Its been a hard day. That very small slice of carrot cake (regular stuff with real sugar) I ate last night has had lasting effects. I have been craving all day, and of course, everyone brought baked sweets for potluck. I had planned a DD and had brought a smoothie for brunch, and sat away from the food. Had some cheese in the later afternoon.
But the cravings haven't stopped at home either.
One of things I have been doing is not having desserts with sugar substitutes, to avoid having the cravings continue. And that has been getting better.
SO back to square one, but its a hard thing. Not getting easier actually. I hope getting through tonight will help tomorrow be easier.


Hope everyone else is doing ok today.

Mad, I have to say I am so happy that I don't like sweets. I have very little willpower when it comes to staying away from foods I like and I know I would have a lot of trouble with them, because DH has them in the house at all times. I used to like them, but after I read Dr Fuhrman's book The End Of Diabetes it made me understand the nutrients we get from veggies and I started eating lots and lots of vegetables. All of a sudden, after a couple months, I realized that sweets tasted excessively sweet to me, so bad that I would spit them out. I think I just changed my taste buds. When I do eat something sweet, I have to have black coffee on hand to get the sweet taste out of my mouth. Chocolate candy is an exception to the rule, though. I keep a dark chocolate bar on hand and break off a piece once in a while, and I can still enjoy milk chocolate. But it has to be plain chocolate, no nuts, caramel or other things added in. I didn't eat veggies in place of sweets. I just added more to my diet and the craving for sweets went away on it's own. I don't know if it would work for someone else.

Quick flyby. I don't think I even made it here yesterday. This has been a crazy and busy week. DD still isn't feeling well. His cousin passed away day before yesterday and we can't go to the funeral tomorrow as it is too far for him to travel. DS is going out of town and I will have to stay here in case DD needs me. She is going to see her only grandson since his birthday is tomorrow. Originally DD and DH and I had a birthday party we were supposed to attend tomorrow afternoon for another nephew of mine, but it has been postponed till next Saturday due to the weather is supposed to raining. I am sorry it had to be postponed, yet thankful since I need the break. I have done nothing but run all week. Being responsible for the medical end of things is very exhausting for both DS and me as well as our DH. She has been looking into the cost of putting him in assisted living. There is a nice place that she says would be between us, but it would be closer to me and would actually be easier for me to check on him. I took care of a man who lived in assisted living before DH and I married. I'm not sure how assisted living works since we would not have private nurses or assistants going in to take care of him like I did that man.

I woke up early yesterday because DS and I decided to go see DD because he was in a really ticked off mood. I'm sure he isn't really mad at us, but we do get the brunt of how he feels. His primary thinks he is over medicated, but the cardiology evidently does not. Yet his legs ache. I thought maybe he wasn't doing his exercises, but he says he still does all the exercise they had him do. I personally think since the doctor told him fluid is fluid he can drink any liquid, I think he is dehydrating himself. I think he needs to replace some of his liquid with water. I will talk to DD about this later.

Any way, I'm still here. Just really exhausted. I will check in when I can. Y'all have a great weekend.

Trish, I'm sorry your DD is still having so many problems. I was under the impression that assisted living has their own staff who "assists" when needed. It's less than a nursing home, and it for people who can mostly care for themselves, but need some help with some things. The patient is relatively free to come and go, compared to a nursing home. You would be able to go there and help him, but probably not to the degree you are now. I hope that would be acceptable to him. It would probably be better for him medically to be under constant care like that, and you would have less to worry about as long as you find a good, dependable place.

I think I'm still gaining. I won't get on the scale at this point. Ignorance is bliss.

Carol Sue My sister and I talked this morning about the fact that we are going to have to so something. I'm not sure he is even eating right. I called DD this morning and he was feeling crappy he said, but he hadn't been up long. DS called me after talking to him saying his bp was way up and for me to call him because I needed to call the CHF clinic. Of course, no one is going to be there on the weed end and I'd have to wait for a call nurse to return my call

I asked him if he took his meds. He said yes. I asked did he eat any food with it as they nurse told me that he has to eat with it and she didn't mean a couple of crackers. He had taken them without eating because he didn't feel like fixing anything. I told him that he had to eat when he takes them. He got mad and let me go. However, he did call back and tell me that he hasn't eat yet but the bp is coming back down now. I haven't called the clinic yet as I told him that I'm waiting to see what happens after he eats. That is where I am right now.

