Trish, we rarely had fruit growing up, so I never had much interest in it. I mostly only liked bananas, and I still eat them. Since I've gone back to them and taking the magnesium I'm not getting the leg cramps as much. DH likes oranges. He will peel one and we split it. I like pears, too, but we rarely buy them because they are always so hard and once they ripen, you have to eat them right away. I like canned pears. Fruit will never be my first choice to eat. When we go out, DH can order a big fruit salad for his meal. That would never be satisfying to me.

One time I bought pears and the kids wanted to eat them hard. I told them they had to ripen. I put them in a brown bag and put them in the cupboard, then I forgot them and they went bad.

I have an olive oil spray too and I use it to spray my pans when I'm cooking meat, but I wonder about them because if you look at the label, it seems there's no olive oil in them. You can buy sprayers and put your own olive oil in them.

I think calories are always important no matter what plan you follow. I think this "eat as much as you want" is hogwash. If you eat until you're satiated, yes, but some people take it to mean "eat until you're stuffed" and I don't think it means that. More and more books now are stating that you must stay within a certain calorie range to lose weight. If you eat a lot of low calorie foods, like vegetables, you're good to go.

I was curious about Tofu, so I bought some yesterday. I scoured the internet for ways to prepare it and found a couple interesting recipes. Seasonings can add flavor, and cooking it for a long time can add some crispness, and it looked good, but it was just not for me. I did not like the spongy texture, so it's out for me. My curiosity has been satisfied. LOL DH wouldn't even get near it. LOL

Well my weight came back down, but I'm still up 1 lb from last week. However, I won't change my ticker because I'm back to counting calories so it should go back down. I didn't take the mild fluid pill last night. I've been taking it since doc said it wouldn't hurt, but with the health questions he asked me if I had, I've decided I don't want to use it regularly. My weight probably would have been back to normal if I had taken it, but I would rather lose without using it everyday. I will stick to the "as needed" on the bottle. I've been taking Tylenol every night before I go to bed too, but I don't want to get in that habit either so I didn't take it either.

I read this morning about how people low on iodine have a difficulty losing weight and are tired a lot. My thyroid tests always are just borderline and I have a difficult time getting anyone to test it. However, I see that there are certain foods besides getting iodized salt that you can eat to get it in your system such potatoes with the skin and shrimp and I don't remember all the others. I think some greens like kale may have it but I don't remember. I'm seeing why my body kind of craves some things. I don't want to add another pill. I used to take iodine pills, but you have to be careful taking it so having a boiled potato with skin or eating shrimp once in a while would probably do the trick.

Carol Sue I like some foods made with tofu, but never liked cooking with it myself. I think there are 2 textures and the one I got was rubbery so I obviously got the wrong one. I don't eat stuff made with soy any more if I know it. I do like lite sodium soy sauce (not sure if it is from soybean just assume it is). My niece works with cancer patients for Cancer Association. I had been drinking soy milk instead of regular milk and I heard that soy could cause breast cancer. I asked her about it. She said that women who drink soy milk post menopause seem to be having breast cancer. She recommended that I not use it. I do like a lot soy products, but I don't use them for that reason. I haven't heard or asked her lately if they have found that to be true or not. I guess a lot of things change as we get older.

I'm back to counting calories this morning. Right now it looks like I will have to work to get to 1000 calories to please MFP if I do JUDDD making this a DD. However, if I follow my docs and hospital diet plan, I am way low anyway. I think I will just go with where I am. If I get a DD it would be even better.

Trish, the only soy I like is shelled edememe, just as a snack. I have no interest in trying any more tofu products after last night. LOL

My doctor will test my thyroid once a year if I ask him. I went to the hospital once, thinking I was having a heart problem, and here they told me my thyroid was low and to tell my PCP. He put me on thyroid meds, but then I started feeling terrible again and I had to stop the meds. Since that time it has been borderline low. I have some Kelp tablets and if I get symptoms, I take one of them and I'm OK, until it happens again. My doctor only tests TSH. I heard that they should also test T3 and T4 and for antibodies. I have heard that a lot of people have trouble getting proper treatment for thyroid issues.

I used to love shrimp but I've gotten away from it. My tastes have really changed, especially in the past year. So many things that I used to like just don't appeal to me anymore. I've heard that happens when we age, but I didn't think I was old enough for that yet. LOL

I had to go to DD this morning because he had a blister he accidently scraped and was bleeding. DS and I went over to see about it. His apartment was a mess and he had gotten blood everywhere. I cleaned and doctored his toe and put medicine and a bandage on it. The DS and I cleaned his apartment as good as we could. She washed and folded clothes and I mopped up the blood off the tile floor and cleaned the bathroom and kitchen and took out the trash. She is going to get someone to go in and clean the carpet and we have decided to see if the couple who cleans his apartment every other week can start doing it once a week. He pays them to do it 2x a month so we are going to share the expense to pay for the other 2x a month.

