Monday, September 9, 2013
Developing a Fear of Carbs
I'm not sure if this is something I really need to be concerned about, everything is probably just fine but I have developed a fear of eating carbs. I feel that whenever I eat them, I have such an undesirable outcome (read: high blood sugar or blood sugar swings), that I have found myself avoiding them altogether. Good things have come out of this- I have lost weight and inches, and my BGs are pretty good and very predictable on a regular basis. My A1c has been at or below 6.0 since last November when I started eating low carb. I have been able to sustain tight control of my blood sugar without having many lows. I believe the bad association I have with carbs is a direct result of the bad blood sugars I get from eating them. It reminds me of when I was a child and I got a stomach bug while at the baby sitters. As a result of the stomach bug I threw up my macaroni and cheese. I wasn't able to eat macaroni and cheese again for over 20 years, because I associated it with stomach pain and nausea. I have developed a similar association with carbs. It's interesting how we develop relationships with food based on our individual experiences.
Do you fear any foods? Are there some you completely avoid (even thought you really like them) because of how they affect your blood sugar? I know that as diabetics we have been taught that "no food is off limits," and that we can eat anything as long as we bolus for it. But is that really true? Why is my bg SO MUCH BETTER (as are all my numbers) when I eat low carb? I have a few friends in the D community that eat low carb and have had good results. How come this way of eating isn't taught in the diabetes education classes I had to take?
I guess since my fear of carbs isn't harming me, I shouldn't worry about it. I don't like that one category of food can wreak so much havoc on my health. I don't like to feel limited, but the truth is diabetes does limit your diet. You can eat what you want, but you are going to pay for it. I fear bad blood sugar more than I desire carbs, if that makes since. But it would be nice to eat the occasional dessert without having fear or bad BG repercussions.
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
Hiding diabetes.
Day two of new job.
The extreme tiredness that one experiences when your brain is trying to absorb new info for 8 consecutive hours has set in. I feel like I stuffed 20 lbs of potatoes in a 10 lb sack. I don't think I'm eating enough. I'm definitely not going to bed early enough. And the 1 hr commute home everyday (from city rush hour) is killing me. But I like the job and the people.
My diabetes numbers have been GREAT, but at a price. Since I have been trying to keep my diseases a secret for as long as possible, I have been eating very small amounts of carbs in order to avoid having the CGM beep with highs. So breakfast has been 3 egg whites, no carbs. Lunch has been a salad with almost no dressing. And I have carby snacks and juice boxes on hand when I see I'm dropping below 80. I eat only enough to get it in the low 100s. I have not beeped one time in two days. I only check my blood sugar in the bathroom stall. My pump is currently on my stomach; virtually invisible under the right clothing. No one seems to have noticed anything. People talk to me about normal people things. I felt NORMAL for the first time since being diagnosed with diabetes 3 years ago. I'm enjoying this for as long as I can, because I know as soon as people find out I have diabetes, I will start to hear the stories we've all heard- who they know that has diabetes or died from it. I will get 1000 questions on my diet, diabetic symptoms, my family's health history, and get told how I don't "look" like a diabetic (what does one look like, exactly). I will have judgments placed on me when people see me eating sugary things.
I have had diabetes long enough that I had almost forgotten what it felt like to not have it (or to not be treated like I have it). It's 100% non-disease related conversations. It's like old times. It made me sad and made me really miss my "old" life, the one without diabetes. I want to hang on to people not knowing I have it for as long as possible.
The extreme tiredness that one experiences when your brain is trying to absorb new info for 8 consecutive hours has set in. I feel like I stuffed 20 lbs of potatoes in a 10 lb sack. I don't think I'm eating enough. I'm definitely not going to bed early enough. And the 1 hr commute home everyday (from city rush hour) is killing me. But I like the job and the people.
My diabetes numbers have been GREAT, but at a price. Since I have been trying to keep my diseases a secret for as long as possible, I have been eating very small amounts of carbs in order to avoid having the CGM beep with highs. So breakfast has been 3 egg whites, no carbs. Lunch has been a salad with almost no dressing. And I have carby snacks and juice boxes on hand when I see I'm dropping below 80. I eat only enough to get it in the low 100s. I have not beeped one time in two days. I only check my blood sugar in the bathroom stall. My pump is currently on my stomach; virtually invisible under the right clothing. No one seems to have noticed anything. People talk to me about normal people things. I felt NORMAL for the first time since being diagnosed with diabetes 3 years ago. I'm enjoying this for as long as I can, because I know as soon as people find out I have diabetes, I will start to hear the stories we've all heard- who they know that has diabetes or died from it. I will get 1000 questions on my diet, diabetic symptoms, my family's health history, and get told how I don't "look" like a diabetic (what does one look like, exactly). I will have judgments placed on me when people see me eating sugary things.
I have had diabetes long enough that I had almost forgotten what it felt like to not have it (or to not be treated like I have it). It's 100% non-disease related conversations. It's like old times. It made me sad and made me really miss my "old" life, the one without diabetes. I want to hang on to people not knowing I have it for as long as possible.
Monday, July 22, 2013
A look in my fridge.
I like to do this blog subject every once in a while, and I wish more bloggers would do this, too. Aren't you curious what other people eat?
I want to show you what this diabetic/celiac/allergic-girl eats.
This is basically what my fridge looks like at the beginning of every week. It's full of veggies, because I do my grocery shopping over the weekend.
A break down of the left and right sides
Nothing too exciting going on in here. On the left, hormone-free eggs (3 dozen), hummus, dairy free cheeses, Zevia soda, tofu, GF tortillas (Rudi's brand), and a few veggies. On the right GF bread (Glutino multi-seed bread), Bragg's liquid aminos, Litehouse dressing, almond milk, Bragg's Braggberry dressing, guacamole salsa, earth balance butter, soy creamer, raw sauerkraut, red hot, ketchup and fresh green juice. Also, a Bragg's organic apple cider vinegar drink, Limeade flavored. It's straight up vinegar and lime juice. I was pulling faces drinking it like the first time I drank tequila. It's not for the faint hearted. But it's so good for you!
In the drawers, just more veggies, organic gala apples and some bagged salad
If you are wondering where the meat is, it's in the freezer. I have chicken sausage in there along with organic chicken breasts.
The green juice was transferred into this for freshness for the day
This is what I put in my green juice I used 2 apples in the batch instead of 3, about 4-5 romaine leaves, 3 cucumbers, 1 broccoli stalk, 3-4 stalks of celery.
I drank it out of a wine glass afterwards
After I cleaned and dried the lettuce, I put everything in bags for the week. I also pre-cleaned and bagged up my individual juicing combinations for quicker juicing this week. I packed my salad for lunch for the next day, too.
Then there was the cleanup from juicing
Lastly, today was my first day at work
I put a potty pad down for my dog, since my drive to work is longer and I didn't want her to have an accident. But apparently the purpose of the potty pad was lost on her.
But at least there were no potty accidents! Today was a good first day. It helped ease some of the worry I had about whether I made the right decision (I need to stop second guessing myself all the time). My mind is fried from cramming so much new information in it. It's time to go sit on the couch and watch some mindless tv.
I want to show you what this diabetic/celiac/allergic-girl eats.
This is basically what my fridge looks like at the beginning of every week. It's full of veggies, because I do my grocery shopping over the weekend.
A break down of the left and right sides
Nothing too exciting going on in here. On the left, hormone-free eggs (3 dozen), hummus, dairy free cheeses, Zevia soda, tofu, GF tortillas (Rudi's brand), and a few veggies. On the right GF bread (Glutino multi-seed bread), Bragg's liquid aminos, Litehouse dressing, almond milk, Bragg's Braggberry dressing, guacamole salsa, earth balance butter, soy creamer, raw sauerkraut, red hot, ketchup and fresh green juice. Also, a Bragg's organic apple cider vinegar drink, Limeade flavored. It's straight up vinegar and lime juice. I was pulling faces drinking it like the first time I drank tequila. It's not for the faint hearted. But it's so good for you!
In the drawers, just more veggies, organic gala apples and some bagged salad
If you are wondering where the meat is, it's in the freezer. I have chicken sausage in there along with organic chicken breasts.
The green juice was transferred into this for freshness for the day
This is what I put in my green juice I used 2 apples in the batch instead of 3, about 4-5 romaine leaves, 3 cucumbers, 1 broccoli stalk, 3-4 stalks of celery.
I drank it out of a wine glass afterwards
After I cleaned and dried the lettuce, I put everything in bags for the week. I also pre-cleaned and bagged up my individual juicing combinations for quicker juicing this week. I packed my salad for lunch for the next day, too.
Then there was the cleanup from juicing
Lastly, today was my first day at work
I put a potty pad down for my dog, since my drive to work is longer and I didn't want her to have an accident. But apparently the purpose of the potty pad was lost on her.
But at least there were no potty accidents! Today was a good first day. It helped ease some of the worry I had about whether I made the right decision (I need to stop second guessing myself all the time). My mind is fried from cramming so much new information in it. It's time to go sit on the couch and watch some mindless tv.
Sunday, July 21, 2013
New job challenge: Sharing your disease info.
Friday was my last day at my job. I was a little relieved, as this week has been IMPOSSIBLE for me to avoid distractions and get work done. There is something about knowing it's your last week at work- your mind will simply not stay focused anymore. My work peeps were great- they threw me a mini party complete with giftsc and a very sweet card. They bought me Reese's peanut butter cups, since they had seen me eat them before so knew they'd be "safe" (gluten free) for me to eat. I am always humbled and grateful when someone attempts to understand my illnesses. And then someone explained the thought process that went into picking out my gifts- making sure the food stuff was gluten free, and making sure the gift stuff was rubber free. I was blown away. It touched my heart. Especially because I work hard to downplay my illnesses as much as possible; I don't talk about them much at work so most people think my diseases are relatively easy to manage. But clearly people were paying attention and that is just sweet.
One of my supervisors was talking to me near the end of the day on Friday, and what she said was so heartwarming, I almost teared up. She said "I know you have been through a lot, and you have to deal with more challenges everyday than anyone I know, but you do it with such grace. You have every reason to have a bad attitude, but instead you have a positive one. You could be Eyore, but instead choose to be Tigger."
Firstly, to have someone acknowledge that my life is actually hard- wow- I just didn't know that anyone noticed.
I start my new job on Monday. I made the right move, but it still is scary. I have to start over with introducing my diseases to my new team and management- ALWAYS a terrifying thing because I worry whether they will wish they hadn't hired me. I wonder if they will worry whether I'm going to miss a bunch of work, or if my diseases will impact my work quality/quantity, etc. I'm already developing a plan in my head for how to introduce things. My diabetes always introduces itself- I wear an insulin pump visible on my upper arm. It also beeps, as does my Dexcom CGM. There's also the every-two-hour blood sugar checks, so there's really no hiding it for any period of time. But the other things, celiac disease and crazy allergies, I will try to hide for as long as I am able. You know, try to spread out the negative stuff that I don't like to highlight, instead of giving it all at once. Not giving out any unnecessary information about myself that I don't need to. I want people to get to know ME FOR ME, not me as related to my illnesses. I can bring my own food everyday- lots of people pack their lunches everyday. No one needs to know I can't have gluten. They will just think I'm a very healthy eater (which I am!). If someone offers me something with gluten, I'll just say no thank you. They don't need the gory details why I can't have it. I think I'd rather have someone think I'm a picky eater than know I have a disease that prevents me from eating it. In time, sure, I'll probably spill the beans. But at least while I'm new, I'm choosing to lay low. I'd like to put off being known as the "sick person" at work for as long as possible. If I had my way, my employer and coworkers wouldn't know about any of my illnesses, ever.
I DON'T want to be viewed as a problem when I start a new job. I am happy that I succeeded in not coming across that way at my most recent job- that I was liked and viewed highly; that my work was praised. I worked hard to have my work and my accomplishments outshine my diseases.
My insurance runs through the end of the month, at which point I will begin my $600/month COBRA payments to continue my insurance (OUCH). It will mainly be used to pay for my prescriptions. I won't be using it to pay for doctor visits, since I won't be able to take time off for the next 5 months (the joy of being a contract worker with no employee benefits, including vacation time). My prescriptions would cost me MORE than my COBRA payments each month, so I'm still making out ahead by paying for COBRA. Since I met my out-of-pocket maximum for the year a long time ago, all of my prescriptions are covered at 100%. But this week when I picked up one of my prescriptions- a cream I have to use for skin allergy reactions- I looked at the cash price of the tube of cream. It was $497.99. WHHAAAAAT! Add to that my monthly insulin ($350), test strips ($339), and about 4 other prescriptions I pick up monthly (that cost less), it adds up to A LOT of dough. Yowzer. It ain't cheap being sick.
I'm starting back up on juicing tomorrow. I went NUTS at the farmer's market this morning; purchasing 5 bags worth of fresh, pesticide-free produce for juicing. I'm not sure it's actually cheaper to get stuff at my farmer's market than at the grocery store. But I like to support the local farmers so if I have to pay a little extra so be it. I went as soon as I woke up- I threw on a tee shirt and shorts, threw my dirty hair up in a ponytail, slipped on some sandals and sunglasses and off I went. I wanted to get there early before the selection was gone. I used to juice on a regular basis, but fell away from it because it is time intensive and somewhat expensive to do. I'd like to say that I'm going to stay committed to making fresh vegetable juice every morning before work, but that means I'd have to commit to getting up probably 1/2 hour earlier and I just don't know how likely that is. I might make it the night before, even though I know that the juice loses some of it's nutrients overnight.
