Mel's Finger Stick

Restart

2009-12-12T06:18:00.000-08:00

Time to kick this thing over a few times and see if it'll fire.

Had quite an eventful year so there's a lot to write about - not all diabetes related. But for now, I'm just going to say a quiet hello and gather my thoughts for the next post which, will hopefully be sooner than 7 months away.

Happy Birthday Kayla!

2009-05-03T16:22:00.000-07:00

Stick a fork in it . . .

2009-05-03T03:24:00.000-07:00

. . . it's done. Our call-it-what-you-will sale day was fun and tiring but we made it through without a lot of grief.

We got up at our normal time (4:30 am) to get over there in time for breakfast (egg, cheese, bacon, sausage, onion breakfast casserole) with Alice. Then we did some last minute prep for the sale — positioning the tables, putting stuff in it's "sale" spot. Pricing everything and getting it generally arranged on Friday afternoon helped make the morning a lot stressful. We were ready to go (mostly) at the 7 o'clock starting gun.

Since the sale started at 7 am we got a lot of early birds on their way to other sales in the area scheduled to start later. A wise strategy in hindsight. We'll try that with ours when we have them. Found out later in the day that the person responsible for advertising the sale and putting signs out did a very poor job. So we were found by the most persistent yard salers.

The rain was kind to us most of the day with just brief showers and no sustained winds. In one case, a couple waited out the shower under cover of the carport cover and ended up buying some things before they left. We managed to keep our stuff fairly dry since there was not wind. We were prepared to put up tarp "walls" if it got to bad.

People are very interesting and yesterday just reinforced that. Here're some highlights from what I saw yesterday:

I was surprised at the number of couples that have the same interests in books. I know Barb and I share some common interests but nearly every couple that came in, and that I asked, said they liked the same kinds of books as their partner. Curious. I wonder if it was always that way or was it just by being together for a period of time that influenced the shared interest. One woman said, of her and her husband's like of the same books, with a wink and a smile, "I pick out good books and he likes them." That may best sum it up.

That people will buy just about anything. One guy bought three old Sony Walkman style radios that didn't even have the headphones with them. These were the old kind that play cassette tapes (remember them kiddies? Link included for those of you to young to remember them). I had thrown them away a number of times then dug them out of the trash for some reason (sound familiar Mom?). I'm not sure the 30¢ we got for them was really worth it but the nut case that bought them was happy.

People ask for the weirdest things. The guy who bought the radios looked like his tastes ran far to the eccentric side. Just a feeling I had. When he got his radios, he ask for a receipt - nothing fancy - just something written on a scrap of paper he could look at later so he'd know how much he spent. Then, another guy wanted to buy Alice's chinese maple she's grown out front of her house. He was serious.

Some people really try your patience. One woman spent nearly 30 minutes going through each item, taking it out of the box (if it was in one), trying it out or asking to be shown how it worked. Remember the Ab-Roller? Someone had one in a box (I won't say who, but it wasn't us) and it was disassembled so it wouldn't take up so much room. It had the VHS tape that showed how to use it and everything was there. This lady was obsessed with it (it could have been the pretty purple paint). She went on and on about it - she wanted to know what it looked like, how it worked, did it work, was it all there. (No one volunteered to put it together and demonstrate it.) Alice only wanted $5 for it but the ladey didn't want to pay that much since she didn't know if it worked. After a while Alice, out of frustration, accepted $3 for it.

Some people aren't browsers. Not just men, but some women would come in, briskly walk from table-to-table pick up an item or two, pay for it, and briskly leave. They weren't unfriendly but it was like they were late for an appointment and just need to pick up these couple of specific things on there way.

People are from everywhere. One guy, who lives in the area, was originally from Kannappolis, North Carolina. He was about our age and he'd grown up in the racing community back there. He'd known the Earnhardts, Buddy Baker and other greats when he was growing up. He'd raced with them and went to races with them. He was full of stories from "back when." He said back when he was growing up there, that racing was what those guys wanted to do. Well, that and drink. He thought the current state of NASCAR, while good for the spectators, was a little to glamorous.

That's just some of the observations I made.

The rains moved in with a fury about 2 pm and we finally closed up our part of the sale at 2:30 pm. A few other houses were going to tough it out 'til 3, but our little group was tired and cold.

We made a few bucks, which was really surprising considering our most expensive things were $5 and we only had a few of those. Mostly we had 50¢ and 25¢ things, so we sold A LOT of those to make what we did. While we didn't sell everything, it was definitely easier to load everything back into the truck at the end of the day. But, in the end, it didn't even make a dent in the overall gotta-get-rid-of-it stuff we have.

MUST. WORK. HARDER.

Turkey at the top is the one DJ fixed for us on Easter. It was tender, juicy and very good. Ah, memories...

PS to comment on yesterday's post - no swine flu contracted I hope. Took my hand sanitizer and used it often and avoided contact with sneezers and wheezers.

More like a patio sale . . .

2009-05-02T03:20:00.001-07:00

Not really a yard sale since everything's under cover but it's the same idea.

We took a bunch of our stuff over to Alice's to sell in their neighborhood "yard" sale. This is just part of what we had. On the left (out of frame) is another table just as full.

Setting up was tiresome because we had to think of what to price everything. I just did it by moving quickly and not over-thinking the price. We'd bought some yard sale price stickers from the Dollar Store and that made it go quicker. I'm sure we overpriced some things but we're to cheap on others, but, hey, it's a sale.

The rain has moved in as expected. Right now (4 am) it's raining hard and has been most of the night. That'll probably keep all but the hardiest yard salers indoors today. Drat the luck!

How about that swine flu? I see where there's 4 or 5 possible case of it here in Oregon. They shut down Western Oregon University on Thursday when one of their students tested positive. Crazy. Who'd a thought Porky Pig would be dangerous.

I'm thinking people with compromised or weak immune systems (like people with diabetes) would be at greater risk. So, sure enough, I do a Google and found this on swine flu and diabetes. Take a few minutes to read it. It's good information for everyone.

In any case, not to live my live in a constant state of paranoia, I think I'll take along my Purell^® today and use it frequently when dealing with customers of the yard sale. I'm not sure I'm ready to start wearing a mask but that's always a possibility. I don't get flu's generally but I definitely don't want this one - and the flu shot my doc was so adamant I get? Doesn't work with swine flu!

Gotta go get ready for the day. We found some more stuff we're taking over this morning so I need to load it in the truck, shower and go.

Have a great weekend wherever you are or whatever you're doing!!

Happy Birthday DJ

2009-05-01T06:16:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was Darrin's birthday. He's 37 this year. We went over for his celebration dinner. Brody and Kayla fixed it - including baking his favorite cake (carrot cake) as his birthday cake.

