paid to write script.
I called Customer Service and they told me to tell the local pharmacy to fill my depo prevera as 1 for 30 days.
The local pharmacy had gotten an email telling they couldn't fill Depo because it had to go to the mail order pharamcy. In other words, since it was a 84 day script, not a 30 day script, they won't be reimbursed.
So we're in a catch 22.
And here's the more fun part ... through mail order it's $43.29 and I paid $55.69 (I was wrong on the $53.00).
So yes, I save money by going through mail order, but man, if I forget to reorder there is no window at all.
Maybe this will work out better.
Interesting website, a good resource for Diabetes.
Sigh... Here's another one of the formulary things....
Yesterday I needed a Depo Prevera shot. One shot is good for 12 weeks (84 days). Of course, nothing is covered at my local pharmacy unless it is written for 30 days. And if I go through the mail order pharmacy, it's about $15.00 higher.
Weird? or What?
So I've got to track this down and fight it, because I got charged $53.xx instead of $30.00
And I've got to go back to my doctor and tell him to write the script for 30 days!
We ran into this a few years ago. I need to be on Deflucan every day for a month. Well, the doctor thought it only came packages for treating normal yeast infections and wrong the script for that.
The local pharmacy rejected the third refill and gave me all kinds of guff and stress. Finally the pharmacy actually thought for a second and said -- if your doctor would write it for THIS form of Diflucan it would be covered AND it would have been cheaper.
Why didn't they say that the first time ... and of course, they wouldn't refund anything for before.
Yesterday that is
First, my weight is back to the lowest it's been since I started taking insulin.
Second, I slept all night, though it took quite a while for the Ambien to take affect. And I haven't taken one in months, so weird.
I'm not as sore as I was yesterday. But we'll have to see how the day goes to really compare.
And my blood sugar is back down where it should be. 107 this morning. Not bad for a Type 2 diabetic who ate too many carbs yesterday afternoon.
I'd have been MUCH better off if I had eaten a Glucerna bar during my -- stressed out, tired, I've got to get somewhere on time -- afternoon.
But at least the massage was a good choice!
Really good article and research results. Boy have I learned this lesson over the years.
I got my insulin yesterday. And I have to brag on Caremark on this.
I ordered the refill online this weekend, first day it became available. It was filled on Tuesday and FedExed on Tuesday evening.
Was dropped on my doorstep about 2:00 pm, and when I got home at 4:00 pm, not only was it still there, but the ice packs were still solid.
The really nice thing, is that I could see the status on the internet of the entire shipment from the time they accepted it, and until it arrived at my doorstep.
That really reduces the stress -- though I have to admit the tracking of the shipping part of it is FedEx, not the pharmacy.
If you aren't diabetic yet, exercise can help to keep you from having it.
Okay, this one goes with my carpal tunnel syndrome ....
"Yeah, duh? Of course they do".
I am absolutely exhausted and on my way to bed, even through it's 6:18 pm. Hopefully I can sleep most of the night.
I haven't been sleeping well all week. I've woken up every night. My hands have ached in the morning on the way to school (from holding the steering wheel).
We had an early faculty meeting, and yesterday evening, I realized that I had "screwed up". I was due for a depo prevera shot, and had forgotten to get the serum. It works out okay for me to get a shot during the last part of my planning period, but not if I have to deal with the pharmacy.
And this is one for a DB Med Rant. Why isn't birth control covered? My pharmacy took their time on the depo because it wasn't covered. It has never been covered and I have paid the full amount for 10 years.
Got it done, hit the gym, and started to exercise then realized I REALLY REALLY needed a massage so grabbed the massuese, and said I need an HOUR now! I don't think I was even willing to wait for her to get the table ready
It really did help -- as I was hurting all over.
After I managed to get in a slow 30 minutes of walking.
The only bad news, is when I get this tired, I think I need to eat, plus my BS was a touch high and was craving sugar. I should have grabbed a smaller source of sugar on my way through the grocery store to the pharmacy, maybe next time I'll remember.
Off to bed!
Ken asked what Restless leg syndrome is.
It's why they put eletrodes on your legs during a sleep study. A certain segment of the population kicks involuntary and it can be so bad -- mine is -- that it wakes you up.
I don't think a lot of research has been done.
I thought I had written something about this before, but this weblog entry on another site reminded me that I needed to say something about it again.
Unreasonable Pharmacy programs
Moral of the long story: make sure your doctor checks off the "Dispense as Written" instruction on the script.
I left a comment there, but I'll sum it up here.
