I've Lost Weight - Now I'm Getting Asked If I'm Sick

This is a hoot. I'm in better health than I have been for years, but in the last few weeks my Hubby and I have been asked repeatedly if I'm sick. You'd think I had lost the weight quickly, but it took me over a year to lose the 50 pounds. And the questions are coming from people who see me every week.

I could understand it if I had just changed to clothes that fit me better, or if I had lost the weight in a hurry. But I redid my wardrobe totally several months ago.

Now, I am still losing a little bit of weight, so my new clothes are beginning to fit loosely. That may be the reason for the questions. But all those months I was wearing my old clothes that were way too big for me? Not a word from a soul.

So, now the question is, have I lost TOO much weight? I don't think so. I still weigh about 10 pounds more than I did when I was 21, when we got married. And there's no way I could possibly fit in my wedding dress now.

I think it's because I look older now that I'm thinner. I'd rather I didn't look older, but I'll take looking older over feeling worse any day.

It's really quite ironic. When I was so sick, but heavier, no one but family asked about my health. Now I'm thinner, and much healthier, and they're concerned about me. Go figure. LOL!

Getting "Back to Normal"

Well, I decided to try to get my life "back to normal".

1. I've rearranged my meds, so I'm only taking them a few times a day, instead of what felt like all day long.

2. I'm no longer pricking my fingers 3 times every day, but only doing it 2 hours after lunch. My glucose readings have been consistently good for before breakfast and after supper for a very long time. Most of my fluctuations have been after lunch, since we don't always eat the same thing then. This has been very liberating feeling, plus it's a lot less expensive, too!

3. I've finally quit putting my calorie count for each meal into FitDay.com. After faithfully keeping track of every meal for over a year, I was just plain tired of doing it. And, I still seem to be losing a little, as I'm not really expecting to eat any more than I have been eating.

Add them altogether, and I really do feel like I'm back to normal. I'm still not exercising the way I should. They did a piece on the news the other day saying that people who sit for 6 or more hours a day have something like a 40% higher heart attack rate, even if they exercise. So, I'm in big trouble. Have I changed the amount of time I spend at the computer since hearing that? No.

So, I'd say 3 steps forward, and one huge one backward, until I get my duff off the sofa and start moving around more.

FitDay has been VERY helpful

I've used FitDay every day for 15 months, during which time I lost 50 lbs. I am diabetic, and losing this weight has helped me get my glucose levels under control. I do wish that there was a way to keep track of sugar grams in food, as well as carbs generally.

in reference to: FitDay - Free Weight Loss and Diet Journal (view on Google Sidewiki)

Only ONE Pound to Go!

I'm celebrating!! In the last year I've gone from size 22 pants to size 12. I feel better, and I feel better about myself, too. I actually like the way I look in clothes now, and it's been a long time since I could say that.

I credit it to my great hubby, who does the grocery shopping and cooking. He takes a lot of time when he shops to be sure he's avoiding sugar and lots of carbs, and he keeps a variety of microwave dinners in the house, so I can have just the right number of calories to finish off the day. I have kept up with my calorie count each day on FitDay, and he asks me each evening how many calories I have. It's easy then to pick something to fix that will keep me in the 1100 to 1200 calorie range.

Now don't get me wrong. There have been times when I have ignored not only calories, but sugar as well. Occasionally I just have to have a chocolate milkshake or a pizza, or even pig out on desserts at a buffet. But I don't do that very often. And I'm even learning to enjoy eating just a few squares of dark 75 to 85% cocoa chocolate, when I can't resist that chocolate craving. I used to eat the whole bar without so much as a thought to how many calories it was.

So, the last year has really involved a lifestyle change for both of us. We both eat the healthy spinach salad with a pepper, onion, mushroom, etc., stir fry for lunch, with fruit and nuts for dessert, and we eat a healthy fiber breakfast, too. I usually have a microwave dinner or soup for supper, and hubby has fruit most of the time. We've just gotten used to not eating much at night, and we don't have nearly the GERD trouble we both used to have.

I've reset my weight goal now, and I'm hoping to reach 125 pounds by about the end of August. I'm sure these last pounds will be slow to come off, but that's OK. I can stick it out. I've proven that.

My A1c was 5.5!!!

Whoo Hoo!! I'm CELEBRATING!! My A1c reading was 5.5 yesterday!! Anything below 7 is considered to be extremely good, so I really did well!! This number is in line with what a person who does NOT have diabetes would get.

The A1c reading is a blood test, usually done at the doctor's office, that gives a good indication of the average blood glucose level for about the last 3 months.