We had spaghetti and Texas Toast garlic bread. Then we had cake and ice cream. Then I had cake and ice cream. Then I was on a sugar high that's still going this morning (currently 6:15 am). I know better but sweets just get the better of me.

Today I load up the Dodge to go over to Alice's to get ready for tomorrow's yard sale. Who ever's doing the advertising put that it was starting at 7:00 am. Who ever heard of a yard sale starting at 7??? And on a Saturday not less. I'm sure there'll be some people there, but the sellers will probably be a little grumpy 'til they get woke up.

We thought about spending the night over there but I think we'll come back and sleep in our own bed. Always the better option I think.

Still forecasting rain tomorrow so we'll get damp I'm sure. Going to try and mow the lawn before we go over so it doesn't get out of hand during the next rainy period. Looks like rain's forecasted through the end of next week.

Eye Exam

2009-04-30T15:26:00.000-07:00

Had an eye exam today. So I'm fairly sure this was really a raccoon I saw in the backyard a couple of weeks ago.

It's been at least three, maybe four - or possibly more - years since I had an eye exam but everything was okay - relatively speaking. I was concerned there'd be some damage from my 'betes being out of control but there wasn't.

It's called diabetic retinopathy and people with diabetes are at a high risk of getting it. From what I understand it'll present as bleeding in the back of my eyeballs. To fix it they'd use laser to cauterize the bleeds. No thank you very much.

My vision had deteriorated noticeably over the past month or two and I was concerned I'd let it go to long. It turns out that my old prescription wasn't right for how my eyes have changed since my last exam. Probably doesn't help that my frames are broken and I've tied them together with thread. Oh well. New ones are on the way and should be here in a couple of weeks.

Getting ready for a garage sale over at Barb's sister in SE Portland this Saturday. They have an annual all neighborhood sale and Alice asked if we had anything we wanted to get rid of.

Why yes . . . we do!

We're taking over four folding tables and a truck load of stuff to put in the sale. We'll probably bring a lot of it back as well as more stuff I find to buy. It'll be fun, maybe profitable (NOT) and it should clear out a little of our junk. We'll be having one of our own with bigger stuff in a couple of weeks.

Weather's good today and tomorrow but the rain's supposed to move in Saturday afternoon. It'll make a mess of the sale I'm sure. Besides the rain, there'll be the accompanying high winds as the storm moves in. How entertaining.

Hope your weekend plans include something fun!

Low

2009-04-29T05:46:00.000-07:00

WOW! It's been a while even though it doesn't seem like it's been that long. Things have been crazy around here.

Had a low again this morning. Not a serious, black-out, fall down, call 911 low, but a low none-the-less. I try to avoid lows but they happen. And when they do I try to figure out why—especially if the low isn't for an obvious reason.

I'm a Type 2 diabetic, and, for me, lows are the result of my medications. If I didn't take any meds I'd be on the bad side of high. So, that I was low was a result of meds taken over powering carbs eaten to a greater extent than I anticipated. I took my normal dose of insulin along with my metformin last night at dinner time. We had Asian take out (Panda Express - I love their chow mien noodles! They've got a smoky flavor that's delicious.) which generally will drive my sugar to the roof. What can I say, I know its effect on on my body but I love to eat it.

After dinner we watched a little internet TV (had to catch up on Bones and Numbers) with some micro/bag popcorn. Then went to bed. Didn't check my bg - what was the need? I'd eaten Asian so my blood was going to be super sugary anyway.

This morning I got up and was mildly surprised/alarmed at my reading. Mind you, it wasn't that low but was probably 30 points lower than my morning goal and about 100 points lower than I expected after eating what we did. So, now to the reason why it was low.

I. Don't. Have. A. Clue.

Some days are like that. I could spend hours obsessing about it but why? I've just come to accept that with my disease there is no fast and firm reasons for what happens but only broad, ever moving possibles.

Sort of like consistently posting to a blog.

Trying to Simplify my Life

2009-03-25T16:36:00.000-07:00

In an effort to simplify my life I've been photographing stuff and putting it on craigslist or eBay. Since I've already processed the easily reached stuff, I decided to go through the closet in my room looking for more sellable stuff.

But it scared me.

Then, after a cup of coffee to think it over, and because it seemed less onerous, I decided I'd just clean off the top of my desk.

OMH! Look at all the papers to go through and what to do with the junk accumulation!

So I decided I'd just clean out one desk drawer (I actually tackled the drawer just below the one in the picture but I didn't photograph it before taking all the cr . . . er . . . stuff out of it):

Typical desk drawer - so full it sometimes jams when you try to open it!

Finally, a project I thought I could handle in a short period of time. Well, after another cup of coffee some serious thought about what I was doing, I took everything out, trashed the trash, and recycled the recycle and in the end was still left with this:

Stuff I deemed keepable.

I found my diploma from Portland State University; some toy cars; a sleeve for a Palm PDA that fits into a Day Runner (talk about ridiculously redundant); old letters from friends; big box of 96 Crayons; and a bunch of paper tablets!

There's graph paper; 4 column accountant paper; plain paper; lined paper; letter size pads; new memo pad refills; blank cards; and scratch pads. Several paper holders and a business card holder.

There are empty film canisters; a Jack-In-The-Box antenna ball and a couple of miniature American flags. Hot drink mouth-hole-covers (to keep the hot liquid from splashing out when you're driving down the road); Copy, Confidential and Draft stamps; Scotch tape refill; and instructions on how to build a fold down bed.

Now what am I going to do with it all? I'll keep the diploma, maybe the toy cars, the letters, the stamp pads and some of the paper. Then the rest? Give it away at a yard sale I guess because, quite frankly, there ain't nothin' there worth anything to anyone else.

How do we come to have so much stuff in our lives? How did I come to have all this stuff? Why did I even keep some of this? Just stuffed it in a drawer to hide it I guess.

This was a real eye opener and a bad sign of what's to come when I get around to the other 5 drawers of my desk, the two file cabinets and that closet full of "stuff." And that's just what's in this room!

UPDATE: I kept 1 pad of letter sized paper, all the smaller pads of scratch paper, the Scotch tape, some blank cards, my PSU diploma, the old letters and the ink stamps. The rest is outta here!

Do You Have Diabetes? How do you know?

2009-03-23T05:29:00.000-07:00

Today is the 21st Annual American Diabetes Alert Day.

If you don't know if you have diabetes or not, I encourage you find out. Even if you think your lifestyle makes you immune to diabetes you may be at risk. Take the test "Are You A Risk Taker" over on the right there to get a hint as to whether or not you're at risk.

If you're related to me, then YOU ARE AT RISK of having diabetes because it's in our genes. I've got diabetes and so does Mom (Type 2). The only way you will ever know for sure is to be tested. Next time you visit your doctor request that you be checked for diabetes.

