Hi Everyone! April is here! Let's continue chatting and sharing.

Trish, there are some assistance programs that will not cover patients on medicare, but usually the individual drug companies will have their own assistance program. The doctor may or may not want to help you with this, or you can google it as "financial assistance for xxxxxxx" using the name of the drug. Or google the manufacturer's name. It may take you some searching, but most drug companies want you to take their drug, and if they can help you, they will.

I didn't sleep well last night with this elbow pain. Today I see the doctor about it and hope he does something on the spot to help. The only thing I can think of that could have caused this is I got a new keyboard for my PC a couple weeks ago. Shortly after that the pain and swelling started, but I had already had pain in my hand before that.

Carol Sue I hope your doc can help you with the elbow pain. Thanks for the info about the meds. I talked to my neighbor this morning and her aunt who lives in GA is on both Medicare/Medicaid and she is on the free program. She told me to just go to the website and fill out the info. She says since we have a prescription that the company will help us and that the insurance will end up helping us with it. She said work from the company itself to get it done. So I will be doing that today.

BBL

Well, girls I'm going to step up to the plate and confess that I gained 3 lbs last month. So no one has to stay away because things are going bad for them. We all have to do what works for us.

I'm tired of all the games and trying this and that. I like the idea that while Madeleine shared the Resistant Starch, she knows what works for her and is sticking with it. Saying that, I personally know what has worked and what hasn't in the past. I know I'm not going to stick to low carb for lots of reason that I will not go into or hash over. However, I do know the way I ate when DH and I married not only worked for me to lose weight, but also to maintain at least for a while. I also know that if I decide to do that again that it has to be a lifestyle not just a diet. So I'm back to it as of today. The 1st day of the month is a very good time to start. FBS was 132 this morning and that is a good too. That means what I've been doing just needs some tweaking. One thing I know is that I can NEVER allow myself to eat to a full feeling as that causes too much stress on my body and bs. So I'm on my way. Eating healthy... fruits, veggies some protein and grains Intuitively with the Resistant Starch idea. I do like beans so that will mostly be the RS food I will use to help stabilize my meals to be glucose friendly. I will no longer eat by the clock because I am NOT going to eat if I am NOT hungry. I'm going to eat what I want within the guidelines I have set for myself when I want it and just learn to eat as much as it takes to satisfy the hunger.

I knew a man years ago who trained his body to eat only a spoonful of food every hour. I also worked with a woman once who said she had weighed over 200 lbs. She said she never dieted. When her family set down to eat, she took 1 T of every food on her plate and that is all she ate. She never ate snacks. She was cute and petite. I've done that on holidays so that I could have a little of everything that I liked. I don't know why it can't be done routinely day to day. I read somewhere that when we want something that it only tastes good for the 1st few bites. The woman I heard who did that would talk her hubby who was thin and had no weight problem to order something even a dessert that she wanted and she would only take 1 or 2 bites of it and stop. I realize that I do that sometimes when DH and I go out and share a meal. We even do it at Cracker Barrel. We get the same meat usually but we both get different veggies so we can share. He usually gets dumplin's. I love them but don't want a whole serving. So I only eat 1 or 2 bites and I'm satisfied. When we go for bbq, he gets the beans and I get the cold slaw and we share it. I find that it is true that only a few bites is satisfying. I think we Americans have been conditioned to think we have to have more. At one time when I cooked potatoes at home, I only make enough for one person and we shared. That is what I think I will do again since neither of us really wants more. We only eat more if it is there. So why have it there.

Sorry this is so long. Thinking out loud. LOL

Carol Sue Let us know what the doctor says about the elbow. I've got a call into our doc to see how he wants us to go about getting the new medicine for DH. I don't want to be messing things up if he is working at it from his end.

Y'all have a good day.

Newly diagnosed and jumping in. I'll post a proper intro later - just marking my spot.

Been on 3FC off and on for 5 years . . . more off than on. Actually started a new profile when I came back a few weeks ago because I wanted a "fresh start" and was hoping to not think so much about how far I have fallen. I'm heading in the right direction again.

I went this morning to follow-up with my doctor. I've been on Invokana for 19 days and my A1c has come down 2 whole points. It's still high (9.2), but it's going in the correct direction. And I'm down 8 lbs. The doctor was very pleased. I told them Invokana was my new best friend. Has anyone else tried Invokana?

I just wanted to stop in to say that the doctor was able to take care of my elbow himself. He used a needle to draw out the fluid and then injected some cortisone. It didn't hurt, but was just uncomfortable, but now it hurts more than it did before, probably because of the needles. I took a Motrin and am going to lie down for a while.

My elbow is still a little swollen but just a twinge of pain now and then. I forgot to ask how long it will take for this to work. He did say this is not a cure...it can come back, and might need more treatments. I'm going to put ice on it again when I sit down to watch TV, and will take it easy with it. This morning I was able to lift the carafe of coffee with that arm, which I have not been able to do for the past 2 weeks, so it has improved. I could live with it the way it is right now.

