Its a long and beautiful road ahead!
<<< there are links below, they are all safe, and provide more information>>>
Hey! Time for a good news update!
Cheryl has been working very hard on her health, and she is quite inspiring.
Our GP was first up the Thursday Se04 after her coming out of hospital… and she helped Cheryl get her morning BG to below 7 by telling her how to adjust her LONG ACTING INSULIN (Basaglar)
Next was Eye Specialist, which is her annual one, coincidental… Tuesday Se09, they check her eyes for damage due to diabetes (ruptured eye blood vessels, etc) and he said Cheryl’s eyes are 100%, and may need cataracts surgery in 10+ years from now (low concern)
Next was a visit on Thursday Se18 to Fraser Health office for diabetes education… which is a Public Health Nurse and a dietician. She left encouraged about her work she’s been doing. Cheryl had been taking her BG with a “finger poke” and the data collected on her Contour Next App was valuable. She also had a question answered. Since her hospital stay and subsequent going on Basaglar, she’d noticed her vision was blurry. The nurse assured her that this is her body adjusting from the high blood sugar levels from the past 3 months. That as her body grows accustomed to the lower sugars, the vision will correct itself. Dietician is next visit, so that’s going to be a good one for us.
Next up was Friday, Se19 to the BC Diabetes Clinic, where we saw two doctors, each specializing in medicine specific to Diabetes… an endocrinologist Dr. Lee, and another doctor, Jose… both of whom were notably down to earth, and and communicated with us in ways easy to understand, and gentle about the changes that must come with this kind of diagnosis. Their knowledge, of course, was in depth, as all our questions were easily answered, again, in a way that easily made sense to us. This was a very helpful visit for both of us. I learned – for example – why I’ve plateau’d in my weight loss… because of my lack of exercise… my meals and BG management have been in range, but my weight has stayed the same.
Jose explained that being type 2 diabetic the insulin is being produced, but my body is insulin resistant. The best way for me to describe this is that in order for the cells to get their energy (glucose) there is the receptor, insulin, and the glucose. So the receptor should open up to the insulin, so that the glucose can be ushered in. But the receptor resists, and so the body ends up storing that insulin/glucose as fat. With exercise, my body’s becomes more receptive to the insulin, and therefore burns the glucose, and I guess the fat gets converted into glucose… and gets burned off? But basically, the insulin resistance is reversed by the exercise?
I wondered why I can wake up in the moring at 8.0 mmols BG, and then still at 8.0 mmols at 1:00 pm. Jose also explained that Liver stores glucose as glucogen, and if we starve ourselves it converts the glucogen into glucose, and releases it into my system. If I eat, the liver doesn’t do this. So we’ve learned to eat a zero carb meal, of protein and veggies is better than starving. I’ve noticed that a protein + salad (for example) keeps my BG the same before and after.
Dr. Lee noticed Cheryl’s diet is virtually zero carbs, and she’s stable BG mmols. He said if she is ok with this, and doesn’t miss the carbs, then no changes. But if Cheryl wants to enjoy carbs sometimes, she can begin short term Insulin (Admelog) starting with a 2 units/30 grams carbs. Cheryl was immediately saying, “NO! not that!” he responded quite calmly with, no worries, don’t eat carbs, don’t take Admelog. But we can give it to you to use, and if you decide to try some carbs, you can take some Admelog, and if you just want protein and veggies, then no need to take the Admelog. This resulted in Cheryl seeing that she’s in control.
The biggest thing for Cheryl, however, is that she has been so much benefitting from monitoring her blood sugar by finger pricks… but the downside is time consumed doing so, and the ends of her fingers have begun to feel like pin cushions with so many holes. So they invited her to use the Libre2 CGM (constant glucose monitor) which is replaced every 14 days, and monitored using an app on her phone. Cheryl’s seen me using the same device for the past 2 years, and she confessed later that she’s been quite jealous of how useful I’ve found it. So… she decided to risk it. The scary thing is the needle that places the sensor filament into the fat tissue of you arm looks like a harpoon! and you can’t help thinking it’ll hurt like blazes, but she’s already poking her fingers painfully as it is… so she was willing. And just like me, she was shocked to find that there is absolutely NO PAIN.
The doctors there can then access her information that is collected through a website called Libreview. There’s a clinic access portal, and the information the device collects is in their medical gizmo language, and then can access it to get their information for her assessment and treatment.
In the app she makes note of times and doses, and when and what amount of carbs, etc.
She has been quite encouraged with how useful it is. The cost is about $100 for those without insulin, but for those on insulin its 100% paid for by MSP. So also is the Basaglar and Admelog, since its presecribed by and an endocrinologist.
Today we realized another benefit of the app. There is a secondary benefits to filling out the notes in the Libre 2 app it’s because you have to pair the grams of carbs with the units of insulin. So many grams of carbs per so many units of insulin. It makes you think!
“What am I actually eating here. What is what is my carbohydrate portion. As you look at your plate, you realize. I only have veggies and protein here.“
This was a life saver for Cheryl today!
Over all Cheryl and I have now seen yet another thing. We both love playing scrabble and cribbage, and cards, and so are very competitive with each other. Now that she and I are on the same App… we can more easily compare ourselves to each other, and compete to improve.
Another health App that Cheryl’s taken to is built into the Apple Phone… it counts your steps… So Cheryl and I are in a friendly competition with that also!
My experience using these apps is helping come up to speed on it quickly, and her knowledge of nutrition and ability to shop is helping us both get the right foods in the house, which will help us make the right choices. We have decided that we will not be restauranting nor going to others homes for meals for the foreseeable future, since its too hard to gauge what we’re eating etc. Which will help our finances, of course.
All of the above benefits Ashton who is now along for the ride, as always. He’s needing the same healthy lifestyle… and is quite excited about these positive changes.
Running Down Vimy 