Sad Heart

Difficult day today - we all have them and nothing to be ashamed about.

I had a reading tonight before evening meal of 71 and I was getting the cold sweats and shakes - have not experienced that since coming off medications - I hope it is a good sign.  I reached out to my ADA community support group for some ideas - glad they were there for me.

This past week has been a pretty heavy intense set of posts and I hope you are thinking about your journal and your journey.

I am sitting here tonight working late - or early and yes I will miss sleep tonight.  It is part of the job and I know it will impact my blood glucose - but stuff has to get done.

So while I sit here, I go out to the ADA community and read messages and also my own blog comments and emails.

In both sections today I received some really heart breaking news and on top of that, I had a co-worker say some really nasty things about me.  I have gone through life and have never felt hate towards anyone and probably do not feel that now - but I am struggling for the first time actually forgiving someone.

If that is not bad enough - my wife is in Florida helping her parents and I miss her so much.  While she is down there she got sick and I cannot be there to help her - so I am an emotional wreck tonight - reader beware.

But that is not for this blog on diabetes, but the other disturbing events are.  So while it is weighing on my heart and I have nothing else to do but watch jobs execute on the computer, I am going to let you be my ears today as my feelings poor out.

I am not intending this to be political in anyway and many of my international friends will understand some of the same issues in their country.  You see, I have had the opportunity in my life to manage people in 21 different countries and have gotten to know a lot of people around the world.  I think that is why I am so excited to see people from all countries reading the blog.

The news is simple - people need our help and prayers and I am going to reach out tonight for your prayers and support.

When Bad Things Happen To Good People.

Many of you have noticed Marty adding comments to these posts.  She and her husband have diabetes and other ailments.  I know I am older than she is but I still see her as an expert, a mentor, and a friend - yet I have never met her and cannot tell you much about her.

If you read her comments on the journaling post yesterday - you noticed she was asking for prayers for Dora.  So my request is that we all add Dora to our prayers.  I am not particular who your higher power is, please let them know about Dora.  Oh yeah - they already do - we just need to remind them we care.

In case you did not read the comments, Dora is 87 years old, in a nursing home in this great country, has lost both her legs to diabetes, and does not appear to be getting the care she should.  Shame on all of us for letting one person go through this suffering.  We are a greater nation than this - or I hoped we were / are.

My heart aches at times like this because as a human being I desperately want to know how bad things happen to good people.  How do those that appear to love God and are faithful - become afflicted with such a bad outcome?  I could go on this topic forever.  I simply let myself rest after a while knowing that maybe just maybe, there is more to all of this then what happens here on earth.

I imagine Dora staying in the Big House above and she will have a beautiful body for all of eternity and her pain and suffering will be replaced by loving arms and a joy none of us can imagine.  He suffering here on earth and her faith will elevate her into a much higher status when she goes to be with God.

So please add Dora to your prayers and others that are suffering.  Our prayers should be of her getting the right help and to help reduce some of the suffering.

Why must someone go short of strips? 

I was also reading some messages today on the ADA community and noticed that a young mother (29) of two children is not testing because she cannot afford strips until payday.  In this country that is sad.  Those strips do not cost that much to make and yet it is easy to keep the price high when us diabetics have to buy them.

Even Marty talks about going short once in a while because the government will only buy so many.  I too faced that with the VA and found it strange that they only wanted me to test 2 times a week!!  How does that help me help myself.  Is it hard for me to understand that if we catch a young individual and move them towards preventative solutions and education - we will stop the next Dora from happening.

You want to know what my real delima is? I too have financial problems from a failed business and the 2008 world credit crisis.  For several years I could not afford the strips and did what the VA asked me to do and struggle through it all.  Now things are a little better and I can afford to get what I need - no insurance or VA help.

But, I still want to reach out to that young mother and say - do not go short of strips.  Let me help you in anyway I can.  

But I am afraid of how it will be taken or how she might interpret my meaning.  How sad is that? I am struggling with that and wish my wife was here to talk it over with her.  She is my best friend and usually keeps me think through these events.

I am a very logical and result driven individual at work - but on the street, I lead with my heart.  I just know there are ways to help.

Finding a way to help.

As I sit here, working on my computer, I am suddenly struck with an idea.  I have architect some of the world's largest systems.  I have helped big companies get their products to you faster, I have helped banks move money, and I have helped insurance companies develop policies.

Now I am in the health care industry and is my last horizon and hopefully end before I retire - if I ever do.

So why not put something together for the diabetics of this world.  As I look back on my journey, I had to find different products to help and yet I never did find a really good journaling system.  I found bits and pieces every where.

Since I have the knowledge and most likely have the means to get this done - I will work on the concept over the next few weeks and  see what I can do.

Not being a marketer, but I think something nice like Dora'sdiabetes.org would be a nice thing to get in place in honor of her and the a person I would say has caused me to get serious about helping where I can.

I will ask each of you to join me in a pledge.  We diabetics, and those who have diabetic family members, will work together as a community to help diabetics help themselves.  We will find ways to provide tools, support, and even money where possible so no diabetic has to feel alone or they cannot afford the supplies they so desperately need.  I know the ADA is a great source but we can go farther as a team.

Now that I have lost you all together, my apologies but sometimes I you just have to lay it out on the table.  By me ranting, I feel better now as there is something we can do.

Here is how my crazy mind thinks - and it is crazy ask my wife.  There are 27 million people afflicted with this disease.  Let's assume that 50% of those test once a day.  Now let's assume that strips can cost $.10 / a strip - and that would be cheap.  That means 13 million people spend $.10/day or $1,300,000 / day spent on strips and I can tell you it is more than that.  What would happen then if we could just harness a small piece of that - we could have a private fund to help Dora, the young mother, or even Marty when they need supplies.

No, I have no idea how to do that but I will figure it out.

Now my sadness has been turned into a real energy boost - I better go to bed before I give myself a brain aneurism.

May God grant Dora some peace with her remaining time here on earth.  May he grant her many friends and many visits from Marty.  May he grant all of us the courage to mention her in our daily prayers and lift up her burden to the one who can help.

Thanks for listening tonight - it is greatly appreciated.

Bob,

 . 

What Does My Body Want From Me? - Part 5

The big day - creating a journal

I want to welcome our new visitors and it appears we have picked up someone from Germany.  Welcome to the blog and I hope you get some valuable information from each post.

BS - 101 this morning.  Appears I am at 100.  The following chart identifies where you fall in the spectrum of diabetes:

Fasting Blood Sugar Levels - This is the one taken in the morning
Normal - 70-100 mg/dL
Prediabetes - 101-125 mg/dL (I am on the low side of this and appears to be my level)
Diabetes -125 mg/dL and above

Since I have been as high as 530 and often in the 200s - I was and still am a diabetic.  I have not cured it - I am just managing it through a life style change.

BP - 112/74 (home machine) - HR - 62 still holding good on this.

Whew, the big day is upon on and I feel like we have been preparing for a golf tournament.  Now we just have to execute what we have been working for and make this thing happen.

I am going to ask you to dig deep down inside yourself and make a simple pledge to stay with the journal for 90 days.  I am asking for ninety days for two simple reasons - our A1c measures in a 60 -90 day cycle so it is a nice rhythm to get into.  Secondly, if you do this for 90 days, it will provide a lot of information as to what is going on.  For me - the journal helped me bury in my mind the things that impact me so when it starts to occur again, I can understand quickly how I have gotten out of sync with my numbers.