Tomorrow is Sunday, which means it's prep and chop day. The day I make ALL meals for the entire work week- breakfasts (usually an egg bake that will last all week), lunches and suppers. I also pre-measure out all snacks. So I'll likely sleep in, start the morning with a cup of decaf coffee or tea and a nice egg white scramble. Maybe do some light reading and relaxing. Then it's turn the music up time and start cookin'! Later in the day I will put together a few outfits for the week, and then stock my work bag with glucose sources, my own pens and office supplies (since I can't use ones with rubber grips) and everything else I might need. It sure takes some of the stress off when you are prepared ahead of time.
One of my supervisors was talking to me near the end of the day on Friday, and what she said was so heartwarming, I almost teared up. She said "I know you have been through a lot, and you have to deal with more challenges everyday than anyone I know, but you do it with such grace. You have every reason to have a bad attitude, but instead you have a positive one. You could be Eyore, but instead choose to be Tigger."
Firstly, to have someone acknowledge that my life is actually hard- wow- I just didn't know that anyone noticed.
I start my new job on Monday. I made the right move, but it still is scary. I have to start over with introducing my diseases to my new team and management- ALWAYS a terrifying thing because I worry whether they will wish they hadn't hired me. I wonder if they will worry whether I'm going to miss a bunch of work, or if my diseases will impact my work quality/quantity, etc. I'm already developing a plan in my head for how to introduce things. My diabetes always introduces itself- I wear an insulin pump visible on my upper arm. It also beeps, as does my Dexcom CGM. There's also the every-two-hour blood sugar checks, so there's really no hiding it for any period of time. But the other things, celiac disease and crazy allergies, I will try to hide for as long as I am able. You know, try to spread out the negative stuff that I don't like to highlight, instead of giving it all at once. Not giving out any unnecessary information about myself that I don't need to. I want people to get to know ME FOR ME, not me as related to my illnesses. I can bring my own food everyday- lots of people pack their lunches everyday. No one needs to know I can't have gluten. They will just think I'm a very healthy eater (which I am!). If someone offers me something with gluten, I'll just say no thank you. They don't need the gory details why I can't have it. I think I'd rather have someone think I'm a picky eater than know I have a disease that prevents me from eating it. In time, sure, I'll probably spill the beans. But at least while I'm new, I'm choosing to lay low. I'd like to put off being known as the "sick person" at work for as long as possible. If I had my way, my employer and coworkers wouldn't know about any of my illnesses, ever.
I DON'T want to be viewed as a problem when I start a new job. I am happy that I succeeded in not coming across that way at my most recent job- that I was liked and viewed highly; that my work was praised. I worked hard to have my work and my accomplishments outshine my diseases.
My insurance runs through the end of the month, at which point I will begin my $600/month COBRA payments to continue my insurance (OUCH). It will mainly be used to pay for my prescriptions. I won't be using it to pay for doctor visits, since I won't be able to take time off for the next 5 months (the joy of being a contract worker with no employee benefits, including vacation time). My prescriptions would cost me MORE than my COBRA payments each month, so I'm still making out ahead by paying for COBRA. Since I met my out-of-pocket maximum for the year a long time ago, all of my prescriptions are covered at 100%. But this week when I picked up one of my prescriptions- a cream I have to use for skin allergy reactions- I looked at the cash price of the tube of cream. It was $497.99. WHHAAAAAT! Add to that my monthly insulin ($350), test strips ($339), and about 4 other prescriptions I pick up monthly (that cost less), it adds up to A LOT of dough. Yowzer. It ain't cheap being sick.
I'm starting back up on juicing tomorrow. I went NUTS at the farmer's market this morning; purchasing 5 bags worth of fresh, pesticide-free produce for juicing. I'm not sure it's actually cheaper to get stuff at my farmer's market than at the grocery store. But I like to support the local farmers so if I have to pay a little extra so be it. I went as soon as I woke up- I threw on a tee shirt and shorts, threw my dirty hair up in a ponytail, slipped on some sandals and sunglasses and off I went. I wanted to get there early before the selection was gone. I used to juice on a regular basis, but fell away from it because it is time intensive and somewhat expensive to do. I'd like to say that I'm going to stay committed to making fresh vegetable juice every morning before work, but that means I'd have to commit to getting up probably 1/2 hour earlier and I just don't know how likely that is. I might make it the night before, even though I know that the juice loses some of it's nutrients overnight.
Tomorrow is Sunday, which means it's prep and chop day. The day I make ALL meals for the entire work week- breakfasts (usually an egg bake that will last all week), lunches and suppers. I also pre-measure out all snacks. So I'll likely sleep in, start the morning with a cup of decaf coffee or tea and a nice egg white scramble. Maybe do some light reading and relaxing. Then it's turn the music up time and start cookin'! Later in the day I will put together a few outfits for the week, and then stock my work bag with glucose sources, my own pens and office supplies (since I can't use ones with rubber grips) and everything else I might need. It sure takes some of the stress off when you are prepared ahead of time.
Tuesday, July 9, 2013
Change is good.
A big change took place on Monday. I put my notice in at my current job. It was a hard decision, as you will see why. I traded in my full-time, regular employment status position for a contract position at another company. What this means is that I will not have any benefits with my new job- no vacation time, no health insurance. And the contract only runs through the end of the year. It was something I thought over very very carefully. I made the decision in order to improve my financial situation. You see, although I am frugal and have "gotten by"at my last job, things have been VERY tight and I've had to cut many things out of my life that I enjoy in order to "get by." When I took my current job, I did so after a period of unemployment and needed income and insurance. However, it was a very very large cut in pay from what I have previously been making. It was a fine job, working for nice people, but I discovered it was too low skill and sort of very boring, along with low pay. I missed the challenge of my previous work. This new contract position I accepted is making a substantially higher income; in the same range as I am used to making. The trade off is that I will have to pay for COBRA continuation of benefits at the hefty price of $600/month. There is a very good chance there will be an opportunity to turn this into a regular employee status position by the end of the year, which I will work hard to do.
Now as a person with T1 diabetes, celiac disease, grave's disease, allergies and recovering from a spinal cord injury, it is terrifying to take a job that does not have health insurance OR vacation/sick days (or days off for dr appointments). COBRA is only available for 18 months, which means I will have to work my TAIL off to turn this position into something permanent, or find something else within the company that is permanent. The biggest risk would be coming to the end of the contract without having an opportunity for either another contract or a permanent position- I would not be able to afford the COBRA if I had no employment. This is a very scary thing for an unmarried chica like myself who does not have a spouse's insurance plan (or income) as backup. The other risk of course is that I NEED to maintain perfect health for the next 5 months, or at least plan on going into work sick if I do get sick.
Sometimes you have to take a gamble in life in order to get ahead. I realized that there wasn't opportunity for growth in my current position. I don't want to struggle financially or have things always be "tight." I don't want to always carry medical debt. I just simply need to make more money.
I am a person who has a lot of faith and I believe this situation WILL work. I have faith in myself that I will have a full time employment offer by the end of the year.
It's a big decision, a little scary if I think too much into it because of the risks, but I need to just focus on the positive. I hope you all will be praying for me!
Everything has been pretty good this week. Blood sugars are hanging steady, allergies are sort of in check (except tonight when I had the crazy idea to bear hug my dog, rubbing my whole face and neck in her face and ending up with hives all over my neck, face, and arms). I know better than that. Nothing that a bath and a Benadryl can't fix.
Tonight I made a quick dinner- flash fried some organic chicken breasts in coconut oil with salt, pepper and garlic powder and then splashed on just a little Bragg's Liquid Aminos (it's a gluten free soy sauce) on top. I ate that with a side of green beans and then snacked on a few organic corn tortilla chips with bean dip. Dessert is strawberries sliced up in a bowl and some brewed iced herbal (decaf) tea from Teavana.
Tomorrow after work I have a friend coming over who wants some assistance in meal planning for the week. I've been working on a take-home instruction list for him tonight. He likes the idea of doing all the weekly cooking on Sunday so your weeknights after work are freed up. His criteria is that it needs to be simple, quick recipes that are also very healthy and cover all the food groups. No problem at all; I do that every week anyway. I'm making him a sample meal to try as well.
Time to call it a night. I've been go go going all day and it's time to put my feet up. :)
Now as a person with T1 diabetes, celiac disease, grave's disease, allergies and recovering from a spinal cord injury, it is terrifying to take a job that does not have health insurance OR vacation/sick days (or days off for dr appointments). COBRA is only available for 18 months, which means I will have to work my TAIL off to turn this position into something permanent, or find something else within the company that is permanent. The biggest risk would be coming to the end of the contract without having an opportunity for either another contract or a permanent position- I would not be able to afford the COBRA if I had no employment. This is a very scary thing for an unmarried chica like myself who does not have a spouse's insurance plan (or income) as backup. The other risk of course is that I NEED to maintain perfect health for the next 5 months, or at least plan on going into work sick if I do get sick.
Sometimes you have to take a gamble in life in order to get ahead. I realized that there wasn't opportunity for growth in my current position. I don't want to struggle financially or have things always be "tight." I don't want to always carry medical debt. I just simply need to make more money.
I am a person who has a lot of faith and I believe this situation WILL work. I have faith in myself that I will have a full time employment offer by the end of the year.
It's a big decision, a little scary if I think too much into it because of the risks, but I need to just focus on the positive. I hope you all will be praying for me!
Everything has been pretty good this week. Blood sugars are hanging steady, allergies are sort of in check (except tonight when I had the crazy idea to bear hug my dog, rubbing my whole face and neck in her face and ending up with hives all over my neck, face, and arms). I know better than that. Nothing that a bath and a Benadryl can't fix.
Tonight I made a quick dinner- flash fried some organic chicken breasts in coconut oil with salt, pepper and garlic powder and then splashed on just a little Bragg's Liquid Aminos (it's a gluten free soy sauce) on top. I ate that with a side of green beans and then snacked on a few organic corn tortilla chips with bean dip. Dessert is strawberries sliced up in a bowl and some brewed iced herbal (decaf) tea from Teavana.
Tomorrow after work I have a friend coming over who wants some assistance in meal planning for the week. I've been working on a take-home instruction list for him tonight. He likes the idea of doing all the weekly cooking on Sunday so your weeknights after work are freed up. His criteria is that it needs to be simple, quick recipes that are also very healthy and cover all the food groups. No problem at all; I do that every week anyway. I'm making him a sample meal to try as well.
Time to call it a night. I've been go go going all day and it's time to put my feet up. :)
Sunday, July 7, 2013
Gluten Free Egg Mcmuffin.
While I usually prefer to eat low-carb, on the one of the weekend days (usually Saturday but this weekend it is Sunday) I will usually allow myself to indulge a little. Not go overboard and binge on carbs, but I allow myself to eat more carbs than I normally would during the week. Today my indulgence was making a gluten free egg Mcmuffin.
Here are the ingredients. I started with spraying my pan with non-stick gluten free olive oil spray to fry my egg and lunch meat. I use hormone-free/antibiotic free egg. For meat, I use Castlewood brand (found at Sam's Club), because it is gluten free and lower in sodium and fat. Since I try to steer clear of dairy as much as possible, I use Go Veggie! cheese slices. To me, they taste just like regular cheese slices with a slight texture difference. I use Food For Life gluten free multi-seed english muffins. These come in many different flavors, so if you don't like seeds you can get brown rice ones or plain white ones. I get these at Lakewinds, my local co-op but I'm sure Whole Foods sells them, too. After toasting, I lightly butter them with Earth Balance Organic Whipped buttery spread (dairy and gluten free).
The thing I learned about gluten free english muffins is that they don't really brown when toasting. I toasted mine twice at the highest level on the toaster and got mild brown-y toast-y spots. However, even though they may not look toasted, they are as crunchy and tasty the way that an english muffin should be.
Afterwards, I assembled everything and voila. A filling and tasty breakfast for 40g of carb.
Here are the ingredients. I started with spraying my pan with non-stick gluten free olive oil spray to fry my egg and lunch meat. I use hormone-free/antibiotic free egg. For meat, I use Castlewood brand (found at Sam's Club), because it is gluten free and lower in sodium and fat. Since I try to steer clear of dairy as much as possible, I use Go Veggie! cheese slices. To me, they taste just like regular cheese slices with a slight texture difference. I use Food For Life gluten free multi-seed english muffins. These come in many different flavors, so if you don't like seeds you can get brown rice ones or plain white ones. I get these at Lakewinds, my local co-op but I'm sure Whole Foods sells them, too. After toasting, I lightly butter them with Earth Balance Organic Whipped buttery spread (dairy and gluten free).
The thing I learned about gluten free english muffins is that they don't really brown when toasting. I toasted mine twice at the highest level on the toaster and got mild brown-y toast-y spots. However, even though they may not look toasted, they are as crunchy and tasty the way that an english muffin should be.
Afterwards, I assembled everything and voila. A filling and tasty breakfast for 40g of carb.
Friday, July 5, 2013
A day in the life of a type 1 diabetic celiac with life-altering allergies.
Do you ever look at the people around you and wonder what their story is? How people (like us) can look so normal and healthy on the outside that most people would never question or guess there was anything wrong with us. I have heard this statement so many times, “Wow, you LOOK so healthy; I never would have guessed that you have XXX (fill in the blank here- spinal cord injury/diabetes/celiac disease/autoimmune thyroid disease/life-altering allergies)." I am amazed myself that I can make it look so easy to others that they don't know I have multiple diseases. It's a skill.