I have been prescribed Zocor, have been on it a year, and honestly don't know why the doctor choose it over Lipidor. It's on my things to ask.
I'd been on it through about 3 months through the local pharmacy while we figured out the dose, and then was on the 3rd refill from the mail order, when they sent one of their official looking faxes to my doctor's office.
First, why is this an issue? Well, the first time they pulled this, the pharmacy company got the doctor to switch my allergy medication from Allegra to Claritin. Other than the fact that the FDA was then in the process to make Claritin an over the counter drug, and thus make it unavailable from my phamacy plan -- my allergist had switched me off of Claritin because my blood pressure was elevated on Claritin.
The second time this was pulled, I was on Nexxium. The pharmacy wanted me on a cheaper drug, Prevacid, which we had already discovered after over 6 months of playing with drugs, didn't work for me. This is for GERD, and something that you find with GERD according to my last gastric guy -- all GERD drugs are not equal and you also get used to them after a time.
The really bad part of this was that I only had a week's supply of Nexxium and had to go back to the local pharmacy and get more which costs all of us 3 times as much as it does to go through the mail order pharmacy! Plus, they had to pay to get the Previcid shipped back.
So this time, I called and complained to everyone who would listen and finally got a supervisor on the very top of the food chain at my online pharmacy. That supervisor told me that I need to make sure the "Dispense as Written Box" check each time the doctor wrote a script.
I'm not holding my breath, but I am hoping the problem is solved.
Since this is becoming more than an experiment, I'll finally confess who I am.
My name is Kathleen Weaver -- I teach computer science at Hillcrest High School in Dallas. I have a personal website and a teaching activities website.
My first foray in the internet and the web was when I helped run a state wide police K9 organization which will remain nameless. For over 5 years, I wrote their newsletter, ran online mailing lists for them, maintained websites, and did internet research. I also trained police K9 dogs, taught police officers how to handle dogs, taugh police officers how do use computers and the internet and did computer work with several local police departments.
One of my more unusual claims (accomplishment?) is that I had the second personal internet account in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. Up until that time, you had to be affliated with a university or company to have an email address and to access the WWW or other parts of the Internet.
I left training K9 dogs a few years ago, when I finally hit the wall sleepwise. In Texas, you really have to train K9 dogs at night, there are few months in the year when training in the daytime can be accomplished, and besides, they do better and are more useful working evening and night shifts. Making them train when I could was not a good option.
So I've slowed down my pace a bit and am attempting to do dog agility with my two beagle girls. It gives me a reason besides blood sugar to do time on the treadmill.
I think I mentioned this before but some may have missed it. I am dealing with a whole group of medical problems.
The most pressing are the diabetes and carpal tunnel syndrome. I am told I need surgery -- and my friends all say, "duh"... didn't deal with it until I realized that the sympthoms could be diabetes complications. I have been seen recent literature linking the two.
I also have two sleep disturbances that have been formerly diagnosed -- sleep apnea and restless leg syndrome. I am on a CPAP machine which really isn't that bad.
I also have GERD, (Gastric Reflux Disease) and have been diagnosed with a hiatal hernia. The GERD has been an issue lately, and I have no idea if I will ever dial with the hiatal hernia. Both are on the bottom of my list.
I am also allergic to the state of Texas -- okay, just outdoors: grass and trees and am allergic to dust, which makes working with computers interesting, especially when I play with older hardware.
Besides teaching high school computer science -- and webmastering and a business course, my current projects include a self published textbook on web mastering and training two dogs in dog agility. I also spend a whole lot of time researching all my different medical issues. I guess I'm convinced there is a cure on the internet
A few days ago, I whined that I had actually gained weight.
I have one of those fancy scales that weight pounds and percentage of body fat. I am quite the skeptic, and the main reason I bought it, was that it was digital and that it weighs more weight that most scales. Mine is a Tatina body scale.
Well, this morning, I started showing significant weight loss (over 1 pound), and I'm seeing the body fat thing remain constant.
When I lost the 100 pounds before, I would often see the same thing -- a substantial weight gain, but a reduction in body fat percentage, following by days of significant weight loss, but constant body fat. Then a weight gain and reduction in body fat percentage, etc.
I will share that seeing the scale change in one of the two numbers consistantly kept my moral up. If I had used a regular scale, and saw the fluctuations on weight only, I 'm sure it would have been difficult to maintain weight loss after working hard and seeing the weight gain.