We have discussed a lot of different things in the past two months and hopefully I will bring them out in this journal again - not to explain but to remind.

I hope you have a computer and can do this on a spreadsheet as it really helps to track and see progress.  I have a VA portal that has some of the tools to help with the journaling but not all of the tools.  You can also use the free one at https://247.diabetes.org/Home.aspx they have some of the basic information you can use.

There are many others and some cost.  I did not find any that measured what I wanted to measure so I created my own.  There are also many meal planners on line but again, I did not find any that was really exceptional.

You can do the research and maybe you will find one on the internet that works for you.

So let's get  started.

For every line item in the spreadsheet I would keep track of calories, carbohydrates, Glycemic Index, and Glycemic Load, Protein, and Fiber.  All of these help monitor what is going on.

I created a daily sheet and then created one for the week's average followed by the monthly averages, and then a program average.  Yes, I know this is a lot but is not your body and health worth it.  It took me 60 years to destroy my body - I guess giving it back 90 days to learn how to repair itself was not all that bad.

What I drink.

I do not consume much alcohol, if any, but I had a line in my spreadsheet for the following items:

Red Wine, Alcohol, Water, Coffee, Milk, Fruit Juices, and Soft Drinks.  By monitoring these I could see what I was adding to my body through drinks and what the impact might be.  After reading about juices and their GI and GL I gave them a toss along with most of my coffee and soft drinks.  Went back to water with a squirt of B-12 flavoring.  I got some taste and pleasures and add some B-12.

What I smoke.

At one time, I smoked so I had that on my chart - how many cigarettes or cigars did I smoke a day.  I quit that habit two years ago so this time around I did not have to log anything in my journal.

Oh, Oh.  I think I just let out a dirty little secret - it appears I have tried the journaling more than once.  Yes I have - as a matter of fact 3 times.  So I am an expert at starting and stopping.  But this time around, I knew I wanted to change and I was going to stay with it.  I was going to journal and test and make sure I knew what was going on.  I succeeded this time and that is why I am asking for 90 days.  I always thought I could do it for a couple of weeks and be done - did not work.

What is my sleep pattern.

Add a line that allows to to register when you went to bed.  Add when you might have actually fallen asleep and another column for when you woke up.  I am a tosser when I go to bed so there might be times I went to bed at say 10:00 PM but did not fall asleep until midnight.  Remember, we are trying to determine YOUR SLEEPING pattern not you in bed pattern.  Rest is good but it is the sleep our body needs to regenerate its energy and strength.

I also added in after a while, my mood or did I feel like I was under any stress or bother.  I had a journal just for my feelings - they play a big part as well.  Right now I am stressed out with some work stuff so I know it is there.  I have the ability to move through it now without spiking my sugar levels.

What medicines and supplements.

I had a line in my spreadsheet for reach medicine I took and when I took it.  I did the same thing for my supplements.  I found that I often missed my medications or did not take them at the right time.  This is important.  Most often I would forget to take them to work.  By journaling, I realized this and it become obvious.

I created myself a little container and took it to work with me on Monday's so I had my noon medications and supplements at all times.

I still do that with my supplements so I stay on top of it all.

What exercise did I do.

There are not many resources out there to help determine the calories you are burning or what exercises are helping you.  Again, there are ones you can pay for but I did not feel it was worth it.  So I simply created a line to show what exercises I was doing.  In the beginning it was walk the dog for two miles in the morning and evening.

Now it is a daily routine added along with the walks.  The important thing - do something.  Logging it will show progress.

What am I eating.

There is no question this one is difficult and consumes a lot of time.  I can only apologize but still encourage you as this one is the big one.  It will tell you a lot about your eating habits, patterns, and how much you are taking in of the important food groups.

Yes, I created a spreadsheet that had basically blank line items.  Across the top I had Breakfast, Morning Snack, Lunch, Afternoon Snack, Evening Meal, and Evening Snack.  I had a place I could log when I ate.  remember, us diabetics are driving for consistency - our body works better that way.  We want to eat and take our medications about the same time.

For each food I consumed, I had the grams, weight, or measurement.  I am a simple kind of guy so I have the basic same foods so mine was easy.  But I would also list the carbohydrates, fiber, calories, and fats for each food group.  I was into understanding GI and GL so I logged that as well.   At the end of each line and day I would have a total of each number.

I found out some interesting facts about my eating habits and times I missed and times I would not eat enough.   This is just not about measuring over eating - it is about measuring how we eat to fuel our body properly.

How is my blood glucose doing.

This is the big one - this is the one we are after at all times.  I had a spreadsheet to run this and a good meter that had memory in it.  I set my meter and made sure the clock and time was correct so it could help me monitor what was going on.

I tested when up woke up - Fasting test.  This will let you know what is happening to your body at night.  You will also be surprised how your sleep patterns impact this one.

I tested before I ate and after I ate.  Remember, testing after eating has been discussed as 1-2 hours.  I would learn to play and see what works best for you.

This is critical and may be you do not have to do them all for all the days.  I started out monitoring each one everyday.  When I discovered that certain foods did not spike my sugars, as much. I would stop.  Or since I tested in the morning I had a good idea what breakfast would do so I would skip breakfast test.

I did the same for my snacks until I settled in on them.

I often tested at night before I went to bed.

All of this was in my journal and as I started to make my life style changes I could see the results and was encouraged in so many ways to continue on.  It is why I say - give it 90 days.  If you are making changes and serious about controlling your diabetes, then you will see results.  The slightest gains will make you feel AWESOME!

I ask you now to give it some thought, ponder on it.  If you are ready to go on a journey, start your journal.  You know you and your body.  I am very detail orientated and want to know everything so mine was detail - yours may not be.  Make it YOUR JOURNAL for YOUR JOURNEY!

May God grant us one simple thing - the heart to listen to our bodies and change them as he would want us to change.  May we truly make our bodies as the temples he desires.

Best of luck on this one,

Bob,

PS.  You need any help setting up a spreadsheet - just email me and I will help - bob.dant@gmail.com.  If you have a difficult time getting the strips you need, you email me and I will see what I can do.  Do not let fear stand in your way or a shortage of resources - we are here for you.

What Does My Body Want From Me? - Part 4

What can I drink?

More people continue to reach out and I do appreciate it.  I hope in some simple way some of you find the same success that I am experiencing on my journey and what I am learning.

BS - 106 this morning.  I had some really good grapes before I went to bed last night

BP - 110/75 (home machine) - HR - 61 looks like this is settling down nicely after stopping my medicine

I have made it clear I am leading you toward journaling to understand the impact of different life style events on YOUR body - it is different than mine.  I am also hoping this will help as many of us go see the doctor every six months and that is when we find out how good or bad we have been.  Creating your own journal will let you know each day how you are doing.

The final group to discuss and share information is about what we drink and how it impacts our bodies.  I will not discuss soda or soft drinks as they are not good for us for any reason.  If you drink them, you will be able to journal the impact.

Coffee - how much and what kind.

Coffee is the one drink that still causes the medical community some anxiety on how it can / cannot help diabetes.  There have been many studies around this topic.  Here is the complexity of what they are dealing with:

1. It has been proven that coffee helps control blood sugar levels
2. It has been proven that caffeine alone raises blood sugar levels by as much as oral medicines reduce it
3. It has been proven that drinking 4 or more cups of coffee a day reduces the risk of getting diabetes

So the problem to these guys are or still exists to be; how can coffee appear to help control blood sugar levels when they know caffeine spikes it.  They know this because they have tested giving caffeine straight to people and it spiked their blood sugar levels.