So what’s it like to be a type 1 diabetic/celiac with life-altering allergies? It’s a very analytical lifestyle. If you are a diabetic, you are analyzing carbs and blood sugar trends. If you are celiac, you are analyzing menus, ingredients, cross-contamination risks. If you are a person with severe allergies, you are analyzing your environment, ingredients, etc. If you are all of these, like me, you are analyzing EVERYTHING.
Having severe allergies to all detergents (in bath soaps, shampoos/conditioners, household cleaners, hair products, laundry products, makeup, sunscreen, deodrant, eye drops, self tanners), many adhesives and all antibiotic ointments, and carba-mix which is rubber (think rubber gripped pens, soles of shoes, spatulas, all rubber gloves, cell phone bumpers, rubber bands, hoses, certain ear phone cords, erasers, cavity fillings, just to name a few) has dramatically altered my life. I also have diagnosed allergies to dairy and raw onion, although these are mild on the allergy scale and I can sometimes still eat them without consequences as long it is not an everyday thing.
I’ve talked a lot on my blog about diabetes and celiac disease, and some of the challenges I face having BOTH of these diseases (that do not place nice together). But today I’d like to talk a little about how having severe allergies to things affects my life. It’s going to be a story, in pictures.
Let’s begin with what I am allergic to: (click on any picture to enlarge)
It's every month going to the special website you've been assigned to go to by your dermatologist and printing off the most current list of products that are SAFE for you to use based on your unique combination of allergies. This list is 111 pages long and is reallly hard to sneak-print at work.
You bring this crazy-big document with you every time you go shopping, and you use tab stickies to organize sections for easier finding of product categories:
Here are some of the products that are safe for me.
Household cleaners- Seventh Generation- these particular ones only, not the entire Seventh Generation line of products. Free and Clear is the only shower gel/soap I am able to use. It doubles as my hand soap, since I am unable to use all hand soaps. This holds true when I leave my house- I must carry a small travel size refillable container of my soap, as I cannot use soaps in public restrooms, at work, or at other people's houses.
Acure lotions, Rusk W8less hairspray, Sebastian hairspray, Mineral Fusion shampoo and conditioner, Acure shampoo and conditioner, Pure Silk shaving cream. Again, these particular scents and formulas only; not all products of one brand are safe.
This is the only safe nail polish I can use. All colors in this Sally Hansen Complete Manicure line are safe.
So what happens if I come in contact with with an allergen? In addition to sometimes having wheezing followed by an asthma attack (I now carry a rescue inhaler in my purse), I always break out all over my body in red, painful bumps that break open, ooze, bleed and itch like there is no tomorrow. They become so painful that even having clothing come in contact with them is painful. I have a cream I put on them to help them heal, but healing still takes several weeks. Things can get a little dicey if I accidently touch a surface that has one of the allergens on it, and then touch my arm or face or something. So I carry antibacterial wipes, Huggies unscented wipes and antibacterial hand gel with me at all times to wipe my hands off after touching communal things (like the fridge or microwave handles at work.
Here is what a recent outbreak looked like. It's a little hard to see in the iPhone pictures taken at work. Here are the ones visible on my neck and chest. Multiply that by your whole body and you get the picture. These pictures were taken before they started breaking open and bleeding.
All of my autoimmune diseases are challenging and life altering, and I do my best to down play each of them as much as possible. Despite it all, I think I still have found a way to lead a pretty nice life, based on a "different" normal than other people. I have been able to meet others in all of my different disease populations.
Sure, when I travel now I have to bring a ton of extra garbage with me. OH WELL. I've got my carry on cooler for my insulin and gluten free food, and my other carry on will be jammed packed full of my 3oz containers of special shampoo, conditioner, face wash, body wash, and lotion.
What's the other alternative- check out of life and be depressed everyday? I tried that before and it wasn't very fun. It took some time to develop confidence and not feel as though I was a burden to everyone around me. As you well know, disease can be very isolating. And that's not to say I don't feel self-conscious sometimes about all the special accommodations I need for food and everything else (like having to ask my work to not use rubber bands on any of my work). My work has been gracious and very kind. But not everyone in every area of my life is always accommodating. I think some people think that avoiding allergens or eating GF due to celiac disease is more a choice than a requirement. But I've learned to work around those situations. I'm a pro now. I'm actually thinking about hosting a dinner party for my friends at my house FOR THE FIRST TIME since being diagnosed with my first disease(2010!!!). Things are easier if they are at my house; I have more control over things and also I don't have to tote around a bunch of extra things. Maybe I'm just getting a little ahead of myself. I'm just going to take things one day at a time.
Monday, June 3, 2013
How I prep food for the week.
Sunday is always a busy day at Chez Nikki. It's a day that begins with a nice cup of decaf coffee, a nice hearty low carb breakfast, maybe a little exercise or reading, and then it's cooking and prep time for the week. I just don't have time during the week to cook healthy meals. I end up taking short cuts and eating easy processed food because it's handy and ready. This sunday, I did a lot more cooking than normal, because I had some ingredients that needed to be used up or else risk having to toss them. And I HATE throwing out food. It's like taking dollar bills and throwing them right into the garbage. So, I prefer to cook everything up and if needed, freeze it for later use.
You'll see a theme of bell peppers in all of the main dishes, as I had 6 to use up.
I started with a 3 lb log of ground turkey, and make it into two different dishes: chili in the crockpot (2 lbs) and turkey cranberry burgers (1 lb).
Here are the turkey burgers, with mixed in dried cranberries and chopped red pepper. I always weigh my food, as it helps with calorie and carb counting.
It made enough for the whole week plus enough to freeze for later.
With the chili, I was able to use up a ton of fresh tomatoes that were coming to the end of their life, along with a few bell peppers that I was concerned would be too soft to use for dipping in hummus this week. I didn't take a picture because I've made it several times and have previously posted pictures of it. You probably don't want to see weekly chili pictures. :)
Next, I made a quinoa salad, for a nice vegetarian/vegan option during the week. I threw in more bell peppers, green beans, a can of mushrooms and walnuts with a dressing made out of olive oil + fresh lemon juice + salt and pepper.
After making 3 main entrees, I made sides.
First I baked up a few sweet potatoes in the oven. Then I chopped up veggies for dipping in hummus- carrots, celery and radishes. I buy organic, since these are veggies where you essentially eat everything and there is nothing to really peel away. It is one place in your diet you can buy organic and not have it break the bank.
Next, I chopped up a head of cabbage and fried it in a teeny amount of Earth Balance butter with black pepper and apple cider vinegar. It's a great food to eat if you want to feel full without excess calories and carbs. And I really like it!
Not pictured, I cut up salad fixings for the week for easy, throw-together salads for lunch. I highly recommend throwing some walnuts on your salad. They are so nutritious and delicious! I buy the organic walnut pieces from Trader Joe's. I keep them in a Ball jar to keep them fresh after opening.
Lastly, I picked up some organic raspberries, which I love to throw in some lite whip cream for dessert or maybe throw in a smoothie this week. It satisfies my sweet tooth!
This is what my fridge looked like afterwards
I also spent the day cleaning and enjoying the sunshine come through my windows, which as you can see, the dog really enjoyed, too
Hope I've inspired you to do some cooking this week. Whether you are cooking for one, two or five, it will save you money and calories. I hear a lot of single peeps say that they don't like to cook because it goes to waste or is too much work for one person. But I say just freeze it. Also, with home cooking, you will have the benefit of knowing exactly what's in your food and where it came from.
You'll see a theme of bell peppers in all of the main dishes, as I had 6 to use up.
I started with a 3 lb log of ground turkey, and make it into two different dishes: chili in the crockpot (2 lbs) and turkey cranberry burgers (1 lb).
Here are the turkey burgers, with mixed in dried cranberries and chopped red pepper. I always weigh my food, as it helps with calorie and carb counting.
It made enough for the whole week plus enough to freeze for later.
With the chili, I was able to use up a ton of fresh tomatoes that were coming to the end of their life, along with a few bell peppers that I was concerned would be too soft to use for dipping in hummus this week. I didn't take a picture because I've made it several times and have previously posted pictures of it. You probably don't want to see weekly chili pictures. :)
Next, I made a quinoa salad, for a nice vegetarian/vegan option during the week. I threw in more bell peppers, green beans, a can of mushrooms and walnuts with a dressing made out of olive oil + fresh lemon juice + salt and pepper.
After making 3 main entrees, I made sides.
First I baked up a few sweet potatoes in the oven. Then I chopped up veggies for dipping in hummus- carrots, celery and radishes. I buy organic, since these are veggies where you essentially eat everything and there is nothing to really peel away. It is one place in your diet you can buy organic and not have it break the bank.
Next, I chopped up a head of cabbage and fried it in a teeny amount of Earth Balance butter with black pepper and apple cider vinegar. It's a great food to eat if you want to feel full without excess calories and carbs. And I really like it!
Not pictured, I cut up salad fixings for the week for easy, throw-together salads for lunch. I highly recommend throwing some walnuts on your salad. They are so nutritious and delicious! I buy the organic walnut pieces from Trader Joe's. I keep them in a Ball jar to keep them fresh after opening.
Lastly, I picked up some organic raspberries, which I love to throw in some lite whip cream for dessert or maybe throw in a smoothie this week. It satisfies my sweet tooth!
This is what my fridge looked like afterwards
I also spent the day cleaning and enjoying the sunshine come through my windows, which as you can see, the dog really enjoyed, too
Hope I've inspired you to do some cooking this week. Whether you are cooking for one, two or five, it will save you money and calories. I hear a lot of single peeps say that they don't like to cook because it goes to waste or is too much work for one person. But I say just freeze it. Also, with home cooking, you will have the benefit of knowing exactly what's in your food and where it came from.
Friday, May 31, 2013
Not going so well...
I can't lie... I'm not loving MDI. I know it's early, but I cannot get my bg under control. It starts off fine in the morning, until I eat something. And the rest of the day it goes to hell. It's currently sitting at 260, where it's been for a few hours, creeping up. But it hasn't been long enough since my last bolus, because I guess I'm supposed to wait 4 hours between boluses to correct a high (is that really true???). So my bg is in the toilet. And it being that high has prevented me from eating supper tonight, for fear of it going even higher before bedtime. This shit sucks. I give a lot more credit to MDI users... this is harder than it looks!
It's making me feel depressed and anxious. And I've had a nasty bad headache all afternoon/evening from the sustained high bg. Not a good way to start off on MDI. It doesn't make me feel very hopeful. And it's making me feel stupid that I am not able to get control of things.
It's making me feel depressed and anxious. And I've had a nasty bad headache all afternoon/evening from the sustained high bg. Not a good way to start off on MDI. It doesn't make me feel very hopeful. And it's making me feel stupid that I am not able to get control of things.
Thursday, May 30, 2013
Bad diabetes decisions.
Ever had one of those what were you thinking moments?
photo credit: inanutshell.ca
I had one of those today, and I made a bad diabetes decision.
I mentioned in my previous post that I was using one more final pod (infusion set) in order to finish off my current vial of Novolog, before switching to MDI for the first time ever, for which I will use a Novolog Jr. pen. So last night, I put on my last pod, placing it on my upper left butt. I went to work this morning, and as I was getting out of my car, my pod errored out. BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP.... that noise. I had not planned for this. It never crossed my mind to bring an extra source of insulin in case of pump failure. I turned off the alarm and sat back in the car seat, thinking, Oh boy, now what am I going to do?
I went inside work, put my stuff down on my desk, and went over to my manager to explain I needed to run back home to get my insulin pen. She gave me the go-ahead, but advised me it would be an attendance "occurance," since it was unplanned time taken off work to run home. I hate getting an occurance for a 40 minute round trip drive. Sucks. But anyway, I ran home, grabbed my pen, grabbed an insulin cartridge from the fridge (I have a refillable pen), and ran back to work.
I grabbed some coffee, sat at my desk, and prepared to give myself insulin so I could eat my breakfast. I start taking my supplies out of my bag. Novo Jr. pen? Check. Insulin cartridge? Check. Pen needle tips? .... Pen needle tips? ... Oh crap... I forgot to grab pen needle tips.I couldn't believe I forgot these! I have no way of administering the insulin. I forgave myself for forgetting these, as I've never done shots before and am not used to gathering all the necessary supplies. But the problem remained- what am I going to do for the rest of the day? I wasn't going to run right back home and get another attendance occurance. My option was to run home at lunch, which is a little risky because just a smidgeon of traffic will make me late coming back from our alotted 45-minute lunch break (which would be another attendance occurance). I looked at my food for the day, pretty low carb, and make the BAD decision to go without any insulin the entire day.
At first, this didn't seem like a bad idea. I ate my egg breakfast w/ veggies with no raise in bg (98). I skipped my 2 little nectarines.
I ate lunch- a 1/4 chicken breast with a 1/2 c of plain butternut squash and a caff free diet coke. And I watched my bg get up to 160 2 hours after eating. But it didn't go higher than that, so I didn't worry about it too much because 160 isn't a horrible blood sugar.
But as the afternoon wore on, I started to feel iffy. Sweaty, (despite finally having A/C turned on at work), blurry vision that I kept blinking away, and later, difficulty moving my arms, fingers, legs and jaw. At 3pm when I got off work, I was so light headed that I feared driving home. I felt panicked and almost cried. But I talked myself down and got myself home, where I ate M&Ms to get my bg high enough to administer insulin. I finally figured out how to assemble my Novo jr. pen. I couldn't figure out how to get the screw-thingy in so I could put the cartridge in. So I broke out the instruction manual and figured it out. I clearly didn't pay attention when the CDE showed me in the office last week. And doing all this for the first time makes me feel like I'm in Diabetes 101 all over again.