I was going to Walmart when I left, but I was totally exhausted so I came home and crashed. Eating has been iffy calorie wise. I didn't feel like cooking so I threw together a quick salad and a personal pizza each that I made for DH and me. I didn't have enough mozzarella cheese so I made DH and then took what was left and added some other cheese and veggies on mine. I put together a quick sandwich later. I can't remember if I ate anything else.

Here's hoping for a better day tomorrow.

Sounds like you had a rough day, Trish. I did too. When I woke up, my legs and some other body parts hurt, and I was very light-headed and dizzy. Usually that goes away after 10-20 minutes or so, but it didn't yesterday. I checked BG and BP. BG was fine, but BP was a bit high. I remembered I had some Vicodin and decided to take one. After I did that, I felt worse, and I remembered this happening once before with Vicodin, and that's why I still had a full bottle. I got hot and sweaty, then cold. I felt nauseated, and got very sleepy. I was afraid to go to sleep, so I forced myself to sit outside in the fresh air thinking it would help, but it didn't, so I did go in and lie down. I dozed off and on, and felt much better after I got up. I think by then the drug was out of my system. I slept pretty good last night and feel good this morning. I was reading up about pain meds online. Remember when I told you my cardiologist didn't want me taking Ibprofen. Well, I saw that Aleve is more acceptable, so I'm going to try that. We have some here. I will check the exp date. I have to have something to take when I get this pain. I can be a lot more active if I'm not hurting so much. I had stopped taking the Magnesium, thinking I had got my levels back up, but now I'm going back to it. I also have some Vit B12 and CoQ10 that I bought and also stopped taking. When I was reading online, I saw that those are 2 things that are depleted by diabetes, so maybe I need them.

I'm thinking that the dizziness was because I was dehydrated. I've been drinking more and more coffee, and less water. Coffee can be dehydrating, so I have to remember to get my water in. I drank 2 bottles of water yesterday and after that I felt better. I also have some Diet Cranberry Juice here, but I forget to drink it. I need to start drinking other things besides my beloved coffee. DH has switched from Maxwell House to Folgers, but then went back to Maxwell House when it was on sale. I liked the Folgers much better, but he's in charge of coffee. LOL

Our local police station has a program for disposing of drugs. I think the Vicodin is going there, so I don't mistake and take it again. That was a very horrible feeling.

Carol Sue I'm sorry you went through that scary experience with the vicadin. I've never taken it that I know of. I think my problem is and was the fact that I am not drinking enough water either. I'm so glad you feel better today. I'm still tired but have another one of those busy days today. I can see this is going to be a busy week. I want to go visit one of the churches I used to attend when I lived here before, but weekends have become my days to rest up for the next week.

I really do not believe that the new rule of drinking 8 glasses of liquid can be anything you want to drink. WW used to say at least half of it should be from water. Although I've heard they don't say that any more, I think the old rule is true. I just think water is so important. I had told my DS recently that I don't sweat, but I've noticed that I do sweat. In fact, I had only drank coffee yesterday when I started cleaning DD apartment. I got so hot and sweaty that I had to sit in front of a fan to cool off, but I didn't drink any water. When I got home, I got a glass of ice water and the more I drank the better I began to feel. However, I was just too tired to go any where.

I know ibuprofen is not good for diabetics, but I didn't know Aleve was okay. I have some of those. I like to alternate it with Tylenol as I don't like to take Tylenol all the time and it helps me sleep better and have less aches and pains if I take it before I go to bed each day.

DD took himself to CHF and they wheeled him up to lab. I got up at 7am and called to see if he was sure he could go on his own and he sounded good. I asked him to call me when he got back home and he did. He says he has no problem walking or wearing a shoe on his food. DH wants to go over there this afternoon and do a more professional medical cleaning DD toe. His medical abilities shine in these situations and he has the equipment to cut the dead scab off and thoroughly clean it better than I could yesterday. He will put medication on it to keep it from becoming infected and help it heal. I figure he can do that today and Thursday when we go for me to do DD meds.