There is one thing they ALL agree upon, if you are going to get some caffeine it better be through coffee and no other sources - including diet soda/pop/coke/soft drink or whatever you call those drinks.  I think that is amazing how each part of the world has a different name for a soda soft drink.

So my position will be - test and find out the impact on your body.  Obviously, the added items like sugar and cream have an impact but I am leaving that on the side - since you will be testing.

I have a friend who gets kidney stones all of the time, and his doctor said lay off the coffee.  I have cut back to one a day just like he has.  I still drink caffeine in mine - helps charge my morning. Working from home I do not get coffee.

Water - how much and what kind?

I bet you are asking yourself - what does he mean what kind?  I have friends who say I drink diet pop, I am getting my water - NOT!!!  I am talking about pure water and what it does for our bodies.

Most doctors will say 4 8 ounce glasses of water a day is good.  But again, I think you should understand your body and what goes on with it - as for water, there is a natural test going on in your body at all times.

Your urine is the testing that is consistent.  But to understand how this is true and what is going on - we should go back and revisit what is going on within us diabetics.  We are either creating too much insulin or our bodies is not taking it in.  Either way, we end up with too much or a high blood sugar level, we get dry mouth and urinate frequently.

If you are urinating frequently - you stand a good chance of dehydration - so you need to drink more water.  If you are urinating frequently and dry mouth, see a doctor ASAP.  

For me I love water so I have a tendency to drink a lot of it - on many days. I asked my doctor if I was or could drink too much and he said - yes, you can.  The over drinking will cause you to go a lot and most often your urine will have no color.  When this is happening, you are or could be flushing valuable minerals and supplements down the toilet.

He suggested monitoring and knowing when I need more or less water.  Believe it or not - I check the color of my urine and if it is getting clear - I might be taking on too much water.  On hot days on the golf course I want to stay hydrogenated so I might drink 8 20 oz cups of water or more.  I know what is going on out there so not as concerned as on days when just sitting around the office, meaning you can drink a lot of water and you are sweating it out - not urinating.

Alcohol consumption - Yes, No, Maybe

The best way to put this is from many sources - no.  There are many studies out there that claim red wine and resveratrol help control blood sugar levels - but the truth is it appears not to help and is not going to be the cure for diabetes as once thought.

I do not drink hardly at all but as the American Diabetes Association says - if you want to have an occasional drink of alcohol - use a red wine.  Stay away from alcohol, sweet red wines, white wines, and other forms of alcohol.  The red wines contain less carbohydrates and sugars so they are better.

Here are some other ways that alcohol can affect diabetes:

• While moderate amounts of alcohol can cause blood sugar to rise, excess alcohol can actually decrease your blood sugar level -- sometimes causing it to drop into dangerous levels.
• Beer and sweet wine contain carbohydrates and may raise blood sugar.
• Alcohol stimulates your appetite, which can cause you to overeat and may affect your blood sugar control.
• Alcohol may also affect your judgment or willpower, causing you to make poor food choices.
• Alcohol can interfere with the positive effects of oral diabetes medicines or insulin.
• Alcohol may increase triglyceride levels.
• Alcohol may increase blood pressure.
• Alcohol can cause flushing, nausea, increased heart rate, and slurred speech.

My advice, like all things - IN MODERATION! Be sure to test and know which kind of alcohol works for you.

Teas - are they okay?

It appears from several different studies and knowledge experts, that green teas are extremely good for us diabetics in so many ways.  There are so many studies and how these teas can help - I will let you search out the good kinds and select a few.

Summer teas and sweetened teas are not in this list.

So drinking green tea is great and a good substitute for coffee.

Stay away from Aunt Matilda's Summer Sweet Tea.  If not, make sure you are wearing a medical alert bracelet!  

So now you have your drink category and we are finished with the majority of the build up to journaling.  Tomorrow's post will bring this to an end.

May God give us the will power to drink his natural waters and teas to help us control our blood sugars and to change or manage a better life style.  May he make it easy for us to move from drinks that cause us to have poor blood sugar levels and may he take away any of our addictions to these drinks.

Bob,

What Does My Body Want From Me? - Part 3

What does it want me to eat?

To all my friends who approached me this weekend and have shared this blog with loved ones or even reading for themselves - I appreciate the feedback.  As a team, our goal is to help one individual find some success with managing their life with diabetes.

For my remote friends - keep sending comments and emails - they help keep me encouraged to stay the course with this blog.

BS - 104 this morning.  Up a little but I was looking back on earlier blogs when I was still int he 130s and was not disappointed then as I was coming down from 150s.  Now a 100+ reading makes me feel like I did something wrong yesterday.

BP - 120/80 (home machine) - HR - 68

Where you going with this Bob?

I realize yesterday was a big subject for one post but I am just sharing things that have an impact on your body and its blood glucose level.  I hinted in part 2 that you are being set up to journal and discover what your body needs.  It is your body, it has a specific chemical balance, it processes foods differently than mine.  It is not as simple as counting carbohydrates (good place to be) but as I have mentioned in this blog in so many places - there are other factors; when you eat, what foods you eat together, how much sleep are you getting, what about your stress level, how much exercise are you getting daily, what supplements do you take, what medications do you take, what was the protein and fat content of the food, and what was the glycemic load of the food.

You see, without discouraging you as often I was discouraged in my many attempts - journalling is vital and a "must do" event you go through.  YOU MUST GET TO KNOW WHAT YOUR BODY WANTS FROM YOU SO YOU CAN HELP IT STAY HEALTHY!  This is a plain and simple fact and maybe the only fact you can depend on in your quest for successfully management of your diabetes and getting it under control.

I am not going to go much deeper on this topic as that is the main intent of the last post in this series.

Lets get back to what to eat?

Normal diet plan.

There are many fad diet plans out there and many of them work.  They are all based on a few facts or aspects of how you want to eat or what you want to eat.  For simplicity, I will say one group is about eating a normal diet plan - meaning all foods can participate in your diet, meats, vegetables, fruits, and grains - there are no limitations.

This group probably covers the majority of the people and I am not going to spend a lot of time discussing what makes up a good diet plan in this post.  You can visit:

National Institute of Health it has some great knowledge - not only just eating.

If you belong to the American Diabetes Association (by the way if you do not you should) then there is a couple of community boards where they share good information:

http://community.diabetes.org/t5/Eating-Right-with-Diabetes/bd-p/Eating-Right-with-Diabetes 

 

I have provided links throughout this blog to help determine what foods to eat.

If you want to follow a normal meal plan, and I am in this group, then there are more sources to help you determine a meal plan and later I will spend more time discussing this group when we get into foods that work for us series.

Vegetarian

This group does not believe in eating any meats.  In many cases they do not eat any by products produced from the slaughtering of meat.  People select this group for religious reasons or maybe to protest the cruelty associated with slaughtering animals.  Some choice it because they believe they are more healthy.