It also seems accurate. The scale at my gym which is the traditional doctor's type scale, and mine are generally very close. It measures in 1/4 pound interverals, and my scale measures in 1/2 pound. It's also analog, versus digital which is also going to show some differences.
I've had it for a few years, and it's definately worth the extra dollars. Suggested retail is 89.99, and at least one website sells it for $59.99
Wow! More nice things said about this site...
DB's Medical Rants: New additions to the medical blogroll
Actually Medrants is part of why I even started this thing.
I'm a classroom teacher and one of my major frustrations is the lack of textbooks for my subject that my students will read. I've done a lot of research, have even proofed and read for a couple of textbook publishers, but didn't get started on writing until I started this weblog. I have 12 chapters done -- though I admit they are very short chapters, since my students hate to read.
Also, I remember how scared, depressed, frustrated I was when I was first diagnosed. One of the things I'm very good at, is web based research, so that's how I started to deal with this diabetes. Why not pull what I've learned into one spot, so that other people can benefit.
Finally, just keeping it going has been therapetic for me. When I get frustrated and / or bogged down, I even remember that I need to stop that, because it will get others down.
Very good web site on the whole for diabetes education.
This is a interesting article arguing for using insulin to control Type 2.
Excellant newsletter -- this article is a bit scary as it details all the complications of diabetes.
Diabetes In Control Dot Com. The FREE weekly newsletter for Medical Professionals in Diabetes care.
You don't have to kill yourself to make a difference with insulin.
Two hours after lunch, sugar was at 193 -- YIKES. Took 4 units of regular insulin.
An hour later, I thought about checking things -- I'm supposed to, but thought, oh, gee, I'm headed to the gym, I don't want to add insulin before then and check it there.
Well, I was in such a hurry to get started, forgot to check it. Did 30 minutes SLOW on the treadmill. I'm still tired from last week, and then checked sugar.
88 and going down. In fact, grabbed a couple of pieces of cheese while I was waiting for the oven to pre-heat since I could feel a crash coming on.
Averted the crash, had dinner, and am now off to dog class.
It's much easier being on my regular schedule.
My blood sugar is going back down to "normal" for me. I'm sure the gym helped.
I cut down cardio to 15 minutes on the e.t. trainer and 15 on the regular treadmill and slow at that.
Did 30 minutes with a personal trainer. She let me sit on the ball, since my back was bothering me after the cardio. I really DO prefer that to standing. The original plan was 15 before and 15 after training but her other client was running late.
I've apparently done some molecular rearranging -- I used to see that a lot when I lost weight before. I would see an increase in pounds, but a decrease in body fat percentage, then a decrease in pounds with the body fat staying about the same. It was always a touch frustrating but as long as one of the numbers is moving down, I can live with it. Another number that is slowly decreasing is clothing size. It just all goes SO much slower with insulin. One more thing to balance!
I posted a comment on his site -- I am described quite while in this article.
DB's Medical Rants: Chronic cough and GERD
FYI: The GERD does get better with weight loss. And also, preventing dawn syndrome tends to aggravate the GERD.
I got a copy of this magazine a few weeks ago. Subscription price is a big high, considering the amount of advertising, but good articles.
Welcome to the Diabetes Interview Homepage
Their free internet newsletter is good too.
I planned for an easy day -- besides kids need the TIME! to get caught up. Most are behind.
I am a bit disappointed with spring break -- I was exhausted from Thursday morning on until yesterday afternoon when I got a chair massage. I have been waking up at night.
When I am tired, I tend to eat. For some dumb reason, I always hope I can get some energy for food but it doesn't work that way.
Honestly I think I overdid the exercise thing too much. I think I set myself too high of a goal and Wednesday was the worse. I am setting my goal much lower this week.
Someone here at school did comment that they thought I had lost weight. I have one of those scales that shows both weight and percentage of body fat, and here is the weird thing -- or maybe not -- my scale is howing a couple of pounds higher, but at least 4 percentage points less fat. That means I've gained more muscle than I've lost fat doesn't it? And it makes sense with the amount of exercise I did last week.
My blood sugar is a touch high -- I haven't had to add insulin (though I did this weekend) -- so still within parameters, but not as low as I like.
I do have a personal trainer appointment this evening, and I plan to limit cardio to 30 minutes on trainer and weight days and 40 on regular days. We do do quite a bit of moving on trainer days.
The first question is very interesting.
I have a friend who is waiting to go through this surgery, and I have been considering it myself.
I'm not that heavy, but I am still considered morbidly obese. I've gotten my doctor to write me a letter stating that so I can get help from the mental health side of my insurance.