My DS and I know we can not go cook for him. I told her that I am neglecting things at home because I'm so tired when I get home that I just crash. We have never waited this late to do our taxes and I need to get those ready so DH can file for us. Dieting is down the drain. I'm basically working at IE at the moment. I don't have time for anything else. I am just doing the basics right now with house work... cook what I can cook quickly, but as nutritious as possible, laundry as needed and everything else falls by the wayside.

I'm not complaining. I'm thankful to be here and able to do what I can, but having done some of this for a living in the past, I know I cannot do it round the clock. I know DS and my limits. He doesn't get a lot of money and assisted living would take all his money, but he would get better care than he is now. I just pray we make the right decision. I don't want him to think we are giving up on him or that he is a burden. We just want the best for him so we all can enjoy our time with him.

I know I've gained a little bit of weight. My FBS is running in the 130s but that is because I'm not IF right now. I am trying to just eat when I am hungry, but I am also in the process of trying to figure out if I am really hungry or I think I am. Also wondering if I eat just because I think I should or if it is just out of stress. Just too much going on right now.

I purchased Tribole ad Reisch's workbook on IE and got it yesterday. I also found out that they also have a new edition of their original book. I may see about getting that on kindle. I have the second edition and the workbook was made to stand alone so you don't have to buy the book to go with it. It depends on how much it costs as whether I will get it or not. There is a FB group if I can find it that is going to be doing the workbook together discussing it. I think it might help to discuss it with others.

Regardless of what happens life goes on and we just have to learn to roll with it and trust the Lord to see us through.

Trish, do you have Meals On Wheels in your area? Or a similar program? You could call your local agency on aging and ask about something like that for your Dad, at least until you can get him set up in assisted living. I can understand you not being able to do all of this. It's a lot to do.

Carol I was thinking f meals on wheels to,,,I hope you find an answer Trish.

Carol Sue, thanks for your words about cravings, so true. Getting past them has been hard. Then I got stopped up, which happens on low carb for me, especially if I am short on fats. Which I have not been. But that seems to have resolved without resorting to laxatives, so I am happy with that. And back to ticker. But certainly that one very small dessert has had a lasting effect. The next time will really have to be worth it. ugh.

Trish: my father is now in Assisted Living. If you are looking, see how much assistance is available in the place you choose.
My Dad gets all meals (in the dining room, its more if he wants in his room) and medications. You pay for the number of times he gets meds. If something changes for Dad and he needs meds 3 times a day instead of 2, there will be an extra fee. And yes, we pay for meals included even if he misses some, even if away for a few days.
You can pay for a private PSW or other care giver to come in and help with bathing, dressing etc. Some places will go right to the point of being nursing homes within the facility. Dad's place would say that if we get to that point, we move him.
Costs and quality vary. There is another "retirement home" across the street from Dad's, but it had narrow hallways (couldn't see a stretcher going down them easily) and only 2 elevators for many people, and didn't feel safe. Dad's place in only on 2 floors instead of 4 and also has 2 elevators for half as many people. People who CANNOT do stairs (as opposed to avoid stairs) are on the first floor always. These safety concerns for elderly people was a major part of our choice.
Dad's place also doesn't smell like an old folks home, no smell of unwashed people, or bodily fluids etc.
There is a nice courtyard. His biggest complaint is that people stay in their rooms too much after supper. He likes to watch baseball and hockey, but with other people so he goes to the lounge to watch on the big screen tv and have a beer while watching, but usually the other residents don't come, Sometimes the staff watch with him for a bit.
My Dad is still well enough (especially since he moved in and eats and takes his meds regularly) to get out and see his lady friend, go to church and other activities as well, so for him its been great. The cost eats up his whole pension income, but not his savings, so we are alright for now. I think if he needs a nursing home, I will bring him closer to me, but for now, being 2 hours away is ok.

Hope you find the right solution for your DD, this is a very hard time.

Sounds like your Dad is in a good place, Mad, and I hope Trish can get the help needed for her Dad, too. This is how it turns out when you have your parents for a long time. Mine were both gone in their 60s.

