A 'lil HooHaa

Messing with the blogging world since 2005

diabetes

Dealing with stress and fatigue

For those who read the blog, you know I try and shy away from work-related items I also avoid politics, religion and any other items that can be perceived as “controversial.”

Basically, I try and keep it as a personal blog and have it be somewhat loose.

Anyway, I’m avoiding most of all that with this post, but, one of them (work) has helped me to the topic of this.

Fatigue.

A couple of days after Memorial Day weekend, I came down with something. The odds are I caught it from somebody during GeoWoodstock weekend, but either way, it got me. It was a cough and such, though it didn’t seem like more than that. So I was ready to let it all play out.

Meanwhile, I was working some longer and more stressful hours at work. I also had softball. And in the past few weeks, did some baseball-related things, including a two-day trip to the Philadelphia area where I saw four games.

Needless to say, with work and other things, I never let myself rest. Let’s add in the heat (and humidity) we’ve had and I haven’t been sleeping as well as I probably should be.

What does this do? Well, my blood sugars have been slightly spiked. Not quite to an area where I am in panic, but enough to notice. I’ve been tired more, too. So much so that people have noticed it and asked me if I was OK.

That’s alarming to me. For one, I always try and keep an upbeat and positive attitude. That came from my 2.5 years of unemployment. I try and remember what I went through and realize I have a much better situation now, so smile and go with the flow.

So where has all of this come from?

Well, work has been stressful and I’ve worked some long hours. Many people do that and get through it without issue. But I also never gave my body time to rest. On weekends, I was on the run instead of just sitting around and chilling or playing a few board games.

This past weekend, I was supposed to head to Philly for a graduation party. I was planning on going, but asked my primary provider if I should go. Ultimately, he said, it was up to me. But his professional opinion was that I should hang out this weekend.

So I did.

I went to a gaming store on Friday night and played a few games. On Saturday, I went to a friend’s weekly board game night and played a few more games. I avoided stress. I relaxed. On Sunday, I did nothing.

Wait, I did take an afternoon nap. But other than that, I didn’t really do anything.

I actually slept well, too. And that helped. I’m pretty sure my body needed it.

The doc, when I saw him last week, ran some blood tests, too. Things seemed OK, so the fatigue he figured I had seems to be pretty accurate. He told me to rest up and if I was still feeling bad in a week or so, to go back and see him. I’m on the mend now and hope some stress starts to leave me.

One thing I promised myself, once the long stretch of unemployment ended in late 2013, was I was going to make sure I took care of myself in regard to life. That meant leaving work at work and trying to make sure my stress/tension stayed down. I’ve been, for the most part, good at that. But in recent months, not so much. So I need to get back to that. Because I haven’t fully felt like myself and that’s important. One needs to take care of themselves first and foremost.

Here’s some reality – you only go on this trip we call life once (well, depending on beliefs etc.), so it’s best to take advantage of it and make sure you keep yourself grounded as much as possible. I’ve learned a lot about myself in recent months and know I have to get back to a certain point. Once I reach there, life will hopefully get better, I won’t be tired, and my blood sugars will return to where they should be.

I’ve been tired before, but the point I reached last week was the first time I’ve ever felt that way. I know it’s not something I want to feel again, so it’s time to push forward with a smile and a deep breath.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!

Living with Diabetes: Up and down

It’s been a while since I wrote one of these, so I wanted to give a quick update, especially considering my plan was to do at least one of these on a monthly basis.

I had a run over a couple of months where I got a little annoyed. I thought I was doing OK, but every morning, I’d be high. Usually in the 150s-170s range.

LWD

The rest of the time would be fine. From about Nov. 16-Jan. 16, and only counting days when I was up at my work time, I was in my “range” like 12 times.

That’s not good.

The rest of the time – in other words, lunch, dinner, night etc. – was fine. And it annoyed me. My A1C went up ever so slightly (5.7 to 6.1), so my doctor wasn’t ultra concerned. He explained a few things to me and gave me some ideas to try.

Those didn’t work, either.

Frustrating as it was, I didn’t give in. Then February came.

As part of my Day Zero Project, one of my goals was to give up soda for a month. Now, I don’t drink regular soda. It’s diet only. I didn’t realize that it could do something to me. And… maybe I’m wrong, but this is a coincidence.

In February? I was a tad high from Feb. 3-5, and then on the 12th. But that one, I can explain. I know what I did the night before. All other days have been solid. My other numbers have gone down, too. In fact, since all of this, my average has dropped some and my ratio has vastly improved (115 average, 90 percent in range/10 percent out).