I can still exercise, but I will say that insulin is really making the weight loss thing harder. I will even say that some of the side effects of diabetes makes it harder too.
By the way, once you've made the decision to have the surgery it takes an incredibily long time before you see the surgeon.
I did it, but it wasn't fun
I got in another hour of cardio, a slow hour on the treadmill, but I did it.
And yes, I'm still a bit tired.
Whew! I've got one more day at the gym during spring break. (Tomorrow -- they are closed on Sunday. I think my body will be glad).
Had a personal trainer appointment at 12:30, so go to the gym and did 20 minutes on the Natural Trainer first. Spent 1/2 hour with the trainer -- this is a good idea, by the way, you need to do something else from time to time, and you need to do it right, so get some help.
Then did 40 minutes after on the treadmill.
The good news, is tomorrow is a cardio day only.
I know my doctor does this every 3 months. Last trip mine was 6.8. It started at over 12, went to 8.8 and now to 6.8 so I must be doing something right
American Diabetes Association - In The News
Interesting. Is this a problem in other cities?
Almost didn't get it done, but managed to get in a full hour of cardio. My back started hurting after 25 minutes on the treadmill, but I sat on a ball for a while and then switched to the Natural Runner. Did 15 minutes on it, and then finished on the treadmill REAL slow.
We've got a federal building "around the corner", that houses a major portion of the IRS. They have a really nice office where you can drag your tax stuff over to them and get help on an issue.
Since the OKC Federal Building got bombed, security is very tight in this building. And I carry a bag with me at all times that has at least 4 days worth of supplies. Pain in the shoulder, but hey, if I ever DO get seperated from home for some reason I'm prepared. Plus, it's just easier to refill everything every 4 days.
Anyway, I get to the door, and see the "no sharp objects" sign. Also realize that I have to go through the checkpoint (you didn't used to half to to get to this office -- but it's probably a good idea). So I asked the guard what to do -- reluctant but willing to take the bag back to the car and regroup.
Was going to be difficult but in the pre-diabetic days, I could just take my wallet with me, but it's Texas and it is already getting warm and I had no idea how long it would take (for the non-insulin users, insulin "dies" at 90 degrees).
It's apparently like an airline checkpoint (I sure hope so, because this wasn't bad at all). He asked for DL and proof that I was supposed to take insulin. I handed him my "pad" of scrip labels, told me to toss me keys in the bag, and I went threw and he xrayed the bag. It wasn't a bad experience at all.
Of course, everyone in that building is super nice. I've had dealings with them in the past -- they donated quite a bit of equipment to my high school, mostly printer when it was surplused.
And got the tax questions answered!
So the moral of the story, don't let security checkpoints scare you. It was me, until today, but face it anything new is scary.
I have been logging voluntairly since I got the desktop version of the program. Kinda of weird, but whatever works.
Diabetes Pilot - Software for Palm PDA's and Windows PC's
I'm not sure what about it is making me do a better job of logging without someone telling me too.
Maybe it's the pretty diagrams.
Of course, Bernstein limits protein, which Atkins doesn't.
YEAH! Managed another hour. Overdid it on the Natural Runner yesterday so I took it easy today and did 1 hour on the treadmill. Also did half hour with a personal trainer.
Funny thing is ... that's exactly what the Atkin's Diet is about, but no one ever seems to get past the chapter on Induction.
This study suggests exercise more a key than diet.
Diabetes In Control Dot Com. The weekly newsletter for medical professionals in Diabetes care.
Interesting. I really wasn't a breakfast eating myself ever.
Diabetes In Control Dot Com. The weekly newsletter for medical professionals in Diabetes care.
And the good news, is that my insulin schedule forces me to eat breakfast now.
Did it again today! 1 hour of cardio.
If anyone doubts exercise helps, let me tell you what happened today.
Went in and tested before exercise as usual. 153 blood sugar. Yikes. My sliding scale says to inject 2 units of insulin. Since I was at the gym, I didn't.
Got on the Natural Runner, and did 15 minutes. Not fast, about 90 steps a minute average. Stopped and checked sugar. Sugar was at 119.
Did another 15 minutes, sugar was at 101. Took a glucose tablet and started taking every 10 minute ala Dr. Bernstein's book.
Tested again at the end of exercise, blood sugar was at 98.
I ate at noon, chicken walnut salad from Diet Gourmet, and now, at about 1:30, my sugar is at 114. Normal blood sugar after a meal is expected to be around 140.
