[pattygirl63]

Carol Sue I wondered if your dog felt like your DGS was in his space. That pretty much explains why he barked the whole time he was there because he was upset with him setting there. LOL So child like aren't they?

I ended up having a regular RM with a few higher carbs and my total calories today is 1479. I wanted to make my RM the final meal of the day. I'm thinking that if I went back to 2 meals a day maybe I could have my breakfast and 5 hrs later make my main meal with DH the RM and let it be the last meal of the day. It just takes making the commitment to do it. My bs just before RM was 113. So I'm happy with that. I know my blood sugar is soooo much better when I do 5 hr IF eating. I am going to do my very best to make this my eating lifestyle.

I did the 20 minutes on the bike besides the walking at Sam's Club.

DS called and the weather man says we may get snow tonight. Of course, this is central TX and you never count on that being true. LOL

[fatmad]

Hi everyone:
I will try to sign in a bit more often now as things settle out.
The visitation and memorial are done, and the wake. The poor food choices and drinking contributed to ongoing issues for sure.
BUT, now I am 2 days on low carb. I am trying NOOM to track my meals. I am not being very exact, but am tracking what I eat period, which for me is exceptional.
My sleep is very messed up, I get to sleep at night, but wake about 330 am or so, and can't get back to sleep. I took something, and am starting to yawn this morning, so will see if I can sleep in a bit. I also can't nap, and am pretty sleep deprived now. Have a long workday today, so would like a few more hours.
As some of you know from the past, I have had some bowel issues over the years, but assumed they were from the metformin, especially if I eat wheat when I take it.
But now my doc is checking me for diverticulitis. My pain isn't bad, more like discomfort, but enough to be checked out.
I see there are some new and returning friends posting lately, hope that continues.
Best wishes

[Wannabehealthy]

Hi Mad! Good to see you back and glad to hear things are settling down a bit for you. Do get checked for diverticulitis. That is what caused me to need my bowel surgery and colostomy a few years back, because I didn't know I had it. If you know, you will be able to better control it. I had slight pain off and on, but when it perforated it became severe pain and an emergency.

I just recently heard of Noom on another thread. I bookmarked it to check it out, but right now I am really into MFP because it syncs with Fitbit.

I have similar sleep issues, waking up in the middle of the night. For years when I worked it causes havoc, but now that I've been retired for a few years, it's getting easier to fall back to sleep most of the time. I rarely take anything for it. I hope it improves for you. We feel so much better when we get our rest.

Trish, any time we have company they are on the couch and the dog cannot lay up there, and I'm sure he feels that it is HIS space. LOL DH and I usually sit in side chairs.

It's good to hear you are back on CAD. I need to read up on that specifically about the 2nd meal response. I tend to eat like CAD/CALP in that I usually have a low carb breakfast/lunch and only eat carbs at dinner. I don't follow it as far as the 1/3 or the salad. The second meal response is said to really make a different in your blood sugar but I never completely understood it.

I have done well as far as not overeating, but my food choices are not the best. The snacks are sneaking back in. I need to catch this before it gets out of hand and I gain back what I've lost. I'm planning a beef roast in the slow cooker today and hope to eat very light the rest of the day. Just veggies and some sugar free jello.

We had some bad weather this morning and most schools are closed. DGS school had a 2 hour delay as they are farther south. We didn't get any snow here but we got freezing rain and it's very icy out. There is no new snow our our deck, but there is a glaze of ice. We saw on the news this morning that there were a lot of accidents. DH and I usually don't have anywhere we have to be.

I have a doctor's appointment on the 19th a couple towns away and I'm hoping the weather is ok. I had a slip to go get bloodwork done and I can't find it. I think it has to be somewhere in this house. If I can't find it today I will call and see if they can't send it again. It won't make much sense to go to the doctor's if I don't have the bloodwork results. I am back to taking my full dose of statin without any side effects, so I guess that wasn't what was causing my problems.

Waving hi to Donna, Rennie, Lisaloveshearts, and anyone else lurking and wondering if they should join in.

[Wannabehealthy]

I found the paperwork to get my bloodwork. I'm glad I didn't have to call and ask for it again, and make myself look like a scatterbrain. LOL I plan on going next week sometime.

I have my roast in the slow cooker, but I didn't realize it was a rump roast and not so suitable for pot roast. Hope it's edible at least. I'll eat it, not so sure about pick DH. I really don't want to go out in this weather.

I also have a cheesecake in the oven. I KNOW that will turn out good and maybe will make up for the not so good roast.