Tell your doctor diabetes runs in your family.

So, go get yourself tested. That way you'll know for sure.

Spring has Sprung!

2009-03-20T06:23:00.000-07:00

A couple of hours ago (at 4:44 am PDT) spring officially arrived! Like clockwork themselves, the daffodils around the yard have started to bloom. Now, to be honest, they aren't the first flowers of the season - there was this dandgummed thing blooming in January! But I digress.

Yes, it seems the days are warming up (50° out there right now going all the way up to - what? - oh let's ck . . . ummm . . . 55°) and the nights aren't supposed be so cold as they have been. The snow's behind us and the rain, well it's just going to get warmer.

By Request

2009-03-17T14:35:00.000-07:00

Here's a recipe for something called Amish Cheesecake. Had it at one of the Fuentes Family Reunions in Luna. Mom wrote the recipe out (that's why it's readable) and looks like she got it from Bertha Roark. I don't remember who she is and whether or not she's related to us (assuming she is since she was at the reunion). (This recipe is almost identical to this one I found online.)

If you make it in a 9" x 13" pan, here's the approximate nutritional (according to my recipe program so it's not guaranteed to be exact but should be close enough) info for one piece (2"ish x 2"ish) guessing a yield of 24 pieces: Calories 184; Total Fat 11g; Sat. Fat 6g; Trans Fat 3g; Cholesterol 22mg; Sodium 207mg; Carbs 18g; Fiber 0g; Protein 3g. Sugar carbs aren't shown in my programs but since there's no fiber there's probably 3 or 4 grams of sugar.

This calculation is based on using the Pillsbury® Original Crescent Rolls.

You could cut back on calories by using Low Fat Cream cheese, Pillsbury® Reduced Fat Crescent Rolls and a little less butter. You could take it even further and make it diabetic friendlier by using Splenda® instead of sugar. If you wanted to, that is. After all, it is a dessert.

The Weekend

2009-03-16T05:15:00.000-07:00

Had a pretty good weekend. We went to Kayla's soccer games on Saturday and Sunday. They played real well both days. On Saturday, they tied the other team 2-2, but on Sunday they lost 0-1. It was cold, rainy and windy both days.

For Saturday's game I was able to park next to the field right behind one of the goals so that's where I watched most of the game. I did get out for a few minutes and tried to watch from the sidelines, but the wind kept blowing my hat off, turning umbrellas inside out and it was just miserable. For Sunday's game we watched from the grandstands (covered - but not warm or protected from the wind).

After Saturday's game we went and got a couple of Papa Murphy's pizzas for lunch. We had a large pepperoni and a large meat lovers.

Before Saturday's game, I took Barb to get her hair cut then we went to Starbucks to get coffee. Somewhere in our travels we saw there was an RV show at the Expo Center over the weekend. So, on our way to get the pizzas, I told Barb we should stop by Curtis Trailers (where we bought our 5th wheel) and see if they had discount tickets. But then, as is my way, I vacillated on the idea and didn't stop on the way to the pizza store. But, on the way back to the kid's house, I sucked it in and stopped.

I asked the receptionist if they had (and I swear I meant to say discounted) tickets to the show. She said they were out but they had a 2 for 1 discount coupon. I was telling her that'd be fine when one of the sales people called out from in the back "I think I have a couple of tickets!" So she came out with two complimentary tickets for us to use. Sweet! I went ahead and took the discount coupon too.

After lunch, Lori, DJ, Barb and I loaded up in the Honda and went to the show. I paid for parking (normally $7 but with three or more people there was a carpool discount of a $1) and gave the 2 for 1 coupon to DJ to use for him and Lori. So it cost $9 a person to get in so the whole expense for the show was $15 for four people and parking! Nice deal!

The RV show was a bit of a disappointment. They had scads of RVs there in all shapes and forms but there wasn't anything innovative or interesting. The manufactures seem to be cramming more stuff in their RVs so they all seemed cluttered and cramped. We decided, even if we were in thinking of trading up, there wasn't anything there we wanted. Instead, we'll make changes to what we have and keep it for a few more years.

I'm selling some of our stuff on craigslist and we needed to meet someone to make the exchange (stuff for money). I had an old cigar humidor I sold for $35 and we meet the guy over by Tanasbourne Mall. He was delighted to get a nice humidor and I was equally delighted to get money for stuff. I'm always surprised when something I have sells.

We're still planning on selling the house and moving into our 5th wheel this spring so there's going to be a lot of stuff to sell. I'll get to practice my "product" photography along the way.

Hope you all had a good weekend.

Random 3 am thoughts

2009-03-14T03:01:00.000-07:00

I've been meaning to do a post about how I feel about diabetes - my diabetes. My thoughts are scattered and, like Anna's run away steer, I'm having trouble getting them corralled. My basic thought is that my DIABETES is always there. I'm never non-diabetic. Even when I ignore it or don't think about it, it's always there. Until the day I die, it'll be there. There is no getting well, no getting over it, no cure for it so it's never going away.

Pain in my toes is usually the first thing to remind me I still have diabetes. It's like a needle getting slowly stabbed up under your toenail. That's as close as I can come to describing what it feels like. Of course the pain isn't in just my toenail area directly but that's what it feels like as the nerves in my toes die. As I'm typing this the PAIN is in the middle toe of my right foot. The pain comes and goes in varying intensity, but like the high school bully who'd punch me when ever no one was looking, it is always lurking.

The obvious sign of my diabetes is my MedicAlert bracelet I wear. I got it shortly after I was diagnosed but not worn it regularly until this last year. It dangles off my wrist, clanks against things it comes close to, rattles on the desktop as I work, gets in the way of my watchband and, in general, is invisible to me. I've worn it so long I don't even notice it anymore.

The trouble with not noticing diabetes is not taking care of it. Like my bracelet, it's easy to ignore diabetes, to eat what isn't healthy (just this once won't hurt), skip my medication (can't afford it), don't exercise (it's crappy out today so I'll walk tomorrow), and so on. After a while my diabetes is raging out of control again and it becomes harder to bring my bg level back into control each time I backslide.

So this has taken me about 45 minutes to write and my thoughts are still scattered, so I'll just post it and go do something else. Wonder if there's any ice cream in the freezer?

My kind of excercise

2009-03-05T08:52:00.000-08:00

So here you go - 7.5 minutes a week excercise program. I think I can fit that in.

To much meat

2009-03-03T12:15:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was Barb's birthday so Lori and DJ fixed dinner for her. Early in the day, when I'd talked to Lori, she said they were going to fix spaghetti and that sounded good to me. When we got there, they'd gone out and bought a bunch of steaks (more like little roasts but that's how DJ rolls). Lori fixed some wild rice (carbs), baked beans (more carbs), corn (even more carbs) and made some porterhouse rolls (carb overload) while DJ grilled the steaks (protein). Everything was very good and, as usual with food that's very good, I over ate. My steak was 16 oz - if it was an ounce - and I nearly ate it all. I got up from the table knowing I was going to pay for it during the night. After we had some birthday cake and finished watching Dark Knight, we went home.

