11/3/11

They do add up!

Just another small victory: I fit into a size 20 pants, as opposed to the size 22 i normally wear!!!

That is all!

~Traci


Location:Harrisburg,United States

Success

Some days all it takes to be a success is a small victory. Like stepping on the scale and seeing that the number has gone down into a lower tens range!! Not everyone is as forthcoming with things like weight, but I am just going to put this out there: I currently weigh 279.4 pounds!!! I am proud to share this because just last week I was almost 285! It is this small victory of being out of the 280s that has put me in a really good mood this morning and ready to take on the day.

One small victory might not be much, but all those little ones will add up and help further motivate a person. So celebrate the little moments and let them help carry you on!

As something different, I will start adding some pictures at the end of my posts to help remind me why I do this and to track my progress. Just the face today:



~Traci

Location:Harrisburg,United States

11/1/11

American Diabetes Month (ADM)

Today is the start of American Diabetes Month 2011. I started this blog last year for ADM with the hope of not only spreading awareness about Diabetes, but also for my own benefit. I had the grand idea I would post every day and that this would help keep me motivated to get in better shape for my health. Well unfortunately after ADM ended I struggled and the blog fell far to the side, along with my grand designs on my health. Now I figure what better time to jump back in and to try to make a change than ADM 2011! This time I am going to not plan too big, but to take things one day at a time. That way if I have a bad day, there is always the next day to do good. One of my new mottos will be "Every day brings a new beginning." So today I start my journey of re-discovery. One day at a time.

Location:Harrisburg,United States

5/21/11

Contour USB

So i have finally had a chance to start using this meter. And so far I can't complain about it. Like I said before, I do like that it has a rechargeable battery. That is a big plus. Since getting my strips, which was a trip itself, I have found that the Contour USB is very easy to use. You just put the strip in and it turns on and is ready to suck up some blood. After that you are given the option to mark it as before or after meal, or no mark. And then in seconds your result is displayed. The screen is surprisingly bright and easy to read (I will upload some pics at a later point). It is all very easy to use. I have not had the chance to try the software with it yet, but as soon as i do I will post about that.

5/17/11

Step Out Walk to Stop Diabetes

Well it is getting to be that time of year again, time for the step out walk to stop diabetes. This has recently become very dear to me. Last year was my first year taking part in this walk. Not only is it a great workout, but it is also a great way to get involved with something that means very much to me. This year they are adding something different to the walk: they are giving away a limited number of special converse sneakers to the first 1,000 walkers who raise $1,000 on-line. I think this is such a great idea and i am currently going to try to become one of these lucky people. So please take a moment today to donate towards a great cause and then take the time to spread this information on to all your friends and family so they can donate too. With your help we can hope that one day there can be a cure to diabetes!

5/15/11

Meter

So i went out and picked up the Contour USB meter. I am really into gadgets and this looked like something right up my alley. I really can't say much about it yet since it didn't come with any test strips and I have yet to get a new script for the Bayer brand strips. So maybe tomorrow, after I call the doctor's, I will have more to say. For now i can say that I love how it has a rechargeable battery, which can be charged by simply plugging it into the USB port. From what I can tell by looking it and the guide over it should be very simple to use. I am excited to get some strips so i can use it!

5/6/11

Advice wanted

I have to change my glucose meter becasue my insurance company is not longer having One Touch be a prefered meter. So I need to ask those out there that use either Accu-Check or Bayer (Ascencia) what you use and the pros and cons of it. I appreciate any info you can give me!

~Traci

4/28/11

Misconceptions

This is a post that I started some time ago and am now finally just getting around to finishing it. . . . So i heard something on the radio that really made me mad. The hubby and i were driving to work and as usual he had ESPN radio on, listen to Colin Cowherd. The guy was talking about Jay Cutler and his non-performance in the NFC championship game that took place the day before. Apparently there was a serious uproar about Cutler not finishing the game. Cowherd was going on and on about Cutler when all of a sudden he is saying how Jay Cutler is a type 1 diabetic so he can’t do the things that other players can. Excuse me???? Did i hear that correctly? Yes i did, this guy is saying that because Jay Cutler has diabetes he cannot not function and perform as well as any other player who does not have diabetes. Is this guy an idiot? Or does he just not know about the disease? While on one hand I feel this guy knows correctly about the disease and is just saying this because he wants to get this kind of reaction, I still can’t help but being highly annoyed by it! Even if he is uneducated about diabetes, he should have made sure he knew what he was talking about before he said it. If that is the case then it all just makes him look like an ignorant fool for just spouting that crap out.
Just because a person has diabetes that doesn’t mean that they cannot do everything that a person without the disease can. As long as a diabetic takes care of themself then they can anything they want. Having diabetes doesn’t mean you have to stop living your life. Yes, you might have to be more cautious in regards to some things, but you can still do what you want to. I hope people take the time to really learn about the disease so they are better informed and do not end up making ignorant comments like I heard on that radio show.