According to Wikipedia:

In the normal 120-day life span of the red blood cell, glucose molecules react with hemoglobin, forming glycated hemoglobin. In individuals with poorly controlled diabetes, the quantities of these glycated hemoglobins are much higher than in healthy people.

Once a hemoglobin molecule is glycated, it remains that way. A buildup of glycated hemoglobin within the red cell therefore reflects the average level of glucose to which the cell has been exposed during its life cycle.

Basically, if I understand that, extra glucose in the blood permanently changes our red blood cells. Since our blood cells live for about 120 days, measuring the percentage of "sugared up" red blood cells is a good way to see what my glucose level has been for the last few months.

I was not as pleased with my weight, though, as I've not lost any more weight in some time. I'm having a hard time getting myself in the exercise habit, and I know that's the problem. I'm controlling what I eat and how much I eat, with occasional splurges, but I'm not burning enough calories. Plus, I need to be exercising more just for good general health. I've already seen considerable improvement with my step climbing and walking up and down steep driveways on our Date Days, so I should be motivated to work out even more. This is what I'm going to have to work on mentally, as I have never been a very physically active person.

So, I celebrate the great blood glucose results for the last few months and continue to exhort myself to improve my activity level.

Insulin Resistance Still a Problem for Me

I'm very thankful to report that I'm still doing quite well. I haven't weighed myself again yet, because it's been too soon for me to have lost another pound. I have my calorie intake set to lose a pound about every 10 days, and I've been surprisingly close to that pace for almost a year now. I'm graphing my weight loss on Fitday.com, as well as keeping up with my food intake each day. I really believe having the discipline to write down everything I eat each day has a whole lot to do with the fact that I have lost so much weight. My original goal that I set on April 1, 2009, was to lose 50 pounds by April 15, 2010, but I'm going to be a few pounds short of that at the pace I'm going. But hey, I'm not complaining. I'm very pleased with my results.

I did have a strange situation develop on our Date Day Friday. We ate out at a place that serves huge portions of home cooked vegetables and has great cornbread. It's not unusual for me to splurge some when we eat out, so I gave part of my vegetables to my hubby, ate a whole cornbread muffin, and had maybe a quarter cup of his peach cobbler. I think that's the first time I've eaten a whole muffin, though, and evidently I paid for it later. About 3 hours later I started getting that deep pit hungry feeling with shakiness, and sure enough, when I checked my sugar - it was low. I ate some prunes and almonds, which is my usual afternoon snack, but the feeling did not go away. So I ate some grapes, too, and began to feel a little better.

This is a rather odd chain of events that happens with Insulin Resistance, which is the cause of Type II Diabetes. I ate too many carbohydrates, so my body released extra insulin to compensate. But, because my cells are insulin resistant, the cells did not let the insulin+glucose molecules into them. So.... I produced even more insulin, because the cells were still sending the signal that they needed it. This continued for several hours, but eventually the cells were flooded with all this insulin, and it pulled my blood glucose level downward. This roller coaster ride is hard on the cells, and to be avoided. That's why Type II Diabetes should not be ignored, as it causes cell damage if unchecked. So... I learned that even though I have my numbers in a good range almost all the time, with medication of course, I cannot splurge as much as I might like to. No more whole cornbread muffins for me. Sigh.

Doing Great!

I'm really feeling good these days. My stomach is behaving itself, and I'm encouraged by the strength that is returning to my legs. I was able to manage a couple of fairly steep driveways on our yard sale haunts on our Date Day without using the cane. That's quite a victory for me, as I can't remember how many years it's been since that was true.

I'm gradually adding back in all the supplements I was taking before my stomach got ulcerated again, and so far there's been no stomach problems. That's a true blessing.

I'm also encouraged by my ability to learn about the new programming language that our new sites are written in. It's slow going, but I am gradually understanding how the code is working. I'm very proud of that.

I'm still going to sleep most nights at 9:00PM and getting up around 5:00AM, so I'm getting plenty of sleep. I usually only wake up once in the night to make a bathroom trip, so my bladder is behaving, too.

I'm getting closer to my goal of losing 50 pounds by April 1. I may not hit the date exactly, but I'm not going to miss it by much. With the lowered rate, and the care hubby takes with his grocery shopping, my blood glucose numbers have been mostly excellent for some time now. Of course, there's the occasional high number, but I usually know what I've eaten to cause it, and learn accordingly.

All in all, I'd say I'm in the best physical and mental state I've been in for years, and I hope it continues.