WIKI once again covers this diet plan and I am not sure how much it helps a diabetic as B12 is one of the major concerns along with protein.  Here is WIKI's information:

"Scientific endeavors in the area of vegetarianism have shifted from concerns about nutritional adequacy to investigating health benefits and disease prevention.^[33] The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and Dietitians of Canada have stated that at all stages of life, a properly planned vegetarian diet is "healthful, nutritionally adequate, and provides health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases".^[34] Large-scale studies have shown that mortality from ischaemic heart disease was 30% lower among vegetarian men and 20% lower among vegetarian women than in non-vegetarians.^[35][36] Vegetarian diets offer lower levels of saturated fat, cholesterol and animal protein, and higher levels of carbohydrates, fibre, magnesium, potassium, folate, and antioxidants such as vitamins C and E and phytochemicals.^[37][38]

Vegetarians tend to have lower body mass index,^[39] lower levels of cholesterol, lower blood pressure, and less incidence of heart disease, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, renal disease, metabolic syndrome,^[40] dementias such as Alzheimer's disease and other disorders.^[41] Non-lean red meat, in particular, has been found to be directly associated with increased risk of cancers of the esophagus, liver, colon, and the lungs.^[42] Other studies have shown no significant differences between vegetarians and non-vegetarians in mortality from cerebrovascular disease, stomach cancer, colorectal cancer, breast cancer, or prostate cancer.^[35] A 2010 study compared a group of vegetarian and meat-eating Seventh-day Adventists in which vegetarians scored lower on depression tests and had better mood profiles.^[43]
The relationship between vegetarian diet and bone health remains unclear. According to some studies, a vegetarian lifestyle can be associated with vitamin B₁₂ deficiency and low bone mineral density.^[44] However, a study of vegetarian and non-vegetarian adults in Taiwan found no significant difference in bone mineral density between the two groups.^[45] Other studies, exploring animal protein's negative effects on bone health, suggest that vegetarians may be less prone to osteoporosis than omnivores, as vegetarian subjects had greater bone mineral density^[46] and more bone formation.^[47]

The China-Cornell-Oxford Project,^[48] a 20-year study conducted by Cornell University, the University of Oxford, and the government of China has established a correlation between the consumption of animal products and a variety of chronic illnesses, such as coronary heart disease, diabetes, and cancers of the breast, prostate and bowel (see The China Study)." 

Vegan

I did try this diet approach as my daughter Sarah was on it for several years and it did wonderful things for her.  I tried it, but I think it was before I was serious and was still in the "God through me a line" mode and was not doing what I needed to do.

Dr. Neal Barnard's book "Program for Reversing Diabetes" is another one of those must read books if you are interested in this type of diet.  Vegans believe in no animal products or animal by products at all.  So milk, cheese, eggs, or anything that comes from animal cannot be consumed.

Dr. Barnard has conducted several studies on Type 1 and Type II diabetes.  In his studies he started to observe or notice the difference between the people following the American Diabetes Association (ADA) plan and those that did not consume certain products.

One if his final tests was to run a control group eating the ADA plan to the letter of the plan and another following his Vegan plan or concepts.  The results where amazing and encouraging that being a vegan can help us diabetics.  Many people dropped their medications and their A1c lowered some 3 points.  

The premise is this - the animal fat causes our cells to block the use of insulin so we have our high blood sugar problems.   

The program is based on four food groups - whole grain group, legume group, vegetable group, and fruit group.  

The issue I ran into is he says do not count your carbohydrates as they do not matter.  I think the truth is they do matter when starting but maybe not later on.  While I was trying the diet my blood glucose shot up but who knows.

I am back to reading and studying and think I am going to try this diet plan as it makes a lot of sense and is clinically backed up with many studies.  

SIMPLY PUT, PICK A PLAN YOU FEEL COMFORTABLE WITH AND GET TO KNOW HOW IT IMPACTS YOUR BODY.  YOUR BODY AND YOU ARE DIFFERENT, IT WILL TELL YOU WHAT IT WANTS AND WHAT IS BEST.

May God grant us the ability to learn the diet plan that our body would like for us to follow and may he grant us the courage to listen and follow a good diet plan.

Bob,

God's Amazing Body and Science - Part 2

The nerve of our body!

Once again I want to say thank you to the readers who have reached out and are sharing this blog with their friends.  My dream is to have one person read this and make a change to their life - I am sure that is what God wants as well.  However, through it all, I am the one that is still learning and getting some good help from this blog.

They often say - those that serve get the reward.  I definitely feel rewarded in continuing my journey and having so many people I know are reading and supporting me.  A big thanks to all of you!

BS- 93 - WOW back on track - well for one day.  It proves I am still a diabetic, still need to watch every step I take, and also how fast my body can get out of whack but how fast it can come back.

BP - 134/80 (home machine) and HR - 58.  I was a little concerned but my machine was 134/84 when the VA was 110/70.  When my machine was reading 110/70 then I was 95/55 at VA - so I think my BP is starting to level off and be normal on its own.  It has only been a month since they took me off my Blood Pressure medicine.  My mom once told me patience is a virtue - I did not listen then and I am sure I am not listening now!

As always, this being Sunday my post is dedicated to God and his miraculous works in all of this and how he plays a big part in my life.  I also want to continue with this series that God and science do work together and it can be amazing when that happens.

My accident

Today I want to point out how great our nervous system can be and how it can let us down with an infliction like neuropathy and why that scares me so. I fear neuropathy for many reasons but I have damaged a nerve by accident and I am reminded of it everyday.  It might just be the event in my life that I now understand was a blessing.

When I was much younger, I was seal coating my driveway and it was late at night.  I asked my family to go to the ice cream store and get me a treat - yep before I knew I had diabetes.  While they were gone, I attempted to cut off my little finger - was an accident.  Skipping by all the details, I ended up in ER and had sliced my finger to the point where a nerve was exposed.

4 surgeries later the medical team and plastic surgeons where able to get the nerve in my little finger put back under the skin and protect it.  While these surgeries where taking place, the slightest bump or touch on my finger would make my eyes cross with pain.  Then once the surgery was completed, I was left with a little finger that is numb at the end of it and when it gets really gold I cannot feel it.

So when the doctor said I had neuropathy - it stuck in my head - I could experience the same thing I do in my little finger and I just could not imagine that happening.  I pray for anyone who experiences such afflictions.

Our amazing nerve system

I realize you will have a difficult time seeing this picture but you can find many pictures of the complexity and marvel of our nervous systems at http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=nerve+system+pictures&qpvt=nerve+system+pictures&FORM=IGRE#a 

Once again, I just find it hard to imagine that through evolution we would have such a wonderful system where a brain along with our nervous system could be so efficient in keeping it informed of all kinds of important information - and it processes it at a speed that is hard to comprehend.

Again, I will let WIKI explain the nervous system and it is worth a read at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nerve .  But the short version says this about our nervous system:

"A nerve is an enclosed, cable-like bundle of axons (the long, slender projections of neurons) in the peripheral nervous system. A nerve provides a common pathway for the electrochemical nerve impulses that are transmitted along each of the axons to peripheral organs.

In the central nervous system, the analogous structures are known as tracts.^[1][2] Neurons are sometimes called nerve cells, though this term is potentially misleading since many neurons do not form nerves, and nerves also include non-neuronal Schwann cells that coat the axons in myelin.
Each nerve is a cordlike structure that contains many axons, also called nerve fibres. Within a nerve, each axon is surrounded by a layer of connective tissue called the endoneurium. The axons are bundled together into groups called fascicles, and each fascicle is wrapped in a layer of connective tissue called the perineurium. Finally, the entire nerve is wrapped in a layer of connective tissue called the epineurium."

