I went to this fashion show yesterday that served lunch. Boy, I was so tempted to eat a cupcake for desert but I didn't. Thats probably been the hardest thing to give up is desert. Not only for my diabetes, but also for my weight control. What is the old saying? "longer on the lips means heavier on the hips." It's true. Whats also interesting is that I have noticed that I am an emotional eater. Anything that upsets me, I want to revert back to food. I just have to keep telling myself that it's ok and not dwell over things. You learn alot about yourself when your're trying to maintain good eating habits.

Boy, these "no sugar added" products are not a guarentee that your blood sugar won't go up. I have learned this by trial and error. Even though they are sugar free,they still have calories in them. Last night,I had 1cup of this ice cream and this morning my numbers were higher than I thought they would be. This is still a big learning curve for me. What lowers my numbers is excerise. So,each day I try and take a long walk. I also try to drink lots of water. What I have noticed the most about getting stable is my sleep. I used to not be able to sleep but 2 to 3hrs. a night. Now I'm sleeping at least 6 to 7hrs. per night. My energy level has also gone up. If you take care of yourself when you have diabetes,things get so much easier for you.

I've learned that one food really makes my blood sugar soar. Thats pasta. If you eat a low calorie dish with pasta,it makes your sugar really high. Even though I have now been dealing with diabetes for 4 months,it's still a learning curve. The slightest difference in your food intake can change your numbers. It's a good thing that I am not a big bread or chocolate person. Also, the benefit of eating apples and pears lower my blood sugars. These are hard fruits. I can only have hard fruit. Thats fruits with hard skins. So, each day you have to be very careful about what you eat.

Well I had a birthday in the last couple of days. My family went all out and it was alot of fun. I've learned that when I know I'm gonna be out to take my injecter with me. For those who are diabetic,stores now make sugar free cakes. Their actually good and you can now buy ice cream with no sugar added. So I was able to enjoy sweets on my birthday and not worry about my blood sugar soaring. In a way, birthdays makes you feel thankful for what you have. I have the best family. All throughout my diabetes transition,my family has been so supportive. I don't think that I would have the confidence that I do now if it hadn't been for my family. It's a nice feeling knowing that I'm not alone through all of this.

Well today I went to the opthamologist. I've been seeing him regulary to do eye exams. I thought I was going to get a Rx for new glasses today,but it seems I have to wait for another 4/wks. When you have diabetes you usually have trouble with your eyes. What happens is, sugar is formed in fliud around your lens and it messes your vision up. When someone gets stabilized on their sugars then the fluid decreases and your vision gets better. Mine, is taking alittle longer. I'm a bit disappointed, but my eyes are getting better slowly. Although I did have some difficulty seeing the charts today. I'm able to drive now,but I still can't see well enough to read.{without my magnifying glass]I just have to be more patient.

It's amazing as time goes by I haven't been focused on my diabetes. In the beginning it was like I would think all the time when my next injection would be,when to take my oral medication,when to take my blood sugar from my meter and which finger do I prick. Now it's sort of just a routine. This has been nice. I feel like I have a life now because I'm not so nervous about all of the changes that I had to face everyday. I know I have to do these things,but I just do it and go on with my day. I haven't let my diabetes rule my life.

One good rule of thumb when you have diabetes is not eat soo late in the evenings. Although I am on a monitored diet,if you eat late then your fasting blood sugar will be elevated the next day. Also, if you are planning to eat or drink anything with sugar in it then it's important to drink at least 4 8 0z. of water before you go to bed. It's amazing that the slightest difference in your eating habit can affect your blood sugar. I had one piece of chocolate last night. Well this morning my blood sugar was elevated. I'm still learning about all of this.

It did snow today about 4" from 9:50am til 5:00pm. The roads were wet and the news say that they will probably freeze tonight. Only in Alabama will people build a snowman with beer cans attached to it. This was done by my redneck neighbors. And only in Alabama would someone slide down a snowy hill on a large tupperware lid. Damn I'm proud to be an Alabamian!!!!Yeehaw...

IT'S SUPPOSE TO SNOW TOMORROW!!!!!!!!!!!!YIPEE.. Well you know how it is in the south. The old ladies at the grocery stores are grabbing everything they can,snow trucks are on alert,school closings are coming and everyone is gasing their cars up. It's kind of funny. The last time the news predicted snow I was one of those fools. Today I decided the only thing I was going to stock up on was my diabetes medication. Which I actually needed anyway. So hopefully the snow will pass in a few hours. If it doesn't, I'm eating crow.

Boy I can't believe it's already 2/9/10. I have a wonderful diet to share with you. It's called the six week body makeover. I'm sure if you google this you can find out how to order. It's all based on a scientific weight loss plan. You find your own body type then follow this chart to see which foods your body metabilizes faster. With me it's chicken,new potatoes,rice,green vegetables and apples. You then eat six times a day and exercise. It's nutrious and most of all you're not hungry. It's also been approved by my diabetes doctor. As I mentioned before, diabetes also helps you maintain a good body weight, because you have to be very careful of what you eat and also watch out for your blood sugars everyday. It makes you accountable. If you eat too much starch, saturated sugar or carbs,then you get a high reading for that day.But,boy sometimes I'd like to have a nice cold cherry coke. That I do miss...