A Tiny Half Pill

Well, I tried cutting back my Primidone by a half pill, and I couldn't even get through one whole day without it. By evening my whole face was twitching all over the place, and it was getting really painful. My poor facial muscles were just worn plum out. So I took a whole pill extra an hour before bed and put the hot pad on my face, hoping it would calm down in time for me to get some sleep. That worked fairly well, but my face still ached for the next couple of days. So I guess I won't be trying to cut the Primidone again. Such a tiny pill, but it packs a wallop, for sure.

Now I am gradually adding back my supplements to my pill box. I'm in no hurry, because I'm afraid something I was taking was responsible for this last bought of ulcerated stomach it took me so long to get over. So far so good with that experiment. I'm also going to try cutting back my Triavil by one less pill a day. That was the other medicine besides the Primidone that my Neurologist said could be responsible for my poor short term memory. It's worth a try, anyway. I would like to feel like my brain was sharp again. It's felt dull now so long that I have forgotten what it was like to really be on top of things.

I am pleased with how much I've been able to learn about the new Wordpress site for our Lost Toys Search Service. We hired a programmer to do the bulk of the work, but I was able to do a good bit of the cosmetic work myself, while he worked on all the behind the scenes code that makes the site work. I could never have done this by myself, as it requires knowing another programming language. But I was able to study the code and get the gist of how it works, anyway. All and all I'm proud of how much I was able to learn. It meant putting in lots of hours, but I have the time and enjoy the challenge. Now he's working on redoing our Plush Catalog, so that will be another learning curve to master.

And it's time I started working on our income taxes, too. I do that on the computer, so at least I don't have to do the math. So my brain is going to be getting quite a workout for the next few months. I need every alert brain cell I can muster!

Getting Better Little by Little

I've had a good couple of weeks now that my stomach is better, and I've been working on building up my exercise time. I'm still stuck at 3 minutes at a time on the treadmill, but I am moving faster on it than when I started. Now I'm doing it twice a day most days, followed by 10 minutes on the recumbent bike, so I'm getting almost 30 minutes a day of hard (well, for me, anyway)exercise. I can really tell it when I have to climb stairs now. It's not anywhere as hard as it has been.

I did take a dose of Pepto Bismol yesterday, however, because I felt like my stomach was irritated. Maybe I nipped it in the bud, before it had a chance to give me trouble again. I sure hope so. There must be some medicine I am taking that is really doing a number on my stomach, but it's hard to know which one, since I take so many. I did wait a week after feeling better to go back on the vitamins and supplements, so maybe I'll leave them off again this week and see if my tummy is OK. Then, instead of adding them all back at once, the way I did last time, I'll do it one at a time, so I can spot the culprit. Nothing like doing a science experiment on myself.

I've seen my Diabetes doctor and my Neurologist in the last couple of weeks, and both are very pleased with my progress. My glucose test numbers have been consistently good now for over a week, so I'm proud of myself. I continue to lose weight gradually, so it looks like I'm shrinking myself out of the diabetes diagnosis!

I'm less than 10 pounds from my original weight goal right now, but I've bought some size 12 pants that I want to fit into and may continue to lose more if I need to, so I can wear them. I say quit, but I'm so used to eating this amount of food now that I can't really imagine eating much more. I started my conscious effort to count calories and watch my sugar and carb intake back in April of '09, so that's a pretty well established habit now. Only occasionally do I feel hungry, and more often than not that is a sign my stomach is irritated, rather than real hunger. For some reason my body interprets low grade stomach pain as hunger. I've noticed that for a long time.

The Neurologist did give me some flexibility in how much Primidone I could take, depending on whether or not my tics and jerks returned. I had upped my dose by a half pill at a time while I was sick, because my face started its thing again. He says stress can effect the twitches, and I do believe it. So, along with trying to add the supplements one at a time, I'm going to try cutting back on the Primidone by that half pill.

I did ask him about my poor memory, and he said the Primidone and the Triavil could both be effecting that. My Gastro had suggested I try cutting back on the Triavil about the time I got sick, which I did, but I went back on the full dose when my stomach was so uncomfortable. I guess that's another pill I can try backing off from gradually. Lots of tinkering with doses to play with for the next few weeks, trying to do the most good with the least side effects.

I've been working on learning about our new website format, so my brain has been getting a good workout lately. I'm pleased with what I've been able to understand, but there's so much more to learn. This time I didn't try to do it all by myself. I've hired a programmer to make the major change from one computer program to another, and that took a lot of the stress off of me. It sure is nice to be able to email him with questions and actually get answers! That's customer service the way I like it!!