I tried staying up for a while to let the meal settle but it didn't and we finally went to bed around 9:00. About 11:30, I woke up with my heart racing and feeling bloated. I walked around the house for a while 'til that feeling went away and went back to bed. At 2:00 I was up again. I ate a Tums then went out to the living room and slept in the chair. At 4:30, when it was time to get Barb up, I still felt bad. I got Barb ready to go to work but we skipped breakfast at the house. She wasn't feeling well either.

My blood sugars were way off this morning because I'd forgotten to take my meds with me over there. I've been off from them for a while so it's going to take some time to get the bg's back into range - if I can. Getting out of control for me is like someone going on a diet. You've heard the stories about losing 10 pounds on a diet only to gain back 20 when they go off the diet. For me it's the same way. If I lose control of my bgs it takes extra effort to get it back into control. Sometimes I don't make it for various reasons. That's what's happened since last fall. I've gotten out of control so much that it doesn't seem I'll be able to get back into control.

And not having any will power to avoid the foods I love doesn't make it any easier.

Winter

2009-02-27T12:38:00.001-08:00

It's winter outside and colder than heck. Seems I've neglected this for quite a while. I apologize to anyone who's listening.

I still have diabetes. No cure for it yet. Doctors have a new scam to get you back into their office for visit (not free of course). They prescribe you 90 days worth of meds then, when the 90 days are up, they'll only go 30 days at a time - telling the pharmacy that they want to see you. So I'm out of my meds and have to hassle with the pharmacy/doctor every time I want to fill a prescription. What a pain - not to mention the expense of doctors appointments, lab work and the cost in time and transportation. They could care less as long as they get their money.

That's why I belive there will never be a cure for diabetes. It's to profitable for the doctors and especially the drug companies to keep us uncured. Do you really think it costs so much that we have to pay $1 for each test strip (for the Lifescan meters I use)? Life goes on though doesn't it.

It's still warm here

2008-07-01T10:23:00.000-07:00

Mid-week of a short week headed for the July 4th holiday. The heat's backed off to something comfortable and is supposed to stay this way for the next week - according to the weather guesser on channel 12. I've been working out in the yard a little, taking care of our fledgling container garden. It looks good. Of course in all other areas of the yard (and garden) the weeds are thriving. I work a little on them so by summer's end I should have them mostly under control.

Had an interesting thing happen this morning. Since it's so hot, Barb and I've been getting up early and walking before she goes to work. This way we get in most, if not all, of our 10K steps. Before we left the house I checked my bg and it was 89 - pretty darn good morning reading. Since I firmly believe that I won't go low unless it's because of medication, I didn't think twice about heading out for our walk. When we got back, I checked it again and it was 85. Still not low enough to be alarmed about but lower than before we went on our walk.

Not much else going on here. Just trying to stay active and eat healthy. Some age related aches and pains but nothing serious. Don't we all have them?

Hot Weekend

2008-06-28T18:48:00.000-07:00

It's the weekend and it's to hot to go outside this afternoon. We broke a heat record when it hit 100° today. It's supposed to be hot again tomorrow and start "cooling off" on Monday (88° is forcasted). Since it was going to be so hot, we took a walk this morning to get in our steps. We went over to Starbucks for coffee and then over to the Tualatin Hills Park and Recreation complex to look around. It was a nice walk. We got our steps in and didn't suffer from a heat stroke.

We spent the rest of the day in the air conditioned house watching some television and napping. A pretty comfortable day all-in-all. I did get out and water my vegetables this morning. I swear they seem to be growing right before my eyes - except the bell pepper which seems to not like where it's at. Tomorrow morning, before the heat sets in, I'm going to give them all a good dose of fertilizer - some Miracle Grow. I'm determined to get some tomatoes and squash this year.

The blueberry bushes are loaded again. We should have another good harvest from them. I need to trim out the dead cane this winter. There's a lot of yard work (or rather flower-bed work) that needs done. I try to do a little every day. Eventually I should make it around the yard.

Tomorrow will probably be the same routine as today, except we need to do laundry. So, otherwise, everything else is going well. Feeling fine and eating right.

Mid week

2008-06-26T06:05:00.000-07:00

Been a quiet and busy week. I've been working in the yard and garden most of the time. Barb's been keeping me busy with some work she needed me to do. I've also been taking a lot of pictures. The weather's pretty nice and the flowers are all in bloom so I can't hardly resist.

Been eating and exercising so I'm feeling good. Our "program" is working because, not only did I have improvement at my last doctor's appointment, but so did Barb. She's lost weight, her blood pressure is down and her blood work is all good. So, overall, we're doing what we need to be doing. Nothing trick or secret about it - just eat less and exercise more. Simple enough - or so it would seem. There isn't a big support program for simple in this country. If someone can't make a buck off from an idea then there doesn't seem to be any hype for it.

Nice weekend

2008-06-23T09:08:00.001-07:00

Had a nice weekend around here. On Saturday, we walked around the neighborhood and had lunch at Costco ($1.50 Costco dog with a drink - can't beat the price). Worked in the yard mostly during the weekend. We both got haircuts and we watched a couple of DVD movies (Out of Africa and Bourne Identity) along with some TV.

We planted some veggies in containers and put them in the sunniest part of the yard. We found out most of our garden is in the shade during the day so it's not real good for plants that like full sun - like tomatoes. Maybe we'll get some red ones this year. We planted three tomato plants, one pepper plant, a zucchini, a crook-neck squash and a cucumber. We also got some corn and cantaloupe to plant in the garden. May be to optimistic but it's fun to try.

I also swapped out toolboxes in my '70 Ford pickup. Darrin came over and helped lift out the white one and put the black on in place. The white one was nice - especially since it was painted to match the color of the truck - but it was quite a bit smaller than this black one. Since we always seem to have a lot of stuff to take with us when we travel I decided to use the larger one. We can get coolers and suitcases in this one and still have room to spare.

HEALTH RELATED

Saturday was a good day - lots of outdoor exercise, pretty good on average for what we ate (Costco dog included) - but Sunday was a day where we didn't do a lot of walking (mainly worked around the yard) and I couldn't seem to get enough to eat. I ate a lot more than I should have but, then, I have days where I can't stay away from food. Today is okay and I might be okay for another month, but I know there'll be a day when I just can't get filled up. I'm still working on the why.