To know that this complexity of cable like system runs through our body and every part of our skin has tiny fibers to let the brain know what is going on.  Again, I am in computers and we have yet to invent anything of a computer that can come close to the magnificent work of art created by God.

Science to the rescue!

Now there are times, like my little finger, or neuropathy when our nerves get damaged, from injuries or from many different diseases.  But then science comes along and creates all kinds of tests to help identify the broken nerve.  They create medicines to help deaden the pain or even supplements or creams to help deaden the pain.  I have not really found any science that repairs the nerve but I am sure it exists.  I will focus on the tests today.

Tests

Again, WIKI is a source I use when just wanting to understand different terms and what they mean.  I also think the more you know and the more you can share with your doctor or specialists - the better off you will be in helping them help you. 

Wiki:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neurological_examination has a better and more medical definition of the tests and a detail review why the tests are important.

There are are mental status forms of testing to check the long and short term memory sensors.  This will be important and soon I will have completed my research but there are many starting to say that Alzheimer may be classified as Type III diabetes - great!!!

There are tests to check the  Cranial nerves (I-XII): sense of smell (I), visual fields and acuity (II), eye movements (III, IV, VI) and pupils (III, sympathetic and parasympathetic), sensory function of face (V), strength of facial (VII) and shoulder girdle muscles (XI), hearing (VII, VIII), taste (VII, IX, X), pharyngeal movement and reflex (IX), tongue movements (XII). These are tested by their individual purposes (e.g. the visual acuity can be tested by a Snellen chart).   I just find this fascinating.

Another test can be conducted to check our deep motor system meaning our muscles and how they are working with our nervous system.  By the way, one of the ways to help neuropathy is to strengthen the muscles through exercise.

Another test is for tendon reflexes and we have all experienced the hammer test - this test our nerves in the tendons.

As diabetics we often, or you should, get a sensation test to see how our smaller nerves in our extremities, like our feet, are holding up.  If you are not getting one of these, please do so.  Even if you feel nothing now, it allows your medical team to set a base line.

You can also see these tests as videos at http://www.neurologyexam.com/

Here is my point, your body and God's creation of a nervous system is simply amazing.  This could not have happened by some evolution of any form.  I am not sure who or what you believe in, but I believe in GOD but more importantly, I believe a higher power had to have something to do with this beautiful body of ours.  I also believe that God, as a higher power, knew we would need help to help ourselves - thus we have science.  A belief in both allows me to use the medical team to help my body and God for hope and trust that the medical team is also his creation.

They do not need to fight, they can and should co-exist together in my little pee-brain.

May God continue to grant us the ability to learn about our bodies.  May he also give people the natural abilities to be inquisitive and to want to research ways to help ourselves.  May he also grant us scientists, doctors, and other medical people to help us manage a healthy life.

Bob,

What Does My Body Want From Me? - Part 2

Knowledge about knowledge equals powerful knowledge squared

I failed to take a moment yesterday to welcome some new readers or what appears to be readers from Taiwan and Thailand.  Welcome to the blog and I hope you get something out of this blog.  Also, for our international friends, it is sometimes hard to get supplies in countries.  If you let me know at bob.dant@gmail.com I will see what I can do - no promises.

BS- 113 this morning - WOW still up there.  I have been really struggling this week and have not stayed the course with my routine and it is showing.  I have had other high numbers as well.  So starting today I am moving towards getting back on track - meal plan, exercise plan, and stress plan.

BP - 115/80 (home machine) - HR - 58

Obviously in this series I am setting you up for what to journal and what I did when I wanted to understand my body.  But to make the journal work for you, I think we need to keep understanding the impact of some of the factors we want to journal.  We have discussed stress and sleep - so I am positive my journal kept track of them.  I have also discussed exercise and that was in my journal.  But there is more.

Why do I sometimes eat, say an apple, and my blood sugar spikes and other days it does not?

As a diabetic we are told to count carbohydrates, carbohydrates for breakfast, carbohydrates for lunch, carbohydrates for evening meal, and carbohydrates for all our snacks.  Most of us was told to manage between 45 - 60 carbohydrates for meals and 15 carbohydrates for snacks.  I think diabetics who are really managing their blood sugar levels are a lot lower than that.  I used to run on this and found it was way too many carbohydrates for me.  But again, you have to do the testing and know what is right for you.

My daughter-in-law Lydia, is a professional nutritionist - too bad I did not listen to her when she lived with us.  Lydia and Brian; our son, would have these great little snacks and would eat healthy food all the time.   I think she can make a gourmet meal on $3.00.  Anyway, she tried to explain to me it is not just carbohydrates but the kind of carbohydrates we take in and how they impact our blood sugars.  

Although the devil is in the details when it comes to carbohydrates and in this post I am going to discuss a couple of ideas Lydia planted which I have taken more seriously and in Dr. Neal Barnard's Program for Reversing Diabetes book, he spent a lot of time talking about these factors as well.

Glycemic Index

As usual, I am going to point you to a good site that has a ton of information:  http://www.glycemic-index.org/. The site does sell things and concepts, but again, these sites can sometimes provide a lot of information.  When it comes to understanding glycemic factors - they have a lot of information, charts, recipes and good information for us diabetics.

But just in case you do not want to go there and read about glycemic index, it tells you how your blood sugar is affected within two to three hours of eating foods that are high in carbohydrates and how they turn into blood glucose. The glycemic index is about the quality of the carbohydrates, not the quantity.

In other words, some carbohydrates turn to sugar lower than others.  So having an understanding of this can help you figure out the best time to test.  The normal rule is 1 hour after eating and some recommend two hours.  If you have a meal planner, knowing when you are having carbohydrates that have a high glycemic index test sooner.

We should all try to avoid foods that are over 50 GI - glycemic index.

Lets get back to the apple question.  There is another site http://www.glycemicindex.com/  that allows you to look up foods.  Here is where it gets difficult or interesting.  Say you eat Braeburn apples - the GI is 32.  If you eat a Delicious apple the GI is 39.  So an apple is not just an apple - know which apples are best to eat.

Glycemic Load

Glycemic Load is also a ranking system for carbohydrates in foods taking into account both Glycemic Index and the serving size. It is a new way to measure the effect of carbohydrate consumption on blood glucose, providing us with a more complete picture.


GL of a certain food is the quantity in grams of its carb content, times its index value and divided by 100. For example, a 100 g serving of banana has a GI value of 52 and carb content is 20g, so its load value is 20*(52/100) =10.4. A GL of 20 or more is high, 11 to 19 is medium and 10 or less is considered low

Back to the apples and let's look at the GL for the same apples again - each based on 120 g serving size:
Braeburn - carbohydrate per g (13) and its GL is 4
Delicious  - carbohydrate per g (16) and its GL is 6

Confused yet?  You should be.  This is difficult to understand how to make all this work for you - but do not give up.  I will let the web site say it best.

GI versus GL

From http://www.glycemic-index.org/. 

"Take carrots, index value is rather high, but this rating is based on blood glucose effect of eating 50 grams of carbohydrates from carrots, a serving of carrots certainly does not have that much of carbohydrate, so its impact on blood sugar is much less than many high GI foods.

The index value of potatoes, on the other hand, is more accurate because potatoes are carbohydrate dense. Load value is also quite high. Generally speaking, foods with medium to high load values can have very low to very high GIs, whereas a low GI mostly means a low GL.