I continue to be optimistic, with goals to diet my way out of the diabetes and find the optimal doses of all my meds and supplements. And I look forward to being able to increase my exercise time gradually over the next few months.

I'm OFF the Carafate!!

Everything seems to be doing OK now that I have finished three rounds of the Carafate. This has to be taken an hour before eating and at bedtime, and it coats the stomach lining where the infection, ulcer, irritation is, so that it can heal. It doesn't taste great, but mostly I'm glad to be off of it, because it meant remembering to take it and to be sure my stomach was empty before taking it. Adhering to the empty stomach rule put a serious dent in my herbal tea intake. But now I can get back in the habit of drinking about 8 cups a day. We've decided to cut the amount of Stevia I put in each cup in half, both as a precaution that I might have been getting too much of it each day, plus it will save money. Nothing wrong with that, and it has such a sweet taste that half a packet will do, anyway.

We decided to wait a week after going off the Carafate before starting to add back in the vitamins and supplements I have been taking for the last few years, so I'm not taking as many pills right now as I'm used to. That way, if I have any digestive problems adjusting to the pills again, we'll know the problem is from the pills, not that my stomach wasn't healed yet. It's kind of nice taking so much less medicine for awhile. I am still on the MiraLax and the metamucil, and I've started eating prunes for my afternoon snack again. I can't afford to let myself get constipated, as it really throws my whole system off when I do.

We've had a long record breaking cold spell here in Alabama, so I haven't been out of the house much of late. Today's our Date Day, but there are only a couple of brave souls trying to have yard sales and such, so I'm not sure what we'll do today. Our weather is getting back to normal temperature range, so it will be good just to get out of the house for awhile, no matter what we end up doing.

I've even worked on a little bit of our taxes already, so I really do feel like I'm keeping my resolution to be more efficient with my time usage. It's so easy to while away the days when you're retired, if you're not careful. And now that I'm feeling better, I get a lot more done. When I don't feel well, my brain just goes into slow motion.

I did have one very upsetting thing happen this last week. Out of nowhere, someone I went to high school with called me. Sadly, I didn't remember him at all. He had located me from the WHOIS information about our website. It was a very pleasant conversation, but he kept asking me if I remembered so and so, and it's all a huge blank. I can only remember a few people I went to school with, and that's mostly boys I dated LOL. I guess they made a bigger impression on me, eh? But I was very upset by the time the conversation was over. I had to tell him that I was having some memory problems to get him to stop bringing up name after name that drew a complete blank for me. It was extremely embarrassing and frustrating.

So I get reminded at such times that all is not right with my brain. Between age related forgetfulness, drug related brain fog, and just plain old neurological brain fog, I am pretty much a complete blank on my past. It's scary when I allow myself to realize that, but mostly I just live for now.

On a happier note, I continue to lose weight slowly, and I'm doing much better with my exercising. I'm up to 3 minutes twice a day on the treadmill, and I've recently started back on the recumbent bike for about 5 minutes twice a day. The treadmill is on an incline and not adjustable (translation = cheap), so by the time I've been on it 3 minutes my heart is really pounding. That should improve with time, though, and it's good for my heart, anyway.

All in all I'm feeling very good, and hope to keep it that way, with the daily blessings God brings my way. I'm blessed to have a wonderful family who love me and I love deeply, and we all live in the same state. That's better than most people my age can say!

Still Improving

Well, the Christmas and New Year's holidays are over, and things are about to get back to "normal" around here. I made it through all the holiday foods without upsetting my stomach again, and I've finished the round of antibiotics.

I've stopped taking the Reglan and also the Nortriptyline for now. One of them was giving me horrible nightmares, and I haven't gotten back to my usual sleep pattern yet. The Reglan is not to be taken long term anyway, as it can cause Dyskinesia, and I sure don't want that! I plan to ask the doctor why he put me on the Nortiptyline, since it's an anti-depressant. So many of these meds have off label uses, that I don't want to just stop it completely without knowing why I was taking it.

I still am taking the Carafate an hour before meals and at bedtime, and I won't go back to the supplements and vitamins I normally take until I stop that. It was just too hard trying to schedule all those extra pills and have my stomach empty for the Carafate.

I even managed to lose another pound during the holidays!! That surprised me, because I allowed myself to enjoy meals with family without concern for glucose readings or calories. I guess my stomach has shrunk, plus my eating habits have changed considerably since April 1, 2009, when I started dieting in earnest.