But I'll get it all figured out and be a pro by the end of the week.
And I'll make sure to pack everything I need for diabetes tmrw in my handbag so I don't have to try to remember everything at 5am when I'm basically sleep walking around the house getting ready for work.
photo credit: inanutshell.ca
I had one of those today, and I made a bad diabetes decision.
I mentioned in my previous post that I was using one more final pod (infusion set) in order to finish off my current vial of Novolog, before switching to MDI for the first time ever, for which I will use a Novolog Jr. pen. So last night, I put on my last pod, placing it on my upper left butt. I went to work this morning, and as I was getting out of my car, my pod errored out. BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP.... that noise. I had not planned for this. It never crossed my mind to bring an extra source of insulin in case of pump failure. I turned off the alarm and sat back in the car seat, thinking, Oh boy, now what am I going to do?
I went inside work, put my stuff down on my desk, and went over to my manager to explain I needed to run back home to get my insulin pen. She gave me the go-ahead, but advised me it would be an attendance "occurance," since it was unplanned time taken off work to run home. I hate getting an occurance for a 40 minute round trip drive. Sucks. But anyway, I ran home, grabbed my pen, grabbed an insulin cartridge from the fridge (I have a refillable pen), and ran back to work.
I grabbed some coffee, sat at my desk, and prepared to give myself insulin so I could eat my breakfast. I start taking my supplies out of my bag. Novo Jr. pen? Check. Insulin cartridge? Check. Pen needle tips? .... Pen needle tips? ... Oh crap... I forgot to grab pen needle tips.I couldn't believe I forgot these! I have no way of administering the insulin. I forgave myself for forgetting these, as I've never done shots before and am not used to gathering all the necessary supplies. But the problem remained- what am I going to do for the rest of the day? I wasn't going to run right back home and get another attendance occurance. My option was to run home at lunch, which is a little risky because just a smidgeon of traffic will make me late coming back from our alotted 45-minute lunch break (which would be another attendance occurance). I looked at my food for the day, pretty low carb, and make the BAD decision to go without any insulin the entire day.
At first, this didn't seem like a bad idea. I ate my egg breakfast w/ veggies with no raise in bg (98). I skipped my 2 little nectarines.
I ate lunch- a 1/4 chicken breast with a 1/2 c of plain butternut squash and a caff free diet coke. And I watched my bg get up to 160 2 hours after eating. But it didn't go higher than that, so I didn't worry about it too much because 160 isn't a horrible blood sugar.
But as the afternoon wore on, I started to feel iffy. Sweaty, (despite finally having A/C turned on at work), blurry vision that I kept blinking away, and later, difficulty moving my arms, fingers, legs and jaw. At 3pm when I got off work, I was so light headed that I feared driving home. I felt panicked and almost cried. But I talked myself down and got myself home, where I ate M&Ms to get my bg high enough to administer insulin. I finally figured out how to assemble my Novo jr. pen. I couldn't figure out how to get the screw-thingy in so I could put the cartridge in. So I broke out the instruction manual and figured it out. I clearly didn't pay attention when the CDE showed me in the office last week. And doing all this for the first time makes me feel like I'm in Diabetes 101 all over again.
But I'll get it all figured out and be a pro by the end of the week.
And I'll make sure to pack everything I need for diabetes tmrw in my handbag so I don't have to try to remember everything at 5am when I'm basically sleep walking around the house getting ready for work.
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
Ghost low bg symptoms and Shame on you, Hoda Kotb.
It was back to work on Tuesday, after a 3-day holiday weekend. Low blood sugar readings caused me to start my weekend plans (a 2-hr drive away) on Saturday instead of Friday, as I had originally planned. Stubborn blood sugar stayed in the 50s for 1/2 a day, into the evening, on Friday. After eating every carb in the house, I was able to bring my blood sugar near 100, but never over, and it wouldn't stay put, either.
I didn't get too upset about this, as this is part of having type 1 diabetes. You always have to expect the unexpected, and go with the flow. I could have certainly gotten mad about it, but it wouldn't have changed anything, so why put yourself through the added stress?
Returning to work is always tough after a long weekend. You'd think you'd feel more refreshed after having an extra day off, but in my experience, I find I try to cram as much into a long weekend as possible and end up more exhausted than after any regular 2-day weekend. Tuesday and today were also a little tough at work because the office hasn't quite figured out what to do with the thermometer. This Minnesota weather has been a little bipolar, with one day in the 50s and the next in the 90s, so the office doesn't know whether to turn on the heat or the air conditioning. And since it's a 3 story building, there is always a good 1 day lag time in changing the temp in the building. Well, since it was colder recently, the heat was still on, even though it was humid and hot today. So I was sitting in my cube sweating to death all day, drinking water like crazy. And if you have t1, you know what heat does to blood sugar. Luckily, I haven't taken my pump off yet (haven't yet made the switch to MDI), so I was able to suspend my basal insulin on and off throughout the day to help manage the lows. I will use up one more pod (infusion set), just to finish off my current bottle of Novolog, then I start my Levemir and Novolog Jr. injections. The closer it gets to making the switch, the less I am looking forward to it. Mind you, it is a choice, so I know in the back of my head I can change my mind. But I know I need to learn MDI as a backup. I've never actually given myself an insulin shot.
I think what I'm most worried about is losing the control that I have right now over my t1. It's not perfect, but it's been manageable and I have this fear that with MDI I won't be able to manage it as well. This is solely based on fear and not experience, since I've never tried MDI. And I have a little fear of not being able to snack as much between meals, since I can only dose insulin in 0.5 increments, instead of the 0.05 increments I can do with the pump. So this isn't just a change in insulin management, but a change in behavior and lifestyle (eating) habits. At my CDE's recommendation, I put my CGM back on after a long hiatus. I'm using up my last Dexcom Seven sensor (even though it is expired now, it's been accurate). Then I'll put my G4 back on. I wonder how long the sensors are good for after the expiration? The Dexcom Seven sensor I'm wearing had an expiration of Sept 2012 (!!!) and still works. Hmm.
Today was a day of feeling fake lows- you know, those ones where you have low bg symptoms, but not actual low bg? I'm still having them right now, and I'm sitting at 100 with a stable arrow on the CGM. In fact, it's been stable all day; hovering in the 90s and low 100s since last night. So I don't get the low bg symptoms. I keep feeling the urge to treat it.
On a GF note, I have become obsessed with GoPicnic's gluten free ready-to-eat meals. I cannot express my love for these enough. What a PERFECT idea for road trips, vacations, and grab-n-go food for us celia-folks. They do not contain GMOs or high fructose corn syrups. And of the 3 I've tried- they are all so delicious. You can order them online at www.goppicnic.com or go to your SuperTarget ($3.99 at Target so a little cheaper than online). Just ask a sales associate what aisle they keep them in. I've seen them in different places in different Target stores. This is one of my favorites:
Shelf stable with long expiration dates, you can bet I'll be carrying one of these in my carry-all bag for those just in case food emergency situations.
If you follow me on Twitter, you probably saw my tweets on Monday and Tuesday about Hoda Kotb's despicable comments on the Today Show on Monday. A long-time fan of their show, I just can't stomach watching it anymore. Even though I don't fault Kathie Lee, who did not agree with Hoda's comments. If you missed the episode, Hoda said she would never date a man if on a date, he asked the waiter "does this have gluten in it?" and repeatedly implied that a man is not a real man if he doesn't eat gluten. Despite Kathie Lee's comment that some people MUST eat gluten free for medical reasons, Hoda implied that any man that has any food restrictions, ("gluten, dairy" were her words) is NOT a real man. I had to rewind the DVR and rewatch the segment, because I couldn't believe I heard her right. Talk about offensive and rude. Thanks for throwing it out on NATIONAL TELEVISION that you think eating gluten free is a load of sh*t, Hoda. Wonder how many restaurant managers were watching and now think the same. I can feel my blood pressure go up writing about it right now, reliving it. I better stop now before I write bad things.
I didn't get too upset about this, as this is part of having type 1 diabetes. You always have to expect the unexpected, and go with the flow. I could have certainly gotten mad about it, but it wouldn't have changed anything, so why put yourself through the added stress?
Returning to work is always tough after a long weekend. You'd think you'd feel more refreshed after having an extra day off, but in my experience, I find I try to cram as much into a long weekend as possible and end up more exhausted than after any regular 2-day weekend. Tuesday and today were also a little tough at work because the office hasn't quite figured out what to do with the thermometer. This Minnesota weather has been a little bipolar, with one day in the 50s and the next in the 90s, so the office doesn't know whether to turn on the heat or the air conditioning. And since it's a 3 story building, there is always a good 1 day lag time in changing the temp in the building. Well, since it was colder recently, the heat was still on, even though it was humid and hot today. So I was sitting in my cube sweating to death all day, drinking water like crazy. And if you have t1, you know what heat does to blood sugar. Luckily, I haven't taken my pump off yet (haven't yet made the switch to MDI), so I was able to suspend my basal insulin on and off throughout the day to help manage the lows. I will use up one more pod (infusion set), just to finish off my current bottle of Novolog, then I start my Levemir and Novolog Jr. injections. The closer it gets to making the switch, the less I am looking forward to it. Mind you, it is a choice, so I know in the back of my head I can change my mind. But I know I need to learn MDI as a backup. I've never actually given myself an insulin shot.
I think what I'm most worried about is losing the control that I have right now over my t1. It's not perfect, but it's been manageable and I have this fear that with MDI I won't be able to manage it as well. This is solely based on fear and not experience, since I've never tried MDI. And I have a little fear of not being able to snack as much between meals, since I can only dose insulin in 0.5 increments, instead of the 0.05 increments I can do with the pump. So this isn't just a change in insulin management, but a change in behavior and lifestyle (eating) habits. At my CDE's recommendation, I put my CGM back on after a long hiatus. I'm using up my last Dexcom Seven sensor (even though it is expired now, it's been accurate). Then I'll put my G4 back on. I wonder how long the sensors are good for after the expiration? The Dexcom Seven sensor I'm wearing had an expiration of Sept 2012 (!!!) and still works. Hmm.
Today was a day of feeling fake lows- you know, those ones where you have low bg symptoms, but not actual low bg? I'm still having them right now, and I'm sitting at 100 with a stable arrow on the CGM. In fact, it's been stable all day; hovering in the 90s and low 100s since last night. So I don't get the low bg symptoms. I keep feeling the urge to treat it.
On a GF note, I have become obsessed with GoPicnic's gluten free ready-to-eat meals. I cannot express my love for these enough. What a PERFECT idea for road trips, vacations, and grab-n-go food for us celia-folks. They do not contain GMOs or high fructose corn syrups. And of the 3 I've tried- they are all so delicious. You can order them online at www.goppicnic.com or go to your SuperTarget ($3.99 at Target so a little cheaper than online). Just ask a sales associate what aisle they keep them in. I've seen them in different places in different Target stores. This is one of my favorites:
Shelf stable with long expiration dates, you can bet I'll be carrying one of these in my carry-all bag for those just in case food emergency situations.
If you follow me on Twitter, you probably saw my tweets on Monday and Tuesday about Hoda Kotb's despicable comments on the Today Show on Monday. A long-time fan of their show, I just can't stomach watching it anymore. Even though I don't fault Kathie Lee, who did not agree with Hoda's comments. If you missed the episode, Hoda said she would never date a man if on a date, he asked the waiter "does this have gluten in it?" and repeatedly implied that a man is not a real man if he doesn't eat gluten. Despite Kathie Lee's comment that some people MUST eat gluten free for medical reasons, Hoda implied that any man that has any food restrictions, ("gluten, dairy" were her words) is NOT a real man. I had to rewind the DVR and rewatch the segment, because I couldn't believe I heard her right. Talk about offensive and rude. Thanks for throwing it out on NATIONAL TELEVISION that you think eating gluten free is a load of sh*t, Hoda. Wonder how many restaurant managers were watching and now think the same. I can feel my blood pressure go up writing about it right now, reliving it. I better stop now before I write bad things.
Monday, May 20, 2013
Reasons I'm getting off the pump-and trying MDI for the first time - Ever.
Ahhh. Just got home from work. Walked in the door, said hi to the dog and bee lined for the closet to change out of my work clothes and get into my jammies. Its customary for me to do this routine as soon as I get home if I don’t have to go anywhere else for the evening. So comfortable.
Well, I meet with the CDE this week to discuss getting off the insulin pump and going to MDI. There are a couple of reasons for this-
1. The cost. Always high at the beginning of each calendar year until I meet my out of pocket maximum.
2. The adhesive is irritating to my skin.
3. I don’t always like having the visual “announcement” that I am diabetic. It is ALWAYS a conversation piece, whether I like it or not.
4. I don’t want the weird oval/egg shaped tan lines all over my arms/stomach/upper butt from wearing it all summer. The tan lines it creates are stuuuuuupid. Nothing like having white egg shapes all over. Or better- having to put a fresh pod with extra strong adhesive on sunburned skin.
5. I don’t like carrying all the pump junk around all the time.
Now here’s the thing. I’ve never done injections because I am afraid of needles. So two things might happen-
1. I might not be able to do the shots on my own out of fear of the needles.
2. I might not be able to manage my diabetes on MDI, because I use so little insulin at a time and the needles (even the kid ones) only administer insulin in either 1 unit or .5 unit increments. My endo previously advised me I would end up having to let my bg go higher and in turn, have a higher A1c. Because unlike a pump, where I can bolus in .05 increments, I wouldn’t be able to fix “small” highs, since I have a high sensitivity to insulin.
