Normal! "Huh, I'm Diabetic!"

If you are like me life as a Diabetic has been more than confusing at times.  I have had a very difficult time trying to get everything straight.  I sometimes wasnt sure if I was coming or going. 

Some things about being Diabetic was easy to get ahold of, but not all of it.  I have still been trying to figure out my eating and snacks and excersize and what affects my blood glucose. 

The things I have learned over the past almost 8 years living with Diabetes is that there is always new things to learn and things changing in our worlds, so yes it can be very confusing at times. 

Here are some of the things that I have learned. 

1.  Stress is one of the number one things that create fluctuations in your blood glucose levels.  It is important to figure out the stresses in your life and try to eliminate or just manage them better.

2.  Getting proper rest is so important.  If you do not get proper rest your body will be under stress and we know now that both Mental and Physical things can stress our body and cause our blood glucose to rise.

3.  Illness can create a higher gluclose level for us Diabetics because once again with illness our bodies are once again under stress.  The same goes for injuries to our bodies our blood glucose will be higher as our bodies try to heal.  Diabetes is an Autoamune Disease. 

4.  Eating is probably the most difficult to get right and it affects our bodies ability to maintain a fairly level glucose, however if we are not sure how to eat or we are not understanding how things affect our glucose levels then it will be difficult for us to change.  Reading I have found and experementing with foods is the best way to know what works best for your body.

5. Excersize will lower your glucose level but once again if you do not have the proper carbs in your body before excersize it can be dangerous when and if your glucose drops to low.  Make sure you know what you need to do as a diabetic to deal with this situation.  Always contact your Doctor to make sure you have an okay to proceed with the excersize program you choose.

6.  Medications will also affect your blood glucose.  It is important to keep up with your Doctor on any supplements or medications you may be taking.  Sometimes we have more than one doctor for many things and they can prescribe different medications, so make sure you always have an up to date list of all medications to take with you to your primary care Doctor.
Daily routine how it affects your Diabetes

One of the things I have struggled with the most is trying to figure out how to eat properly and exactly what I can eat.  If you have struggled with this also then we can figure this out together.

The American Diabetes Association has a really wide variety of articles on how to eat and what to eat.  They say that once you get used to eating right it is basically routine.  http://www.diabetes.org/food-and-fitness/food/what-can-i-eat/?loc=DropDownFF-whatcanieatWhat Can I Eat

Finding infromation on the internet is easy when it comes to Diabetes and eating such as great recipes and meal guides and plans.  Recipes for healthy living

I am really just beginning to understand the Importance of Skin Care, Dental Care and Foot Care as a Diabetic and there are some really interesting things to know.  The information is all out there on the internet or in your libraries.  If you are confused ask your doctor there are programs that are information packed that the doctor can refer you to.  Sometimes on the Diabetes Association Website you can also find events in your area and as always you can always donate time and effort in finding a cure for this disease.  In my Community Via ADA

I will be expanding on other topics of Diabetes as we continue on our journey together as Diabetics and Caretakers of Diabetics.  As a community I think we can support each other much better than standing alone.  There are over 26 Million people with this disease, that is a pretty large population.   We can become healthier by sharing and caring. 

If you have a story or a question you would like to give then get ahold of me at diabetic.day2013@gmail.com

Stress me out...Ouch! How Stress Affects Diabetes

I have been told recently to stop stressing out so much, whew that is a hard one for me.  I am a natural born worrier.  I really dont mean to be, but my nature as a female, mother, caregiver tells me otherwise.  I also am busy working on things that concern the country like cold cases all over the united states.  So like most people time management is important and being a sort of perfectionist when it comes to things can cause the utmost stresses for me.  I have had to learn to let some of that go.

Diabetes doesnt pick and chose one race over another, one sex over another or even what social status over another.  It is an equal opportunity disease.  How we manage it though is up to us and even though it is easier to manage if you have the means it is not necessarily that hard if you dont have the means it just means you have to be creative and use alot of free resources to help you maintain it even the stress management part.

Stress is many things it can be Physical, Mental, Emotional and Environment can play a huge part in all of these.  We may have every day stresses like work, home, family, economics, or we could have physical stresses such as Illness (Diabetes), and injuries to our bodies that can be stresses. 

I know when I first talked to a my doctor and she found I had a Kidney infection she said this is why your blood sugar is high, infections raise it because it puts stress on your body.  I was unaware of that now 4 years into the disease.  But it is true it can really stress the body.

