Seven weeks down, the rest of my life to go

Tired of:
taking pills
having to eat breakfast
checking my blood sugar every day

Surprisingly okay with:
counting carbs
not overeating
giving up Pepsi

Really liking:
Losing weight
Feeling comfortable in my uniform (see above)
Giving clothes that are too big to Goodwill
Feeling better!
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Best doctor visit EVER!

My doctor is VERY happy with me. Apparently most people don't do this well right off the bat. I have to admit I thought it would be harder, too. The carb counting is pretty concrete, though, which makes it easier for me. Also I really really don't want to damage my kidneys or my liver, and I'd like to keep my toes and my eyesight, so I'm pretty motivated.

My stress fracture is completely healed, so I can start exercising again. I can use the treadmill, but she suggested I NOT do that every day like I was, and instead do a bicycle or the elliptical trainer more than the treadmill.

I've lost 11 pounds in the last month. Woo-hoo!!!

She was very happy with my daily blood sugars. Last time I had lab work done, since they weren't expecting to see the diabetes, she didn't order a hemoglobin A1C. That test measures your overall glucose over the last three months. She had the lab run it once she got my results, while they still had my blood sample, and it turned out to be 6.4, which is NORMAL. That's awesome, because it means my diabetes is a very recent development, which means the odds of me having already done any damage to my organs is pretty much zero.

I had a pneumonia shot today, which is mandatory every 5 years for diabetics. I also MUST have a seasonal flu shot every year, see the eye doctor every year, see the dentist every six months, and get lab work every three months. That's all a pain in the neck, but on the other hand, why would I complain about making sure I'm healthy? I had to start one more medication, too, as a preventative measure to protect my kidneys from the diabetes. It's a generic, so it's cheap, and kidneys are expensive.

Dr Rita said that my stress fracture, the vitamin deficiency, and the hypothyroidism would all have contributed to the high blood sugar, so getting those things corrected, combined with my diet changes, should really help the diabetes. She said it's possible I could get off the diabetes medication after a few months, but that medication helps cholesterol and weight gain as well as blood sugar, and as I get older I'd probably find it harder and harder to control my blood sugars and end up back on medication. I'm on the lowest dose they have, and I've read a lot about it, and I'm okay with staying on it. It has a lot of benefits and virtually no side effects (except stomach upset, which I haven't had except for the first day). It doesn't cause low blood sugars, so even if my control is excellent, it still won't hurt to take it.

I celebrated by going to Starbucks and getting a mocha and a scone, a piece of coffee cake, and a piece of pumpkin bread...but I shared with Brian and only ate the portion I'm allowed. Those mochas are really helping me get through the chocolate cravings without cheating!

I had follow-up lab work today, so Wednesday I'll find out how I'm doing on the cholesterol, vitamin D deficiency, thyroid, and liver enzymes. Dr. Rita said that there should be significant improvement on all of them.
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Approach-Avoidance

Approach-avoidance occurs when an individual moves closer to a seemingly desirable object, only to have the potentially negative consequences of contacting that object push back against the closing behavior.

Tomorrow is my follow-up appointment with my doctor. I'm looking forward to it, mainly because I'm pretty confident I won't have to wear the walking boot anymore. I've been working really hard to make the necessary changes to my diet and take my meds on schedule, so I'd really like to see how my blood work looks now.

On the other hand, what if my labs aren't better? That would be very discouraging. It's only been four weeks, and maybe that's not enough time to expect significant change.

I know that in terms of calories, fat, and general nutrition, my diet has been WAY better in the last four weeks than ever before. My blood sugars have ranged from pretty good to perfect every time. I know, in my head, that I'm doing a good job. I'm a little worried that if that's not reflected in my test results, it'll put me in a funk. It shouldn't, but it might. Guess what I do when I'm feeling like that? EAT. I don't want to do that.

I'm trying to focus on the progress I've made, and work on goals. And I'll ask my doctor how much improvement in the labs she would expect to see in four weeks.

The two things I'm most interested in tomorrow: my weight and getting the stupid boot off!
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Real life

The first real test of living from here on: going out to dinner. I decided that there was no point in getting crazy about it, because I'm still figuring out how to make this work. I drank water, skipped the appetizer, passed on the bread. I ordered my favorite pasta (Thai Chicken Pasta) and ate as much as I wanted (I took the rest home for GeekBoy to finish off). When we got home Vicki had her wine and I had one amazing hot chocolate & Kahlua thing that Kate made for me. I'm pretty sure I had more carbs than I'm really supposed to, but not NEARLY what I would have had normally (bread, maybe an appetizer, pasta, a drink with dinner and probably a bottle of wine after).