3. I like having the option of suspending the basal insulin when I am low.
So, it’s something I’m considering trying out for the summer and see how it goes. I can always go back to the pump if I change my mind. I’m a little nervous about the venture, because I am used to having really good control of my diabetes since its inception in 2010 and I give most of that credit to having the pump early on, which does most of the work for me.
I also need to briefly rant about my glucose meter. I am currently using a Bayer meter. I have both the Bayer Contour and the Bayer Contour USB. I am only using it until I finish up my remaining Bayer test strip stash (6 more vials). I started using the Bayer meter in October 2011 when I was forced to switch due to my new insurance only covering Bayer products (at that time). I had been using a couple different Freestyle meters for 2 years and LOVED them – everything about them. Extremely accurate, uses very little blood, doesn’t error out if you don’t put enough blood on the strip, and has a light at the test strip entrance so you can test in the dark-no problem. Well, I switched to Bayer by force and have disliked it. Everything about it is opposite of the Freestyle- the strips always error out, they are not accurate in comparison to my other meters (even the ReliOn brand I used for a while was more accurate), there is no test strip light, and requires more blood. Today was another example of why I can’t stand the Bayer meter. With clean hands (as always, I wash before testing), I tested my BG prior to eating a snack, which came in as 80. I bolused for 15g of carb. Literally 3 minutes later I felt LOW. I tested, and the meter read 65. I tested again, it read 60. I tested a 3rd time, it said 60. And my bolus insulin had not even hit my system yet. So I knew I was going to be in trouble. I treated the low with a juice box, then followed up with the snack I was planning to have.
This inaccurate blood sugar reading has been an issue with Bayer since I switched to it. I have been sent 2 different meters by Bayer because the two I had were so inaccurate that I thought they were broken. Too many times I would test- get one reading- then test again right after because it doesn’t match how I felt- and get a completely different reading. This didn’t happen with my Freestyle, at least not enough for me to ever remember or ever complain about it. I loved my Freestyle the 2 years I had it.
Luckily, when my insurance changed last October, it began to cover both Bayer and Accu-chek products. So I immediately switched to the Accu-chek Nano. I’ve had no issues with it. Unfortunately, I still have Bayer strips I need to use up, so I’ve had to go back to the Bayer for a while. I cannot WAIT to finish these off.
I sure wish my insurance would cover Freestyle… Oh well, Accu-chek is ok.
Forgive my rant but I think when you are making important decisions (with your insulin) based on your bg readings, those meters need to be accurate. And I’m sorry to the Bayer meter lovers out there. Your experience may be different than mine.
I haven't been using the Dexcom for while, either. I was wearing the Dexcom Seven, then I upgraded to the new one, the G4 last fall. But the cost is high and I really don't want to wear yet another device. And carry around another device. How many things can I wear on my belt clip before I'm considered a nerd? Anyway, for some reason, the CGM doesn't work great on me at night time. During the day, it works like a champ. But every night, even though I calibrate it according to Dexcom's guidelines, it goes haywire at night with crazy high (wrong) readings. All night, every night. I was turning it off at night and re-starting it in the morning, but it just got to be too much so I stopped wearing it. And again, I don't want the tan lines for summer. I have 12 sensors still so if I have the desire to put it back on, I will. And I have to be mindful that those sensors expire in kinda short period of time so I will need to use them up at some point.
I'm lucky to have these complaints- poor me, my diabetes is so well controlled right now that I don't need the pump or the CGM- wahhh wahhh. I hear ya. It goes in phases, just like yours, where it behaves for awhile. It's been pretty good for a while now, since I switched to the Paleo Diet last November. It made a HUGE difference in my bg trends.
Ok well, I'm off. I have some work to do and I need to watch Mad Men from last night.
Well, I meet with the CDE this week to discuss getting off the insulin pump and going to MDI. There are a couple of reasons for this-
1. The cost. Always high at the beginning of each calendar year until I meet my out of pocket maximum.
2. The adhesive is irritating to my skin.
3. I don’t always like having the visual “announcement” that I am diabetic. It is ALWAYS a conversation piece, whether I like it or not.
4. I don’t want the weird oval/egg shaped tan lines all over my arms/stomach/upper butt from wearing it all summer. The tan lines it creates are stuuuuuupid. Nothing like having white egg shapes all over. Or better- having to put a fresh pod with extra strong adhesive on sunburned skin.
5. I don’t like carrying all the pump junk around all the time.
Now here’s the thing. I’ve never done injections because I am afraid of needles. So two things might happen-
1. I might not be able to do the shots on my own out of fear of the needles.
2. I might not be able to manage my diabetes on MDI, because I use so little insulin at a time and the needles (even the kid ones) only administer insulin in either 1 unit or .5 unit increments. My endo previously advised me I would end up having to let my bg go higher and in turn, have a higher A1c. Because unlike a pump, where I can bolus in .05 increments, I wouldn’t be able to fix “small” highs, since I have a high sensitivity to insulin.
3. I like having the option of suspending the basal insulin when I am low.
So, it’s something I’m considering trying out for the summer and see how it goes. I can always go back to the pump if I change my mind. I’m a little nervous about the venture, because I am used to having really good control of my diabetes since its inception in 2010 and I give most of that credit to having the pump early on, which does most of the work for me.
I also need to briefly rant about my glucose meter. I am currently using a Bayer meter. I have both the Bayer Contour and the Bayer Contour USB. I am only using it until I finish up my remaining Bayer test strip stash (6 more vials). I started using the Bayer meter in October 2011 when I was forced to switch due to my new insurance only covering Bayer products (at that time). I had been using a couple different Freestyle meters for 2 years and LOVED them – everything about them. Extremely accurate, uses very little blood, doesn’t error out if you don’t put enough blood on the strip, and has a light at the test strip entrance so you can test in the dark-no problem. Well, I switched to Bayer by force and have disliked it. Everything about it is opposite of the Freestyle- the strips always error out, they are not accurate in comparison to my other meters (even the ReliOn brand I used for a while was more accurate), there is no test strip light, and requires more blood. Today was another example of why I can’t stand the Bayer meter. With clean hands (as always, I wash before testing), I tested my BG prior to eating a snack, which came in as 80. I bolused for 15g of carb. Literally 3 minutes later I felt LOW. I tested, and the meter read 65. I tested again, it read 60. I tested a 3rd time, it said 60. And my bolus insulin had not even hit my system yet. So I knew I was going to be in trouble. I treated the low with a juice box, then followed up with the snack I was planning to have.
This inaccurate blood sugar reading has been an issue with Bayer since I switched to it. I have been sent 2 different meters by Bayer because the two I had were so inaccurate that I thought they were broken. Too many times I would test- get one reading- then test again right after because it doesn’t match how I felt- and get a completely different reading. This didn’t happen with my Freestyle, at least not enough for me to ever remember or ever complain about it. I loved my Freestyle the 2 years I had it.
Luckily, when my insurance changed last October, it began to cover both Bayer and Accu-chek products. So I immediately switched to the Accu-chek Nano. I’ve had no issues with it. Unfortunately, I still have Bayer strips I need to use up, so I’ve had to go back to the Bayer for a while. I cannot WAIT to finish these off.
I sure wish my insurance would cover Freestyle… Oh well, Accu-chek is ok.
Forgive my rant but I think when you are making important decisions (with your insulin) based on your bg readings, those meters need to be accurate. And I’m sorry to the Bayer meter lovers out there. Your experience may be different than mine.
I haven't been using the Dexcom for while, either. I was wearing the Dexcom Seven, then I upgraded to the new one, the G4 last fall. But the cost is high and I really don't want to wear yet another device. And carry around another device. How many things can I wear on my belt clip before I'm considered a nerd? Anyway, for some reason, the CGM doesn't work great on me at night time. During the day, it works like a champ. But every night, even though I calibrate it according to Dexcom's guidelines, it goes haywire at night with crazy high (wrong) readings. All night, every night. I was turning it off at night and re-starting it in the morning, but it just got to be too much so I stopped wearing it. And again, I don't want the tan lines for summer. I have 12 sensors still so if I have the desire to put it back on, I will. And I have to be mindful that those sensors expire in kinda short period of time so I will need to use them up at some point.
I'm lucky to have these complaints- poor me, my diabetes is so well controlled right now that I don't need the pump or the CGM- wahhh wahhh. I hear ya. It goes in phases, just like yours, where it behaves for awhile. It's been pretty good for a while now, since I switched to the Paleo Diet last November. It made a HUGE difference in my bg trends.
Ok well, I'm off. I have some work to do and I need to watch Mad Men from last night.
Monday, May 13, 2013
Feeling MacGuyver-ish with diabetes.
I know Mondays have the bad reputation of being, well, Monday, but this one really lived up to it. As with every Monday, I hit the snooze button one too many times and was racing to get ready for work (read: no makeup, finger combing hair, brush teeth, out the door). My alarm goes off at 4:30am, but I snoozed until 5:15. This does not leave me much time to get ready and drive to work. Lucky for me, I make my breakfast and lunch the night before!
In my harriedness, I failed to realize that my insulin pump pod had expired at 5:31am, and that I needed to put a new one on. This discovery was not made until I was down the road from my workplace- too far from home to turn around and get it without being late (I work in a workplace where if you are literally one minute late, it is counted as a 'tardy'). I pulled in the parking lot, hoping that an idea would come to me. I didn't have anyone that could run to my place and grab me a new pod (my friends unfortunately have jobs, too). Well, I know my pump will continue to administer the background insulin for 2 hours post expiration. That will take me until 7:30am. I work until 3pm. Hmm.
Luckily, my breakfast was pretty much carb-free. Two egg whites scrambled with almond milk, spinach and tomatoes. No bg spikes should happen there.
Around 8:30ish, bg was still holding steady in the 90s and feeling really pooped from getting to bed late (I am SUCH a night owl!!), I grabbed a cup of coffee from work. I can't drink black coffee; it needs some sort of milk/cream and fake sugar. Against my better judgement, I added milk to it. I can't possibly describe what a huge mistake this was. Let's list the reasons why this was a bad idea:
1. I have a mild milk allergy and an overall intolerance of all things dairy.
2. Milk makes my blood sugar go up.
I fixed the bg problem by issuing a bolus. The good thing with my pump is I can at least continue to issue boluses even after the pump has expired. I decided to turn my boluses into background insulin by by using the extended/slow release funtion on my pump. I did this until the end of the day. I just had to deal with the hourly alarms that alerted me to my pump expiration, which then turned into every 20 minutes (sorry, co-workers, for being exceptionally beepy today). Oh well, gotta do what you gotta do. I felt kind of MacGuyer-ish, coming up with that solution.
Problem #2 turned out to be a bigger issue. TMI AHEAD. TMI. TMI. Okay, you've been warned.
Well, let me just say it like it is. Milk makes me extremely gassy. Not the quiet, stinky, maybe-they'll-think-it's-someone-else kind. More the extremely loud, non-stinky, can't predict when they are coming or stop kind. I sounded like a fake fart toy. Ever seen the movie Van Wilder, the noises that come out of the dude that drank Colon Blow? Yeah, THOSE kinds of noises. The loud growls coming from my stomach were not mistakeable for hunger growls. They were angry growls. My co-workers were kind enough not to come over and ask me what was going on over in my cube. Probably for the best.
I get home, take a probiotic and some Nexium. Go out to my deck where I was drying some clothes on my flat clothes dryer gadget, only to find that my clothes were gone. Not as in stolen, but as in blew in to my neighbors yards. So I walk out behind the houses in my jammy pants, picking up my jeans and bras strewn across the yards. Awesome.
So what did I learn.
1. Keep a pod backup in your desk. When you use it up (which I had), replace it with another back up.
2. NO MORE MILK IN PUBLIC! NO EXCEPTIONS!
Happy Monday!!!
In my harriedness, I failed to realize that my insulin pump pod had expired at 5:31am, and that I needed to put a new one on. This discovery was not made until I was down the road from my workplace- too far from home to turn around and get it without being late (I work in a workplace where if you are literally one minute late, it is counted as a 'tardy'). I pulled in the parking lot, hoping that an idea would come to me. I didn't have anyone that could run to my place and grab me a new pod (my friends unfortunately have jobs, too). Well, I know my pump will continue to administer the background insulin for 2 hours post expiration. That will take me until 7:30am. I work until 3pm. Hmm.
Luckily, my breakfast was pretty much carb-free. Two egg whites scrambled with almond milk, spinach and tomatoes. No bg spikes should happen there.
Around 8:30ish, bg was still holding steady in the 90s and feeling really pooped from getting to bed late (I am SUCH a night owl!!), I grabbed a cup of coffee from work. I can't drink black coffee; it needs some sort of milk/cream and fake sugar. Against my better judgement, I added milk to it. I can't possibly describe what a huge mistake this was. Let's list the reasons why this was a bad idea:
1. I have a mild milk allergy and an overall intolerance of all things dairy.
2. Milk makes my blood sugar go up.
I fixed the bg problem by issuing a bolus. The good thing with my pump is I can at least continue to issue boluses even after the pump has expired. I decided to turn my boluses into background insulin by by using the extended/slow release funtion on my pump. I did this until the end of the day. I just had to deal with the hourly alarms that alerted me to my pump expiration, which then turned into every 20 minutes (sorry, co-workers, for being exceptionally beepy today). Oh well, gotta do what you gotta do. I felt kind of MacGuyer-ish, coming up with that solution.