[pattygirl63]

fatmad So glad to have you dropping in again. You are on my mind a lot these days. I'm glad things are starting to settle down. Sorry you are having sleep problems. I'm thinking it is all part of the adjustments you are going through. You have been through a lot. You are ever in my prayers. It is good you are having the tests to see about the diverticulitis. I put off taking the test, but it helped me to know what is going on and how to deal with things. Just try to stay hydrated when you get ready for the test. My experience was not great with the colonoscopy and since my doctor I don't have to have another one if I don't want it in 10 yrs, I'm not sure I will. I will have to google NOOM too as I've never heard of it. I still use MFP off and on just to see how I'm doing calorie wise.

Carol Sue Our weather turned out okay. I think things were foggy this morning but no rain or sleet or snow. Sun is shining and it is cold out, but otherwise a beautiful day.

I really love CAD and don't know why I ever try anything else. Even if I overdo during the RM, I am still considered OP and it keeps me going and my 2 meals a day fit nicely. I know I can have another low carb snack or meal if I need it, but I'm trying to stay away from them these days. Plus I like having eggs and whatever meat I want whether it be regular or Canadian bacon or something else along with veggies. The only thing I have changed with my plan is that I don't worry about carrots etc during CM because we have learned a lot of things about GI & GL since they wrote their books. Since I was running late with breakfast this morning pan fried 2 eggs, 2 slices Canadian bacon and nuked some mixed veggies and mixed them all together for a quick breakfast and had it around 10:30 am. We will have home fried chicken for RM with salad and veggies and I will make myself a fruit type salad with SF cool whip for my dessert between 3:30 and 4. I won't eat anything after that.

FBS only down 2 pts from yesterday, but that is pretty good since my weight was down 1 lb. I will keep up with it and average my 7 day weight loss the way CAD says do. Usually FBS is up when weight comes down so things seem to be working better this time.

Daddy called this morning and he was weak and complaining about not feeling like doing any thing. DS didn't feel like going over there, but she was going to go. He wanted me to call CHF and see what they had to say. Thank God I got the original RN we saw who knows us and his history better than anyone. When I explained everything, she said it was not his heart so for me to call primary and tell them the same thing I had told her. She said he might need therapy to get his strength back. They took the information I gave them and I told them the PA was familiar with the situation as we had seen her a week ago tomorrow. The nurse called back and told me they are going to get him therapy and wanted to know who we use and if we wanted home therapy or rehab and I told her home therapy would be easier for him. So they are in the process of ordering that now. We go to CHF tomorrow afternoon. I think he is trying to do too much therapy and may need to be doing something differently from what he is doing. So hard to always know what is going on because he panics. So I just try to work with it the best I can. I still think he would do better in assisted living, but he isn't ready and don't want to force him. He just can't seem to grasp that he isn't going to feel like jumping up in the morning and go. He saw his Daddy sit down and do nothing and he had a stroke and died. So I think is afraid of the same thing happening to himself so he doesn't give his body what it needs to mend by overdoing.

Well, my morning is gone so I will go. I didn't get anything done I wanted to do this morning except I did mop my kitchen and dining room.

Y'all have a great day.

[Wannabehealthy]

Our weather has been all over the place today. We started out with freezing rain. The roads were icy with a lot of accidents. Then we started to get heavy snow, and on top of the ice, that's bad. It stopped for a while, and now it's snowing again. DH drove to the store a couple blocks away and he said it's terrible out there. Sometimes when the temp gets low enough the rock salt doesn't melt the ice.

Trish, I think you Dad is so afraid of assisted living he is going overboard trying to keep his strength up. I feel bad for him. I hope the in home therapy is helpful for him.

[Wannabehealthy]

Good morning, everyone. Blood sugar was 140 this morning. I have been eating more carbs that I want to, and amounts are creeping up. I need to nip this in the bud. I have stopped checking blood sugar in the evening. I take a small amount of Glimiperide with dinner, keeping carbs low and trust that it will carry me safely through the night without waking up to test. I was starting to get too stressed out over it.

This morning I came across a reference to Marty Kendall Optimizing Nutriiton on another forum. https://optimisingnutrition.com/index-start-here/ I have been reading it all morning and bookmarking as I go. It is very similar to Dr Jason Fung's website, discussing fasting, IF, low carb, etc, but I find his posts easier to understand, not as technical as Dr Fung. Lots of stuff about diabetes.

I am going to continue to keep carbs to a minimum, but try to do better with IF and may dabble in JUDDD. He has me convinced that's what I need. I am also going to eat only enough to keep me from being hungry and not worry about meeting a certain level of calories. From what I read, you can eat less, as long as the foods you are eating are nutrient dense. I wish Marty Kendall had a book out so I could read away from the computer. I can't find anything, so I have to just read his blog sitting at the computer.

I did eat some cheesecake yesterday. I was surprised that it did not spike my blood sugar. Although it did contain white sugar, I think the amount of fat in the cream cheese helped. But I ate too much food overall.

Winter took a very long time to get started here but now it has totally settled in. The roads are no sooner cleared that we get more snow. Not a lot. Nuisance snow. Just enough to remind us that it's February in PA.