So is it the diet soda? Possibly so.

One thing that’s good about this is the lack of missing the soda. I’ve been fine with it and if my numbers are going to be like this, I have no issue eaving it out.

Or…

I try it at different times. I used to have one with my night snack, so mixing it all together might have done it. But that will come in time. First, I have to finish February without having a soda, then I’ll worry from there.

But on a good note, I’ve been feeling pretty good, so that’s a step in the right direction. This is a lifetime thing and there will be steps back and steps forward. Hopefully this remains a big step forward.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog [at] gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!

Living with Diabetes: Dealing with the Dawn Phenomenon

OK, so I’ve been a tad frustrated lately.

A few months ago, my primary took me off one of two medicines I am on for diabetes. It seems this one sometimes makes people dip, an I had seen three or four pretty big dips. Add that to the fact that I had gotten my A1C from an eye-opening 9.8 down to 5.9 in about four months. I had changed a lot of things, including eating habits and exercise.

So you can understand why I was pretty excited that I was being pulled off a medicine.

LWD

However, as I figured, my daily readings went up ever so slightly. Not in a way that really made me worry too much, but a tad. Especially in the morning.

In fact, the readings are above where I should be nearly every morning. But, then come lunch, dinner, and after readings … they are fine and normal.

My primary — as well as the diabetes educator I see a few times a year — explained to me that this was actually normal because of something the body does. As long as my other readings were fine, they wouldn’t panic — and neither should I.

Still, higher numbers have to mean something, right? I was all worried my next A1C reading was going to shoot up through the roof.

So, despite not having an appointment until late January, I truly needed to see where I was and got my blood test done. As I thought, my A1C went up, but only to 6.1. Something, I think, that is quite manageable. I want to get it back under 6 again, without a doubt, but I breathed a sigh of relief with that number.

The numbers, though, have still been up.

And even after exercise. I can’t figure that one out. Let me explain this.

I checked my blood one day and it was in the low 90s. I went out and shoveled snow — yes, exercise and it gets your heart pumping — and came back in and it was like 103.

Then I did some serious shoveling after waking up today. This was a solid workout. Now, I didn’t check before (silly), but after it was like 171. I was extremely shocked.

This leads me to the reason for this post — the Dawn Phenomenon. Apparently this happens in all people, diabetic or not. But for diabetics, it’s obviously noted.

From the American Diabetes Association:

All people have the “dawn phenomenon,” if they have diabetes or not.

The dawn phenomenon is a surge of hormones that the body produces daily around 4:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m.

People with diabetes don’t have normal insulin responses to adjust for this, and may see their fasting glucose go up.

The rise in glucose is mostly because your body is making less insulin and more glucagon (a hormone that increases blood glucose) than it needs. The less insulin made by the pancreas, the more glucagon the pancreas makes as a result. Glucagon signals the liver to break down glycogen into glucose. This is why high fasting blood glucose levels are common in people with type 2.

Steps that may help:

  • Eat dinner earlier in the evening
  • Do something active after dinner (such as going for a walk)

If your fasting glucose continues to be high, your health care provider may prescribe medication.

I don’t eat dinner that late, but maybe I need to have my evening snack a little earlier, which is extremely doable. And, maybe, if this keeps up, I’ll see about going back on the one medicine I stopped to see if there is a difference. My main goal is — and has been — avoiding insulin. For those who have read my blog, you know that was discussed several months ago and I’ve responded strongly to that.

One thing is for sure — I need to exercise more in the winter. I’ll start working on that, too, as I need to figure that out. This is a time when many people slow their exercising down and I just need to focus and get on it. And start getting to 10,000 steps per day and whatever else.

Speaking of winter exercise — what do you do to stay active when the cold hits?

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Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog [at] gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!

Living with Diabetes: Getting through holiday eating

I’ve been dreading tomorrow.

Though I’ve never been a huge Thanksgiving person in regard to feasts, I know I probably eat a tad too much. I don’t love turkey (though the cold turkey sandwiches after are tasty), but there are enough tasty treats to make the whole day a lot of eating.

And though I’ve experienced it throughout my life, this is the first since I actually starting taking my diabetes seriously.

LWD

And this, of course, is the tip off to the holiday season. Christmas is the time where I have usually gone a little worse than normal. I love all the treats and meals associated with Christmastime and then there are all of the holiday parties and gatherings…

You get the picture.