Unexpected call

2008-06-20T04:04:00.000-07:00

I received an unexpected call from my insurance company yesterday. It was from a Registered Nurse who works for them and, I think she said she's a diabetes educator. Anyhow, we had a long conversation about education and diabetes in general. The call was part of the service they offer to their customers with diabetes. So, I'll be getting something in the mail describing what it is they offer and then every month for a while I'll get a call to see how my diabetes is doing. After this long with diabetes I think I know a thing or two about it but I'm willing to see if they have anything new.

So if I think I know so much about diabetes why take (read: waste) the time to participate in the program being offered? For a couple of reasons I can think of off the top of my head. First is to get me back on track in areas where I've backslid or forgotten about. Another is to re-energize my program. It usually happens with me when I focus on something to the point of ignoring all else is I'll get complacent about it. I'll either get frustrated because there's nothing new or helpful to learn and I'll move on to the next obsession or I'm satisfied I've learned all there is to know and cruise on doing what I've learned to do. Either way, I'll either completely abandon the project or I'll move forward doing what I should be doing. The latter invariably becomes riddled with errors over time.

I'll start doing something a little different with the justification of "it won't matter this one time" and pretty soon, it's become part of my routine. An example of this is eating. I've been trying to keep saturated fats out of, or at least minimized, in my diet. But because they're cheaper to buy I've allowed some of them to creep back into my diet. Consequently, my cholesterol may become out of control again and start plaquing up my arteries. But, my good intentions always get knocked out of whack in little, subtle ways. Education, or re-education, can refocus my efforts on doing what I need to do. So it's a good thing.

Away without leave

2008-06-19T07:31:00.000-07:00

I'm still here. My diabetes is still here. The rain is still here - mostly. I didn't want this to turn into another place where negativity and depressed thoughts are expressed so, since I didn't have any happy-happy thoughts to post, I haven't posted anything. I still don't have any. But I feel like posting again anyway.

Generally, my health is okay. At my last diabetes doctors appointment, my weight was down some, my blood pressure was good (helps the nearly plugged arteries in my heart had been routed out) and my a1C was 6.2. The doctor was pleased I'd made so much progress in controlling my blood sugars in just three short months. I told him that when everything you ate was a threat to your health you tended not to eat as much. True story. All fruits and vegetables are loaded with carbohydrates and cause problems with my blood sugar. Nearly all proteins - meat, nuts and dairy products - have a lot of saturated fat (not to mention just your garden variety fat) which causes problems for my heart. So what to do? Not eat? I've come up with a way that works for me.

A few months ago, Barb and I saw a program on Discovery Health about people who'd taken some extreme actions to lose weight (that didn't include medical procedures). Don't remember much about all the ways people accomplished there weight loss (one guy rode his bicycle from coast to coast and lost a bunch), but there was one lady who, after trying all sorts of "diets" and other fads, simply switched her eating habits. So for breakfast she had what she normally had for dinner, for lunch - normal lunch type meal - and for dinner she had breakfast and never ate after 3:00 pm. Sounds kooky right? Well if you think about it breakfast is usually the lightest meal of the day - calorie wise - and dinner is the heaviest. I just makes since that if you have your heaviest meal at the start of your day you're likely to burn off most if not all those calories during the day. And the lightest meal at night means you'll not be carrying a heavy calorie load to bed (eat it early enough in the evening and you could end up and it's even better).

Well, we've switched our meals (except we sometimes eat as late as 6:00 pm) and it's been pretty surprising. My morning insulin is just a few units less than originally prescribed but, in order not to go hypoglycemic at bed time I've cut my evening injections back 10 units. My average seems to be running around 95-110, which is the range the doctor thinks I should aim for although he told me not to try to get lower than the 6.2 a1C. And, as a bonus, I actually seem to sleep better not going to bed with a heavy meal in my body.

Another change I made was eating vegetables low in carbohydrates (there's actually quite a few). And eating smaller portions of meat, more fish and chicken, and fewer eggs. Fixing a dinner type meal in the mornings isn't much trouble once you've set your mind to it. I get everything ready the evening before and, as soon as we get up in the morning, I start cooking. (This is where Rachel Ray's 30 Minute Meals have real life applications.) It takes me about 20 - 30 minutes to prepare the meal and fix a lunch for Barb, so by the time she's ready for work, we can sit down and eat. I use the microwave and a grill pan (George Forman Lean Mean Grilling Machine) mostly. They make pretty short work of cooking. I'd use the stove more if we had the instant heat of gas, but we don't.

That's just a glimpse at what's been going on in the last three months. No promises but I'll try to post on a more regular basis.

Still here

2008-03-13T19:19:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a nice day. The weather was nice most of the day. The rain held off until the evening. My brother stopped by on his way to a machinery show in Portland. He lives about three hours south of me and it's been a long time since I've seen him.

Last night we went to our granddaughters chorus event. There was a music festival featuring three schools choirs in Hillsboro at J.B. Thomas Middle School. It isn't the school she goes to but is part of the same school system as her school. It was very nice and they did a very good job on their songs. Only problem was the old auditorium has school kid size seats and they're uncomfortable for all but he smallest adults. We made it through though.

In an effort to better control my diabetes I've started charting my blood sugars, carb intake and exercise (measured in steps). I saw right away that I've been out of range most of the last two weeks. It'll give me a visual tool to monitor my progress.

What a Day . . .

2008-03-11T18:54:00.001-07:00

I'm beat this evening. We worked out yesterday afternoon and my muscles are hollerin' today. I walked a lot today. I probably walked an hour on the treadmill and then had to run over to Costco. It's .92 miles one way from the house. I went over there during a sun break and hustled back to avoid the rain. I stayed dry and earned quite a few aerobic steps.

Tried out a new recipe this evening from the American Heart Association - Italian Style Spaghetti Squash - and it's a keeper. We added some cubed grilled chicken to ours in order to make it a little more substantial along with a little Parmesan cheese for taste. There's enough for lunch tomorrow. I'm curious how my blood sugar will react to it.

I think I've mentioned that I love the Jello brand sugar free/fat free puddings. They're easy to make and are a relatively guilt free dessert. We made a banana cream pudding Saturday but accidentally put to much milk in the bowl with the pudding mix so, in order to fix it, we put in a chocolate fudge mix. What a great accident! I think I'll make it on purpose next time. It's delicious with a couple tablespoons of fat free Cool Whip on top of it.

I'm tired but I feel good with the progress Barb and I've made towards a more healthy life in the last month.

My Goals for this Week

2008-03-10T11:38:00.000-07:00

This week I'm going to start to incorporate some strength training into my exercise program. I've got all sorts of equipment here so I don't need to go to a gym. Just start using what's here. To start with I'm going to try and get 20 - 30 minutes in three times a week. I'm still walking everyday and, so far (knock-on-wood), I haven't had any bad cramps. I know I should stretch but I don't always do such a good job getting it done.