Quiet day I guess. Hard day for me emotionally, had a work disagreement thats been eating at me all day. Fortunately, I have not been eating to deal with it. DH also had some issues, so we talked together. No real solutions, just supporting each other.
Best to everyone

Thanks everybody for your thoughts and advice. It has been real for the past 3 or 4 days, but hopefully we got the doctor's attention. You know last week the CHF clinic nurse decided Daddy had the flu. Saturday his pb went over 200/99. He wouldn't tell my sister and me that it hadn't come down much. I didn't want to bother us, but later that afternoon around 5ish he called my sister from the ER, she called me and we all went out to the ER to be with him. They tried to bring his bp down with a pill that usually worked in the past, but it didn't come down. They finally gave him a shot. Then it began to come down and he was sent home with a prescription of the pill and instructions to call his primary doctor for a follow up. Of course, primary isn't going to change medicine without cardio allowing it. His heart is fine, no infection and he does not have the flu.

This morning I called CHF clinic and told them what was going on and told them that Daddy said he doesn't want to complain but something has to be done. In the meantime, the home health nurse went to see Daddy and he told her all that was going on. She took a report and called the cardio doc's nurse. Later a nurse from primary called and they were on hold until we hear from Cardiologest. Later Daddy talked to a nurse and he told her he wasn't a complainer, but asked them to please get him some help.

We finally got a call this evening that one of the meds they wanted to pull back on the 12th of this month for him not to take at night any more. He will be taking just one in the morning now. Also CHF is calling primary to set up blood work for thyroid and anemia. I am going to call in the morning at 8 am to see if I can take him in for blood work for that in the morning. I will dress and go over there as soon as I set up the appointment. I certainly hope this will get things corrected for him. I told my sister that he doesn't want to go live any where else at this time and I feel like we need to give him a chance to get well. If it turns out that we have to put him in assisted living we will, but wait a little longer and give him and the doctors a chance to get things working right for him.

I am trying to get better with my eating. I did end up buying breakfast for all of us this morning from Whataburger and then I was so tired and I felt my bs going low so I stopped on the way home and got Long Johns Silvers. I just had no energy to or desire to cook. However, I did eat more carefully to night and I've already taken meat out for tomorrow so I can cook when I get home.

DS went to the doctor today and they had run all kinds of tests on her to see why she has been feeling so bad. They said nothing is wrong with her except that she is under so much stress. My FBS has been to high for being on Trulicity and I'm sure it is more from stress than anything else. The PA told DS Trulicity makes you tired. I think I saw that Lipitor makes you tired and I'm taking both. So I have to believe that the meds plus the stress makes me want to sleep. I run on adrenaline doing what I need to do for Daddy and then when I come home I do basics I need to do to keep my house going and then crash. I must have slept a couple of hours or so when I got home today.

I remember my cousin saying that it took a while for them to get Daddy's brother's meds regulated after he had the pacemaker put in. I think we are at that point now with Daddy and as soon as they get things regulated and he is better, we will be fine too. I told DS today that I decided that we have to take care of us or we will be no good for him. I hope she will take better care of herself as well.

I read whether I post or not on here. I'm thinking of y'all.

Fatmad Sorry about yours and your DH bad day. Hope tomorrow is better. It is good you two have each other for support.

Carol Sue Sorry you are having problems losing weight. I feel like I take 2 steps forward and 3 back sometimes. But I keep trying no matter what. I hope IE will take hold for me soon.

Catch y'all again when I can.

Things are a little less hecktick around here today. I still have to go to Daddys as I will be taking him for lab work as soon as they get the orders from cardiology. I am to call them at 10 am. So I had a little time to read some out of the IE diabetic book and thought I would contribute to the group today instead of coming here to cry on y'alls shoulders.

I know we are all doing our plan along with learning to do it Intuitively along with IF. So I thought I would share some of what I'm reading in my own words so that I can follow the rules and share it here since it is for taking charge of diabetes. She says think of it as "taking charge" rather than controlling.

