A new day

I was a little down in my last post. I want you all to know I weathered it and am now fine. Part of the reason I'm fine is that after doing an echogram of my heart, my cardiologist says my heart is a little better than it was a year ago. That's good news.

I contribute the improvement to regularly exercising at Curves and keeping my diabetes in check. You know now what I go through, but I have to be honest and tell you that all of that fuss hardly slows me down. Depression is common among diabetics and if you read my last post, you know why. Sometimes all of that seems overwhelming, particularly if you aren't feeling good.

So, having told you all I'm better, I'm leaving to walk the dog. It's a beautiful sunny day between yesterday's rain and tomorrow's rain. Gotta do it.

Marilynne

Later - That was a very brisk walk. An antsy 100-pound dog has a hard time walking slowly. We did it though!

M

Dieting and Diabetes

All of my doctors agree that I should lose weight. The benefits are many. I'm not totally uncooperative, but the difficulties of dieting when you have diabetes are more than you might think.

I have some things going for me.

• I exercise regularly
• I am up to date on how to diet and how to manage my diabetes
• I have very good doctors
• I have a husband who doesn't like sweets (this is very big)

So what's the problem?

• My diabetes doctor says it's all in the portion size, BUT he also wants me to eat a balanced diet, take my insulin, and take the rest of my meds on schedule. He does not want me to skip meals. He wants my meals to be about the same size throughout the day.
  
• My heart doctor says it's all in "taking care of yourself" and gives me diuretics to help me lose water (the water my diabetes doctor and my exercise coaches say I need)
• My internist forgets to even notice that I've lost weight - no encouragement there

I take insulin four times a day: once before every meal and once at night. The nighttime dose is my base dose. It's good for twenty-four hours. If I don't take the right nighttime dose, then I have to adjust everything else. If I don't take the right meal-time dose, then my sugar levels go whacky. If I'm going to exercise then the calculations change.

My meal-time insulin must be calculated on my blood-sugar level at the moment, plus what I intend to eat. If I don't calculate correctly, I'm going to have to make some corrections. (That means more sticks or feeling bad.)

These calculations mean that I have to know what I'm eating. I am a conscientious reader of labels. I hope they are telling me the truth. I hate TV dinners (I like to eat them actually) because I eat them without the sauce, without the dessert, without the gravy. So, how many calories were in that gravy that I didn't eat? Does that mean I should eat a little more or what?

Exercise changes what I need to eat. It changes the way the insulin works. It changes how many calories I need to eat. It helps me make good use of my insulin and the small amounts of sugar I eat. Exercise is good for me, but it's not so simple as just walking out the door.

After I exercise I need something to eat. Do I need insulin with that? Or is it covered by the exercise?

I love oranges, but I should eat the orange not orange juice - except, of course, if I have very low blood sugars and need to get it up quickly.

Do you hear me saying "I need to eat"? When you hear that term, take it seriously. The person who says it means exactly that.

You see what I mean? It's just not simple. It's hard. I don't like to be a "special" person with special needs. I like to be like every one else. I feel like a juggler.

In spite of the problems I am losing weight. I don't know how I'm doing it or why. I just know I'm accomplishing it slowly, but steadily. I'm grateful for small things.

Marilynne