CHF called me today with his lab results and everything is fine. We are to continue meds as they are. I also had the chance to talk to the nurse about how tired DD is and she said all CHF patients biggest complaint is fatigue. So at least we know this is normal. When my DS did the meds that week I wasn't able to, she questioned how we were doing one of DD medicines because the bottle had different instructions. The nurse looked back on the records and was able to verify that we are doing it right. DD gets 90 day prescriptions and the original was 2x a day and now it has been cut back to 1/2 a pill 1x a day. So I need to right it on the bottle when I go over.

I also realized a few days ago that the iron pills that I bought is way below the strength he is supposed to be taking. They are OTC and I do have the correct strength here because DH takes them. I will start him back on those tomorrow. I am hoping when he gets that built back up in his system that he will begin to have a little more strength.

Well DH will be up soon and we will get out of here to go to DD and then we need to go to Walmart to get meds and I will need to replace his iron pills I'm taking to DD. I need some energy pills myself. But this too shall pass. Never want to complain about doing for my DD.

BTW FBS coming down and weight is right with ticker and the strange thing is that I forgot to take Berberine last night. Go figure.

Have a nice day.

Trish, the reason my cardiologist told me not to take Ibuprofen is because it can lead to heart attacks and strokes. I didn't know it wasn't good for diabetics too, so I guess now there's nothing I can take except for Tylenol. Tylenol does nothing for pain for me, but it does help me sleep. I also don't take it every night, only when I need a good night's sleep for some reason. I guess I will ask the cardiologist next time I see him but that won't be for several months now.

I was dizzy again this morning and most of the day. It wasn't as bad as yesterday. We were in a store and I was OK because I had a cart, but I had to go to the bathroom and I wouldn't go because I was afraid I would fall while in there. My BP is still up. It could be because we have been eating bacon so no more bacon for me. I don't even like it much, but we got it for BLT's because our tomatoes are starting to ripen. We have 10 of them right now, and more ripening on the vine. I guess we will be giving some away. I told him not to plant so many. This happens every year.

There are a lot of different opinions out there about water. Some say it goes according to your weight. Some say drink if you're thirsty. I don't think I need 8 glasses every day, but I know I need more than I drink.

Glad to hear your DD is doing good.

No dizziness this morning!!! I don't know what it was, but I'm glad it's gone.

Now to get back to being more active. My BG and BP numbers were bad these pasts few days and I want to get them back to good again.

Cholesterol-lowering statins and certain blood pressure medications can deplete CoQ10 levels. CoQ10 can help lower inflammation, support heart health, and acts as antioxidant so you may want to start taking again. I take a water and fat-soluble form for better absorption!

Carol Sue So glad the dizziness has passed. I feel better today too. I think the water has helped me a lot. Still busy, but I was able to do it better. I think I still need to rest when I need to rest, as we need to refresh. No exercise so far today, but will do that later.

katethegreat33 I take 1 CoQ 10 and my DH saw a program on tv that said if you take statins you need to take extra CoQ10 so he takes 2 because he is on a astatin. I have no idea if it is water and fat-soluble or not. Does it say so on the bottle? I will have to look and see.

I forgot to take the Berberine for the last 2 nights and my FBS is lower. Maybe I don't need it. I will experiment to see if it continues. I am eating when hungry and eating only what I want or need to eat for satiety. Strange thing is I haven't even been trying to do that. The only planned meal is when I eat main meal with DH. Weight is staying in the 215 range right now. It was 215 yesterday, but was 215.8 this morning because main meal was salty. I will continue this to see if it keeps working this way.

I had to go to DD to change his bandaged toe because he thought it was bleeding or had bled on his sock. I think it was just the medicine DH had used on it and not blood. He put betadine on it after cleaning it to prevent infection. It actually looked a lot better when I changed the bandage. He wanted to go to the store etc, but I told him again that DH said he needs to stay off of it, but my DD is stubborn and I don't have any idea what he will do. DH will check it again tomorrow afternoon when we go to do the meds.

I talked him out of going out to eat so DS brought breakfast from Whataburger so we didn't eat anything different.

fatmad I know you are busy getting the cottage ready to sell. I pray all is going well for you. You should be getting a lot of exercise just getting things ready to move.

I've got to empty dishwasher so I will get busy taking care of my house now. Tomorrow I don't go until DH gets up so I will be sleeping in a bit in the morning.

Have a good day.

Trish, beside having the dizziness go away, I also did not have any leg pain today at all. I wish I knew if it was something I did that brought about these improvements. I felt so good today, better than I have felt all month. I guess there are so many things that could cause these problems.