Problem #2 turned out to be a bigger issue. TMI AHEAD. TMI. TMI. Okay, you've been warned.
Well, let me just say it like it is. Milk makes me extremely gassy. Not the quiet, stinky, maybe-they'll-think-it's-someone-else kind. More the extremely loud, non-stinky, can't predict when they are coming or stop kind. I sounded like a fake fart toy. Ever seen the movie Van Wilder, the noises that come out of the dude that drank Colon Blow? Yeah, THOSE kinds of noises. The loud growls coming from my stomach were not mistakeable for hunger growls. They were angry growls. My co-workers were kind enough not to come over and ask me what was going on over in my cube. Probably for the best.
I get home, take a probiotic and some Nexium. Go out to my deck where I was drying some clothes on my flat clothes dryer gadget, only to find that my clothes were gone. Not as in stolen, but as in blew in to my neighbors yards. So I walk out behind the houses in my jammy pants, picking up my jeans and bras strewn across the yards. Awesome.
So what did I learn.
1. Keep a pod backup in your desk. When you use it up (which I had), replace it with another back up.
2. NO MORE MILK IN PUBLIC! NO EXCEPTIONS!
Happy Monday!!!
Sunday, May 12, 2013
I get tempted.
Maybe it's the change of the season, with warm weather here and everybody running around in good moods, feeling free and happy. But I find that since the sunshine has arrived I've grown inpatient with all the attention I must give to my diseases; I want to run around and be carefree, too. The coming of the warm weather brought with it a sense of freedom that many of us living with diseases don't always get to fully experience.
I've noticed since the warm weather has arrived, I have been a little less type A about my BGs and have not been checking it as often (normally every 2 hours). Even with my celiac, I was SOOOOO tempted on Friday to go to Burger King and get a Whopper- something I haven't been able to have in 3 years- and eat it, regardless of how sick it would make me or the intestinal damage that would take months to heal. There was just this feeling, this URGE, to do "normal" people things for a while, like spontaneously eating out on a whim without having to plan everything out in advance and do the research needed. I miss the spontaneity in life that having disease steals from you.
But alas, I am much too careful and responsible to ever knowingly eat gluten, even if I do occasionally day dream about it. I have never cheated in the 3 years I've had it. And as for my 'betes, I still manage it closely and my pump is reporting a 7-day bg average of 103, so I must not be doing too horrible of a job, even though I've slacked a bit lately.
Last week I sold my dresser on Craig's List. It's all part of a larger overhaul of my life I'm in the process of. Little by little, I'm getting rid of a lot of my stuff; stuff that I don't love and doesn't really fit in my life anymore. My new life motto is Simple And Transparent. Simple meaning not having a ton of crap that soaks up all the energy in my house, collects dust and clutters up my closets, and only keeping that which has use and/or meaning to me. Transparent meaning what you see with me is what you get- no shame or embarassment in who I am or how I live, no more hiding things. Yes, my life has many limitations and anyone who choses to be a part of my life (friendship or otherwise) will have to accept that. I have lived with a lot of guilt the last three years; guilt in feeling bad for putting others through my diseases. I felt guilty that people didn't know how to cook gluten free for me, guilty that I couldn't go out to eat at just any restaurant, guilty that I would have a severe low blood sugar which would make me feel like I "ruined" someone's evening. I felt guilty that I had to subject others to my diseases; that inevitably they affected other people whether I wanted them to or not. Trying to downplay these diseases and act like they aren't a big part of my life when they absolutely are. But then I had a Good Will Hunting moment in my life, you know that scene in the movie where Robin Williams corners Matt Damon against the wall and repeatedly says "It's not your fault. It's not your fault. It's not your fault." Yeah, I had that moment with myself. It was time to quit blaming myself for getting sick, it was time to quit feeling guilty for what I felt was "inconveniencing" others with my diseases. Because it isn't my fault that I have them. I need to STOP feeling like less of a person, less worthy. I'm not entirely sure how to accomplish this, but I'm working on it.
Overall though, life's been good. I know my blog has been quiet; it was just me taking the time needed to plan the overhaul in my life, meditate, and calmly think of what I want the next steps in my life to be. Sometimes you gotta get real quiet with yourself in order to hear what your conscious mind is whispering to you. It's been a great journey. I feel very positive about life, about my future. It also involved evaluating relationships with people and beginning the process of slowly weeding toxic people out of my life for good. Energy suckers is what I call them. I want to surround myself with positive-minded, caring people. Have you read the book The Magic by Rhonda Byrne? If you haven't, pull up a session of Amazon RIGHT NOW and go buy this book today. It's amazing! I have already read it and am starting over because I read it after my spinal cord surgery when I wasn't really ready for its message.
I have been thinking A LOT about all of you who read my blog, and have felt a pure sense of thankfulness in my heart that there are people out there that care enough to read my blog, and also people that care enough to comment and say something to me. It means so much to me. I try to read everyone else's blogs, too, because there is so much to learn from others going through the same things as you. It just fills my heart with so much love.
I'll be on the blog this week, and *hoping* to be on #DSMA on Wednesday night. Speaking of, does anyone know of any Twitter chats going on for celiacs?
God Bless, have a good week, y'all. I'll be back soon.
I've noticed since the warm weather has arrived, I have been a little less type A about my BGs and have not been checking it as often (normally every 2 hours). Even with my celiac, I was SOOOOO tempted on Friday to go to Burger King and get a Whopper- something I haven't been able to have in 3 years- and eat it, regardless of how sick it would make me or the intestinal damage that would take months to heal. There was just this feeling, this URGE, to do "normal" people things for a while, like spontaneously eating out on a whim without having to plan everything out in advance and do the research needed. I miss the spontaneity in life that having disease steals from you.
But alas, I am much too careful and responsible to ever knowingly eat gluten, even if I do occasionally day dream about it. I have never cheated in the 3 years I've had it. And as for my 'betes, I still manage it closely and my pump is reporting a 7-day bg average of 103, so I must not be doing too horrible of a job, even though I've slacked a bit lately.
Last week I sold my dresser on Craig's List. It's all part of a larger overhaul of my life I'm in the process of. Little by little, I'm getting rid of a lot of my stuff; stuff that I don't love and doesn't really fit in my life anymore. My new life motto is Simple And Transparent. Simple meaning not having a ton of crap that soaks up all the energy in my house, collects dust and clutters up my closets, and only keeping that which has use and/or meaning to me. Transparent meaning what you see with me is what you get- no shame or embarassment in who I am or how I live, no more hiding things. Yes, my life has many limitations and anyone who choses to be a part of my life (friendship or otherwise) will have to accept that. I have lived with a lot of guilt the last three years; guilt in feeling bad for putting others through my diseases. I felt guilty that people didn't know how to cook gluten free for me, guilty that I couldn't go out to eat at just any restaurant, guilty that I would have a severe low blood sugar which would make me feel like I "ruined" someone's evening. I felt guilty that I had to subject others to my diseases; that inevitably they affected other people whether I wanted them to or not. Trying to downplay these diseases and act like they aren't a big part of my life when they absolutely are. But then I had a Good Will Hunting moment in my life, you know that scene in the movie where Robin Williams corners Matt Damon against the wall and repeatedly says "It's not your fault. It's not your fault. It's not your fault." Yeah, I had that moment with myself. It was time to quit blaming myself for getting sick, it was time to quit feeling guilty for what I felt was "inconveniencing" others with my diseases. Because it isn't my fault that I have them. I need to STOP feeling like less of a person, less worthy. I'm not entirely sure how to accomplish this, but I'm working on it.
Overall though, life's been good. I know my blog has been quiet; it was just me taking the time needed to plan the overhaul in my life, meditate, and calmly think of what I want the next steps in my life to be. Sometimes you gotta get real quiet with yourself in order to hear what your conscious mind is whispering to you. It's been a great journey. I feel very positive about life, about my future. It also involved evaluating relationships with people and beginning the process of slowly weeding toxic people out of my life for good. Energy suckers is what I call them. I want to surround myself with positive-minded, caring people. Have you read the book The Magic by Rhonda Byrne? If you haven't, pull up a session of Amazon RIGHT NOW and go buy this book today. It's amazing! I have already read it and am starting over because I read it after my spinal cord surgery when I wasn't really ready for its message.
I have been thinking A LOT about all of you who read my blog, and have felt a pure sense of thankfulness in my heart that there are people out there that care enough to read my blog, and also people that care enough to comment and say something to me. It means so much to me. I try to read everyone else's blogs, too, because there is so much to learn from others going through the same things as you. It just fills my heart with so much love.
I'll be on the blog this week, and *hoping* to be on #DSMA on Wednesday night. Speaking of, does anyone know of any Twitter chats going on for celiacs?
God Bless, have a good week, y'all. I'll be back soon.
Sunday, April 28, 2013
A Lesson Learned in an Unexpected Way.
Yesterday a little bird smashed against my front door window. It was loud and sounded like a rock. I looked out the door and saw this little bird suffering, rolling around frantically on my sidewalk, flailing around. Feeling awful, I stopped watching; fearing I was watching its slow death.
Still worrying about the bird, I returned to the window 30 minutes later, to see it sitting up in my flower pot, a foot from where it had been lying and flailing. It sat like a statue. I went outside and knelt next to it, thinking the worst. Is it dead? Did it lose his sight? Is something broken- his neck? Is he stunned or dead? Because even when he saw me, he didn’t move an inch. So I took one finger and lightly once pet him and said nice things to him. Then I left him alone so as not to frighten him further.
I went back inside, drawing up a game plan: What does he eat? Maybe I should bring him food in case he is unable to move or is paralyzed. I began googling what birds like him eat. One website mentioned sunflower seeds, worms and mosquitoes. I had none of those things. So I thought about driving to the store to buy bird food. I also thought about the cold evening coming, and wondered if he’d survive the night. Should I bring him in? Maybe put him in the garage, protected from the cold winds? What to do, what to do. I felt this enormous responsibility to protect him.
I couldn’t stand to see him suffer. Then I stopped what I was doing and began praying. “Please God, please save this little bird. I know he is important to you because you created him. He matters to you. Please don’t let him suffer, whatever his fate is. Please let him be okay.” And sadness covered my heart as I thought about the pain he was feeling.
About 10 minutes later I looked out the window and didn’t see the little bird. I walked outside and knelt close to where he had been. I saw the twig on the ground he had earlier been standing on like a statue. I looked around the perimeter. No sign of bird.
At that moment I walked in the house with my heart filled with awe and love and thankfulness. Something struck me. In that moment, I realized that “I” was that little bird. The prayer I said was about me; it was reflective of my own worries and insecurities. All the fear I have held deep in my heart of having no one that will protect me. The fear that I will go through this life -and all its challenges- alone. Then God showed me that he cared enough about that little bird to save him. It made me think, if God could love a little finch that much, imagine how much he loves me. Me, I matter. He won’t let me suffer alone, whatever my fate is. I will be okay. God has rescued me in many situations, and he continues to protect me every day. I just need to have faith and hand my worries over to God.
It was just the reassurance I needed.
Still worrying about the bird, I returned to the window 30 minutes later, to see it sitting up in my flower pot, a foot from where it had been lying and flailing. It sat like a statue. I went outside and knelt next to it, thinking the worst. Is it dead? Did it lose his sight? Is something broken- his neck? Is he stunned or dead? Because even when he saw me, he didn’t move an inch. So I took one finger and lightly once pet him and said nice things to him. Then I left him alone so as not to frighten him further.
I went back inside, drawing up a game plan: What does he eat? Maybe I should bring him food in case he is unable to move or is paralyzed. I began googling what birds like him eat. One website mentioned sunflower seeds, worms and mosquitoes. I had none of those things. So I thought about driving to the store to buy bird food. I also thought about the cold evening coming, and wondered if he’d survive the night. Should I bring him in? Maybe put him in the garage, protected from the cold winds? What to do, what to do. I felt this enormous responsibility to protect him.
I couldn’t stand to see him suffer. Then I stopped what I was doing and began praying. “Please God, please save this little bird. I know he is important to you because you created him. He matters to you. Please don’t let him suffer, whatever his fate is. Please let him be okay.” And sadness covered my heart as I thought about the pain he was feeling.
About 10 minutes later I looked out the window and didn’t see the little bird. I walked outside and knelt close to where he had been. I saw the twig on the ground he had earlier been standing on like a statue. I looked around the perimeter. No sign of bird.
At that moment I walked in the house with my heart filled with awe and love and thankfulness. Something struck me. In that moment, I realized that “I” was that little bird. The prayer I said was about me; it was reflective of my own worries and insecurities. All the fear I have held deep in my heart of having no one that will protect me. The fear that I will go through this life -and all its challenges- alone. Then God showed me that he cared enough about that little bird to save him. It made me think, if God could love a little finch that much, imagine how much he loves me. Me, I matter. He won’t let me suffer alone, whatever my fate is. I will be okay. God has rescued me in many situations, and he continues to protect me every day. I just need to have faith and hand my worries over to God.
It was just the reassurance I needed.
Thursday, April 25, 2013
Gluten Free Barbecue Pizza
The other day I craved something carby for dinner. I eat low carb most of the time and every so often I just get that hankering for a little blood sugar rise :)
I found a recipe in All You magazine for bbq pizza. I made a few changes to make it gluten free. You can make more changes if you want it to be dairy-free, too.
This recipe is VERY easy and took less than 10 minutes.
