Life Updates

 Lots of change since my last post.  I’ve had a few medication changes for my diabetes.  I’m back on Metformin.  Actors made me gain 60 pounds.  My mom had both her knees replaced and I realized I could be having to do that if I kept carrying all that extra weight.  I managed to lose that weight after the medication change, getting a gym membership, and changing my eating habits.  I’ve tried juicing, but not a full fast because of the diabetes.  It did still seem to help.  I cut processed food at that point too.  Then I got pregnant in 2016.  I had to use insulin during my pregnancy along with the metformin because the other medicines I was on (glipizide and januvia) are not safe for the baby. After she was born, they put me back on Januvia, but not the glipizide.  I had a hard time controlling my sugar for the last few years.  After an insurance change I had to change doctors and they put me on Trulicity.  That has a side effect of making gastroparesis (delayed stomach emptying) worse.  I didn’t realize I had it before.  I lost more weight because I couldn’t eat the way I used to eat without horrible nausea or vomiting. Some of the weight loss may have come from the pandemic and not being able to eat out as much too. Last check, my sugar is now under better control, but now my challenge is navigating dietary needs with gastroparesis.  I can’t eat high fat or high fiber.  Lean protein and carbs digest best. I’ve always had it drilled into me most carbs are evil and I gotta eat mainly fiber and protein.  Now if I want to avoid throwing up or having a major blockage in my stomach, I have to avoid larger amounts of fiber.  

I have recently encountered another snag in this. I had a night where I tried a gluten free pizza and realized I didn’t have any gluten based carbs at all that day.  I had no flare ups of nausea and bloating that night.  So I have been experimenting with going gluten free.  I’ve rarely had to turn to the bottle of Pepto Bismol since I’ve started eating gluten free.  I had one small TV dinner with gluten 3 days later and the pain and nausea returned.  That seems to be my sign.  So now I’m eating low fat, low fiber, low sugar, no gluten.  Let’s hope I don’t develop any more intolerances. 

I almost forgot I made this blog.  That third shift job was horrible for my health.  The manager and the shift stress drove my blood sugar up so bad that I am now definitely diabetic, not borderline.  I wasn't able to control it with diet, exercise, and herbs so I went back to the doctor a short time after I quit the gas station.  After a year and a half of trying glyburide I'm now on Actos as well as glyburide.  The combination seems to be helping. I went back to work at the delivery restaurant that I was working at, but now I've lost that job and trying to pay our bills on just my husband's income and whatever money I can scrounge through selling my art and other items I can bear to give up.  It's making this holiday season pretty depressing, but I'm trying to make something work.  Hopefully I can get a new job soon.  I'm also looking into other things to help my health.  I'm attempting to live a bit more of a green life by recycling more, using re-useable grocery bags, and more green cleaners.  I'm trying to make positive changes in everything I can change hoping that will change the energy around me in a positive way.

First post - making changes

So I figured I'd create this blog to keep track of my attempts to control my sugar levels through diet and exercise. It's good to have a record to see what might work and what didn't. I'm making a lot of changes right now. I moved into a new house early last month and I'm now about to change jobs. I won't have so much access to fast food - though I will be working in a convenience store. I'll need to make sure to stay away from the chips, candy and hot dogs ... I don't need to spend that much money anyways. I might splurge on a powerbar or bag of cashews every so often though. I could probably order Domino's during the early part of my shift - 3rd shift - but at least they also have salads... I'll mostly be packing my own meals. I'll have to figure out what my daily schedule will be when I start working there. I figure I'll be getting up around noon or 2 most days and going to bed after work which ends at 6am. It will be helpful to have a fairly regular schedule instead of sometimes late evenings - sometimes lunch.

The location of my house doesn't give me much place to go walking. I live on a main road with no sidewalks. I can walk a little on one of the nearby side roads but I have to take my chances on the main road to get there. If I decide to ride my bike in the area I'm going to have to invest in a bike helmet. I've always rode my bike on side roads but this area doesn't have many of those. I'm not taking chances riding my bike on the main road without a helmet. I can drive to a greenway walking area on a nice day - I hope to do that more as the leaves change this season. I'd love to find a nice weekend day to walk on mountain trails this fall before the days get too short and cold. As far as indoor workouts go I've been wanting to get back into yoga and try belly dance workouts. I really feel like regular exercise will help my blood sugar - but I just haven't had time with my current job. Yoga also helps toxins move out of your body.

So as of today I weighed this morning at 208 pounds. I'm 5'9" and I have a large build. I didn't test my sugar today. I had a salad for breakfast - sampled some healthy goodies at Sam's club after my short work shift, then made a pasta dish with a topping made of sauteed mushrooms, lentils, olives, basil, and tomatoes for dinner. I think it needed more tomato. I probably had a bigger serving than I should have, and I had a salad on the side. A couple hours later I had another serving finishing off the leftovers. I really should have saved the leftovers for tomorrow's lunch. Now I'm drinking a bunch of water and will take the dose of Chromium I forgot to take today. Then I'm going to try to do that yoga workout I keep wanting to do - hoping I'm not feeling too bloated :( I've been recording a yoga work out from the FitTV channel and a belly dance work out - I'm not sure if I want to do the yoga then the belly dance - or the other way around - or alternate days. I'll figure that out as I go. I think I'm going to try yoga first and see how I feel.