Another goal for this week is to find one new healthy recipe and make it. I've already got a couple of ideas. One is a Classic Shepherd's Pie that Barb found and another is Grilled Tilapia With Zesty Mustard Sauce. There's a third one that caught my interest called Teriyaki Tofu & Broccoli. As much as we like Asian cuisine, I need to learn how to cook it healthily (is there even such a word). It's only Monday so I'll wait a day or two in case another one comes along I want to try. Heck, I might even try two new recipes.

I had a surprise high blood sugar last night at bedtime. We had eaten, from what I calculated, a good dinner without an exorbitant amount of carbs but, when I checked my bg, it was 148 mg/dl! That's at least 40 points over what I want to be. I'm still trying to figure out what happened this morning. I think that, like milk, some foods may work on paper but there's something in the ingredients that causes my blood sugar to spike. So, when I discover what those foods/ingredients are, I'll just have to adjust accordingly. So, as with everyday of my life, my goal continues to be tighter control of my blood sugars.

Here's one of the daffodils from our back yard. Today's supposed to be rainy but the sun's playing hide-and-seek through the clouds. I went out and took this picture while it was out. I love spring. The rest of the yard is a mess but the daffy's are cool.

We're thinking about putting in a new lawn this year. We'll probably use sod because it's easier and we don't have to worry about it washing away in the rain. We'll see. There's quite a few outdoor projects to do so we'll have to pick and choose which ones we do.

Week of 3/2/2008 Recapped

2008-03-09T04:33:00.000-07:00

Last week was a pretty good week. We had sunshine nearly everyday and the temperatures are starting to raise. The daffodils and crocus are blooming. The trees are all starting to bud out so it looks like spring is on it's way.

I ate pretty well all week. I'm doing good at keeping my fat intake down to 20% (the goal my cardiologist suggested I shoot for) or less. The most fatty things I ate were 7 baked potato chips (15g of fat) and a small hand-full of raw almonds (13g of fat). The days I had those, when added to the other fats for the day, I went over 20%. I like the salty flavor of the chips and the almonds I've heard have heart healthy oils in them.

My favorite meal of the week was mashed yukon gold potatoes, grilled boneless/skinless chicken breast and roasted asparagus with a balsamic sauce. It's been a while since I've ate potatoes and they tasted mighty good to me. We mix in fat-free sour cream, garlic and Butter Buds as we mash them up. The balsamic sauce it 1T melted butter, 1 1/2T of balsamic vinegar (love that stuff) and 1/2T of low sodium soy sauce. It's split between the two of us and, while originally was part of a recipe for just the asparagus, tastes great drizzled over the chicken too.

I started my walking program and already have hit 10,000 steps on a couple of days. For me, it takes about 4 miles to make that many steps. That's a little more than two hours of walking, if I did it all at once. On a normal day, just walking around the house (no housework or extra activity), I only go about a mile or so. In order to hit my goal I need to purposely walk longer so I either walk on the treadmill for 1 1/2 hours or walk outside for that long. Either way, I have to move at a pretty good pace to get my steps in (not like full on aerobic race-walking but more like "I'm late for an important meeting" walking).

With eating good and the exercise, I've kept my blood sugars at an average of 100 mg/dl, and that's right in the middle of the range my doctor wants me at. Of course that's based on only 30 finger sticks so the actual average will be higher. I generally only check before a meal and two hours after a meal - but not before/after every meal. The lowest reading I had for the week was 54 mg/dl, and the highest was 137 mg/dl.

So the weather's improving, I'm eating healthy, I'm exercising and my blood sugars are generally staying where I want them. A good week all-in-all I'd say. How was your week?

Coffee, Tea or Water?

2008-03-07T08:57:00.000-08:00

Last fall there was a report about how coffee was good for helping to prevent diabetes or lowering blood glucose levels if you already had diabetes. This was from a study done in Japan in 2004 of120,000 people. Then, a few weeks ago, another study (small - with only 10 people) came out saying that coffee isn't good for diabetics because it raises blood sugars. Now they're saying that it's not the caffeine in coffee (or tea) but some other element.

There's been some chatter on the diabetes forums about this recent study and some people have taken the point-of-view that they'll find out how it affects them. It seems, as it turns out, that coffee has an effect on some people but not on others. Once again it would seem proof that every diabetic may be different in how we react to some food. For example, I have a spike in by sugars when I eat a banana while others don't. I have a spike with milk but not soymilk while others aren't bothered by milk.

I think it's important, as a diabetic, to learn how my body - and blood sugar - reacts to specific foods or activities. I test so I know the effect instead of just guessing. It's a pain (literally and figuratively) to learn what works and what doesn't. Since I'm going to have this disease for the rest of my life, it's just as well I learn these things so I can get on with more important things.

So now I have to make another decision normal (non-diabetic) people may never even need to consider. Do I give up coffee or continue drinking it knowing my blood sugars maybe slightly elevated by doing so? Before I decide maybe I'll do a little testing to see if I'm affected by coffee. I'll let you know what I find out.

Blood Test Day

2008-03-06T07:27:00.000-08:00

This morning I have to get some blood work done. It's to see how well my cholesterol is doing and to determine if there needs to be any changes to my meds. One of the things I don't like about blood work is usually it has to be a fasting test. On a normal day I get up, have my coffee, and more often than not, have breakfast done by 7:00 in the morning. Because the lab may not be open until 8:00 or 8:30, I generally get pretty hungry before I get back home to eat. Now that I'm on insulin I have to take it pretty close to the time I eat so I can't even stop off at McDonald's for a Sausage McMuffin® - not that I really would - really - even though it's my favorite fast food breakfast.

Those foods are in the past or at least relegated to just a few limited times. I haven't had a fast food sandwich of any kind in 5 weeks and I've eaten at a restaurant only once in that time. I'm feeling so much better since fixing my own food. I'm clearer headed (which wouldn't take much to do), I have more energy and my complexion is looking better - or so my barber told me.

I remember when I was first diagnosed with diabetes going in every three months like clockwork for my A1c blood tests. Over the years I've had all sorts of people draw my blood. There's been some very good ones and some very bad ones. Some ex-military and some fresh faced farm kids. I remember one lady who was a student at the local medical training hospital trying to draw my blood.

I think it was probably her first experience working in a lab outside the classroom. I was hungry and, as happens when I'm hungry, I was very short tempered. Unfortunately my veins are very hard to find on the inside of my elbows on the best of days and almost impossible on other days. A lot depends on the skill of the person looking for them. Some people will feel and press on one arm then switch to the other one and try it again. Generally, if they're having trouble finding one, I ask them to use the back of my hands where the veins are visible to the naked eye (these veins do tend to roll easy so some people are hesitant to try there).