1 frozen Udi's gluten free pizza crust
1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
3/4 cup mozzarella or Daiya dairy free cheese(shredded)
1 cup chopped/diced chicken breast (rotisserie chicken would work, too. Use whatever you have on hand).
5 Tbsp. bbq sauce
a little chopped onion
On the crust: Brush olive oil over the surface of the crust. Sprinkle 1/2 the cheese on crust, leaving a 1/2 inch border. Toss chicken with 1 tbsp. bbq sauce. Spoon remaining bbq sauce in a spiral over the cheese on the crust. Scatter chicken, remaining cheese and onions on the pizza.
Bake pizza according to crust directions, which for Udi's crust is only 7 minutes (I use the toaster oven, too, to save energy). Let pizza rest for a minute or two before cutting.
ENJOY!!!!
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
It's Not Cheap Being Me.
It's a good thing I'm good at budgeting. I'm expensive, and not by choice. Diabetes is certainly a very expensive disease, as you maybe saw from an earlier post, where I calculated that diabetes costs me $40 per day.
Then there's the gluten free diet, which is more expensive in that you can't just pick up whatever brand of food (or generic version) that is on sale; you have to buy whatever brand is gluten free; on sale or not. I don't buy much in the way of processed gluten free foods like bread (which runs $5-$8 a loaf), or pasta ($3-$5 a bag), or pretzels ($8-$9 a bag). I did stop at the gluten free bakery in town recently and saw that a 6 pk of blueberry muffins was $18.75 (I passed).
And now there's the newest addition to the family, the chemical allergies I was recently diagnosed me with, eliminating the option of using lower-cost bath/cleaning/kitchen/hair/makeup products. I finally found the one and only shower gel/cleanser that I can use. I got it at the pharmacy (no prescription needed):
Yep, that's an $18.25 price tag on that puppy. You can bet I won't be wasting that stuff. My special shampoo and conditioner are about $10 each in smaller bottles. And I am now using Seventh Generation cleaning products and dishwashing liquid, which runs about $4 each.
Nope, it's not easy on the budget living with illness. But I'm still grateful to do it. And really, most days it doesn't bother me too much to live a little differently. It just is who I am now; it's part of me. I sometimes feel a little self-conscious; being "different" in so many areas of my life. But true friends will still like me and my family is stuck with me :)
Next Sunday I finish my Financial Peace University class. I've learned SO much and gained so many new ideas for budgeting and saving and living debt-free. I now use the envelope (cash) system for all purchases except for when I pay bills online. You "feel" the money going out the door when you see it coming out of your wallet versus swiping your bank debit card. And having an actual budgeted amount for each expense category has helped so much.
I have an upcoming fun event. I volunteer at the annual Animal Humane Society's Walk for Animals every year. Every year, I'm on Poop Bag Patrol (what a hilarious name for a position!!) I hand out poop bags to all the walkers and get to meet LOTS of different animals. SO much fun. I'm a huge animal lover, if you haven't learned that about me yet. LERRRRVE fuzzy faces. (click on the pics to make them bigger)
And finally, I found a funny greeting card that I bought.. for myself! No, it's not my birthday, but I loved what the card says. It is a good reminder to me to take it easy; don't be so serious all the time and that it's ok to let loose a little.
It even came with a funny fridge magnet with a made-up food pyramid. Oh, I had a good laugh.
Then there's the gluten free diet, which is more expensive in that you can't just pick up whatever brand of food (or generic version) that is on sale; you have to buy whatever brand is gluten free; on sale or not. I don't buy much in the way of processed gluten free foods like bread (which runs $5-$8 a loaf), or pasta ($3-$5 a bag), or pretzels ($8-$9 a bag). I did stop at the gluten free bakery in town recently and saw that a 6 pk of blueberry muffins was $18.75 (I passed).
And now there's the newest addition to the family, the chemical allergies I was recently diagnosed me with, eliminating the option of using lower-cost bath/cleaning/kitchen/hair/makeup products. I finally found the one and only shower gel/cleanser that I can use. I got it at the pharmacy (no prescription needed):
Yep, that's an $18.25 price tag on that puppy. You can bet I won't be wasting that stuff. My special shampoo and conditioner are about $10 each in smaller bottles. And I am now using Seventh Generation cleaning products and dishwashing liquid, which runs about $4 each.
Nope, it's not easy on the budget living with illness. But I'm still grateful to do it. And really, most days it doesn't bother me too much to live a little differently. It just is who I am now; it's part of me. I sometimes feel a little self-conscious; being "different" in so many areas of my life. But true friends will still like me and my family is stuck with me :)
Next Sunday I finish my Financial Peace University class. I've learned SO much and gained so many new ideas for budgeting and saving and living debt-free. I now use the envelope (cash) system for all purchases except for when I pay bills online. You "feel" the money going out the door when you see it coming out of your wallet versus swiping your bank debit card. And having an actual budgeted amount for each expense category has helped so much.
I have an upcoming fun event. I volunteer at the annual Animal Humane Society's Walk for Animals every year. Every year, I'm on Poop Bag Patrol (what a hilarious name for a position!!) I hand out poop bags to all the walkers and get to meet LOTS of different animals. SO much fun. I'm a huge animal lover, if you haven't learned that about me yet. LERRRRVE fuzzy faces. (click on the pics to make them bigger)
And finally, I found a funny greeting card that I bought.. for myself! No, it's not my birthday, but I loved what the card says. It is a good reminder to me to take it easy; don't be so serious all the time and that it's ok to let loose a little.
It even came with a funny fridge magnet with a made-up food pyramid. Oh, I had a good laugh.
Friday, April 12, 2013
I get knocked down, but I get up again (sing with me)
Just when you think you can’t handle anything more on your plate, you do. Just when you think you will never be able to live with chronic illness, or chronic ailments, you do. When you think you’ll never enjoy food the same way as ‘before,’ you do. When you think you’ll never find friends who understand, you do. When you think you can’t be happy again, you are. When you think God doesn’t understand, He does. When you think He has abandoned you, He hasn’t. When you don’t think He is there for you, He is.
If you are reading this blog, it’s likely because you (or your loved one) have diabetes or celiac disease, and you have lived through a lot. You have been to hell and back with your disease. And yet here you are, standing tall, facing another day.
Repeat after me.
I AM RESILIENT.
I AM STRONG.
I AM WONDERFUL.
I AM SUPPORTED.
I AM NOT ALONE.
I CAN FACE ANOTHER DAY.
I CAN FACE TOMORROW.
NO MATTER WHAT IT BRINGS.
I’M IN THIS FOR THE LONG HAUL.
AND I’M OKAY WITH THAT.
LIFE, YOU CAN TRY TO TAKE EVERYTHING AWAY FROM ME, BUT YOU CANNOT TAKE MY SOUL.
I AM STRONGER THAN YOU.
I AM STRONGER THAN THIS DISEASE.
I AM MORE THAN THIS DISEASE; THESE AILMENTS.
YOU CAN KNOCK ME DOWN,
BUT I’LL JUST GET RIGHT. BACK. UP.
If you are reading this blog, it’s likely because you (or your loved one) have diabetes or celiac disease, and you have lived through a lot. You have been to hell and back with your disease. And yet here you are, standing tall, facing another day.
Repeat after me.
I AM RESILIENT.
I AM STRONG.
I AM WONDERFUL.
I AM SUPPORTED.
I AM NOT ALONE.
I CAN FACE ANOTHER DAY.
I CAN FACE TOMORROW.
NO MATTER WHAT IT BRINGS.
I’M IN THIS FOR THE LONG HAUL.
AND I’M OKAY WITH THAT.
LIFE, YOU CAN TRY TO TAKE EVERYTHING AWAY FROM ME, BUT YOU CANNOT TAKE MY SOUL.
I AM STRONGER THAN YOU.
I AM STRONGER THAN THIS DISEASE.
I AM MORE THAN THIS DISEASE; THESE AILMENTS.
YOU CAN KNOCK ME DOWN,
BUT I’LL JUST GET RIGHT. BACK. UP.
Monday, April 8, 2013
On the inside, I'm junk.
Do you ever feel exhausted trying to take the best care of yourself? Do you find yourself envying others who don’t have any health conditions to manage every day? I do.
Just over three years ago, I was “healthy.” No medical diagnoses, no foods eliminated from my diet, no spinal cord injury. I got to wake up every morning and just LIVE. It was fabulous! There was no worry at nighttime about dying from hypoglycemia, no limitations on physical activity, no allergies to everything on the planet, no sleeping pills needed to ward off nightmares. I was just a happy, healthy person. Life was easy. I remember when I could just worry about normal-people things, like how to manage my time better, which shoes I should buy, which new restaurant to try.
From the outside I look like a normal, healthy person. There isn’t anything that stands out that would indicate I am anything other than “healthy.” But while I look normal on the outside, on the inside I’m junk. That’s the joke I tell people now. Things just don’t work properly. I’m like the car on the car lot that’s all shiny and buffed up, but then doesn’t start when you turn the key or has smoke billowing out from under the hood as you drive down the road.
The latest in the health saga came a few weeks ago in the form of allergic skin reactions. I had a “patch test” done at my dermatologists’ office. I had been having multiple skin problems, ranging from eczema on my chest and legs, to rashes on my face and neck that I couldn’t get rid of for long periods of time. The results came in at the end of that week, after wearing patches of suspected allergens taped to my back for 3 days, indicating lots of new allergies to some very common things; things that are very difficult to avoid, including an ingredient found in MOST shampoos, conditioners, bar soaps, hand soaps, body washes, dishwashing liquid, laundry soaps, household cleaners, and make up. I am also allergic to rubber- including rubber bands, my eye lash curler, rubber mats, rubber gloves (including latex), the rubber soles on tennis shoes, even certain power cords that are made from rubber, etc. I am allergic to artificial nails and most nail polishes. Also adhesives- including bandaids, but where this affects me the most is the fact I wear an insulin pump and a Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM), both of which are attached with adhesive. I am also allergic to bacitracin, which is in all over the counter first-aid creams, like Neosporin.
My dermatologist did some research for me, and emailed me a 111-pg. document that talks about the allergies and lists what products I am able to use, broken up into categories like makeup, soaps, detergents, etc. The part that stood out the most to me is the last paragraph on the first page, which says:
“You were not sensitive to these substances for most of your life. Allergy develops from repeated exposure.
You were exposed enough times to these substances that you became sensitive to them.
You must remember that just because you weren’t sensitive to something in the past doesn’t mean that
you are not sensitive to it now. Your body has changed and is sensitive now to things that didn’t cause you
trouble before. You will be allergic to them for the rest of your life. You will always need to avoid them.”
I wonder, why is my body still continuing to break down? Allergies are auto-immune reactions when the body decides to attack healthy tissues when it is exposed to certain ingredients/chemicals/products. Why is my immune system so crazy? What can I do to make it not be so crazy? How can I prevent future immune system issues, like additional auto-immune diseases, or new allergies? The short answer I’ve been given over and over is that there is no prevention; there’s nothing I can do differently. And that scares me.
I copied the first page of the document to show you the substances I am allergic to. So basically, in addition to having to read every FOOD label for my celiac disease and diabetes, I now get the pleasure of getting to read every label on NON-FOOD items, to ensure they don’t have any of THESE ingredients (FUN!):
ALLERGIC CONTACT DERMATITIS
"Testing has shown that you have allergic contact dermatitis. This means that you are particularly sensitive
to even extremely small amounts of these substances:
Acrylates/Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Lauryl Acrylate Copolymer
Acrylates/Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Methoxyethyl Acrylate Copolymer
Acrylates/Methoxy PEG-23 Methacrylate/Perfluorooctyl Ethyl Acrylate Copolymer
Acrylonitrile/Methacrylonitrile/Methyl Methacrylate Copolymer
Ammonium Acryloyl Dimethyltaurate/Carboxyethyl Acrylate Crosspolymer
Bis-Hydroxyethyl Acrylate Poly(Neopentyl Glycol Adipate)/IPDI Copolymer
Butyl Acrylate/C6-14 Perfluoroalkylethyl Acrylate/Mercaptopropyl Dimethicone Copolymer
Butyldimethicone Methacrylate/Methyl Methacrylate Crosspolymer
C6-14 Perfluoroalkylethyl Acrylate/HEMA Copolymer
Carboxyethyl Acrylate
Cocamidopropyl Betaine
Dimethyl Acrylamide/Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Methoxyethyl Acrylate Copolymer
Ethyl Acrylate
Ethylhexyl Acrylate/Methyl Methacrylate Copolymer
Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/IPDI/PPG-15 Glyceryl Ether Copolymer
Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Methoxyethyl Acrylate Copolymer
Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer
Hydroxyethyl/Methoxyethyl Acrylate Copolymer
Hydroxyethyl/Methoxyethyl Acrylate/Butyl Acrylate Copolymer
Methyl Acrylate/Methylene Drometrizole Methacrylate Copolymer
Methyl Methacrylate
Methyl Methacrylate Crosspolymer
Methyl Methacrylate/Acrylonitrile Copolymer
Methyl Methacrylate/Ethylhexyl Acrylate/Butyl Dimethicone Propyl Methacrylate Copolymer
Methyl Methacrylate/Glycol Dimethacrylate Crosspolymer
Methyl Methacrylate/Trimethoxysilylpropyl Methacrylate Crosspolymer
Polymethyl Methacrylate
Sucrose Benzoate/Sucrose Acetate Isobutyrate/Butyl Benzyl Phthalate/Methyl Methacrylate
Copolymer
Dibucaine
Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolyme
methyl methacrylate / glycol dimethacrylate crosspolymer
methyl methacrylate / glycol dimethacryla
Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium
Acrylonitrile/ Methacrylonitrile/Methyl Methacrylate Copolymer
Acrylonitrile/Methacrylonitrile/ Methyl Methacrylate Copolymer
Acrylonitrile/Methacrylonitrile /Methyl Methacrylate Copolymer
Carba Mix
dibucaine (cinchocaine-HCl)
Soybean (Glycine soja) seed extract Hydroxyethyl acrylate/sodium acryloyldimethyl taurate
copolymer
2-hydroxyethyl acrylate
Cocamidopropyl Betaine Or Sodium C14-C16 Olefinsulfonate
Hydroxyethyl Acrylate sodium acryloyldimethyl taurate copolymer
Octylacrylamide/Acrylates/Butylaminomethyl Methacrylate Copolymer
Methyl Methacrylate/2-Ethylhexyl Acrylate Copolymer
You are so sensitive to these substances that if your skin comes in contact just one time with any of
them, you may develop a rash. Itching, pinkness, small bumps, or blisters may appear within 4 hours,
but usually starts 1 to 3 days after exposure to the substance.