In other words, GI tells you if the type of sugar in a food is ‘fast-releasing’ but not how much carbohydrate there is in the food. For instance, we consider watermelon as a high glycemic index food but it has very little carbohydrate in it or something like chocolate has medium GI and it has a very high content of sugar.
GL will tell you exactly how it will affect your blood sugar level, your weight and your energy. Therefore it is a more accurate measure of whether the food can be considered good for your health."

I hope this helps a little.  Get to know the foods you are eating and have a meal plan.  Pick the things that work best for you and that you like.  This is how we learn to control the monster in us.   This is also how to learn to splurge and reward yourself.

May God grant us the knowledge, heart, and desire to select foods that are good for us and that help us keep ourselves healthy and on the right track to managing our affliction.  We thank him for creating such knowledgeable people to help us along our journey.

Bob,

What Does My Body Want From Me? - Part 1

Knowledge is power, powerful knowledge is a blessing

I did not test this morning as I am running in twenty different directions. Hold on a minute - I will test now while stressed out.

BS - 153 OUCH - I ate 2 hours ago.  I had an Asian wrap and some unsalted french fries.  I know that is bad but I was hungry.

BP - 134/83 (home machine) - Ouch - up from normal reading and it equates to a 110/70 at the VA.  - HR - 63 it also is up.

So what is going on with my body.  I have not done that much to change today from my normal days.

Let me walk through the past couple of days and paint a picture for you, then I will explain why this is all important.

Past three days

Starting Monday I was preparing for the Sr. Olympics Golf tournament so I golfed on Monday and Tuesday and then had to work in the afternoon to make up for golfing.  So I did not do any exercise.  I nearly stayed with my food routine except on Monday I ate late at a restaurant.  On Tuesday I had a box lunch at the golf tournament.

Wednesday I got up early to take off for work and spent an entire day working hard to make up for Monday and Tuesday and then ate again in a restaurant but had a light salad.  

I did not do much testing except in the morning and Monday was 102 and Wednesday was 113 - what caused the spike last night and into the morning.

Today the routine continues but today I got up late and had an early morning meeting.  So I hurried out of the house and did not test or take my green drink.  For breakfast I had a small bowl of Greek yogurt with fresh raspberries and some almond nuts.  Really bland food and not all that bad.

So what is going on.  Before giving you what I think is the answer, let me explain how I think I know the answer.  Understand everything I am going to say - bits and pieces will come from other posts in this blog so you might have to look back but I will keep it to a minimum if I do.

Building Knowledge

You have heard me mention the community within the American Diabetes Association and how we all exchange information.  There are a few themes that come through loud and clear from the experts - not me but them.

Food impacts my body different than yours

We all know that we are diabetics which means there is something a little off in our natural body processes.  We are either making too much insulin, not enough, or our blood cells are not taking in what they need - so they scream for more and the pancreas provides.  Thus the cycle of a diabetic.  This happens in a constant real-time state - meaning it is a perpetual motion event and does not have a starting and stopping point - it is continual.

Therefore, we not only have to understand our bodies but how does diet, exercise, supplements, and medicines impact our body.  Why can I do the same thing each day and get different readings?

This is precociously what needs to happen - you need to know your body at all times and know how to regiment it.  After all, we know that training our body to process properly is the key.  Routine is better than random; meaning eating, sleeping, working, exercising, and all other daily actives when done nearly the same each day will help our bodies and blood sugars be consistent.

How do I know - testing and routine

Testing is our weapon of choice.  How often do you have to test?

I go to the VA and they asked me to test on Tuesday mornings for a fasting reading and on Thursday afternoon after eating.  Much to their credit, they were trying to give me routine.  I followed their guidelines for years but eventually realized, after doing my research, that I needed to test more often during my journey and life style change.  I needed to know how my body would react to food, sleeping, exercise, and even stress since all of these contribute to my blood sugar levels.

I will not go into details on things you can find on the web:

How to Test: WebMD - http://diabetes.webmd.com/how-test-blood-glucose?page=1  This article is a general article on the concept of testing and what it means.

Step-by_Step instructions - http://www.livestrong.com/article/221926-testing-blood-sugar-level-at-home/

When to check - http://www.ehow.com/way_5297172_time-check-blood-sugar.html

Basically you need to know what your fasting level is - that is best taken in the morning after you wake up.  You need to know what it is before you eat and after you eat.  Journal what you ate and what it did to your blood sugars.

Taking it one to two hours after you eat -  and this time can depend on what you have eaten.  The glycemic index of food can make a difference.  I will discuss this in more detail in the next post.  But in a sense, the higher the glycemic index the faster it turns to sugar and the sooner you should test.  So sometimes it is best one hour after and sometimes it is best two hours after.

Know what you test before you go to bed.  Know how you are testing after exercise - what is happening to your body as it burns some of the fat and sugar out of the system.

I hope this quick review makes sense.

What is going on with me?

So now I have some knowledge I can apply to what is happening and I can start to gain some knowledge - powerful knowledge to control my sugar levels.

1. I have not been eating a very consistent meal plan these past few days and my body knows it.  Stepping out one day or one meal is not bad, but four days - I am asking for trouble.
1. I need to make sure I move back to a more consistent meal plan to can some control
2. Each day in the gym I burn about 600 calories and get my blood circulating.  I have not done any of that for three days.
1. Get back to the gym tonight
3. Stress is a big play.  I have stress associated with taking on an additional contract, stress with my current contract, and stress with the golf tournament.  Again, a little stress once in a while my body can handle, but not a steady diet of it.
1. Look to close down or manage something differently
2. Do not set too many expectations that cause stressed deliveries at work
3. Hand some of it off to others
4. No matter what, stress down a little
4. My sleep pattern has been all wrong and it usually is.  However, given all of the above, I am a walking time bomb for now as for my blood sugar levels.
1. Get some rest this weekend

You see, I now have the power knowledge to manage my blood sugar levels.  I did that so I am control of my disease - not the medical industry.  I did that so I could adjust daily not ever six months when I went to the doctor.  I did that - because I want to be a CONTROL FREAK when it comes to my diabetes.

May God grant you the wisdom to test and get to know your body.  Learn to listen to what it is saying.  Give it a chance to scream in your ear - HELP!  God help us gain power knowledge so we can have power over our ailments - end the end this is what you ask us to do with your temple.

Bob,

I Still Hate Exercise

But my body does not!

BS - 113 this morning.  Since I have missed exercise for two days while on my golfing spree - and my sugars were up this morning - I would discuss exercise and diabetes and how I am doing

My love for exercise

If you did not catch my first post on this, please read, but I do hate exercise and I still hate it.  I have been at it for two months now and I can say the lifestyle change has been great and my body now desires the workout.  But for me - I still hate going to the gym to work out.

I have always walked the dog for 2 miles - say one and sometimes two times a day.  Many times I cannot walk the dog and my wife walks the dog - like a kid I picked up the dog and now she has to take care of him.  She is so sweet!

This exercise probably helps but not that much.

We diabetics need to do more.

My routine now is 1 hour on the tread mill where I start with a pace of 3.0 for 5 minutes to warm up.  Then I increase the speed to 3.5 and every 5 minutes I raise the incline 1 degree.  There are times I will raise the speed to 4.0

This is followed by 45 minutes of lifting weights - various forms of lifting.  I will focus on legs one day and arms the next day.  However, each day they both get some work out.

How does exercise help control blood sugars?