When stress occurs, the body prepares to take action. This preparation is called the fight-or-flight response. In the fight-or-flight response, levels of many hormones shoot up. Their net effect is to make a lot of stored energy — glucose and fat — available to cells. These cells are then primed to help the body get away from danger. In people who have diabetes, the fight-or-flight response does not work well. Insulin is not always able to let the extra energy into the cells, so glucose piles up in the blood.  Diabetes affected by stress explained

I have found a few ways to deal with my stress now that I know how it affects my Diabetes that are free and enjoyable.  I use the internet alot for this either on my cell phone or on the computer itself.  I have found that Youtube is a great source for free videos on relaxation, meditation and excersize such as Yoga.  If you have a cell phone there are alot of free Apps that help with this and will give you the opportunity to get free excersize, meditation and even sleep programs to use. 

Taking time out for your needs are very important when you are dealing with a disease like Diabetes.  If it affects your whole body then you must take time to help your body stay healed. 

Remember to try and lower your blood sugar and stay healthy with excersize, eating right and sleeping well.  Remember not to get to stressed out.

Together we can do this as a community.  If you have a story or want to ask questions or share something contact me at diabetic.day2013@gmail.com

Living With Diabetic Complications (What?)

I used to think that since I had Diabetes the medication would take care of it all.  Boy was I sadly mistaken.  I was diagnosed in 2007 when I got sick after work and began to vomit and just feel generally ill.  Needless to say, I took myself to the hospital and found out that day that I was probably Diabetic and was told to contact my doctor right away and get a thurough set of testings.  Not even a week later and I was given the diagnosis.  I was started on Metformin and that was the minimum amount.  Since that time I have had very few days when my Diabetes was under controll.  I have always felt I was good at taking care of myself dealing with my Diabetes, but why then am I having the difficulties I am having with these Diabetic Complications.  In 2010 I had a mild heart attack, after going to the doctors I was told that it damaged my kidneys and my liver.  I didnt understand how could that happen?  I was always very active and I didnt eat alot of sweets, so what was causing all these issues with my health.  I began to learn more by understanding the disease of Diabetes.  How it affects the Kidneys, Liver, Heart and Eyes, but also the biggest organ we own our Skin, then less not forget our nerves. 

Diabetic Neuropathy is when we have damage to our nerves from excess high glucose levels and it actually damages the endings of the nerves and the blood vessels that supply blood to the nerves has thinning walls from the glucose as well. Diabetic Neuropathy what causes it.  I have had issues with that off and on throughout my journey with Diabetes.  It can be quite painful and it seems to happen at night most of the time.  I was given different types of medications to help with it and currently take  numerous supplements and Gabapentin.  Each doctor deals with these issues according to the patient.  I have noticed that Natural Oils help as well I currently use them from a family member of mine who deals in Medicinal Oils Daelene Burris Oils Instructor/Business Owner.  It does help my pain almost immediately.  Kidneys are controlled by medication for High Blood pressure and are always evaluated in an every three month blood test that is done to see how the functions are.  This is a little more complicated to explain how this works but basically when you have Diabetes abnormality in carbohydrate metabolism that leads to persistently high levels of blood glucose and the coexisting high levels of fat in the blood cant be filtered correctly and the protiens are leaked from your kidneys into the urine causing damage.  How Diabetes affects the Kidneys  Heart issues from Diabetes happen when lipids clog, harden and narrow the blood vessel walls, leading to what is called atherosclerosis. How Diabetes Affects the Heart  Along with your Kineys, Heart, your liver is often affected as well. How does Diabetes affect the LiverInsulin is metabolized in the liver, where it promotes the production of glycogen, protein, cholesterol, and triglycerides and stimulates the formation of low density lipoproteins, or LDL, which transport cholesterol into the arteries. How Diabetes affects the Liver  Usually for both the Liver and Kidneys the Doctor prescribes Cholesterol Medications and High Blood pressure Medications such as, statins and Some high blood pressure medication such as Lisinopril. The key is excersize as well since that also helps regulate the sugar level or gluclose level and insulin your body produces.  Now I have had the opportunity to realize it also affects the Mind and our Brains.  Diabetes affects the Brain because of the lack of sugars or the excessive amounts of sugars in the blood, (Better known as Gluclose), they believe that Dementia and also Alzhiemers is more prevelent in type 2 Diabetics.  How the Brain is affected by Diabetes  All I know is that many times it affects most or a majority of your body.  It has deffinantly affected mine.  I am hoping by sharing information and stories we can figure out some things together.  I think we have hope and as long as we as Diabetics or caretakers of Diabetics stay connected we can get through this together.  If you have questions or would like information and if you have a story you would like to share with me feel free, we can inspire one another to care for ourselves and others much better working side by side to make changes in our lives.  Email me @ diabetic.day2013@gmail.com.