I am now trying to build back my exercise routine. I did Tai Chi yesterday morning for the first time in I can't remember when, and I used the treadmill for 3 whole minutes. I know that doesn't sound like much, but it's an inexpensive manual one that only has the one incline setting, and walking on it for 2 minutes at a time has been all I could muster, until yesterday. I'm such a weakling! LOL

I never have been much for New Year's Resolutions, but I guess mine needs to be to get back on a regular exercise routine and stick to it. I've lost enough weight now that I'm really in need of some toning up. I don't know if this old body can recuperate from the baggy skin, but I need to try, at least. And I certainly do need to improve my stamina.

I didn't do a very good job of testing my glucose levels regularly during the holidays. My results page has lots of empty spots in it. It seemed like every day I would either forget to take it, or we would be out of our normal routine, and I couldn't take it at the right time. We went to see a lot of movies over the last couple of weeks, and I couldn't take it then. The rest of the times were just negligence on my part.

My Diabetes doctor said I was doing fine and not to be so concerned about the high readings, and I think I've succeeded in not stressing over them to the point that now I'm not diligent any more. It's always hard for me to find balance, and this is just another example. I'll try to do better in January. I see him at the end of the month, and I guess he'll do another A1C then. That will tell the tale, for sure, from my holiday laxness. I'm growing more and more confident that my weight loss will eventually get me out of the diabetic range. I know that's my goal for April, 2010. I expect to have lost 50 pounds by then, and no longer be diabetic.

At my heaviest ever in March, '09, I weighed 182, and I'm down to 142 now. So I've come a long way. I'm totally motivated to get the rest of the 12 pounds off that I set as my goal, and who knows, maybe I'll lose a few more than that! I know I couldn't have done it without keeping track of my calories and carb intake daily. There again, the test will be whether I can achieve a balance of right eating without having to count calories when I'm down to 130. I'll have to watch the scales pretty carefully to keep from gaining it back!

Sounds like I do have some New Year's Resolutions after all! And I'm sure I join lots of others who plan to eat more healthy foods, exercise, and lose weight this year. I look forward to twenty ten as being a good, healthy year for me!!!!!

Continuing to Feel Better - Had a Wonderful Christmas!

I think my stomach is finally healing, although I am still taking the meds. We enjoyed our family Christmas time yesterday, because one of our daughters had to work on Christmas. We just treated yesterday as if it were the 25th and exchanged presents and enjoyed being together.

I did the same thing I did for Thanksgiving - I did not worry about calories or glucose levels. It was a nice break from my usual diet, and I thoroughly enjoyed eating some of the forbidden foods that I love so much. My glucose numbers were high, but not really too high. I think I'm gradually resolving the diabetes problem as I continue to slowly lose weight. My target is to eat about 300 calories each day less than I actually need, which means I would lose a pound about every 10 days. I've been graphing my weight on Fitday.com, as well as keeping up with my calories there. That's been a great motivational help.

I've not had any more problems with tics and twitching, since I added a half pill to each dose of Primidone. But I try really hard not to let myself get stressed or upset, and for the most part I've been successful.

We've had a great time helping people find their childhood lovies and backups and replacements for their children's lovies. It's very gratifying, and I think it has a lot to do with the great Christmas mood I've been in this year.

So I'm looking forward to 2010, and expecting to be in better health by this time next year!

Showing Improvement

Well, I've been on the antibiotics and other meds that my Gastro put me on for over a week now, and I'm beginning to see progress. I still have problems with my tummy, but the constant feeling of nausea is gone ... and good riddance!

We wrapped all the presents and filled the stockings last night, so we're all ready to enjoy the next few days with our family. We'll all be together this Christmas, and that always makes it extra special. Some years we have to share our daughter with her in-laws, which is only fair, but I'm glad she and her hubby will be celebrating with us this year.

We've had a particularly rewarding Christmas this year already, helping a large number of families find replacements for lost or bedraggled lovies for Santa to put under their Christmas trees! We've received wonderfully excited thank you's from many of them, and each time one was received it just made this Christmas that much more meaningful. It can't be said often enough that it really is more enjoyable to give than to receive!!

My hope and prayer is that you have a Christ filled Christmas this year, too!

So THAT's Why I Wasn't Getting Better

Well, I had an endoscopy Monday morning, and the pathology report came back yesterday. I have an infection of the stomach lining - Gastritis. So now I'm on antibiotics again, and still taking the Carafate. I decided on my own to drop all the supplements for now, and just take my prescription meds - which is a lot!