Welcome Daisy and Made to Thrive! Looking forward to getting to know each of you. I've heard good things about Invokana but I try to avoid brand name drugs because of the higher copay. Glad to hear it's working well for you.

Daisy and Made to Thrive Welcome. Looking forward to getting to know you.. My DH takes Invokana samples right now and hoping we can get it for him through the company since we learned that our Part D insurance doesn't cover it. It works so well for him that I hate for him not being able to get it. No way we can pay almost $400 for it.

Carol Sue Glad the shot is helping and hope that the pain will go away soon and doesn't come back.

Yesterday was pretty good. My fbs was 122 this morning. The strange thing about me is that when I try to just eat "normal", I end up being hungry for protein. I had some leftover beef roast I had saved to make a stew so I picked out the meat and added some veggies and a little water and had that. I could do so much better if DH would even eat normal. Today I would to have beans, but I know he doesn't like them. He balks when I make them as a side dish although he will eat them when I stress about how they are diabetic friendly. I'm finding that at this point in my life that I am so tired of thinking "diet" or trying to decide what to cook. I think that is because our idea of how to eat is so different. On my own I think I could eat most of my meals without meat. He says he doesn't care so much about meat at meals, but his idea of a meals without meat is canned soup (all sodium I can't eat), French fries or chips and chocolate with a cheeseburger thrown in ever once in a while. I like variety although I think I could eat meat once a day or less. I don't really like Greek yogurt, but I've been eating a container of the Dannon Light & Fit Greek yogurt to take my Metformin with at night. Oh well. I'll work it out. Just in one of my moods where I just hate thinking about what we are going to eat.

Sorry about vent, but it does help.

Y'all have a great day!!!

Trish, I make potatoes just for DH along with whatever I'm making for our dinner. You could probably do that for yourself with beans. Keep them prepared in the refrigerator and just heat up a serving for yourself. I also sometimes make veggies for DH and other veggies for me. It's a little more work, but not much. I like meat, but I usually only eat it at dinner(our biggest meal).

Hello everyone: was away for a couple of days, and things have been hectic since getting home.
Was in Toronto for a couple of days of meetings, and just didn't want to be on the internet when not meeting. We did walk between hotel and meeting site, but never enough action on these days. They did well accommodating how I eat, and i managed to avoid eating snacks that were served, and am true to ticker.
I also saw DD who had just moved to a new apartment. Its a two bedroom (better than the loft style open concept if I am staying over) but the living space seems quite small. I took her out for thai food, a good way to see her and avoid driving until rush hour was over.
Planning a trail walk with the dog today after I have done the work I need to do. then DH recorded a payperview movie for us to watch. Will also do the outlander dvd's before the new stuff comes on..... will have to be on the treadmill for some of this or I will be sitting way too much this weekend!

Hope we can all stick to our plans, whatever they are, to manage a long weekend that may have feasts, and treats attached, and keep to the reasonable treats we have planned.

fatmad Good to hear from you. Glad your DD has her new apartment and sounds like y'all will be able to have some good quality time together when you go there for meetings.

I'm tired thinking about this all the time. My weight is bouncing again between 220.4 and 219.4. And my fbs was 164 and if I don't make a quality decision to do something it will just get worse. So I've decided to plan ahead of time and just going count calories. I've got my plan for today and will check things off as I eat. I think for now that this is the way I need to do this. I've got lentils cooked for a side dish for lunch and will have 4 oz. chicken tenders and broccoli with that. I've got 3 meals and 2 snacks and will work at eating less in the evening. I am really tired of all the rules of low carb, etc. Just focusing on balancing healthy foods and take this ONE DAY AT A TIME. I'm 71 yrs old and I do NOT want to spend the rest of my life "thinking" about food.

Y'all have a Happy Easter.

Updated my ticker today :-)

Well, it's Day 12 of feeling fatigued from "the crud" and I had the thought of what if I've been feeling so bad because my glucose is high?? So I checked a few times today and it's perfect...nope, just "the crud". I see other people in my local area posting the same symptoms on Facebook. I heard there was a new spring strain of the flu going around so maybe I actually had the flu.

I hope everyone is well and enjoying the Easter weekend. The weather has been nice here.

Shannon, good for you for checking. Infection can also affect BS so its wise to check it periodically if sick.
Have been doing ok so far this weekend. Dad showed up a day early. Have had a few more meals with carbs than I would want, but have managed reasonable portions and so far my willpower is keeping me from overdoing it.
Have had to work two nighters in a row, but able to rest during the day. My but having toast before sleep helps the sleep a lot.
Happy Easter tomorrow Christian friends, and Blessed Passover to any Jewish friends may be here too.
My father's birthday is Wednesday, so this is a nice chance for family time to celebrate him.
ttfn