A Few Changes

As you have probably noticed, I’ve been adding some new, non-diabetes related content recently to the blog. I expect this trend will continue as I move forward on my path. Although my T2 diagnosis spurred me to start this blog, I realize that I don’t have enough content that is specifically diabetes related to post much. And, to be honest, I find writing in general therapeutic and want to include more aspects of my life, thoughts, etcetera in my posts. 

Having had a blog before, another currently active one in fact, I have learned about tagging andcategorizing posts in a better way over the years. I hope and plan to organize this blog well enough that you can get to what you may be interested in without a lot of hassle. Do remembered I said plan not promise but will try to accomplish it. 

I also hope to generate more feedback from readers and find more blogs of interest to me to follow. The content on the World Wide Web is so vast it’s easy to overlook good sites and even easier, in my opinion, to get lost in them. Nonetheless these are a few of my goals for the future for this blog and my readership of others. 

I will still have posts about diabetes and my journey with this disease. But I’m going to focus less on that and more on the wonderful gifts God has given me. 

Healthy Heart Month

With all that’s going on in February, and I’ll spare you the list, I had no idea that it is also Healthy Heart Month until I got an email from the American Diabetes Association with this news. After reading it, I thought I would share a few simple things that I’ve done to make my heart a bit (or hopefully more) healthy.

Obviously I’m not you and I don’t know your health problems or other conditions; you and your doctor know these things. Make sure you talk to your doctor about what will work for you and your body, medication(s) you currently take, etcetera, before making any changes you are unsure of.

The short list, now, of a few things that I am doing:
– eat more fresh fruits and vegetables: This is a no-brainer.
– take a fish oil supplement: I know I don’t eat enough fish to get the extra omega-3 fatty acids to help make my heart healthier.
– get more potassium in your diet: Most people don’t get the USRDA of potassium in their diets. Adding a banana a day will really raise the amount you are getting. And bananas are okay for most diabetics to eat, as long as they aren’t eating them with a lot of other carbs.
– get more magnesium in your diet: I don’t think there is a USRDA on this mineral but I do know it’s an important one! For more on the benefits of magnesium, as well as the possible negatives, read this article
– eat more whole grains: No matter who you are or what ails you, opting for whole grains over processed “stuff” is good for you and your heart!
– know your numbers: Have a blood panel done so you will know what your HDL, LDL, triglycerides, and A1C are; it’s hard to work on correcting what you aren’t aware of needing correcting.

And lastly: Do your research. Your doctor can and should advise you on when your health is and what you can do to improve it. But ultimately almost all of our ailments, including but not limited to diabetes, are mostly self-managed. With the technology and resources we have at our fingertips, available at our whim and will, there really is no excuse to read up on medication, treatments, supplements, and lifestyle changes that may benefit us. After all, we are our own best advocates.

Anxious Anticipation Today

I go in for my first real post-diagnosis doctor visit today and I’m a little nervous, though I’m not sure why. For whatever reason, I’m not having blood work today, which surprised me, so there’s no anxiety there. Well, I’ll probably have my A1C checked since that’s an in-office test, so maybe I am having some blood work done. I’m interested to see what my weight is on their scales, fully dressed, like I was last time, compared to what my scales say in my pajamas.

I’m not anxious about breaking the news that I stopped taking the Glyburide, not at all. I have all my data ready to show her; I’m taking my notebook and iPad rather than printing everything out. I can email her copies of anything she wants/needs in the office while I’m there.

While I know that my overall BG is much better, for some reason I’m a little anxious about what she is going to think. My gut tells me that she’s going to be happy, maybe even impressed with the changes and improvements I’ve made, but for some reason I have a nagging kind of dread about being wrong about that.

I finally remembered to pick up whole, old fashioned oats yesterday; it’s the first time in a very long time I have made them. I remembered something about them pretty fast this morning: they boil over in the microwave in the bowls we have. So, I started the day with a big, sticky mess and lost “x” amount of the oatmeal. Lord, please don’t let this whole day go like that.