Strangely enough, it wasn't that hard. I didn't feel cheated or left out at all. See there's that pod person thing again. I don't think I can possibly explain how HUGE these changes are for me. It can't be this easy. Surely this is going to get harder. Oh well, I'm going to enjoy this phase, and if it gets harder, I'll deal with it. No point in looking for trouble, right?

Kate went home about 11:30, and I sent Vicki to bed at midnight. I had to go to work for a few hours (another reason I wasn't drinking), and after I get off work we're meeting for breakfast. I'm already calculating in my head how to order something good but "legal." Why is this okay with me?? Shouldn't I be yearning for biscuits and gravy, or stuffed French toast? It's weird.

My blood sugars have been consistently normal since I started checking them, and I seem to have adjusted to the meds, since those lovely GI side effects are gone. I'm resolved to look at tomorrow's blood sugar check as research and not be upset if it's high. Hopefully it will be okay, but if it's high, there's a lesson learned.

I haven't really been worrying about my cholesterol. I'm concentrating on the blood sugar issue right now, and just avoiding making stupid choices, like eating a bunch of cheese instead of carbs. One step at a time.

And I'd just like to mention that this week when I put on my uniform I had to take my belt up a notch. WOO-HOO!! Also, at this moment, I feel great. Just in general. I'm not tired, I don't feel overwhelmed, my uniform isn't strangling me, I just feel good. That's pretty darned cool.

Happy to report that all is boring

Just boring old good news today. The bone density scan results were normal, so no osteoporosis or osteopenia! I need to take a regular over-the-counter calcium supplement because of my age and the fact that I don't drink milk, but no special meds are needed and I won't need another scan for two years. Yay for that! Once your bone density is low it takes a while to build it back up, even with prescriptions, so I'm relieved that getting this stress fracture to heal shouldn't be an more difficult than the average. The vitamin D deficiency that is partly to blame for the fracture is much easier to correct. I WANT THIS BOOT OFF! I hate it.

Also, just in case you needed some TMI, my mammogram was also normal. I wasn't really worried about that, but it's always good to know. Now once that bruise fades, I won't have to think about that for another year.

And all my blood sugar tests have been normal since I started counting carbs. So far, so good. In two weeks I'll have repeat blood work and an x-ray, and then we'll see where I stand. And whether I stand without the stupid boot.

Is this me?

I have the dates for my diabetes education classes and my follow-up blood work written on my calendar. I bought the big medicine sorter and the economy-sized bottle of vitamin D. I bought divided plastic containers so I can take healthy food to work instead of sending an officer to McDonald's. Today I have to go pick up my prescriptions for lancets and test strips for my glucose meter.

Is this ME? This is my life? It just doesn't sound right. What's really weirding me out is I don't mind.

I'm a frozen pizza, poptarts, and Pepsi kind of girl. Vegetables are something I eat because you're supposed to, not because I like them. But I actually kinda liked the salad I had for dinner last night, and the unsweetened tea wasn't as good as a Pepsi, but it wasn't bad. I think I've been replaced by a pod person. I'M READING NUTRITION LABELS, FOR GOD'S SAKE!! It's scary. It's just so NOT me.

I think I should be depressed, because even the low level of diabetes I have can have serious health consequences if not taken seriously, and it just sounds old to say I have type 2 diabetes, hypothyroidism, high cholesterol, and possibly osteoporosis (still waiting on those results). But for some reason it doesn't really bother me that much. I'm taking it seriously, but I'm not depressed.

If I can just get rid of the stupid walking boot, I'll be celebrating, darn it!
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New routines

First, there's keeping track of all the meds.



Then there's checking my blood sugar once every day. That has actually turned out to be pretty easy, and my results have been excellent. Plus I got to have a pretty neon purple monitor!






So right now I'm learning how to count carbs and figure out what's okay to eat.

Best thing today? I think the Synthroid is starting to work, because when I woke up this morning, I wasn't tired! I didn't feel like I needed to go back to bed and sleep a few more hours.

Tomorrow's test will be eating out for lunch. I'll be interested to see if I can eat reasonably and still get a good result on my meter. Stay tuned!