On this particular day the veins in my arms weren't cooperating so she was having a hard time finding one. I was getting more angry by the minute as she poked the needle into the skin and moved it around trying to find the vein. She must have done this at least three times on each arm (and this was before I learned they could use the veins on the back of my hands). Eventually she got so frustrated she was in tears so she gave up and called someone else over to draw my blood. I wonder if she ever made it through her training?

An aside on the pedometers - the truck we drive has a pretty stiff suspension and the roads aren't that smooth around here, so it counts an occasional step when we hit a bump. I got an additional 8 steps on the way back from taking Barb to work this morning. At least we're getting some credit for having to maneuver through neighborhood traffic.

We're off and ... Walking

2008-03-05T13:53:00.000-08:00

UPS delivered our new Omron HJ-112 pedometers yesterday afternoon. They were a snap to set-up and they're easy to use. Just clip it on a belt or pocket and forget about it. They count steps primarily but they also calculate calories used based upon the weight you input, the distance walked, the number of aerobic steps (any steps at a rate of 60 or more per minute for 10 or more minutes count as aerobic) and how many minutes were walked aerobically. They also have a 7 day memory. Pretty cool.

We spent quite a bit of time getting the stride set up so the distance walked should be fairly accurate at the end of the day. All the bells and whistles are nice features, but we basically got them to count our steps. We're shooting for the 10,000 step a day goal to start with. As you can see I already have 4,000 steps today by just walking around inside the house and walking over to the barber for a haircut.

I remember a few years back when we exercised regularly my blood sugars were easier to control. As a matter of fact, I remember having to cut back on my meds because I was going hypo so often. You'd think I'd have learned the importance of the relationship between exercise and diabetes but I got complacent. Now I'm not only trying to take care of my diabetes but also strengthen my heart muscle by becoming more active. I understand it's a good way to take care of quite a few of my health issues.

Visit to the Cardiology Office

2008-03-04T19:53:00.000-08:00

Today was a follow-up visit to the cardiologist's office for my stent implantation a few weeks ago. I met with Kristin, my cardiologist's very knowledgeable assistant. Everything was great. My weight's down, my blood pressure's down, my EKG's okay, my lungs sounded good and, most important, my heart sounded good. I had a few questions which she patiently and completely answered. They were:

~ I'd had a pain in the upper left side of my chest for a couple of weeks following the procedure. Would it go away and stay away? (We'd been told, when I was released from the hospital, there might be some chest pain but not to worry about it unless it was intense.) The pain had actually gone away after a couple of weeks and I'd forgotten about it until today. I asked anyway and she told me the "pain" was a completely normal sensation. They don't know why it appears but nearly everyone describes having the same feeling for a couple of weeks after stents are implanted.

~ Which other artery did they fix? My PCP had told me which artery was 99% plugged but, because I was so bothered by the implications of it plugging up completely (probably my death), I'd never asked which artery was 75% plugged. Kristin told me which one it was and what it does (it feeds the left side of the heart) but I don't remember exactly what it's called. I'm not even sure now why I was asking because, honestly, I'm just extremely thankful the problem was found and fixed without having a heart-attack!

~ The big question - what's expectations can I have going forward based upon what was found in my heart? (Basically look into a crystal ball and tell me my future.) "It looks good," she said. As it turns out, my heart muscle is in good shape for all the abuse I've put it through. There's just a little hardening started in one artery but nothing to worrisome - especially if I start taking care of myself. They'd fixed all the plugged arteries they found and then double checked that blood flowed properly before sewing me back up. My future health depends on how well I take care of myself - especially my diabetes. If I take care of my health (diet and excercise) my heart should serve me well for the rest of my life.

I didn't know how diabetes damaged the heart so I asked. I can't recall our conversation exactly but, as I recall, it's because high glucose levels in the blood damages the blood vessel walls as it goes through the body and, in the case of the heart (maybe all the arteries), where there's damage plaque is "sucked into" the walls of the artery causing damage. Like I said, I don't recall exactly how she explained it but the upshot is - uncontrolled blood sugar bad; controlled blood sugar good. I can understand that.

We talked some about diet and what the appropriate level of saturated fat and cholesterol should be. I told her I was following the recommended nutrition levels outlined in the DASH eating plan and she said it was good a good plan or I could adopt a "modified" Mediterranean diet. ("What's a modified Mediterranean diet?" I asked. One where canola oil is used instead of olive oil since canola oil has a healthier fat structure than olive oil.) Basically, no matter how I chose to eat, it should be based upon healthy choices which, after all, is what we've been told for years.

Monday Morning

2008-03-03T08:10:00.000-08:00

I'm no worse for the wear from yesterday's food fest. My blood sugar was only 97 when I went to bed so I drank a cup of chocolate soymilk and ate a graham cracker. When I got up this morning my blood sugar was only 94. Now my cholesterol medicine is probably working overtime to take care of all the delicious beef I ate, but that's another story.

Here are some of my insulin syringes. These have a 1/2" long needle! Can you imagine sticking something 1/2" into your body on purpose. Well I do it twice a day! (I know I'm not the only one who gives themselves shots, but if you'd told me 10 years ago I'd be injecting myself, I'd have told you you were crazy.) The pharmacist said I didn't need to try and hit bone to deliver the insulin but, once I get the needle going in, I usually work in the whole length before I manage to push the plunger down and deliver the insulin. Sometimes it hurts; sometimes it bleeds; sometimes I don't feel a thing; but most of the time I just feel a little stick. I didn't even know how to use one until I went onto the BD Diabetes site to learn about their syringes. I pretty much inject myself the way described on their website.

Will I have to take insulin the rest of my life? Probably. I've heard about people who, after they lost some weight, got off their medications. Truth is once you've got diabetes you'll always have diabetes because there's no cure yet. Even if I get off insulin it'll only be temporary. My pancreas is worn out. If there's anything left it might work temporarily for a leaner me but it's not going to self-repair. If I don't get off insulin I've discovered it's not as big a deal as I thought it was going to be. Don't get me wrong, I don't like the shots but I'm just saying they're not as onerous as I thought they'd be.

So that's what's on my mind this fine Monday morning. Go out and enjoy the day!

Happy Birthday Barb!

2008-03-02T20:15:00.000-08:00

Today's Barb's birthday. Barb and I have been together for almost 35 years. Hard to believe she's stuck with me through thick-and-thin while always being patient and understanding of my wild mood swings and my eccentricity. I love her with all my heart.

We went over to our daughter's house for a birthday dinner. Her husband is very talented when it comes to cooking meat. He's got a wood (pellet) burning smoker that he uses to cook the meat (generally beef or pork) for hours into a yummy, melt-in-your-mouth, delicacy. Tonight's tri-tip roast was not a disappointment! Lori made a great green bean side dish from a Weight Watchers recipe along with some peas and mashed potatoes. We had sugar free angel food cake with strawberries (marinated in Splenda) and sugar free whip cream. I'm stuffed!