I hope your DDs toe gets better. It's good that you and DH are taking good care of it. My elderly neighbor across the street cut his toe and didn't tell anyone for several days. Finally he told his son about it and by that time it was so bad he had to have the toe amputated.

I got the impression that Mad said it was their main home they were selling. She will have to come here and clarify it for us.

Carol Sue I am so glad you are free of the dizziness and leg cramps. My knee was acting up today. I didn't feel like I would fall, but it does feel like I may have twisted it in my sleep. I too wish I knew what I do to cause it and I would really like to know what I do to cause it to go away.

I slept late today since I stayed up late last night with DH. Got up and had a text from DSD and sent her an encouraging text. Talked to my DD and then DS and then had DSIL ask advice about what I thought about an experience he had. DH and I went to Walmart to get DD meds and milk for him. I got so busy talking to the lady at the pharmacy about the upcoming eclipse and protecting our eyes that I walked away without my change. She nor I noticed it. I talked to the pharmacist and he checked the cash in the register and I am going to get the money tomorrow after I go to beauty shop and meet with DD. I may have to take DD to Walmart any way so I can drive him to the front door and pick him up at the door so he doesn't have to walk on that foot too much.

My bs reading before dinner tonight was 108. I read up on Garcinia Cambogia on MedMD. I'm not on any medication you cannot take with it and I don't have any of the health problems that would keep me from being able to take it. I read online to take one serving of 3 before 2 big meals, but since I only eat 1 big meal a day I will be taking it only before that meal which is our main meal each day. It is supposed to lower BS, cholesterol, triglycerides and help raise good cholesterol as well as help with weight loss as it curbs appetite.

My DS was going to try it with me, but she takes a diabetic and asthma medication and the article said not to take it with those meds plus it is not to be taken with statins or depression meds or blood thinners. So DH cannot take it either. I found the Garcinia Cambogia for Weight Loss at Walmart and decided to try it. We ate late so I took it with supper. I am looking forward to see how it affects my weight as well as my bs.

The appetite suppressant works because I have not been hungry all evening. One big plus for me.

Hi guys.

I wondered if anyone here is pre-diabetic and also suffers low or low-ish blood sugars, unmedicated?

Thats my situation. It has been for awhile now. I understand that it's a "bad" sign... (please do not remind me, it kills my desire to keep trying).

I am at a healthy weight, I was obese for a few years and now am at 132 and 5'5.

I was doing a low carb higher fat diet and it helped me to stabilize. But any advices or encouragements are welcome.

I have to get back on that diet as I was off it for awhile now.

Hi everyone, just checking in again. Am true to ticker, but not able to get below that, maybe this week!
Snapple, I am also pre diabetic, but my bs levels have gotten worse over the years. I take metformin pro-actively, because blood sugar levels are a continuum, and waiting until I get there may leave me with eye, kidney and nerve damage form high(er) blood sugar levels. I have gone from being glucose intolerant on the one hour, to glucose intolerant with impaired fasting glucose, and now all three levels (fasting, one and two hour) are impaired. So I figure I am pretty close to gone now. the metformin keeps my A1C levels within normal (5.8) so I am doing my best. (I now take 500 mg metformin 3 x day)

SO yes, Trish, we are actually going to sell the house first. We have a place in town ready for us on October 1, so we are rushing like mad to get the house whipped into shape, and hope to list it and have it ready to show before September 9th. Most places here sell within 2 weeks of listing, so once we are ready, we think it will go fine. I think the cleaning and packing, painting etc will be enough exercise for me to go on for the time being.

Definitely feeling a little stressed about getting things done in the next while.
I will come sporadically, not because I don't appreciate the support, but getting on line is not my priority right now.

Carol Sue, do your doctor have you on low dose aspirin? its the only "preventative" for heart problems, but I don't think occasion ibuprofen and naproxen (advil./motrin and Aleve) are harmful and likely to lead to heart problems, unless you are taking large doses regularly. Certainly not the the extent that Vioxx was causing problems. Whereas the narcotics in Vicodin are pretty strong for some aching muscles. No wonder you don't feel well on that. That would be for major pain, like post surgery or injury sort of thing. I use my codeine, which is a milder narcotic than Vicodin, occasionally for pain that keeps me from sleeping only, and even then, I often just take a half dose, much more gets me loopy.

Trish, sounds like your father is declining slowly, and he is fortunate to have you and your sister close by, but don't exhaust yourself caring for him. Get help if needed! My own Dad is definitely getting more confused and forgetful, I am so grateful he went to live in the assisted living place where he is, as he declines, I have no worries.

Well, I will close for now, and hope to stop in weekly at least. best wishes friends