[pattygirl63]

Carol Sue You are so right about my Dad. I think he is overdoing the exercise because he isn't giving his body time to do any healing from his falls. Last night he called at midnight and he couldn't get out of his electric chair. It is one of those that raises you up to a standing position. It had come unplugged some how and he was stuck. We got in the car and went over to DH could fix it. He had fixed it one day last week. This time he took electrical tape to tape it together so hopefully that won't happen any more.

I think he is falling more than he tells us because there was a big 10" hole in the hall wall where he says he had fallen. I asked him how he got up, but never really understood how he got up. As DH says we have to just expect these things to happen until her realizes that he needs to be somewhere. None of us wants to have to put him somewhere, but he is a big man and none of us can handle him on our own.

FBS and weight is slowly coming down on the CAD plan. I did hungry last night so I drank a Slim-Fast. I am going to start keeping them here for times like that. Weight is down to 220 this morning. FBS was 151. Blood sugar before RM was 118 so that is good as far as I'm concerned. Not sure how I will do things today. I've got to go over to Daddy's around 1 and help him get dressed so I can take him to CHF appointment at 2:30. Not sure what time I'll get back home to eat a late dinner. I do have a couple of WW tv dinners I can eat. Any way will play that by ear. I'll have my regular breakfast but have it a little later so it will hold me over till I get home for my RM.

I'll try to check in when I get back home if I'm not too tired.

Hope everyone has a great day.

[Wannabehealthy]

Trish, that is very worrisome that your Dad is falling. I feel so bad, because I really think he has a bad impression of assisted living.

I hope he has a good visit with the doctor.

I think you are getting very good premeal blood sugar readings. Mine do not go nearly that low. I need to work on that. It's going to be hard for me to work around DH's meal preferences. The only thing I can do is keep my meals as small as possible and don't eat in-between or at night. That's up to me.

[fatmad]

Hi again. I have been sticking to a lower carb diet, this is day 3. Still not sleeping well, but I am off completely for 7 days now. I hope I can get straight during this time. Goal will be to stay on plan to end of February. This will NOT be easy, but I have no big occasions. DH and I are going away for a couple of days to ski and pamper, (he is so loving, insisted I need massage and nordic spa days) but I can eat on plan easily enough at the resort.
My other goal is to start moving more again. This is hard to contemplate, as I have a lot of hand and forearm pain I think combo arthritis/tendonitis. But I hope that will help a bit.
Carol, I am interested in anything you found helpful in treatment for your diverticulitis. I asked for the pelvic exam worried about ovarian cancer, so in a sense, I am relieved as the exam revealed no masses in my abdomen, but diverticulitis is no walk in the park, and treatments don't sound great. I declined antibiotics until I have a firm diagnosis, especially since its Cipro, and I am worried about side effects.
Trish: I don't know about costs of assisted living where you are, but I am so glad my Dad was agreeable to try it out. I am sure we got an extra year with him, and it helped him stay independent. With no worries about meds and meals, he was able to go out and about and have a good life, without having to "take care of things" all the time. And I know how hard it is for you and DS to get these emergency calls at all hours, and worry all the time about him. Dad made friends there too, and several staff and neighbours from the facility came to his visitation and funeral. I hope it works out for you. Its a nice middle road away from nursing home. Maybe its nursing home he fears, and doesn't understand the difference?

Best wishes all.

[Wannabehealthy]

Mad, unfortunately I didn't know I had diverticulitis until it was too late and it perforated. Peritonitis all through my abdomen. They removed the part of the colon that had the diverticulitis and I had to have a colostomy bag for 6 months until it all healed up. So, Dr said I didn't have diverticulitis anymore. They cut that part out. But I assume I am still susceptible to it.

I would not take Cipro or any of it's family members if you can avoid it. I took it when I developed an infection in my incision after reversal surgery. I developed terrible tendonitis, and it still continues off and on. Since you already have problems with tendonitis that's not a good sign. Some people can take it without a problem, but the problem is, you don't know until you take it. If I were you, I would google diverticulitis and see what it says about diet/treatment. There are people who live with it for years with no problem. Hopefully, that will be you.

I agree with you that Trish's Dad is confusing assisted living with nursing home. Maybe they could visit a local assisted living facility and that would ease his mind.

