Nothing Good to Report

Yes, six months have passed since my last post. I had hoped beyond hope that 2016 would bring new successes. But, no. Weight loss has been extremely slow. From 151 lb. down to 144 lb. by the first of August. Heavy sigh.

I spent most of the month of May doing a 30-day Richard Osborn Challenge with the Adventist Vegetarian Diabetics group. The goal was to see how close we could get to Dick's 10,000 steps a day. My highest was 6,000-something. I saw my fasting blood glucose go down 10-15 points so I was happy about that.

Then I lost a job (my highest-paying web client) just before the end of May. I developed an excruciating toothache (on a weekend, no less, and had to wait until Monday to see a dentist) and then had to be medicated (more Tylenol with codeine) for that.

We spent the month of June emptying out an expensive storage unit. That required a lot of physical and emotional energy! We did make our deadline of June 27. But before that deadline, people in our life started dying and getting potentially terminal diagnoses. And this is still going on! When will it ever end?!?

Now I am again devastated. My doctor has increased the dosage of a medication (nortriptylene) that causes weight gain and alters blood sugar. If I thought I was fighting a losing battle before.... It's very depressing. There are days I'd love to just scrap ALL my pharmaceuticals (except for Synthroid) and start over with just my diabetes diet, 72 oz. of water, and 30 min. of walking Barley every day--and getting in bed before midnight--and just see how I would do!

Off to a Slow Start

This first month of 2016 has passed awfully fast! I did well the first week, going out for a walk every day, wearing my pedometer, and averaging 2,121 steps a day. (Only 7,879 steps to go!) Then it started raining and I started on nonstop migraines. For 20 days out of 31, I had debilitating migraine episodes. This put me behind with my work which increased my stress, increasing the migraine pain and interfering with sleep. In addition, I began having severe arthritis joint pains in my hands--worse than I ever remembering having before! It was so bad that I contacted my doctor and got a prescription for Tylenol with codeine and an early refill on my sumatriptan (generic Imitrex). She also ordered an x-ray of my hand, with a co-pay of $65.

On the positive side, I decreased my average fasting blood sugar from 122 to 109, my overall blood sugar average from 120 to 112, my daily calorie intake from 1143 to 1046, my average daily carbs from 33 to 25, and decreased my average daily insulin from 19u to 12u. My weight did not increase or decrease, sad to say.

I have continued to use berberine (500 mg/day) instead of metformin and have enjoyed days without Depends.

I am seriously seeking out a way to get medical cannabis for both my migraines and arthritis pain.