[Diabetes-talk] Fw: Good News?

Eileen Scrivani etscrivani at verizon.net
Thu Sep 3 12:44:22 UTC 2015


Dar, 

101 to 109 are excellent! numbers.  Sounds to me like you are doing really well. 

Oxygen if you need it is a good thing.  Its important to keep breathing <SMILE>.  

In the past, I remember you saying you had a heart attack, but did you require surgery after it for the heart?  Three years back I had open heart surgery.  Five of my 6 main arteries were badly blocked – all due to the lovely diabetes.  They could not stent me because the blockages were to high and close to the heart so it was the big procedure for me.  It was quite frightening, but here I am today.  

Anyway after my surgery I needed oxygen at night only because there were fluids in the chest cavity that were not draining.  It prevented my lungs from expanding properly.  Once I was forced to let them drain the fluids off --  voila I was able to start breathing on my own at night.  I got rid of the oxygen machine and haven’t needed it since.  Heed your doctor’s advice these cardiologists are a very smart bunch!

Good luck.

Eileen 


From: d m gina via Diabetes-talk 
Sent: Thursday, September 3, 2015 12:06 AM
To: diabetes-talk at nfbnet.org 
Cc: d m gina 
Subject: Re: [Diabetes-talk] Fw: Good News?

With the exercising I am doing, I have a stronger heart.
I'm pleased about this.
Many times my numbers are like a radio station
101 or 109 sometimes higher depending on what we did the night before.
I think my sugars are confused at night, I learned my oxygen is dropping to
77. Now they want me on oxygen.
I will talk to the doctor on behalf of this, I have many concerns.
Working with two different things can get confusing at times.
I do love to walk my mile, where my sugars usually go down.
Not bad, just comfortable.
Keep up the swell work.


Original message:
> Eileen,

> Diabetes is an individual disease, at the end of the day. Some 
> regimines work better for some, and not so much for others. So many 
> variables go into the equation, and while there are some constants, so 
> much more is variable.

> What's an acceptable A1-C depends on a lot. For me, going below 7 means 
> I'm running too low. For others, they can go below 7 and be totally 
> fine. Type two's can usually have lower A1-C's too. There are 
> differences between type one and two, and people don't always 
> understand that. My grandma is a type two, and I'm a type one. She 
> typically has A1-C's 6. 5 and lower. She doesn't understand why I 
> shouldn't have mine lower, but the difference between one and two can 
> be varied enough to create such differences.

> Like Veronica, I need to get my daily work-out in. As a teen and in my 
> early 20's, I ran three to five miles a day, and I danced-- ballet, 
> tap, jazz-- and while I still incorporate ballet barre exercises into 
> my work-out, I like to either power walk outside or use my elliptical 
> at home for cardio. I do my ballet barre exercises and stretches 
> afterwards. Sometimes I jog on a mini-trampoline too. In total, my 
> work-outs last an hour to an hour-and-a-half. I usually have to 
> disconnect during cardio then hook back up an hour afterwards. I test 
> before working out then an hour-and-a-half after the work-out. Have you 
> tried exercising at the same time each day? This can help with 
> consistency, and you can usually judge what your sugars will run before 
> and after since doing it at the same time. You could also do it after a 
> meal, adding a little more carbs to that meal. I have a three-year-old, 
> so I tend to work-out late at night, like between nine and ten, since 
> that's usually when I can get a lot done without distractions, smile. I 
> tend to run higher at night, mid to upper 100's, so this actually works 
> out. I also don't eat much during the day, mostly grabbing what I can-- 
> Greek yogurt, Clif bars, salads-- and I usually don't snack unless low, 
> so I try to make supper the one meal I sit down and have a full course 
> with all the wonderful foods you are suppose to fit into each meal, smile.

> But it's really individually based. You can't always judge your 
> treatment and effects of by how others are treated and their results. I 
> can eat a candy bar, bolus and remain at 120, while a friend of mine 
> will eat candy, bolus and have crazy, inconsistent sugars all the rest 
> of the day. If I do run high, say 300 or higher, which happens during 
> my lady time, when I correct, I can drop in an hour. The same friend 
> will take all day to come down from a high sugar. For breakfast and 
> lunch, my carb/insulin ratio is one per 22, while at supper, it's one 
> per 15. And this ratio can also change depending on the carb I'm 
> eating. Like if pasta, no matter the time of day, I usually do one per 
> 15, though I eat pasta sparingly. My friend always needs to do one per 
> 10, regardless of time of day or carb.