I felt lousy yesterday, but I've waked up this morning feeling better. I'll know when I eat breakfast in a bit if the medicine has had a chance to calm down the stomach lining any. They gave me a photo of it when I had the endoscopy, and it looks raw alright, so I can't expect it to clear up overnight. I sure hope I feel better by Christmas, at least.

I've been swamped with requests for help finding lovies in time for Christmas, and I'm sure that has put some stress on me. But it feels so good to help someone find what they could not find on their own that I can't stop. My inbox was not as full this morning, and it should start slacking off until after Christmas now, as there's hardly enough time to get anything in time for Santa to deliver it.

I've been so busy on the computer, plus really not feeling up to doing any cleaning, that I haven't put up any Christmas decorations, yet. Hopefully, I can get that done today. All the big presents for our grandchildren have been bought since Thanksgiving (online, of course), so now I need to wrap them. We still need to put some more things in everyone's stockings, too. That takes the most time of all. All these Christmas doings that still need to be done puts stress on me, too. So I am trying my best to just go with the flow and get done what I can. There have been some years when I was wrapping on Christmas Eve, so I have time yet! LOL

We did go to my Sunday School class's Christmas party and to the Open House at our preacher's house for the Deacons and their family, so I've had a chance to party a little. I took a sugar free dessert to the party, so I could have something sweet without upsetting my glucose readings. I didn't feel like eating much, but I enjoyed going.

So, I continue to hope that I will feel better by Christmas, and still trying to get as much done as I feel like doing for now.

Not Getting Better Yet

Well, I'm on my second round of the Carafate, and my digestive system is still not back to normal. So I called my Gastro again and basically asked for an Endoscopy, which I will have on Monday. I'm hoping he will see the cause of this constant nausea and be able to treat it more effectively. It's been a good six weeks of this unsettled feeling, and I'm ready to be rid of it!

The Myoclonus is behaving itself, at least. I haven't had many more jerks and facial tics since my Neuro changed my prescription of Primidone to 1 1/2 tablets twice a day. Now if I get cold, which is easy for me to do, that's another story. I do get the occasional shoulder jerks then. Also, I can tell that my mouth tics are just barely under control, as if they are just waiting for a good reason to start up again. But I can live with the dose I'm on now, and I don't want to take any more of it than I have to.

Eating out continues to be a challenge with the blood glucose levels. You'd think as many diabetics as there are in the US that restaurants and fast food places would be more diabetes friendly, but they're not. Well, I guess I'm not really being fair to them, because I would find it easier to eat out if I could eat lettuce, as the vast majority of places do offer salads. I can enjoy a spinach based salad, but not a lettuce one. I've probably been off lettuce for the last 20 years or so! Since diabetics can't have baked potatoes or mashed potatoes, either, that severely limits the sides that I can order in most places. Luckily I like sauteed mushrooms, and can usually get those.

Since I've not been feeling well, I've not been exercising, either. And the scale shows it, as I have not lost any more weight. We bought ourselves an early Christmas present the other day, though, and maybe that will help. It's a manual treadmill. I had tried out several motorized versions some time ago, and we agreed that I would not be safe on one of them. With the manual one it's very easy for me to stop and get off, if I feel like I need to. It's an extremely simple one, with just the one incline level, so I'm only walking for 2 minutes on it right now. We have the resistance level set to a point that hubby can use it, too. So we'll leave it there until I build up some leg strength again.

So I'm hopeful that the endoscopy will show what needs to be done to stop the nausea, my blood glucose continues to be under control when we eat at home, and hopefully the treadmill will jump start my weight loss again.

I Jixed It

Well, I held off saying my tummy was better in my last post, because I thought I would jinx it. Well, I did. When I tried to go back to a more normal diet my tummy started feeling nauseated again. I've been on the Align for a week now, and just wasn't satisfied with the way I've been feeling.

So I got an appointment with my Gastro yesterday. He said the Align might take a whole month to help, but that he could give me some things to help now. So I'm on Carafate (generic is Sulcrafate) 1 hour before meals 3 times a day, and I have a Scopalamine patch behind my ear. Surely, the nausea will subside now. I sure hope so.

We ate at the Golden Corral yesterday, and even though this is a huge buffet, I had trouble finding anything I dared to eat. I did get a little mash potatoes, which I would not normally get, because of my diabetes, but I was having trouble filling up my plate, so I took a chance. I even ate a little bit of carrot cake, without the icing. My blood glucose reading was only a little high afterward, so I didn't do too badly.

My blood glucose readings have been much better than they used to be, since I started limiting my food intake to the blander items that we eat. I'm not eating as much as usual, either. Just don't feel like it. It's good to see several days of readings with all of them in the narrow limits my diabetes doctor has given me.

