Thursday, February 17, 2011

Hello, my name is Erik and I have a problem….

The blood test results don’t show it unless you look at the A1C result but clearly I have been doing good enough to keep what would be good results for a normal person in every regard except for blood sugar. Heck, how many people do you know who weigh 264 and have perfect blood pressure, perfect cholesterol and perfect triglycerides?  Any doctor would be proud of the blood test results I have, except I’m diabetic and that damned A1C is there to keep things honest so even if the doctor doesn’t see it, I know it and I’m a lot harder on myself than any doctor could be, but I don’t listen to myself very well.

So, why is my A1C back up to a 9.9, oh heck, lets make it a round number and call it a 10 shall we? I can’t stay away from candy, ask my wife, if she brings home a box of candy bars or cookies containing chocolate they will magically disappear in no time. On Halloween she’ll guard the candy and anything left gets hauled to work. Too many nights a week I’ll do shots of jaeger or have 2 or 3 mixed drinks and what do these things have in common? SUGAR/CARBS and while the jaeger does have 51 herbs that are good for you the rest of it isn’t, pure and simple really.

I have also been eating fast food again, McDonald’s and Wendy’s to be specific with a few Taco Bell’s tossed in a few times a month for good measure. At work I had fallen back to eating the wrong lunches and we have enough candy and junk to feed an Army and while I stay away some days, other days I have 2 or 3 candy bars in a day and that folks is my problem. I dropped weight from 280 to 242 and after my Mom died I fell back to old habits. My weight climbed back up to 264 and my A1C climbed along with it so what to do?

When my doctor sent me to get tested for PAD and possible heart issues I took a step back and thought about it, do I want to live to be 80 and healthy or live to be 80 by pure luck but missing a few limbs, possibly blind and miserable? I’ll take 80 and healthy for 200 Alex….     I don’t know how well I’ll do but this is the first time I have openly confessed I have a candy problem and I am going to try my hardest 3 months at a time to get to the next A1C test and get good numbers.

Fross your gingers… I mean cross your fingers, see what happens when you cross them too early? I have been slowly seeing better numbers, on 2/15/11 my blood sugar was 285 after walking to work (a few days prior, it was 485!), not good. Yesterday it was 179 and this morning it was 164 so it is working, but can I get to 100 or consistently be under 120? Man, I don’t know and to do so will take will power I hope I have but haven’t tapped into yet. Time will tell, one day at a time.

I’m also going to take my $800.00 bike down from the garage ceiling where it has been hanging for nearly 12 years, the wheels may be warped and tires rotted but I’m going to buy a fat persons bike seat, fix the rims and tires and start bike riding again, Loki is going to go with me. I used to love to do that with my last dog, time to hit it and git it…

I’ll be walking from my office to our network CoLo today, 2.5 miles in each direction, that should knock the numbers down a bit!

7 comments:

Teri said...

This is a Good start. I'm having trouble making dietary changes, also. Last week I started a new blog to post my diet and exercise diary and health info I find along the way. Have you ever heard of green smoothies? I have heard of good results for those with diabetes that are drinking them.

http://healthy-greenfoods.blogspot.com/

Donna McNicol said...

Good for you. Stu and I have made a lot of progress in the area of diet. We tossed out all processed foods and canned goods (other than some Progresso Low Sodium soups and tomato products).

Gone all fresh or frozen veggies, lots of turkey, chicken, buffalo and some fish. Only whole grains in cereal, pasta and breads and sometimes brown rice.

Stu's blood sugar is staying in the upper 80's to low 90's almost every day, even with a sometime splurge of pie & ice cream. LOL!

We found that the RV life was really hard on diet & exercise. Due to bad knees/backs, we're not hikers. We have folding bicycles and have started using them 10-20 minutes a day.

It takes time...don't expect overnight results. Just keep plugging away and know we are all supporting you!!

Diana said...

Well Erik at least you are aware of what needs to be done. The hard part IS doing it.
One thing to think about is that over the winter we all seem to get a bit lax. Once the weather starts to get nice it seems like something wakens inside of us and makes us want to move again.
I do believe that we sort of go into a bit of a hibernation metabolically.
I bought a new bike last spring which I need to start riding soon.
Yup, spring, it does a body good!
Love Di ♥

Merikay said...

We all have challenges! Posting about them IS a good step forward. Posting about your progress no mater how big or small is good to!

I have had to give up drink wine every night. It has been hard, but I balance the pain and liver damage that drinking brings when combined with the meeds I take, and the painfulness of not. When I look at it that way, I am able to stay on track most of the time. On Holidays I allow myself one or two glasses. I'll take the chance, but not every day.

JoJo said...

I know how hard all this is my daughter is diabetic and it scares me so bad because she thinks she is never going to have any problems like others. I wish you the best in your quest for more healthy living.

Rae said...

Hi Erik, First I want to say thanks for following my blog. I had the same problem with my A1C as you have. Mine was out of control and I just could not manage it properly. It seemed like I was always hungry and veggies didn't suit me. I started seeing a specialist and he started me on the med Byetta. It made a world of difference. Within 3 months my A1C went from 8.8 to 5.5. It also helped me lose weight. I am not advocating for Byetta but it is just an alternative I thought I would mention. Oops- I guess I should add it is only for Type II diabetics. I should have asked which type you are - sorry. Wishing you luck as you work toward getting yours under control.

Erik's RV Blog said...

JoJo,

Sorry, I missed your comment! I know how your daughter feels, 28 years ago I was not only bullet proof I knew everything as well!

I wish you the best and I hope everything goes well with your daughters Diabetes.

Take care,
Erik