Living with Diabetes and Lapband

DIABolic

DIABolic

Looks interesting -- and he is linked to this blog!

He's been a Type 1 since he was 3.

When I was my healthiest, I worked out for about an hour and half every morning at a local gym.

I haven't been able to work out in mornings for years. I managed to get in some the first week teachers were back, but not for long.

So today, I decided it was going to have to be in baby steps. I am going to do 5 minutes of cardio and one weight exercise every morning this week I'm scheduled to work out.

And then up it to 7 1/2 minutes next week.

Baby steps.

Hoping this is a good sign of things to come, but I weigh the least I have weighed since I was diagnosed with diabetes -- and maybe less than a few years before that.

I was stuck this summer, not able to lose any more weight after the initial Sylmin, and I knew a lot of it was activity level. I was so busy finishing up my classes, that I was spending a majority of my day sitting in front of the computer writing.

Well, last week I was busy setting up my classroom and DID get dehydrated, but managed to put that fluid weight back in. I don't think that is a problem this week, as I have been forcing fluids in the evening.

I am more active in this classroom than I was in the old one. I was a bit tied down to the computer. I have been coming home with my feet aching, but I think I will get acclimated to that soon. Especially if I keep losing weight. Of course, we all know, the less I weigh, the easier it will be to get around.

I've just about acclimated to the building too. My sinus symthoms are much better, I don't feel near as stuff as I did.

I am also sleeping through the night, both last night and the night before. I had been waking up about 4:00 am every night after school started and was also having trouble getting to sleep. I think things will be okay though, as I have a good handle on what I am going to do with my students next week.

Hopefully I can get all my planning for next week done at school before the weekend, as I have an agility trial next weekend.

Thank goodness!

The hardest week for me is always the week the teachers come back and the second hardest week is the first week with students.

I did well this year though because I had enough energy to do my workouts -- not at the level I do during the summer, but still got it done.

My worst class right now is my 4th period. Primarily because there are too many. I've got 34 non-English speakers and that is way too many.

I like this year's assignment better than any other assignment I've had. I've got curriculum support coming out my ears, which I've never had before.

Something I never had with computer science. We have a specialist in the building 3 1/2 days a week for math. I also have an ELI math specialist to help and she came by today.

Should have posted this last night.

I have been accessing my unofficial transcript each day since the grades were posted and last night, the Master's Degree showed up on it.

YEAH!

So now I am just waiting for official transcripts. I have a request into the register's office for them to send me one -- it's always nice to have and to send on to the district so I'll get the pay raise. They called me about the request so I know they have it. (It always pays to make a small mistake so people like that have to talk to you).

School is going fairly well.

I was such a good girl, went to bed at 10:30 like I should ... and BANG, I got woke up.

One of our drunks decided to try to take out the telephone pole. Fortuntely she missed it, and took out her car again.

That's the fun part of living on a curve on a main street.

I've since adjusted my morning basal, but if I had to have gone much longer, I would have had a true crash.

I was at 110 at 11:10, did my Symlin, and then walked down to the teacher workroom at 11:40. I could tell I was starting to lose, but the kid in front of me had a really rude picture in his clear pack, and I wanted him talked to so I signalled the principal whom I've known for two years and I couldn't remember his name!

When I got to the microwave, I couldn't remember how to operate one. I had my food in my hand, and I couldn't figure out what button to push, so I grabbed one of the male math teachers and had him do it. After I got my soup in the microwave, I saw the pear and said "Hey, that will fix it", and went ahead and ate dessert first.

I probably should have popped a life saver before I left the room, and I did almost make it.

I've tweaked some settings and that should help.

Actually I'm doing better than surviving.

First, my blood sugars are where they should be. In fact, I'm keeping a close eye to make sure they don't go too low during the day. My fasting blood sugars have been good the past two days -- 95 and 105. My after lunch blood sugars are also doing well, in fact, loads better than they were last year.

I even managed to get on the treadmill for 35 minutes yesterday.

I missed most of last week's workouts. First the cardio was way to long for me to do and work too. I should have shorten them a week early but I was hoping. I was doing over an hour a day on that schedule. I even missed the weight workouts but then again, I was moving boxes, walking the building searching for people, etc.

My weight is still going down, and I'm being very careful not to dehydrate again, though I don't drink as much at school as I do at home. Don't eat as much either.

My classes are interesting. The Algebra I repeater class size is stable. I did make one kid's day. He had already passed Algebra I AND Geometry, so was definately in the wrong class. On Monday, he told me, and I sent an email to his counselor. His counselor fixed the schedule and had it in my box at 7:45 am. I gave him his new schedule when he walked in my room and get him to the right class and teacher. The even better news, is that new teacher was my department chair, and she was thrilled that I had caught the error and got it fixed too. When I told her, I was actually bragging on the counselor, but every day we can have the kid in the actual right class, the better.

The ESL classes, however are not stable when it comes to class size. My 3rd and 4th period classes have almost doubled. I have most of the ESL students in 4th period because of the way their schedule works. They are with an ESL specialist for 3 class periods (I didn't KNOW this, but had seen their schedules before), and are with me 1 class period. So there is an opportunity for two different specialists to see them for 4th, but only one for 3rd and 5th.

The ESL kids are so very happy to be in the classroom. However, they are very shy for the most part and don't want to talk. The key, I'm learning, is to get silly myself. The more silly I am, the easier it is for them to try and make mistakes.

Obesity: Pain and Prejudice

Over the past 4.5 years, as Psychologist for the Bridges Surgical Weight Loss Program at St. Luke's Medical Center in Phoenix, Arizona, I have been privileged to personally interview more than 2000 patients seeking bariatric surgery. This experience has obliged me to reflect on the treatment that many have received at the hands of the very people who these vulnerable individuals contact for help with this traumatic condition. It is not a secret that the base rate of abuse (physical, emotional, and sexual) in the obese population is higher than in the nonobese population.[2] The stories that have been shared with me about how these people have been treated by friends, family members, and yes, even medical professionals have revealed the cruel and inhumane conduct to which the obese patient is regularly exposed.[3,4] Why those trained under the principle of primum non nocere would engage in emotionally harming those who have come to them for help is a mystery and speaks more to the issues of the professional than to the physical status of the patient.

This is a really powerful article. I can't tell you how many times a health care professional has made being overweight worse that it is.

Transportation Bill Passed in Congress to Prevent Discrimination Against Employees With Diabetes

Transportation Bill Passed in Congress to Prevent Discrimination Against Employees With Diabetes