It was interesting that, when I saw my GP as a follow up to the urinary tract infection, my GP says he doesn't get concerned about glucose readings unless they go over 200, while my diabetes specialist uses 135 as my upper threshold. But then that's why I'm going to the specialist - he's much more aggressive. And it may just be my weight loss has finally come close to getting me out of diabetic range. Whatever it is, I'm glad. It's no fun to try so hard and still see high results.

So today I'm hoping for a better tummy soon, and celebrating the trend of my glucose readings.

Feeling Better

Well, the Align probiotic that my Gastro's nurse told me to use has definitely helped my stomach. I've not been nauseated this morning for the first time in almost two weeks, and it feels great. I'll continue to be more careful than usual with what I eat for another day or so, just to be on the safe side, and I'm going to finish out the month's worth of the Align. Then I'll go back to using the generic Acidophilus I've been taking daily for the last couple of years.

I did go back to using the Triavil, which is used to treat IBS, for the full 3 doses. My Gastro had just recently suggested that I cut back to 2 doses a day, and to see if I still did OK. I had cut back a few days, but then all this stomach upset hit, and it just didn't seem like a good time to be changing things. So I'm not sure when I'll try cutting out a dose just yet.

I did lose another pound this week, which isn't too surprising, since I haven't felt like eating a whole lot. I was actually hungry last night by supper time, and that's another good sign that things are returning to normal. I haven't felt like exercising, and really didn't think it was a good idea while I felt so bad, so now I need to slowly work my way back into that routine.

The mouth tics subsided a couple of days ago, but I've been waiting to be sure they were under control again before jinxing it by saying anything about it. I'm not sure if the strong antibiotics neutralized the Primidone, or if it was just because I felt so bad. Maybe it was because everything, including medicine, was going through my digestive tract at high speed for a change. Who knows...

The important thing is that I can tell I am finally getting over it, and that's a wonderful relief. Particularly since Thanksgiving is getting so close, I'm glad I can look forward to being able to eat with the family. I had already decided that I would ignore my glucose readings for that day and just enjoy being with everyone and enjoy the food. Then I'll go back to the 1200 calorie diet I've been on since April and continue to limit my carbohydrate intake. I've been giving myself a splurge meal about once a month, anyway, so this month it's for Thanksgiving.

In a effort to prevent another UTI, which started this whole snowball effect of digestive problems and Myoclonus tics, I'm trying to consciously be sure I have completely emptied my bladder each time I urinate. When I became so conscious of it, because it was painful, I realized that I haven't been emptying totally, probably for some time. The nerves that send such messages just don't work as well as they did when I was younger, or before the neurological disorder reared its ugly head. And, from what I've read, diabetics are more prone to this problem, too.

So, it's a good day today, and I can look forward to many more, as long as I continue to persevere with a good healthy diet and exercise program and take my meds religiously.

Puny

It's not been a very good last couple of weeks for me. It all started Saturday a week ago when I woke up with a urinary tract infection. I didn't think trying to tough it out until Monday sounded like a very good idea, since I'm diabetic, so we went to a doc in the box early that morning, and he confirmed my diagnosis.

They gave me a shot of antibiotic, plus a prescription for an oral antibiotic and some kind of urinary tract analgesic that turns urine blue. Also, since I had just finished taking a round of antibiotics for a root canal, they gave me a prescription for Diflucan, so I could deal with the likely yeast problem all those antibiotics would cause.

It took several days before I really felt less pain on urinating, but by then my stomach was upset from all the antibiotics. I started eating less and eating mostly bland foods, so my whole diet has changed. I also had some Greek yogurt and blueberries, thinking that would be good for both the tummy and the potential yeast problem. Nothing I've done so far has gotten rid of the nausea, although the diarrhea is under control. For now I'm sipping on diet caffeine free ginger ale.

I talked to my Gastro's nurse today, and she told me to start taking Align, which is, according to her, the best probiotic I can use. I told her I was taking a generic acidophilus daily anyway, but she said this Align would work better to replace the good bacteria that the antibiotic killed off. She also said to stay away from spicy foods or anything fatty or acidic. I'd already been doing that. But, she said it would be OK to eat the raw vegetables we normally eat for lunch, which I had not been doing.

And then, out of the blue, on Sunday afternoon my mouth started the tics again. My tongue is thrusting, and my lips are involuntarily squirming around. I hate when it does that. By the end of the day my whole face hurts from all the extra movement. This is the first time I've had any of these Myoclonus jerks on my face since I went on the Primidone.