> So what works for one, doesn't always work for another person. Do what 
> works for you and what your doctors recommend, and as long as you 
> achieve results you're happy with, it's okay. And if you want to try to 
> get your A1-C below 7, try. If you start running low frequently, then 
> you likely are good staying in the 7 to 8 range.

> Bridgit

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Diabetes-talk [mailto:diabetes-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf 
> Of Eileen Scrivani via Diabetes-talk
> Sent: Wednesday, September 02, 2015 6:40 PM
> To: NFB Diabetes Talk <diabetes-talk at nfbnet.org>
> Cc: Eileen Scrivani <etscrivani at verizon.net>
> Subject: [Diabetes-talk] Fw: Good News?


> Hi Veronica and all:

> This for me has been a really interesting topic.

> I too have been using a pump for a year and a half now.  While my 
> numbers are certainly better than what I had been experiencing, they 
> are in my mind, still not perfect or the perfect I’d like them to be.  
> I’ve found that getting rid of the long acting Lantus in my insulin 
> regiment has totally eliminated extreme highs.  That’s not to say I 
> don’t have highs & lows, but the highs are at least contained to being 
> no more than the high 200’s which I can live with and fix.

> Usually, when I go high  its due to poor estimating of my carb 
> intake/insulin ratio.  I’ve been a diabetic since I was 5, and I have 
> had good control with really good A1C’s.  However, weird things started 
> happening to my control in my 40’s.  When I was using Lantus I would 
> see BG numbers that could be in the 300’s, 400’s and even higher!  I 
> found it really stressful and was constantly fretting over the numbers. 
> Its not like I wasn’t watching my diet or not exercising.  .  .  Making 
> the change to the pump and only having Novolog in my system has made a 
> big difference and leveled out the numbers.  The only thing I have been 
> left questioning has been my A1C results.  I’ve pretty much been around 
> 7.4 to 7.8.  Last year when I first started the pump I did get the A1C 
> down to 6.3, but that’s because I was having far too many lows while 
> adjusting insulin rates.  My doctor and Diabetic Educator have told me 
> over and over that the numbers I’m running are fine and they don’t want 
> me down around 6.something because that would leave me having too many 
> low BGs and could be damaging to the heart and heart function.

> I’ve been questioning the advice, because I’ve heard other diabetics 
> always insisting that the closer to a 6 you can get the A1C the better 
> your control and the less the chance of complications.  This just has 
> left me feeling like I was doing something, somewhere so wrong by 
> having a 7.whatever A1C number.

> So, bottom line is I feel a lot better after reading the posts by 
> Bridget, yourself & everet today.

> As for exercising for a full hour – I wish I could! Even after a short 
> workout of 20 or 30 minutes my BG level crashes.  I disconnect the pump 
> during and then leave it off for another half hour to a full hour.  
> Still, I can sometimes have horrible lows.  I wish I could get a better 
> handle on getting that leveled out so I could exercise with a bit less worry.

> Thanks for the great topic today and we’ll all just keep striving 
> together to improve control.

> Eileen


> From: Veronica Elsea via Diabetes-talk
> Sent: Wednesday, September 2, 2015 5:22 PM
> To: 'Diabetes Talk for the Blind'
> Cc: Veronica Elsea
> Subject: Re: [Diabetes-talk] Good News?

> Hi Everett!
> Oh how I loved reading your post. Congrats and bravo for you. When I 
> was first diagnosed at age 34, for the first couple of years my A1C ran between
> 13 and 16 no matter what I seemed to do. NPH insulin just didn't obsorb 
> consistently and no amount of fiddling seemed to sort me out. Within 
> two months on a pump, I had my A1C down to 7 to 8 range, where I seem 
> to spend a lot of time. I seem to go from being really on top of things 
> to phases of burn out, then back at it again, then burn out. So what I 
> really like here is that ability to be, well, human, knowing that 
> sometimes it's okay to ride the ups and downs with a supportive group. 
> The sanity for me is exercise. I feel really weird if I don't walk at 
> least an hour a day.
> My biggest struggle right now is blood testing. My callouses are really 
> a problem and the swollen fingers from rheumatoid arthritis don't help much.
> But as you said, just keep swimming. Just keep swimming. <grin> Oh wait!
> Striving! <laughing!
> So go for it, all of us!
> Veronica