I love celebrations - especially those with good (but often not healthy) food and desserts. I'm going to try and not over indulge, but when I do, I'm not going to feel guilty about it. It's just one day out of many and while it'll probably raise my blood sugar for the evening, it won't have a big effect on my total numbers. Now if I did it every weekend then that'd be a different story. But I don't.

There's always a risk of falling into old habits without thinking. In the past we've changed our eating habits to more healthy choices and done pretty well for a while. Then, once we got comfortable with it, we started to go back to the old ways. Before long, we were right back to the unhealthy eating we'd wanted to get away from in the first place. There is always that risk - whether it's with diet or exercise.

On my diabetes front, yesterday was a good day with my before/after meal blood sugars readings all within range. (After today's birthday dinner I'm pretty sure I'll be high this evening.) I'm getting more consistent at maintaining decent numbers (low in the mornings - higher in the afternoons) so all the hard work of counting carbs and the occasional exercise is helping. But to get the weight off (yes, like the majority of Americans, I'm overweight) I need to step up my exercise program. So today Barb and I ordered pedometers from Amazon and will start a walking program. While we don't necessarily need a pedometer to start we'd like to get onto the 10,000 steps plan so we'll need one then.

Hungry Days and Soymilk

2008-03-01T12:51:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was a hungry day. Ever have one of those? For me, it's a day where I want to eat everything in the kitchen. On occasion (for no reason I've found) I get such a day and, when I do, I usually pay with high blood glucose levels. But yesterday it didn't go high. What a relief. Currently I'm taking the same dose of insulin (Humalog 50/50) twice a day. Once before breakfast and once before dinner. It seems to work for me - along with the 1,000 mg of metformin I take with those meals. My readings before and after eating dinner/breakfast is in the 105-117 range - just a little high yet (by 10 mg/dL) but it's a whole bunch better than where it's been for the last couple of years. Before I started the insulin my highs would get up to - and stay in - the 320+ mg/dL range (when I'd even check it). But with the new regimen I'm gaining some control. It also helps if I stay the course with my food.

Foods always been a challenge for me. I love it! I like the taste of certain foods (Mexican, Indian, Thai, Italian, Asian - to name my favorites) and, when I overeat, it's more because of the taste or texture of a dish than a matter of feeling full. So I'm having to relearn how to make these foods in a diabetes/heart healthy way.

One of the first things I've done is replace drinking milk with soymilk. For some reason, milk makes my blood sugar go high and stay there but the soymilk doesn't. And I'm starting to learn to like the taste of soymilk (especially the Light Silk Chocolate Soymilk). I've also taken to the plain on my occasional bowl of cereal.

Another advantage to the soymilk is it'll stay viable for a lot longer than regular milk. Both these containers have a use-by-date of mid April. Guaranteed the chocolate won't last until then, but the plain - that's a different story. I use probably three to four cups a weeks so I need something that'll last a while. One thing though - you can't make Jello pudding with it. I didn't read the Silk Soymilk site very thoroughly and thought I could use it in place of dairy. Maybe in some things but not in Jello pudding.

Now if I could just find a healthy recipe for enchiladas!

Here we go...

2008-02-29T06:16:00.000-08:00

I was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in the late '90s (1999 I think) and have been doing my best to ignore it ever since. I was on oral medications (when I'd take them) until just recently when things began to change. My toes started tingling (beginning of neuropathy, says my doctor) and I just felt sluggish all the time. Turns out my A1c was still high (10+) even though I'd been on my meds religiously for several months because of an earlier 10+ A1c. It seems my pancreas may be starting to wear out so now, in addition to oral medication, I give myself insulin shots. And I've always hated needles!

Now the shots twice a day were bad enough but, a few weeks ago, as part of a routine physical exam, my doctor saw something in an EKG he didn't like. He scheduled a treadmill stress test (and does it ever stress you!) at a cardiology clinic to see what the anomaly might be. Well, I almost had a heart attack during the test (or at least it felt that way). The people monitoring the test stopped it and wouldn't let me go until I saw a doctor from their office. (I assumed it was a cover-their-butt requirement since, after a few minutes, I started feeling better and the chest pain had let up.) So they stuck me in an exam room and a very nice doctor came in to talk to me. After looking at the results of the test, he said I should schedule a consult with one of the cardiologists. He seemed hesitant to let me go home, but after reassuring him I felt fine after I'd rested a bit and I wouldn't do anything strenuous, he let me leave.

That afternoon, a scheduler from their office did call and said there was a cancellation the next day if I could come in. I'd started to stress over what the doctor had said (as is my nature) and took the appointment. Next day, the same doctor who'd seen me after the stress test talked to my wife and me. "Something's going on in your heart" he said "and the only way to find what it might be is to go in for a look." He told us he'd have a better idea if there was a problem with my heart, or not, by doing the test. But given my symptoms (diabetes, sedentary life style, poor eating habits, not taking my cholesterol medicine like I should and having a history of heart trouble in my family) I could be at risk for a heart attack. He suggested I have it done within the week and I agreed. Oh, and if I needed a stent they'd to it then but if I needed more serious work (by-pass surgery) he'd let me wake up and we'd talk.

It turned out we could schedule the test for the next morning. During the short period of time from the office visit to checking into the hospital, my mind ran rampant with scenarios. None of them with a good ending. By the time I was ready to have the test, I'd pretty much convinced myself I'd probably die. Obviously I didn't, since I'm writing this, but it did give me a wake up call when the doctor reported to my wife the main artery feeding my heart muscle with blood and oxygen (the left anterior descending or LAD - I think it's called) was 99% plugged and another one on the back side of my heart was 75% plugged. The doctor stented both of them and sent me home the following day. A lucky man my PCP told me when I saw him a couple of weeks later. I tell people I was one cheeseburger away from a heart attack.

I've been on the straight and narrow for the last four weeks. Of course there's a few more drugs I have to take because of the stents, but the biggest change has been eating healthier - not only for my heart (trying to avoid saturated fats and cholesterol), but trying to eat better for my diabetes (carb counting). And trying to get some exercise. The eating I'm doing pretty well on but the exercise I need to work at some more.

All that's a long winded way of coming to the reason for this blog. I want to talk out loud about my diabetic life. I believe there's power in speaking words aloud (or writing them for others to read). I makes me feel more accountable for my actions if I feel compelled to tell people what I'm doing for my health - right or wrong - even if it's just the ether of the internet. I also hope I can connect with others that might be able to lend me a hand if I'm struggling - which I will because that's what I do! And probably the biggest reason is to help me keep focused on my health by trying to write something about it daily (or at least a couple of times a week).