I had hoped it would go away on its own overnight, but woke up to the same thing Monday through today. So I took an extra Primidone pill and have been doing that ever since. So far it's limited the squirming somewhat, but not completely. I'm hoping that when my tummy gets back to normal and I feel better, that the Myoclonus will behave itself again. If not, I'll have to put in a call to my Neuro.

So I've not been having a fun time the last few weeks. I'm still looking forward to Thanksgiving with family, so I've just got to get better before then!

My How Time Flies

Wow! It's been almost a month since I posted here! I can't get over how quickly time is going. For the most part I've been doing pretty well, although the blood glucose numbers continue to peak at higher numbers than I would like. I'm not stressing so much about it though, so that's a good thing.

I was increasing my daily exercise quite nicely, until I came down with an infection. These powerful antibiotics always sap my strength, not to mention upset my digestive system, so I haven't done any exercising lately.

My weight continues to drop ever so slowly, but I'm pleased that I seem to be past the plateau I was on for what seemed like forever. Of course it really wasn't that long ... it's just that I am not one for patience. I know that losing the weight this slowly is preventing the sagging skin problem that can come with large weight losses. I just have to keep reminding myself of that.

I continue to be frustrated by how hard it is to order from restaurant menus. I'm beginning to learn a few tricks that work, though, like asking to see a dinner menu to see what other options might work better for me. Yesterday we ate lunch out for hubby's birthday, and I was able to have part of my order from the lunch menu and part from the night menu. And my test levels were good!

I was very pleased with myself that I made the transition from Vista to Windows 7 with no major hitches. And the one minor glitch, that left me with a corrupted mouse pointer file, I was able to find a fix online all by myself. I've always been good with computers, so any evidence that I've "still got it" is always welcome.

I do continue to have odd brain glitches from time to time. I can forget something completely in a matter of seconds, and I find all kinds of mistakes I've made in our online business. Those kinds of goofs really frustrate me, and I get so upset with myself. And that only makes things worse. I need a big dose of I Don't Care pills at times like these. Hubby is always telling me it's no big deal, but every little thing I do that's so bizarre just adds to my negative self talk. I know some of it is my age, and some is from all the medicines I take, so I try think of that when I'm so down. When you've taken care of Alzheimer's family members for years you can't help but see yourself heading down that path at times. Then I try to tell myself that it's not forgetting to put something in the refrigerator that counts. It's that I still know what a refrigerator is for that's important!

I'm looking forward to having the family here for Thanksgiving, with all the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season not far off, either. So time better not fly too fast, or they will be here before I'm ready for them. If so, they'll just have to overlook the mess and enjoy the day together anyway!! LOL!!

Doing Pretty Good

I've been consciously not allowing myself to get upset each time the blood glucose reading is too high. If the doctor is satisfied with my results, and I picked him because he's an aggressive Diabetes doctor, then the thing for me to do is just write down the numbers and quit stewing over them. I've been pleased so far with my efforts to be more nonchalant about it all. I'll still use the higher numbers to help me decide if there is something I ate that might have touched it off, but when it's the same thing I've been eating with good test results sometimes, and bad on others, I'll just ignore it.

I'm also doing much better about exercising than I had been. Doing them every other day seems to have worked out pretty well, and I think it kick started my weight loss again, too. And that's a good thing. That long month staring at the same number on the scale was no fun, since I knew I was being careful about calories. I've never been on an extended diet like this before, so I really didn't realize that plateaus could last a whole month, but obviously they can.

I've spent the last few days rearranging one of our storage rooms for our plush toys. It's been hard work, but it's beginning to look better now. I've added a few more things to the Yard Sale box, too, which means they won't be coming back in the house. That's a good thing. We're both pack rats, and that's a bad combination! It's somehow easier to put something in the Yard Sale stack than it is to put it in the donation box. Doesn't seem quite as "gone", if that makes any sense at all.

We almost had a yard sale this last weekend, but the Alabama game came on early, and hubby didn't want to miss it - of course. So we'll wait for another pretty weekend, now that it's cooler.

Now if we could just get all those storage tubs down to the basement ... I might have a house back! That part of the job will have to be when hubby gets in the mood and finds room for them downstairs. It wouldn't be safe for me to try to walk down the steps carrying a big storage tub. I walk much better than I used to, but my balance is still a little unpredictable. Better safe than sorry.

So, all in all, I'm feeling very good about where I am right now. I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving, and having all our family here, too. That's helping me to do the cleaning I've been procrastinating about, and I'm getting more exercise, too!