4/3/11

New start

So things have been very quiet around here for a while. But that needs to change. Last week i celebrated both my 34th birthday and my 7th wedding anniversary. I realize that i need to really make a go at getting healthier so there are many many many more. Which means i need to make a lot of changes, some big some small.

One of them is that I need to post more, not just for anyone who might be reading this, but also for myself. I need to put things in writing to it is more real for me. And it doesn't hurt that is is a form of support for my journey. Another change that i have already made is that i have decided to completely cut soda out of my diet. I was down to just having one bottle of soda each Sunday, but now i have decided that I do not need that. So today is the first time in a while that i did not buy that bottle of soda. Instead I treated myself to some chocolate milk, go calcium!

So hopefully things go as planned and you will see a lot more posting from me and a lot less of me, physically!!

1/27/11

Body Blahs

Well on a person health front things are not so great right now. I went last week for my first check-up of the new year. I left feeling great since I was able to stop taking one of my blood pressure meds. That lasted until yesterday when I got the results back from my blood work. First off i found out my Vitamin D levels were low. So my doctor wants me to take a prescription vitamin D for 8 weeks and then start taking OTC vitamin D once done with the script. Then i found out not only did my A1C go up, but it went up a lot. It went from 7.3 last time to 8.1 this time. I was floored! The only change I really made since the last test was that I started Weight Watchers. So i can only assume that the diet I was on with that messed up my blood sugar and whatnot. So WW is out and I am going back to counting carbs. Which means I need to wrap my head around a new way of thinking. I have been thinking about food in terms of points for so long now it is going to take a little time to get used to thinking about my carbs again.


Maybe this is why I really didn't lose much weight while doing WW. I know everyone is different and one lifestyle won't always work for the same people. Oh well, it is trial and error . . .

1/22/11

Diabetes Alert Day - What will you do to Stop Diabetes?

I am sure not very many people I know will know that March 22, 2011 is Diabetes Alert Day. It is the one day where all of us who know about this disease are encouraged to go the extra mile to get out and make sure that America knows just how serious Diabetes is. Early diagnosis is so important when it comes to this disease because Type 2 can be delayed and maybe even prevented by making some easy lifestyle changes.

March 22 is exactly two months away, so i am going to start planning now just how I want to do my part and get the word out. I have already thought of one idea to step the word at my workplace. The human resources department at my workplace sends out the occasional health related e-mails, so this year I am going to put some information together and contact the necessary person to see about getting a company-wide e-mail sent out on Alert Day. That is just one thing I plan to do. I am going to work on more ideas while i have the time. I also welcome any ideas and suggestions you may have.


Diabetes Fact: For many, diagnosis may come seven to ten years after the onset of the disease.

1/20/11

Ideas . . . .

I really want to write more in this here blog of mine, but sometimes I just really don't know what to write about. I know I can just write about my life and such, but there is just a mental block sometimes. It was so much easier to write when i had my topics picked out for me in November when I started this blog. So please, any ideas and suggestions are welcome!!

1/19/11

One less pill

It is amazing how happy one can be about taking one less pill . . . .

This morning I had my first check-up of the new year. My weight remained unchanged from my last visit, which in a way is good. My blood pressure was great also. I had a good talk with my doctor about the usual things, mostly centering around my diabetes and weight. I did mention that I had joined Weight Watchers online and so far i have lost 7 pounds on it. It would be more if I was more consistent with my exercise. It is nice to have a doctor that I can talk to. It makes a lot of things so much easier. We talked a bit about my acid reflux meds. My insurance company started getting bitchy last year and wouldn't cover the dosage that i was on even though I had been taking the same drug at the same dosage for years! So I am hopeful that I have found a way around it. I will find out tonight when I go to get my prescription filled. I am excited about not having to worry about heartburn anymore!

We also talked about my blood pressure medicine. Years and one doctor ago I was diagnosed with borderline high blood pressure. I had wanted to go on the pill and my doctor then didn't want to put me on it with my blood pressure being what it was. So I went not only on the pill, but also a drug for blood pressure. Well I was never good with remembering to take it (I am still bad at taking my meds sometimes) so after a while she still didn't like my numbers so she put me on a second blood pressure medicine. Well fast froward some years to now. I decided to buy my own blood pressure monitor recently in an aid to help get me off some of these drugs i am on. So this morning I discussed things this morning. I told her that really the only reason the second drug was added was because I never remembered to take the other one. She agreed with me that with how my numbers have been it looks like I don't really need to be on two medications for blood pressure. So as of this morning I am no longer taking two medications for it!!! I am extremely happy about this! I am hoping that as i track my numbers these next few months that i do not see it going back up. Being off this one pill is the first step in getting off most of the medications i am on! This is a big achievement for me.

And I don't know that I would have talked to my doctor about it had I not had such a good relationship with her. So this just goes to show that having the right doctor is just as important as the rest of the things you need to do to take care of yourself. Having the right doctor is like taking the right medication. So if you do not have a god relationship with your doctor, it might be time to find another one.