• Improves your body's use of insulin
• Burns excess body fat, helping to decrease and control weight (decreased body fat results in improved insulin sensitivity)
• Improves muscle strength
• Increases bone density and strength
• Lowers blood pressure
• Helps to protect against heart and blood vessel disease by lowering 'bad' LDL cholesterol and increasing 'good' HDL cholesterol
• Improves blood circulation and reducing your risk of heart disease and stroke
• Increases energy level and enhancing work capacity
• Reduces stress, promoting relaxation, and releasing tension and anxiety

Too much stress?

Intense exercise can have the opposite effect and actually temporarily increase your blood glucose levels right after you stop exercising. This is especially true for many people with diabetes. The body recognizes intense exercise as a stress and releases stress hormones that tell your body to increase available blood sugar to fuel your muscles.  If you have diabetes you may need to check your sugar after exercise to see if this happens to you. 

I do not take my kit as I do not do extreme exercise but I might be getting there.

Are there times we should be careful?

In some cases, you should hold off on exercising if your blood sugar is very high and your body is producing ketones. Ask your doctor about if and when you should hold off on exercise.

How does exercise help control blood sugars?

Normally, insulin is released from the pancreas when the amount of sugar (glucose) in the blood increases, such as after eating. Insulin stimulates the liver and muscles to take in excess glucose. This results in a lowering of the blood sugar level.

When exercising, the body needs extra energy or fuel (in the form of glucose) for the exercising muscles. For short bursts of exercise, such as a quick sprint to catch the bus, the muscles and the liver can release stores of glucose for fuel. With continued moderate exercising, however, your muscles take up glucose at up to 20 times the normal rate. This helps lowers blood sugar levels. At the same time insulin levels may drop in anyone not taking insulin so the risks of hypoglycemia or low blood sugar is minimized.

My request of you!

Please do your body justice and start doing something today.  I cannot explain how great I feel these days and the energy level is up there.  I cannot say it is all exercise; but on the days I do not go my body knows it.  My lovely wife has been asking me for years to go exercise versus sitting around on the couch or working at my desk.

As always, she has been 100% correct.  So I am pleading with you, Get Up, Get Going, and Get To Doing Something!  This will be your new motivator and we will all use this to make changes.  Your body needs it and your loved ones will enjoy the new you.  You being the closest loved one you have.   But most of all, your blood sugars will enjoy not being so high.

If you stay with something for 21 days it becomes a habit and it will become a lifestyle change.

For a guy who hates to exercise - my body now asks for it and it keeps me motivated, 

Set a goal - take 15 minutes out of the day and promise yourself you will do something today requiring some exercise.  If you do nothing - take a 15 minute walk after a meal.  If you walk a little, add 15 minutes or increase your walking speed.  If you are walking a lot, them time to do something else.  

But please - add some exercise - do not be like me and let it go for so long - make it part of your daily life style. I promise - you will appreciate the move you just made.

God grant us all the ability to Get Up, Get Going, and Get To Doing Something!  May he give us the internal strength to motivate ourselves and to take care of these precious temples he gave to us.  We are only in them for a short period of time; so lets treat them as well as we can.

Bob,

Diabetes - Sources Of Information

These are the sources I used to find out how to deal with diabetes

BS - 102 this morning.  Not bad but still a little higher than I would like
Did not take my blood pressure today as I was in a hurry.

I thought I would take time to list the great sources of information I used to help me in my journey and still use.  I am now moving into researching minerals which is one of the last steps to take.

Online Sources

WEB MD http://www.webmd.com/, yes, there can be a lot of advertisement but then again, they are putting out a  lot of information - someone has to pay for it.

Mayo Clinic http://www.mayoclinic.org/, they have less advertisement and I have always trusted them as I lived in Minnesota and you get to know just how good they are when treating a patient.

Wikipedia http://www.wikipedia.org/, yes, I am a big fan of Wikipedia and I do know that just about anyone can put something in there.  However, to get definitions and some basic understanding it is a significant source of information.

Books I use

Diabetes without Drugs, The 5 Step Program to Control Blood Sugar Naturally, Suzy Cohen, RPh; http://www.dearpharmacist.com/.  Suzy worked as a retail pharmacist and a consultant to nursing homes.  It is there she developed the passion to look at life without medications.  This book was my number one read and follow as it made sense to me - diabetes management without medicines.

Beat  Diabetes Naturally, Michael Murray, ND; and Michael Lyon, MD.  Michael Murray is one of the world's foremost authorities on natural medicines.  Michael Lyon is one of America's experts on diabetes management.  The book contains a lot of information.

The Diabetes Solution Kit was a kt I received when I ordered the two books above.  I purchased the books from Barton Publishing and Joe Barton is a believer in natural remedies.

Dr. Neal Barnard's Program For Reversing Diabetes, Neal D. Barnard, MD.  Neal has completed several studies on diabetes management through the vegan diet.  His studies have linked lower blood sugar levels to the elimination of diary and meat products.  Both of these products block our cells from processing insulin correctly.  This was my first book and what I tried first but I now realize I was not serious.

The Encyclopedia of Healing Foods, Michael Murray, ND.  My son worked for ECHO and they sold the book in their book store.  There was one page on diabetes and it said take cinnamon.  The website for ECHO book is http://www.echobooks.org/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=1851. Just a huge place for information on all sorts of information on nature's food store.  A must visit and please give kindly.

The Healing Foods, Patricia Hausman and Judith Benn Hurley.  There is a lot of good information in this book.

The Carbohydrate Addict's Lifespan Program, Dr. Richard F Heller and Dr. Racheal F. Heller.  The book has some great information and a lot of recipes to back up what they say.

New sources

Since I have started the journey I have joined the American Diabetes Association and have a found great information there. http://community.diabetes.org/ 

One of the nice things about the organization is the community message boards.  This is a great place to get information from other diabetics or support members.  The following link is for T2 diabetics and where I am active - http://community.diabetes.org/t5/Adults-Living-with-Type-2/bd-p/Adults-Living-with-Type-2.

In the community there are two people who know a lot and have also created blogs and I thoink they are worth noting:

Alan Shanley -  http://loraldiabetes.blogspot.com/ 

LizzyLou - http://loraldiabetes.blogspot.com/ 

May God grant your the courage to look into these sources of information and may he also grant you the wisdom to follow the ideas that make sense for your body and your journey.

Bob,

God's Amazing Body and Science - Part 1

Do I think both can exist - they do 

Once again I think we have added a reader from Taiwan - welcome.  Just so everyone knows how this all works is I get statistics on how many people have come to the blog for the day and open a page.  If you read 3 posts while there you count as one reader for the day.  It will show me what countries have found the blog and it is cool as it then starts to color in the world map for each country who has read a post and it gets darker with the number of readers.  That is all I know about any of you.

If you register to receive this via email, I cannot see who signs up..  My family has and we do not receive any junk mail so that might be the easiest way to stay on top of the blog.  Those numbers do not count as part of the daily read.

It is Sunday and this is when I pay homage to God on his day.

BS  - 107 - I had a wild afternoon yesterday but still in good shape

BP - 119/ 76 (home machine) - HR 52

God's creation story and science

Many of us God fearing people have read Genesis.  God created the heaven and earth.  Now it does not go into any definition how God created the heaven and earth.  Science has a few thoughts of its own and probably the best known is the Big Bang theory.