[Wannabehealthy]

My blood sugar has been good all day. My new meter was not showing low battery but I still put a new one in. The reading was 133 which is high compared to what it was all day, but it was 1 hour after dinner, so it's possibly right. I found the old meter and tried it, and it showed 118. Unfortunately, we only had one new battery on hand so I will have to wait until we get some more and try them both out at the same time. Either reading is acceptable compared to the 200+ I was getting a month or so ago. When I go for my A1c next time I will take both meters with me and check them at the same time. That way I will be able to see which one is closest to my blood draw. I understand that home meters can be up to 20% off and still be considered correct. My two reading were within 20% of each other. I liked the 118 better! LOL

[Wannabehealthy]

Good morning, everyone. I hope all are doing well. FBG was 130 this morning. Yesterday I ate very low carb and only took 1/2 mg of Glimiperide in the morning and at dinner. Metformin 3 times. I have also been sleeping well, which helps. I got on the scale this morning and I'm right at 200 lbs, so no weight loss involved. I guess I can't have everything. We will probably be going to the casino today or tomorrow so there's a buffet in my future. I will try to stay on plan, but calories may go over. I can eat a steak or pork chop and lots of veggies. Calories will be lower if I choose shrimp. I pass a lot of the other things by.

[fatmad]

well that didn't take long, to get off plan.
I had my pelvic ultrasound this morning, and had to drink all that water, so I didn't eat breakfast until afterward. By then I was really hungry, and I ate the toast and home fries with my eggs. Had more carbs rest of day. I will switch back tomorrow, and make my smoothie tonight. If I had done that yesterday, I would have been fine this morning.
Trish, I am having symptoms, mild but ever present pelvic/abdominal "discomfort" that crosses into enough pain to wake me up, and may be the cause of my bowel issues, which I had been blaming on metformin. I am getting a CT scan as well soon, and will decide on treatment based on the results.
Am really pleased for you that your sugars are doing so much better. Thats wonderful news.

[pattygirl63]

Hi Carol Sue and fatmad Thanks for y'all's concerns about my Daddy. We did get some answers and then last night on the way home DH asked me if any of his meds be causing the problem. This morning I realized it is probably the Xanax. The doctor originally put him on 1 a day then increased it to 2 a day. He takes one in the morning and one at bedtime. He gets up and takes his thyroid pill and 1 of his heart medicines they say gets his heart working in the morning when he brushes his teeth. He starts feeling pretty good and then he eats and takes his other meds and the Xanax is in those pills. Then he feels tired and weak and understand why.

He had already taken one this morning, but I took the others out of his meds for the week. So far I've talked him into only taking one at night although I am going to try to get him to take one only when he needs it. My beautician told me that her doctor gave her those when her son died and told her that it would help but that the side effect is that it will eventually make you tired and weak.

First, when I got to Daddy's yesterday, I found out that he had hit his head when he fell in the hallway and busted the wall. I called CHF clinic and they decided to cancel his appointment assuring me his problem was not heart related. So I then called is primary doctor's office and told them what was going on. I even suggested him going somewhere for rehab where he would be looked at for 24 hrs. I know my 2nd Hubby's Mother was in rehab for a while after she had knee surgery. They told me to take him to ER and said he would need to be in the hospital 3 days in order for Medicare to pay for it. Daddy has always gone to the hospital where I was born (it is a new hospital now) and that is where CHF clinic is. However, Daddy's primary doctor is with the other hospital in town so we took him to the ER there. DS and I were impressed. Of course, I realize not only were they checking to see if he had any bleeds because of the fall, but they were also checking to see if he would qualify to stay in the hospital especially long enough for Medicare to cover in house rehab. Turns out every test they did turned out absolutely clear so they sent him home. However, they are getting him home health care and rehab to help him get his strength back so he can care for himself again. I talked to his original home nurse from last year to be sure everything gets working hoping they we start sometime next week.

DH noticed that at the hospital when everyone is attending to him that he perks up and is a different person. I really think assisted living would be good but he says not yet. So today I started pushing for him to go to an Adult day care. I had seen the place when DH and I leave Daddy's and go to Sam's. My beautician told me about it and said it doesn't cost anything. He can go with other people who live alone and they get together to play cards, chess or dominoes etc. Come to find out he used to go to one years ago. I told him today that there are people there who need his fellowship as much as he does. I think if I can make him feel like he is needed there, he would be more interested. He is people person and always liked working with people.

I just talked to him and a male therapist came out to see him today and will be working with him for 2 weeks and then re-assess things again then. He sounds like a new person. He has a cycle that he can use sitting I his chair. The therapist told him that his ankles are weak and told him he could use that cycle as long as he wants and that while watching tv to exercise his ankles every time a commercial comes on.

I am so glad he is going to be okay. If he can get back to the way he was before he fell that day, he will be perfectly fine with his life as is.

My weight is down 2 lbs so far this week and I'm back down under 220. It was 219.4 this morning. FBS was 170 this morning, but I wasn't surprised. I ate low carb breakfast yesterday morning before I went to Daddy's. We took him to the hospital and I didn't get back home until after 8 pm. So it was really late when we ate and of course eating late doesn't work for me. BS was 120 before we ate this afternoon. I've made almost 1 week back OP inspite all the stress of this week. I'm so proud of myself for not using all this as an excuse to get off plan.

This is too long and I'm tired so I'll catch y'all tomorrow.