So that hour in the gym was a WHOLE lot better than a shot. Well, maybe ....
Blood sugar is back down and haven't had to add any insulin. YEAH! I've had a bit of a stall and I give two reasons:
Atkins is almost right, and certainly Bernstein is
Bernstein's (Diabetic Solutions), limits all three: carbs, protein and fat. I think that is best.
And the second reason?
INSULIN.
Big beagle is MUCH better. Though still not entirely herself. I'm thinking it might be the cut on her head.
Went to the neurologist. I have carpel tunnel syndrome.
Yeah, big duh. That's what everyone says. Well, I put myself through college by working for Kelly Girl, and have been typing professional since I was around 12. Maybe a bit older. (Yeah, I worked for Kelly Girl, not Kelly Services!). It was one of the --- yeah, it will happen.
I asked her the big question -- will it improve with weight and she said no. She did agree though that surgery would go better if I lost some more weight, and if I had my blood sugar under control for a while longer. I did share part of how I was controlling my blood sugar and she was impressed. Said she had a friend who was a Type 1 and had trouble controlling. So I shared the Diabetes Solutions book with her. She also agreed that the resistance training was a great way to help manage sugar. So I got another set of braces with her and am planning on wearing them to the gym and for long drives. I know I hold my wrists wrong at the gym. We'll do the surgery this summer so it won't disrupt school.
The braces did help with the elliptical trainer. I usually come off of it numb or hurting or both. Yeah, weirdness. Did 20 minutes on E.T., then abs, then 20 minutes E.T. (which is an increase!), weights and did 20 minutes on treadmill.
Helped a new member with some equipment.
Oh, and started writing a textbook today. Webmastering. My district doesn't have one. I need to figure out how to put a sample of it on the internet, and set it up so people can buy it etc. Did 4 chapters so far. So this writing thing IS a good idea.
As a patient, this really makes you wonder.
PROCRIT - Counterfeit Product Warning
It also makes you check your products carefully!
Should have said, but exercising when the gym is open....Sunday's a forced off day. Either that or exercise outside, not a good idea, since allergic to grass and trees. Sugar staying good all day although last night ended up taking some extra insulin.
Got the car cleaned out and CLEANED. My regular car wash is closed for repairs, these guys were good, but it took forever!
Big dog is sick and worrying me. Lethargic, not terrorizing little dog. Plans are to zip her by the vet at 7:30, and have them call me. I cannot stand the emergency vet, and I'm hoping she gets better in the morning and we don't have to go there.
I've got appointments all day tomorrow. Neurologist in the morning, to see about carpel tunnel and neuropathy in the hands. Shrink in the afternoon -- and good idea, by way for any newly diagnosed diabetic.
I went through a whole bunch of why me -- especially since my dad died of all this, and having someone neutral to work out problems with has been good.
If you are diabetic, you are going to be depressed at times. I was offered some anti-depressants, but am already taking quite a chemical cocktail, and I knew that most of my depression and angry was due to the high sugar.
I was right, as I have gotten my sugar close to normal, everything is going better.
My goal for Spring Break is to do an hour of cardio a day. Managed it yesterday, though it wasn't officially spring break.
Made it today too, and did weights.
The glucose tablets are really doing the treat. Blood sugar stayed between 105-115 the whole time at the gym. They do make me a bit sick to my stomach when I am at the gym for an hour.
I loved the Palm byself version. I REALLY REALLY wanted a Windows program interface though, and they came through.
Diabetes Pilot - Software for Palm PDA's and Windows PC's
For the technically minded diabetic, this is the best program around. You can track as much, or as little as you want.
Produces great reports, especially the new Windows version, but will link into Word or Excel (or any other office type program that takes comma delimited).
Maybe I'll start logging better!
Haven't had one of these in a while, but woke up feeling like the victim of a train wreck, and it just got worse as the day went on.
Random muscle aches, headache. I kinda of associate these with not sleeping well, though I don't remember doing any waking.
Made a goal though -- 60 minutes of cardio, 30 on the Natural Runner, 30 on the treadmill. Took a book and Jimmy Buffet CD to do it, but did it.
Sugar was a tad high in the afternoon, so checked it after 15 minutes, then did the glucose tablet thing. Got the sugar down to the 110's through the end of the workout and NO crash!
Ended up adding 4 units of insulin this evening ... I screwed up everything, just a slight bit today and paid for it.
Another leason learned.
Yes, I'm losing weight. Yes, I'm feeling better!
