A prisoner of diabetes

Sometimes I feel like diabetes has me trapped in a a jail. I can see the world outside from a small window and can see others have the freedom to roam free and enjoy their lives, but I have to stay within the confines.

Like any other good prisoner who craves the freedom, I break out of my cell one in a while and go romping around the hillsides. But soon enough the Diabetic police catch up with me and bring me back.

My hands are always tied in the back. I would like to be free and spread myself wide and reach as high as I can, but the cuffs keep me in check. They are my own good, to keep me and others safe.

A book about diabetes that I enjoyed

Now that I am using the bus, there is so much more time to read. Last week I decide to get back at reading the diabetes related books. A while back one of the companies had sent me a book to review for them. I would totally recommend this book for any person to read. The book is very well put together and a lot of fun to read. I was entertained reading it and learnt some new facts and brushed up on old ones. The little research briefs that are sprinkled through the book really helped my scientific brain.
Grab a copy when you get a chance -

It is definitely time to read some more. I feel better reading it and learning some more.

From Happy to Depressed in 30 seconds

Seems like every once in a while I get reminded of how things can go down really fast.
Here are the top things that can take me from a happy person into a dark hole that resembles depression, or sulkiness or whatever else you might want to call it for yourself -
1) Checking my blood sugar when I THINK that it should be low and finding a number like 180-190.
2) Being told at work that I could be doing more as the rest of the team is working at 150%
3) Having a traffic accident when leaving to get home on time
4) When my wife makes a negative remark on me which is meant to be mean JUST BECAUSE...

Well life goes on. Learning to deal with this down is key. I wish I knew the formula of turning this around into a
Going from Depressed to Happy in 30 seconds....

Achieving change with small steps ove time

It is a lesson that I seem to have to keep getting once in a while.
Sometimes I want the changes to come fast, infact really fast. I put in a lot of effort, then I get discouraged when the results are not what I would like to see and then obviously I end up quitting the stuff and basically give up.

I read somewhere that it take about 6 months for a habit to change. So the idea is to make small change into the habit or the behavior and then let it soak into the routine of life for about 6 months and then you make more smaller changes.

Sometimes I think that 6 months is a long time, but then when I think back, 6 months was march this year. It is not that long of a time.

Daily walks are working for me

I have started using the bus to go to work. I started it in the month of September and I have managed to keep it up. It has added more time to my commute, but also gives me a chance to walk about 40 mins a day and I get to relax and listen to music on the bus.

So now I am not getting a lot of sleep, still just 5-6 hours a day, but I am not in danger of a car wreck or anything since someone else is driving me.

This seems to be potentially beneficial deal for me. Hopefully I can continue it in the winter months, especially when it starts to rain in Seattle.

Latest Numbers in...Good but can be better

Got my latest A1C, it came out as 6.8
It has dropped from 7.0 the last time I checked, but I was hoping for lower.
Also I have gained 3 more pounds in the last 6 months, which is not so good.

So the quest to get healthier continues...

Tomorrow I know how the summer really went on my sugars

I am going in to see the doctor tomorrow. I will get the results of the various tests. I have not been in for almost 6 months now. Bot good.

Like always there is a little nervousness. Not sure what to expect. I am always a little worried that my A1C would have gone through the roof. My triglycerides would be too high...I might need to get onto some newer medications.

My blood pressure is al;ways high when I go in to see him. I am nervous. I have tried some relaxation techniques, but they leave me really fast once I am in there.

But most of the time once he tells me the results I am all calm. Then you have the data and you can start to work on a program to make it better for yourself.