How hunger helps us to eat less. If we eat when we are not hungry, how will we know when we are satisfied? This is why we should eat when we are actually physically hungry. Plus food tastes better when we eat because we are hungry and we are more likely to choose foods that nourish us. We will feel more satisfied because food is better for taking care of hunger, but does nothing for boredom, stress or other triggers. Think about the fact that when we are hungry because we are sad, mad or glad we want things like chocolate, cookies, chips etc.
As a diabetic there are symptoms that overlap our hunger which means we need to learn the differences such as low blood glucose and high glucose because we have to learn how to deal with both. Noticing and responding before the extreme will prevent hypoglycemia.

This may sound easy, but there are external and internal influences that may have caused our natural ability to regulate our food intake to go haywire. There may be times we think we are hungry and we are not. They are symptoms we misinterpret as hunger such as tired, thirsty, or our blood glucose is high. I have experienced all three of these especially since I’ve been going through all these things with Daddy. Sometimes I know I need to eat, but then this morning I thought I needed to eat because I thought my bs was low, but then when I checked it, it was high. I assume that has to do more with stress.

She says if we never feel hungry that it could be due to the fact it has food so readily that it does not have to tell us we are hungry. Or we get so busy and distracted that we never recognize the hunger until it gets to an extreme. I also like the fact that the body will tell us to eat because we need “fuel”.

Y'all have a good day.

I don't check in for 2 days and all heck breaks loose! Mad, I'm sorry to hear you had a disagreement at work, but glad to hear you didn't eat over it. That's a big step. I understand how stressful that can be, even though it's been a few years since I worked. 7 years, as a matter of fact. It doesn't seem that long. It's good that you and DH can discuss these issues with each other and help each other cope. I hope things improve.

Trish, I am amazed to hear all that's going on with your Dad. I think that some of his problems are not cardiology related, and the heart doctor is just taking care of heart issues. I'm glad he's getting this blood work done and maybe something else will show up that they can treat. I know that thyroid issues can make you feel terrible. I'm glad they're checking that, and I hope they find something soon, for all of you. Once it's all straightened out I still think you should look into Meals on Wheels or some other food service there might be for him.

The information you supplied from the IE book is interesting. I am one who rarely feels hungry. I know I eat too often, and that's because I tend to eat when DH wants to eat, but he might only eat a little bit of his food, then he gets hungry again sooner. I eat all my food and don't get hungry again when he does. That is an issue I need to address, because I cannot continue to eat this much and this often. I don't want to eat until I feel hungry, real hunger. It's hard when there are 2 people involved and hunger is different for each of us.

This morning we went to get our taxes done and afterwards he wanted breakfast at McDonald's. I'm rarely hungry that early, but of course, I ate it. Then he wanted pizza for dinner, and I ate that, too. It tasted terrible to me. I just don't like the same foods that I used to, and I would rather have had some grilled salmon, or something lighter like that. But I go along with what he wants to make him happy. What about what makes me happy? Why can't he eat what he likes and I eat what I like?

I have not been following JUDDD for about a week now and I feel I have gained back what I lost, but I won't get on the scale. I don't want to see that number, but I feel it. I want to get back to doing the DDs because this is the only way I have ever had success losing. I have to start on a day when DH doesn't want breakfast, because if he eats he makes eggs for me and I eat them. I want to be the one in charge of my eating, not him. I notice he is gaining weight too, but I can't say anything or he will get hurt feelings. Then he lashes out at me because I am no skinny minnie either. I just need to try to direct him to healthier food.

I hope we all have a better day, tomorrow!

I would not have eaten so soon today if I hadn't been going to take Daddy to get lab work done. If I had stayed home, I wouldn't have eaten until lunch. However, I was afraid I would get hungry and have hypoglycemia experience and not able to get any food. So I made some scrambled eggs to hold me over. I didn't have a perfect eating day, but I did do better or at least I feel like I did better.

When we got back to I got back to Daddy's I checked his meds to take out the pill we were to stop him taking at night. I also discovered that he was taking the wrong thyroid medicine. What happened was that he had just gotten a new bottle of his old thyroid medicine and then the doctor ordered a different thyroid medicine a few days later. I don't supervise his thyroid med because he keeps in the bathroom because the doc told him to take it 1st thing each morning. He was still taking the 75 mcg instead of the 100 mcg. He called the doc's office and told them what he had done. Doc said for him to trash the 75 mcg and start taking the 100 mcg in the morning. We haven't gotten the results of lab work done today. They will probably call in the morning.