I'm now taking 33 units of 75/25 mix -- twice a day. That's down from a maximum of 36 units. I haven't had to supplement with regular insulin for over 5 days. All very measurable goals.
I've lost at least 10 pounds from my insulin max. Probably closer to 15.
I really recommend going to a good gym, that is supportive. Get a personal training and do resistance training and cardio. I don't believe in working out to the point it hurts the next day. For me, that will encourage me, NOT to come back.
I play lots of games to get myself to the gym. I keep a set of clothing to exercise in there. I keep a few CD's there too. I keep bottled water in my car, even though they do have water for sale. I keep my Mini-Disk player in my bag, with my favorite tunes -- 4 of my favorite Jimmy Buffet albums on one disk.
The gym helps too. They have a contest right now, where you get a card punched every visit to the gym. You get a new card after 8 punches. I just turned in my 6th card. They are going to have a drawing for Barton Creek Resort at the end of the quarter. Winning would be nice, but what I like seeing is those 6 cards. Plus the personal contact in getting the cards punched.
Next week they start a short contest, I've already signed up for it. Again a drawing, this time they are using tokens, based on activity.
Head games help. And erasing all the excuses does too.
I am still at 33 units, this is my second day, and so far haven't added any extra insulin.
I've been using the glucose to "cover" my exercise, per "Diabetes Solution".
I got an interesting magazine today -- can't remember the name -- but the editor, a Type 1 diabetic was also raving on Diabetic Solutions. He was having problems with keeping his sugars under control, and found Dr. Bernstein's book as useful as I have been finding it.
Plan is to stay at this level at insulin for 2 more days, and if I continue to have good results, drop down to 32 units, morning first.
Since yesterday went so well -- even with the stress of dealing with an extra 4 hours of work and dealing with talking with parents ....
I decided to decrease my morning dose by a unit. It's easier to control carbs here at school, then it is in the evening. There isn't as much food around to call my name.
So far, it's a good plan, sugar is staying within goal (90-140) -- was 116 two hours after breakfast.
The less insulin, the easier to lose weight!
Ken mentioned the Glucowatch in a comment. I have been interested in it and got the brochures on it. It's a technology that almost works
I've sat down and read the instructions, and you have to wear it for 2 hours, then calibrate it with a blood sugar meter and then it gives you as many as 10 readings per hour. If you are low, you still need to use a glucometer to verify the reading.
That just seems awkward. I haven't seen if insurance will cover, but I figure it falls under durable equipment. Also don't know if the mail order service will get the supplies.
My problems: you still have to use a regular glucometer, though you would be using it twice a day, maybe 3. So you are not decreasing copays, etc.
FYI: both the Therasense system and the Glucowatch determine sugar not based on blood, but on a fluid under your skin, thus the need to calibrate.
According to the FDA website:
The GlucoWatch G2 Biographer, manufactured by Cygnus, Inc., of Redwood City, Calif., extracts fluid through the skin and then measures the glucose in the fluid. Once the device has been warmed up and calibrated through the use of a finger stick blood glucose test, it is capable of providing up to six painless glucose measurements per hour for 13 hours. The device sounds an alarm if the glucose reaches dangerous levels, alerting patients to a potential problem.
I've been having trouble crashing after I exercise. Got the blood sugar in pretty tight control, and have been seeing major dips.
After reading the chapter on exercise in Dr. Bernstein's book, I followed his suggestions, and it worked! I started tonight's session with a glucose tablet and took one every 10 minutes. I took another one on the way out. Sugar never got over 120, (I checked in the middle), and never got under 99.
Perfect!
I really like this newsletter.
Diabetes In Control Dot Com. The weekly newsletter for medical professionals in Diabetes care.
Had to change my routine today because we have parent conferences tonight.
Ate real early. Went to the gym and managed to get 30 minutes of walking in. Wasn' sure when this would put me at school, weights were a bit busy so putting them off.
Sugar has been fairly low today, in fact, hit 88 and was starting to get a bit cranky so ate a Glucerna bar. Back up to 130 afterwards, which gives me quite a bit of cushion on th lows. The lows are what are really bothering me.
I followed the guidelines in Diabetes Solutions -- see book category, and ate a glucose tablet every 10 minutes and that seemed to help. So maybe I can stop worrying about the lows during exercise.
Yep, we (Maggie, Marcie and I -- they are beagles), had a great dog day. Maggie was just along for the ride, but Marcie and I were entered in an agility trial.
Sugar has stayed low all day. I did have a spike during the first time we were in the ring ... right after lunch, but no noticable change after the second run.