But this year, I need to be a bit smarter. Since I’ve really started watching my food intake and what it does to me, it’s been all over the place. Some things make my blood sugar spike more than others and I’m still trying to learn all of that. One step I need to take is with keeping a food journal and my readings and such so I can start to see what things are doing. I probably should start shaking up what times I check, too, so I don’t always see the same thing.

But I still need to make it through the next month and a half of holiday fun!

I went searching for tips, with the hopes of finding a few that will hopefully help me not binge on food and make my sugars go through the roof.

As always, it’s worth noting that taking medicines on schedule and finding healthy versions of the foods we love are a big start. And try to increase some physical activity. But this is everyday stuff, too.

The American Diabetes Association has offered six extremely good tips.

Focus on friends and family – and not the food.

Don’t overdo it at a party – so eat slowly and really enjoy the foods that you don’t have often. Make sure portions are reasonable and resist the urges for a second helping.

Bring what you like – so if you are at a party, offer to bring your favorite dish. If you count the carbs (I do), try and know the nutrition facts.

Drink in moderation – Remember to eat something before to prevent the low levels later. The ADA offers that diabetics should keep it to one drink for a woman and two for men. Try and stick with sugar free mixes if you are having a mixed drink.

Stay active – The lack of physical activity can really do one in. Try and get out and plan some time to exercise.

Get back on track if you overindulge – You might eat more than planned, but it’s not failure. Stop eating for the night and focus on the people you are with. Monitor your levels and get back on track the next day.

The reality is you have to prep yourself for this time of year. Tips such as making sure you have a snack before you head to a party can help you avoid overeating. You don’t want to go hungry as it can work against you.

And this is something I truly know… but making sure to monitor blood sugars is very important.

In the end, the one tip I am going to give myself is simple — be smart. I know that I have a blood test coming up in late December/early January, so I want to make sure I don’t go crazy. And I also know this is a massive challenge for me and I want to make sure I get through it without issue.

For any other diabetics maybe reading this … do you have any tips? If so, drop them in the comments below!

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog [at] gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!

Living with Diabetes: I’m a dreamer, what type are you?

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It took me a long time to accept being a diabetic.

I can’t honestly remember when it was diagnosed. Years ago. Type 2. Have to watch this and that. It went from no medicine, to medicine to the threat of insulin …

All because I couldn’t accept it.

Realize this – that more than 80 percent of those with Type 2 could have prevented it. I’m pretty sure I could have fended this off for quite a while if I had been smart when first diagnosed. But that Snickers bar looked so good…

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Life throws curves. So how do you deal with it? I finally accepted it. And life is a lot better because of it.

I was contacted by Oscar Health, a new company providing health insurance in New York and New Jersey, to spread some awareness about diabetes. Despite how this disease has grown, I’ve really worked the past several months for it not to define me. I want it to be something I can talk about and not feel like it’s something bad. I can’t let it define me. With that in mind…

I’m a dreamer. What type are you?

This world can be rough, crazy and cruel. There are things that can happen to you, but no matter what you have to keep plugging along.

So I dream.

  • I dream of traveling.
  • I dream of a world without cancer.
  • I dream of a perfect pint of Guinness, poured for me at an amazing Irish Pub.
  • I dream of lottery wins and how I would try and help more people than just myself.
  • I dream of happiness for friends, family and people I’ve met for brief moments.
  • I dream of no war and politicians who actually care about the people (yes, I said it).
  • I dream of pizza.
  • I dream of a cup of hot chocolate as I look over a pristine winter scene.
  • I dream of geocaches that show creativity, imagination and quality.
  • I dream of equality in all mankind.
  • I dream of loved ones lost, who I hope will one day be seen again.
  • I dream of softball championships.
  • I dream photography.
  • I dream of brewing an amazing beer.
  • I dream of being in better shape.
  • I dream of completing goals I set when I started seeing a diabetes educator.
  • I dream of a month of perfect readings on my glucometer.
  • I dream of a life without diabetes.

The last one, of course, is something that might never happen. But the truth is, it can’t – and won’t – define who I am. I will live my life as full as possible. I can still do what I want, including going out for a great dinner. I just have to know limitations and know what things do to my body.

Acceptance has made it easier for me to start getting things in better control, too. So has technology – my glucometer is hooked up with my iPhone, so I can see trends and such in my blood sugar. I am determined that I won’t let this define or beat me.

No matter frustrations of what things do to me. Or of a spike here and there that doesn’t make sense. Or whatever curve is thrown at me. It won’t define or beat me.

And I’ll continue to dream because it’s who I am.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog [at] gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!