DS stayed home today. I told her that I didn't need her to come with us. In fact, once I got things straightened out with his meds, I came straight home. DH did our taxes last night and I wanted to get all that stuff put away and bring my filing up to date for this year. I haven't done much of anything else. However, I did do 20 minutes of exercise this evening. DS is going to go get Daddy in the morning and then swing by and get me and take us to eat breakfast at Cracker Barrel for breakfast. So I'll get to rest a little longer in the morning.

Carol Sue You remember I was criticized on the IE group once for the way I did it because of the diabetes. In this book, she actually suggests how to eat for diabetes eating all foods but eating less. You know she has a similar book to this one titled Eat What You Love, Love What You Eat. Obviously the book with the same name for diabetes has to take in consideration that we have to do things a little differently. I really appreciate her approach.

She talks about how hunger, a drop in glucose and then a rise in glucose can be confusing for diabetic. We can think we need to eat when we don't and the goal is to learn the signals for each and how to respond rather than react to them. I will share those as I learn them. As for the food we should eat, she recommends the myplate that the government put out a few years ago with some changes to fit blood sugar. Also she tells how to check our blood sugar each day to see how foods affect it. She also stresses not to look at the bg #s as if it is good that we have been good and if it is bad, we have been bad. She says not to feel guilty. I think this book is probably going to be the best guide I have purchased so far to help me with the diabetes.

The thing I don't agree with with IE is the "eat what you want." Many people use that as an excuse to eat sweets. It is a proven fact that sweets and sugars cause you to crave more and that leads to binge eating. IE is meant to correct binge eating, and how can it do that if you're still eating the foods that cause you to binge in the first place. There has to be some type of restraint to be successful. Waiting until you are hungry to eat is restraint in itself.

Breakfast is so controversial depending on who you listen to. I don't think it's wrong or right, but depends on the person. For years I ate breakfast first thing every day, and it always included eggs. I felt I had to do it when I worked because going until lunch was too long for me since I was getting up so early. Now, I try to wait until I'm actually hungry so I'm not adding in more food that my body needs. Actually, I was thinner when I ate breakfast, and lost weight easier, but I don't know that that is the reason. I think it's a great idea to have scrambled eggs when you don't know when you are going to be able to eat again, because the protein and fat will supply the energy you need, and keep cravings at bay. I understand Eat What You Love, Love What You Eat, but carbs spike my blood sugar and I am best to avoid them. It might not be that way for everyone, so it's individual.

I am starting to feel that there are too many rules as to what to eat, when to eat. I personally feel better if I eat nutritious food, but some people don't want to give up the foods they love, and if they can do it, find a way to control weight while fitting those foods into your diet. I have tried to eat healthy and follow all the rules all these years with poor results. Who am I to say someone else is wrong, if they are getting results?

Here is something else I heard once. If you start a diet plan that includes all food groups, you might gain at first, because your body is not used to getting all the different foods, but then it will realize it's getting what it needs to work properly and you will start to lose. I am like most people....as soon as I would see the slightest gain I would say it didn't work for me and I would stop. Maybe that's what happened when I was on the diet in the hospital. They were giving me all the food groups in the serving sizes I was to have. When I continued that when I came home I continued to lose weight, but eventually I drifted away from that plan.

I learned my lesson when my friend lost 30 lbs and maintained. She says she would never go back to the way she ate before. She is now wearing a size 6 jeans. I never wore a size 6 as an adult! I feel she is eating very low calorie, way below the 1200 they tell you you have to have. Most of what she eats comes in a package and she reads the nutritional values from the package. It works for her and she is happy. She eats cold cereal, english muffins, yogurt, cottage cheese etc. Very little cooking involved, occasionally a piece of chicken. No red meat, no fish. Her veggies consist of salad, or cut up cukes, celery, radishes, with ranch dressing. I don't know if I could every get used to that as I prefer my food cooked....hot, or at least warm. She never sits down to eat a meal as we know it. She goes out to eat with friends and will get a cup of soup and a salad. I think she eats by the clock. She says she is never hungry. The thing is, it's working for her.

It sounds like things are looking up for your Dad, but he definitely needs someone to control his meds for him. Maybe he will feel better with the increased thyroid rx.

Sorry I wrote a book. I am very opinionated today, or maybe just reflecting.