Sugar has stayed in the 90-140 range all day.
In fact, I haven't taken any extra insulin since Thursday (I lied yesterday, when I was 165 in the afternoon, I started to, but realized that my regular dose was due in an hour, so there wasn't much point -- it wouldn't start working until then anyway).
That means I'm definately 4 units down from my max (36 units, twice day -- now 34 units twice day). I've lost somewhere around 10 pounds. I'm consistently working out -- 30-45 minutes a day cardio, and 3 times a week, resistance training.
It's just that my feet are bothering me....
This is SO cool.
This is newer -- just a month ago.
Possible genetic link between sleep apnea and obesity discovered
They did a whole-genome scan on obstructive sleep apnea and obesity.
They are claiming that several genes might be links.
FYI: I will agree that my weight gain has made my sleep apnea worse, but I was having sleep issues back 20 years ago, which I wasn't over weight.
Ken, in a comment mentioned that diabetes and sleep apnea are friends. Yeah, and they are evil twins...too. Okay, maybe cousins.
Sleep Apnea Linked To Increased Diabetes Risk
This is an old story (1999), and they are blaming weight. But they are blaming weight as causing both conditions.
Even if you can't follow everything he has to say, he has a lot of good things to say.
Dr. Bernstein is a diabetic. Some of the book is online. You need to read the first chapter, (and I think I said this before), just so you know how good we have it.
There are some really good things in the book.
There are some things I'm probably not going to follow. He doesn't want more than 7 units injected in a single site. Well, I currently take 34 units, which means 5 injections. Ouch.
Diet information is good.
He suggets low carbs. He suggests slow acting carbs. He also limits the amount of protein in the diet (unlike Atkins). He suggests a diet based on 6 grams of carbs for breakfast, 12 grams each for dinner and lunch. Why? It's harder to prevent blood sugar rises at breakfast.
I certainly find that true, and have gone to just about the 6 grams of carbs.
Cooking is too difficult for me, especially if I want to lose weight, but Diet Gourmet (mentioned once already) does fairly good, but a bit higher in carbs. I could, and have for some meals, go to a lower carb choice.
He has VERY good things to say about dealing with hypoglycia (low blood sugars), which is good, because this tight of a control is going to result in low blood sugars. (Boy did I find that out this week).
His chapter on exercise is the best I've seen when it comes to exercise and diabetes.
I managed to find the book on sale -- $6.00 off which paid for most of the shipping. I could not find it at a local book store, but they were happy to order it for me.
Ate lunch, measured blood sugar, was at 166. Went to the gym. Did 20 minutes on the Natural Runner, and sugar went down to 99. Then did abs, then 15 minutes on treadmill, sugar at 96. Then did weights, sugar at 93.
Then 10 minutes on the Natural Runner, and sugar was up at 143!
Went to Home Depot, wandered around abit, ate a hot dog after, fixed dog run, talked on phone and now sugar at 163. I guess I didn't avoid that insulin shot after all.
Though I did through all day yesterday without extra insulin. And down 4 units a day from my max.
.... off to inject myself
Maybe it was the weather, maybe it was because I was playing hooky -- went to a workshop today and let a sub be with my students... or maybe the change in schedule and routine but today went better today than any other.
First, I moved my workout to the morning. When I lost that 100 pounds, I got up and worked out every morning, but with diabetes, I'm generally too groggy to get up.
Did 45 minutes -- 20 on the Natural Runner and 25 on a regular treadmill.
Blood sugar stayed below 120 all day until late in the afternoon, when I had probably used up all my long acting insulin and had a quick snack.
Even this evening, two hours after dinner my sugar is down to 135.
I'll have to do morning again on Monday, who knows, maybe I can keep that up?
The whole concept is so cool.
This is a bit scary -- apparenlty insulin is involved in many hospital errors. Make sure you know what the hospital is giving you.
Being diabetic is frustrating. Being a diabetic on insulin is even more frustrating.
Before I leave the house each day, I have to make sure I have the following:
Then I also keep with me, gym stuff so I don't have an excuse not to make it there. water in the truck, extra gym clothes in my locker, mini-disk player.
Then the trying to lose weight is getting me down.
Lately, when I exercise I've been getting too low. Which means I have to eat more. Which means I injest more calories -- and yeah, counting carbs is easier, but Dr. Atkins is almost right -- calories do count. I know, I tried Aktins before pre and post insulin.