> "Guide Dogs, First Hand", Veronica Elsea's classic album is now 
> available on iTunes, along with other music from her and from the Guide 
> Dog Glee Club.
> To learn more, visit:
> http://www.laurelcreekmusic.com
>                 Veronica Elsea, Owner
> Laurel Creek Music Designs
> Santa Cruz, California
> Phone: 831-429-6407



> -----Original Message-----
> From: Diabetes-talk [mailto:diabetes-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf 
> Of Mike Freeman via Diabetes-talk
> Sent: Wednesday, September 02, 2015 12:55 PM
> To: 'Everett Gavel'; 'Diabetes Talk for the Blind'
> Cc: Mike Freeman
> Subject: Re: [Diabetes-talk] Good News?

> Hey Everett! Bravo, my man! Glad your attitude adjustment is working! 
> Keep it up!

> Mike


> -----Original Message-----
> From: Diabetes-talk [mailto:diabetes-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf 
> Of Everett Gavel via Diabetes-talk
> Sent: Wednesday, September 02, 2015 11:56 AM
> To: diabetes-talk at nfbnet.org
> Cc: Everett Gavel
> Subject: [Diabetes-talk] Good News?

> Hello All,

> I just realized that, while I've recently begun sharing a little more 
> about my personal situation with my diabetes publicly on some 'blind diabetic'
> lists, I've yet to share it here on my original and most favorite, most 
> read, bestest list of them all for blind diabetics. Please forgive me for that.

> I do have some good news to share. Good for me, at least. A week or two 
> ago, my doc told me my a1c was 8.0. Now, that may not be all that 
> great, but try to understand, I'm pretty sure it's not been that low, 
> personally, since I was a young teenager, and possibly even before that.

> I got diabetes when I was 10, and all through my teens and 20's, and 
> I'll admit, even into my 30's truly, I was as stupid, er, stubborn as 
> they come.
> At least in regards to my diabetes. I pretty much ignored it as much as 
> I could without bringing on a quick death. About all I did for the 
> first couple of decades (I'm 45 now) was to take my insulin once and 
> for a while twice a day. That's it.

> I never cared what my a1c was on those 3-month appointments I sometimes 
> kept with my docs. But a few years ago I started smartening up a bit.
> Little by little I tried taking better care of my diabetes. I finally 
> gave in and got a Medtronic pump about 1.5 years ago.

> Today, I can say I finally made the mental switch and gave into the 
> need, the smarter choice, to actually monitor my glucose levels regularly.
> Nowadays, if I don't test at least 4 times a day, I feel wierd. Maybe 
> it's some kind of guilt or something, I don't know. But I *like* that 
> it feels wrong to not test at least 4 times a day, these days.

> So, all that being rambled on about, while I realize it may be along 
> the lines of too little too late, I'm hoping for the other cliche to be 
> more true, where it says, better late than never.
> ;-)

> So my BS levels are 8.0. Well, okay, my 'BS' (and
> sarcasm) levels are often far higher than that, but, my blood sugar 
> levels are now most often under 200, and for me, that's great. For 
> decades, my average has been between 300 & 400 when I'd test it. I've 
> been clocked more times than I can count, back in the day when the 
> Joslin Diabetes Center was where I went for my 3-month check ups as a 
> teen, at over 700. These days, I can't seem to find a monitor that 
> doesn't quit counting around 599 or 600, seems like. But I don't test 
> em out like that too much anymore either, so who knows? I'm glad I can 
> say I don't know that for sure, actually.

> Anyway, I'm newly inspired by my 8.0 a1c. In 3 months, my new goal is 7.0.
> I'm not just counting carbs and taking insulin to cover, now. It's a 
> challenge, and I love a good challenge. So I'm actually (gasp) paying 
> attention to what I'm eating, and not just counting carbs. I'm actually 
> focusing on, go figure, EATING BETTER.

> So, I just wanted to share my small bit of good news and new inspiration.
> You all, here, have been inspiring to me over the years, and I truly 
> appreciate all that you share.


> Strive On!
> Everett
> In Colorado Springs, USA



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-- 
--Dar
skype: dmgina23
  FB: dmgina
www.twitter.com/dmgina
every saint has a past
every sinner has a future
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