I have to tell a funny. Today, at my volunteering job I mistaked a raccoon for a cat. My eyesight is still mending. I volunteer at a wildlife center and theres usually a cat that walks around the center. Well this morning I was feeding some squirrals and something walked past my leg. I looked down and thought it was the brown tabby. So I just started talking to it,wooing it to play. When I bent down to pet it,it was a raccoon that had gotten out of it's cage. I jumped and ran around the door closing it. I laughed so hard. Hopefully soon I will get my Rx glasses if the sugar has gotten out of my lens.

A lesson learned... If you think you have forgotten to take a medication and take another one [ doubling ] the effect,then don't take one. I take a medication that helps my pancreas make insulin. I take it twice daily. Well today I took it three times and got a very lowwww blood sugar. Not good. It was under 50. Then I had to drink juice to raise my blood sugar. Alot of juice.
One good thing is today while out shopping with friends I declined on an icey. It was hard,but I didn't drink one. Woohoo!!!!
As the days go by,I'm getting better at spotting things that would make my blood sugar soar. It's not fun,but it's well worth it.

It's hard to turn down pizza at a party. So I didn't today. When I took my blood sugar level just alittle while ago it was up to 190. YIKES!!!! So I guess I will inject more insulin tonight and also drink more water. Since it's been raining again today, I didn't get to walk. I can always tell that I don't nearly have the energy that I normally do when I don't exercise. I quess thats true for anyone especially for those like myself who used to think that walking to the mailbox down the hall was exercise. Thats funny.

Boy,did I make a mistake yesterday. I didn't eat until 3pm and my blood sugar was 60. Not only is it important to watch what you eat,but you also have to eat when you're a diabetic.
The more time that goes by,the more aware I have become on the daily regamin I need to keep. For instance, excerise lowers your blood sugar,drinking plenty of water lowers your blood sugar and eating six small meals a day lowers your blood sugar. This has become a receipe for good weight management.
The injecting and pricking my fingers have now become a routine to my day. I don't dwell on it as I used to. I just do them and not think about it all the time. When I go out for the evening, I just take my flexpen with me and inject while I'm out. The key is to make it as simple as possible. When I first started the regamin,I wouldn't socialize. Now I have realized that I have to maintain a normal schedule. It's easy to fall into a "secluded" environment. I just have to remember that I need to continue to enjoy life as it comes and not hide from life. Well Molly is meowing and it's time to feed her. Talk to you later.

The needle... Boy, it looked so simple when the nurse was demonstrating how to inject myself. When I got home,I was a chicken!!! Just call me chicken doodle doo.Thank goodness my sister came over to help. When I opened the flexpen [the injecter] all I saw was that needle coming closer and closer to my stomach. I think I had one eye opened and one eye closed. But,I made it...It didn't hurt at all! But sometimes it does hurt.Sometimes I get bruises when I inject. Currently,my doctor wants me to decrease on the amount of insulin I inject to reach a total of 120 for my blood sugars. Thats on the fasting blood sugar. So far I haven't reached that so I'm down to 22 units . The decrease was resulted from the tests showing that my pancreas is making insulin now. So naturally I'm decreasing my insulin intake.
Oh before I forget, what was really funning on the night that I first injected. My cat,Molly got freaked out. She jumped on the bed,walking back and forth. She couldn't figure out what I was doing. I might mention here that she is a lap cat. Always in my face. Not wanting to be left out of anything. Now, she's used to it.Pricking my fingers everyday is a whole other matter. This actually hurts more. Sometimes my fingers are so sore. But I'm used to it also. All in all, it gets better with time....

The beginning

Hello world! I'm back. I'm new at this blogging experience, so please be patient with me. My name is Allison and yes I was just diagnosed with Diabetes. It was very scarey for me in the beginning. You always hear horror stories about this. And I guess in a way, it is horrible. But once I got used to it, it's not that bad. I have found that it's a good measure to keep your weight down, because you have to be very careful with what you put in your mouth,when you eat,when you don't eat and how much you eat.So far, I haven't gained too much weight back.I was told by my doctor that there will be an initial water weight gain. Which did happen,because I have stopped peeing every 5 minutes.This is an affect of diabetes along with drinking tons of fluids. As discussed in my profile I also experienced eyesight changes. So I quess it was a blessing that my eyesight got so bad, because I would have never known that I had diabetes. If not checked and treated one could go into a diabetic coma or worse. I believe that things happen for a reason. I could be depressed about this or accept it and go on. So I've chosen to go on. I have learned alot about how my body works. I was one of those people that never thought of consequences when it came to the health of my body. I would eat when I was bored and depressed. I had lost my job due to a lay off and had really put on the pounds. But now, after being diagnosed I see that my health is the most important aspect of my life. During this month I want to take you through an averaged persons view on diabetes and the struggles I have overcome. I also want to take this moment to thank my sister who has been my rock through this. She deserves the recognition. So tune in for my journey.