That doesn't mean I'm not going to exercise. What it does mean, is that I'm taking less daily insulin. Which means I have to take more regular insulin. (See the vicious cycle going on here?). Just need to make sure take regular insulin in the morning, and maybe in the evening, but certainly never close to when I exercise.
I guess.
That's the sad thing, is there are no real answers. When you ask, you are told, try it and see. Everyone is different.
Yeah, but my dogs AREN'T fat!
CNN.com - Man's best friend shares obesity woes - Mar. 6, 2003
My workout this afternoon went MUCH better.
First, I grabbed a sandwich on the way -- which seems a little self defeating, but oh well....
I also split my cardio better, doing 15 minutes on the Natural Runner (an ellipitical trainer), then 15 minutes on the treadmill, then weights, and last another 15 minutes on the treadmill.
This hides an extra 5 minutes into my routine (I was doing 20 before and 20 after), and gives me a routine that I can get in a full hour very easily, but increasing all three cardio workouts to 20. 60 minutes IS the goal, especially on non-work days.
Yes, I'm a teacher, but since it's computer science, most of it is a sit-down job.
And I also cut both insulin injections a unit a day, though I did have to do a 2 unit injection in the morning of regular, so I'm probably even.
Tomorrow will be interesting, I'm going to a workshop (Karen Pryor -- my hero), and I'm going to try to get in at least 30 minutes of cardio before the workshop.
I recently got really mad at a friend the other day.
She'd read an article on the internet about sleep apnea, that said many people can be "cured" by losing weight.
First, she's made a bunch of assumptions. The first one is that my sleep apnea is caused by my weight. Well, that isn't always true. What is true in my case, is that I broke my jaw in a car accident. What is also true, is that I have snored ever since then, with the typical apnea gasp. What is also true is that I can pinpoint problems that I have had with sleep since the day of the accident.
Second, there is this whole society issue against people who are overweight.
People make all kinds of assumptions when they see an overweight person. They assume that you caused the problem yourself. They assume you don't exercise. They assume that you cannot control yourself. Shallow Hal explores part of the issues -- the physical part. But they only hit the surface.
I've struggled with my weight since the day of that accident. Part of the problem was that I went from burning lots of calories a day riding a bike to hardly any. It was hard to get used to not being able to eat any thing I wanted, any time I wanted.
It was also hard to find a substitute for bike riding -- I was riding many miles a day -- FYI, the accident occured while I was riding a bike, a car hit me and I went through this windshield. Yeah, big ouch.
I also injured a knee badly, so for quite a while, walking was out.
I've done a lot of research on sleep, and was also told this by my doctor. Not sleeping causes quite a bit of metobolic changes, the worst of which is a major decrease in metabolism.
I've had a lot of strikes against me when it comes to the weight issue. Most of the medical reasons around the weight gain have gone untreated for over 20 years. The good news, is that when they are treated, it is very easy for me to lose weight.
But I went off topic. The title of this, and the reason I got mad at my friend, is because she offered me a light at the end of my tunnel.
Right now, dealing with sleep apnea and diabetes, and the rest of my medical issues take a great deal of energy. It's easy to deal with them if I take it all one day at a time, and know that what I am doing is NOT going to change.
Changing my diet does no good if I have the belief that I don't have to eat that way forever. If I know that pizza will always raise my blood sugar, then I don't need to eat it. However, if I know that someday it won't, I will crave it.
Knowing that I have to exercise every day, gets me to the gym every day. Knowing that someday I won't, won't get me there.
Knowing that I have to take insulin every day to function well, means that I take it. Thinking someday I won't, doesn't make it easier. In fact, it makes it harder.
So don't offer the lights at the end of the tunnel. So often my lights have been the next train, and diabetes DOES offer a great number of trains. (amputation, blindness and other complications are examples of trains). Let me getting out of the tunnel be a pleasant surprise.
I have to remember to take it all one day at a time.
But I think I'm on a mini-roller coaster. All day, a touch high on the blood sugar, finally took a couple of extra units of insulin in the afternoon.
Later, ate dinner and took insulin, and then went to the gym. Blood sugar was at 96, so I took my glucose tablets to the Natural Rider with me. Barely made it 20 minute, but did, but VERY dizzy so took a tablet.
Sugar was 77 which is VERY low for me. The table and a tootsie roll got me how, but it was SO frustrated, as I so wanted to get more time in. Especially resistance training.
Hopefully, I'll get in tomorrow when my sugar is at my highest, then I won't have to do any extra insulin, and will be able to get a full work out in.
We're back to exercise again....