According to Wikipedia "The Big Bang theory is the prevailing cosmological model that describes the early development of the Universe.^[1] According to the theory, the Big Bang occurred approximately 13.798 ± 0.037 billion years ago,^{[2][3][4][5][6][7]} which is thus considered the age of the universe.^{[8][9][10][11]} At this time, the Universe was in an extremely hot and dense state and began expanding rapidly. After the initial expansion, the Universe cooled sufficiently to allow energy to be converted into various subatomic particles, including protons, neutrons, and electrons. Though simple atomic nuclei formed within the first three minutes after the Big Bang, thousands of years passed before the first electrically neutral atoms formed. The majority of atoms that were produced by the Big Bang are hydrogen, along with helium and traces of lithium. Giant clouds of these primordial elements later coalesced through gravity to form stars and galaxies, and the heavier elements were synthesized either within stars or during supernovae" 

To me this does not say that God did not do this.  Who is to say he did not; nor can we prove it.  So as a young man studying science and Christianity - I have always believed both can be true.

God's creation of man and evolution

Furthermore God said, "Lets make man in our own image.  Now science and Darwin try to tell me I either evolved from an earlier primate "ape" or life began as a single cell split and started to form different forms of life.

This is when I have a very difficult time linking the two together.  If either happened, then I have a million questions I would like to ask those people.  I f it did occur this way, how did our bodies get so sophisticated on their own.  We know the eyes and nervous system can be effected by diabetes so I will focus a little on the eyes in this post.  

Eyes

The Anatomy of the Eye says it best.  Follow the link to this amazing article.  The eye is very sophisticated and just the design of it makes it hard for me to believe it evolved to this sophistication.  And if it did, why has it not evolved to something even better over the past millions of years.

Lens - just one part

The lens is where about 20 of the eye's 60 diopters obtain diopteric power. The remainder of the eye's diopteric power is contained in the cornea. Furthermore it is the lens that enables us to change the focus according to different distances, e.g. when we change focus from a TV screen across the living room to a newspaper in our hand. The lens is attached to a mass of threads called zonula threads.

Read the article - it is amazing about this thing we call an eye.  Once you read it, you will also understand why it is important to have them checked and even do a retinal scan to see if there is any damage or check the blood vessel damage - mine is good at the moment.

Science as a marvel

Now lets give science their due as they are extremely valuable to us and each week I will add something of a marvel from science.  Today I think the marvel is what they are doing with the artificial Pancreas.

Click on the above link and it will show you that for Type 1 diabetics, there is finally an accepted breakthrough on an artificial pancreas that can help Type 1 diabetics control insulin production.

According to the article; "The first human trials of the latest design of an artificial pancreas for people with type 1 diabetes found the device worked without causing low blood sugar (hypoglycemia).

Ideally, this type of automated device would finally free people with type 1 diabetes from the insulin injections that many require each day, while relieving them of the constant need to check blood sugar levels and monitor the food they eat accordingly."

I think this is when God loves science and science should love God.  God's great machine, the human body is not all perfect.  But he did give us smart humans and a scientific community who can develop such wonderful equipment.

I think they both exist and I am glad.

May God continue to send us marvelous people to help us with our afflictions.

Bob, 

Neuropathy or Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS)? - Part 3

Thank God I may have dodged the neuropathy bullet!

I am still completely blown away by who this blog is reaching.  I am starting to receive comments and want to remind everyone you can also email me at bob.dant@gmail.com with questions or topics you might want to hear about.

I also want to take this moment to welcome some new international friends.  We have picked up two readers from China, 2 from Taiwan, 1 from Thailand, and 1 from Ukraine.  I do want to welcome my internal friends who might be afflicted with this terrible disease or know someone who is.  Thank you again for taking the time to read this blog as it is simply my desire that one person learn from this and have the opportunity to change their life style.

BS - 113 fasting this morning - Not really good but since I have not sleep for 3 days and have missed my exercise routine - I am okay with it.

BP - 119/71 (home machine) - HR 53  All very good signs as far as I am concerned.

Some friends do!

I may have dodged the bullet for now - but I am still a diabetic and I still have tingly feet.  I have something, but for now it does not appear to be neuropathy.  Diabetes is not the only cause of lose of nerve or pain in the nerves.

I have a couple of friends who have pain in their left legs and cannot feel the foot test provided by most doctors.  To hear them talk about their problems just horrifies me.  I also have an acquaintance that has lost the feeling in his feet and can hardly walk and can no longer drive a car.

I was driving to the YMCA for my work out this morning and was thinking about this blog and what I could say about a topic I know very little about.  My car is is a stick shift and Icwas thankful that I could still drive and shift at the same time.  So I just took a moment then and now to thank God for waking me up before I do get worse.

If you have neuropathy, I feel for you and sympathize.  The research I did when trying to find out what was wrong with me was insightful and a little scary - if you ask me.

What is it?

Throughout this blog - I have provided links to some good information.  The following is another link to a discussion about neuropathy: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/147963.php  

I will again let the article say it best:
"Neuropathy is not a single disease - instead, it is a complication found in a number of different underlying medical conditions. It can also be seen without the cause being diagnosed, when doctors called it "idiopathic."
The term neuropathy is short for peripheral neuropathy, meaning nerve damage in the peripheral nervous system. Only nerves outside of the brain and spinal cord are involved, so peripheral neuropathy does not include nerve damage in the central nervous system.
This Medical News Today information page will give you the essential details about neuropathy - describe what it is and what causes it, who gets the problem and the symptoms they have, how it is diagnosed, and offer an overview of treatment options for people with neuropathy."

What causes it?

You are reading this blog if you have or know of someone who has diabetes.  We know that diabetes is the number one reason for neuropathy.  However, did you know that the following diseases can also bring on neuropathy?

• Chronic liver disease
• Chronic kidney disease
• HIV infection and AIDS
• Long-term excessive alcohol intake
• Vitamin B deficiency and other nutritional deficiency
• Cancer - lymphoma or multiple myeloma
• Lyme disease, a tick-borne bacterial infection
• Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, a genetic cause of nerve damage, particularly in the lower limbs
• Guillain-Barré syndrome, a rare condition that damages peripheral nerves
• Diphtheria, a common bacterial infection in developing countries such as Haiti and Vietnam, but rare in other parts of the world.

WOW, if your are diabetic and also have any of these diseases - you need to get them all under control.

Are there things to help - besides medicines?

Again, I am not sure but there are some products out there that might help.  PLEASE DO NOT TAKE THIS AS MEDICAL ADVICE - TALK IT OVER WITH YOUR DOCTOR.  THESE ARE THINGS THAT I READ ABOUT AND ALMOST TRIED.

There appears to be research that leads to capsaicin (chili pepper) that when used in creams will help relieve the pain.  These creams can be purchased anywhere and take a few weeks of using to help reduce the pain.  In addition, this little gem appears to help arthritis in the fingers, elbows, and knees.  I am going to try it for my knees - I have been told by the VA I have arthritis in my knees and they do hurt.

Everyone agrees to back off smoking and alcohol.  Notice excessive drinking may also cause neuropathy.

Exercise - especially walking, was another common topic in the research I did.  The walking helps build some muscle mass around the nerves.  Many where also in favor of yoga.

There is an over the counter topical treatment called Neuragen.  

Finally, I want to bring back Suzy Cohen, RPh book - "Diabetes without Drugs."  This is a must in my mind and just full of other information.

God please help those with neuropathy to help themselves.  Help them understand there are many things out there to help them and not to give up.  

Bob,