The skin reaction lasts from 2 to 8 weeks, even if you don’t come into contact with the substance again.
If you have had many exposures over time, it may take 3 to 6 months for your skin to get completely
better after you start avoiding the substances. During those months, your skin will slowly get better, but
you will probably have multiple brief flare ups of your rash, even as it is overall improving. If you come in
contact with one of the substances again during that time, that can cause a significant set-back in your
recovery.
You were not sensitive to these substances for most of your life. Allergy develops from repeated exposure.
You were exposed enough times to these substances that you became sensitive to them.
You must remember that just because you weren’t sensitive to something in the past doesn’t mean that
you are not sensitive to it now. Your body has changed and is sensitive now to things that didn’t cause you
trouble before. You will be allergic to them for the rest of your life. You will always need to avoid them.
It is very important to learn how you can avoid the substances that cause your allergic reaction."
I am frustrated. I am scared. I am mad. I love life and I want to enjoy it. I will find a way to live with yet another obstacle. I know I am resilient and flexible. I know God will not give me more than he thinks I can handle. I know all these things. But I miss the days when life was easy and uncomplicated. I want to enjoy the same simple pleasures that others get to enjoy. And little by little, things are getting chipped away. I wonder, how much can a body handle before it just breaks down for good?
Just over three years ago, I was “healthy.” No medical diagnoses, no foods eliminated from my diet, no spinal cord injury. I got to wake up every morning and just LIVE. It was fabulous! There was no worry at nighttime about dying from hypoglycemia, no limitations on physical activity, no allergies to everything on the planet, no sleeping pills needed to ward off nightmares. I was just a happy, healthy person. Life was easy. I remember when I could just worry about normal-people things, like how to manage my time better, which shoes I should buy, which new restaurant to try.
From the outside I look like a normal, healthy person. There isn’t anything that stands out that would indicate I am anything other than “healthy.” But while I look normal on the outside, on the inside I’m junk. That’s the joke I tell people now. Things just don’t work properly. I’m like the car on the car lot that’s all shiny and buffed up, but then doesn’t start when you turn the key or has smoke billowing out from under the hood as you drive down the road.
The latest in the health saga came a few weeks ago in the form of allergic skin reactions. I had a “patch test” done at my dermatologists’ office. I had been having multiple skin problems, ranging from eczema on my chest and legs, to rashes on my face and neck that I couldn’t get rid of for long periods of time. The results came in at the end of that week, after wearing patches of suspected allergens taped to my back for 3 days, indicating lots of new allergies to some very common things; things that are very difficult to avoid, including an ingredient found in MOST shampoos, conditioners, bar soaps, hand soaps, body washes, dishwashing liquid, laundry soaps, household cleaners, and make up. I am also allergic to rubber- including rubber bands, my eye lash curler, rubber mats, rubber gloves (including latex), the rubber soles on tennis shoes, even certain power cords that are made from rubber, etc. I am allergic to artificial nails and most nail polishes. Also adhesives- including bandaids, but where this affects me the most is the fact I wear an insulin pump and a Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM), both of which are attached with adhesive. I am also allergic to bacitracin, which is in all over the counter first-aid creams, like Neosporin.
My dermatologist did some research for me, and emailed me a 111-pg. document that talks about the allergies and lists what products I am able to use, broken up into categories like makeup, soaps, detergents, etc. The part that stood out the most to me is the last paragraph on the first page, which says:
“You were not sensitive to these substances for most of your life. Allergy develops from repeated exposure.
You were exposed enough times to these substances that you became sensitive to them.
You must remember that just because you weren’t sensitive to something in the past doesn’t mean that
you are not sensitive to it now. Your body has changed and is sensitive now to things that didn’t cause you
trouble before. You will be allergic to them for the rest of your life. You will always need to avoid them.”
I wonder, why is my body still continuing to break down? Allergies are auto-immune reactions when the body decides to attack healthy tissues when it is exposed to certain ingredients/chemicals/products. Why is my immune system so crazy? What can I do to make it not be so crazy? How can I prevent future immune system issues, like additional auto-immune diseases, or new allergies? The short answer I’ve been given over and over is that there is no prevention; there’s nothing I can do differently. And that scares me.
I copied the first page of the document to show you the substances I am allergic to. So basically, in addition to having to read every FOOD label for my celiac disease and diabetes, I now get the pleasure of getting to read every label on NON-FOOD items, to ensure they don’t have any of THESE ingredients (FUN!):
ALLERGIC CONTACT DERMATITIS
"Testing has shown that you have allergic contact dermatitis. This means that you are particularly sensitive
to even extremely small amounts of these substances:
Acrylates/Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Lauryl Acrylate Copolymer
Acrylates/Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Methoxyethyl Acrylate Copolymer
Acrylates/Methoxy PEG-23 Methacrylate/Perfluorooctyl Ethyl Acrylate Copolymer
Acrylonitrile/Methacrylonitrile/Methyl Methacrylate Copolymer
Ammonium Acryloyl Dimethyltaurate/Carboxyethyl Acrylate Crosspolymer
Bis-Hydroxyethyl Acrylate Poly(Neopentyl Glycol Adipate)/IPDI Copolymer
Butyl Acrylate/C6-14 Perfluoroalkylethyl Acrylate/Mercaptopropyl Dimethicone Copolymer
Butyldimethicone Methacrylate/Methyl Methacrylate Crosspolymer
C6-14 Perfluoroalkylethyl Acrylate/HEMA Copolymer
Carboxyethyl Acrylate
Cocamidopropyl Betaine
Dimethyl Acrylamide/Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Methoxyethyl Acrylate Copolymer
Ethyl Acrylate
Ethylhexyl Acrylate/Methyl Methacrylate Copolymer
Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/IPDI/PPG-15 Glyceryl Ether Copolymer
Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Methoxyethyl Acrylate Copolymer
Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer
Hydroxyethyl/Methoxyethyl Acrylate Copolymer
Hydroxyethyl/Methoxyethyl Acrylate/Butyl Acrylate Copolymer
Methyl Acrylate/Methylene Drometrizole Methacrylate Copolymer
Methyl Methacrylate
Methyl Methacrylate Crosspolymer
Methyl Methacrylate/Acrylonitrile Copolymer
Methyl Methacrylate/Ethylhexyl Acrylate/Butyl Dimethicone Propyl Methacrylate Copolymer
Methyl Methacrylate/Glycol Dimethacrylate Crosspolymer
Methyl Methacrylate/Trimethoxysilylpropyl Methacrylate Crosspolymer
Polymethyl Methacrylate
Sucrose Benzoate/Sucrose Acetate Isobutyrate/Butyl Benzyl Phthalate/Methyl Methacrylate
Copolymer
Dibucaine
Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolyme
methyl methacrylate / glycol dimethacrylate crosspolymer
methyl methacrylate / glycol dimethacryla
Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium
Acrylonitrile/ Methacrylonitrile/Methyl Methacrylate Copolymer
Acrylonitrile/Methacrylonitrile/ Methyl Methacrylate Copolymer
Acrylonitrile/Methacrylonitrile /Methyl Methacrylate Copolymer
Carba Mix
dibucaine (cinchocaine-HCl)
Soybean (Glycine soja) seed extract Hydroxyethyl acrylate/sodium acryloyldimethyl taurate
copolymer
2-hydroxyethyl acrylate
Cocamidopropyl Betaine Or Sodium C14-C16 Olefinsulfonate
Hydroxyethyl Acrylate sodium acryloyldimethyl taurate copolymer
Octylacrylamide/Acrylates/Butylaminomethyl Methacrylate Copolymer
Methyl Methacrylate/2-Ethylhexyl Acrylate Copolymer
You are so sensitive to these substances that if your skin comes in contact just one time with any of
them, you may develop a rash. Itching, pinkness, small bumps, or blisters may appear within 4 hours,
but usually starts 1 to 3 days after exposure to the substance.
The skin reaction lasts from 2 to 8 weeks, even if you don’t come into contact with the substance again.
If you have had many exposures over time, it may take 3 to 6 months for your skin to get completely
better after you start avoiding the substances. During those months, your skin will slowly get better, but
you will probably have multiple brief flare ups of your rash, even as it is overall improving. If you come in
contact with one of the substances again during that time, that can cause a significant set-back in your
recovery.
You were not sensitive to these substances for most of your life. Allergy develops from repeated exposure.
You were exposed enough times to these substances that you became sensitive to them.
You must remember that just because you weren’t sensitive to something in the past doesn’t mean that
you are not sensitive to it now. Your body has changed and is sensitive now to things that didn’t cause you
trouble before. You will be allergic to them for the rest of your life. You will always need to avoid them.
It is very important to learn how you can avoid the substances that cause your allergic reaction."
I am frustrated. I am scared. I am mad. I love life and I want to enjoy it. I will find a way to live with yet another obstacle. I know I am resilient and flexible. I know God will not give me more than he thinks I can handle. I know all these things. But I miss the days when life was easy and uncomplicated. I want to enjoy the same simple pleasures that others get to enjoy. And little by little, things are getting chipped away. I wonder, how much can a body handle before it just breaks down for good?
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Jussst escaped getting glutened on Easter; Food loves, and my new D-Bag.
Happy day to you. Did you have a good Wednesday? I've been offline for a while; life has been so busy. Almost every day after work I run home to let the dog out, don't even take off my shoes, and run right back out the door to appointments. Does life seem to get busier as you get older?
Easter was good, it's always a challenge to spend it with people other than your family (mine are out of state), and ESPECIALLY when you have celiac disease and diabetes. I am in the habit of bringing my own food to these types of events; I don't want to risk getting glutened by well-intentioned friends. I just about got glutened in two different instances, minutes apart. I want to give you a glance into the world of being celiac, so I'm going to share with you what happened. The first time was with a freshly put out veggie and olive tray. Both of these items are naturally gluten free. And as I was about to grab some vegetables, I watched as someone grabbed a handful of crackers, drop the crackers on his plate, then with the same hand, reach right into the vegetables, foregoing the tongs provided, and as such, glutening the vegetable tray. Had I not seen that and grabbed some vegetables, I would have been in big trouble. Moments later, a well-intentioned person handed me a basket filled with crackers, happily advising me of the new gluten free Triscuits she found. She told me they were now made from brown rice. Me, being my skeptical self (for good reasons, I might add. I alone am responsible for keeping myself healthy) asked if I could please see the original container/box they came in, so I could verify for myself their gluten-free status. And it's a good thing I did. She went to the pantry and handed me the box, which in big bold letters exclaims on the front "NOW MADE WITH BROWN RICE!" Now, turn the box to the side where the ingredients are listed, and it says at the very end in bold, capital letters: CONTAINS WHEAT. Whoa. I wonder how many fell for that. The packaging is very deceptive to those not paying attention. Luckily for me, I am Type AAA about checking these things. Alas, I stuck to my own food that I brought.
I made homemade Gluten Free Apple Celery Stuffing (see pics below of it in the making- the BEST stuffing I've ever had in my life), and Gluten Free Fettucini in a mushroom cream sauce in the crock pot.
This is me frying up the onions, celery and honeycrisp apple (all organic) in Earth Balance butter, and on the right, is when I added the seasoned gluten free bread pieces to the mix along with an egg and organic gluten free chicken boullion (called Not Chk'n). I wish there was an "after" photo but as soon as it came out of the oven, I shoved it in the car and took it over to Easter brunch. And there was none left to take a picture of :(
Here is the gluten free fettuccini I made (made with organic Health Valley gluten free mushroom soup, organic almond milk, Tinkyada pasta, organic whole fat sour cream and grass fed chicken breasts.
Another food that I've made recently and loved:
If you see this over at your local co-op or store, definitely do yourself a huge favor and grab one. These are FANTASTIC gluten free muffins!!!
I plan to do a separate blog to talk about the paleo menu I made last week and share the recipes with you. They were yummy. Here's a sneak peek of one of the dishes (mini meatloaves):
These were quite good and loaded with healthy veggies and ground turkey in place of ground hamburger. I made them "mini" because they are more easily transportable to take for lunch, less messy, too.
Final food pic for the night... here is a picture of a very typical breakfast for me. Two hard boiled eggs, 1/2 grapefruit, water. It's my easy work day breakfast when I don't have time to make something else.
Enough about food. I also wanted to show you my cute new diabetes bag. Isn't it adorbs??????
Cute, right? I got it at Target in the wallet section for $12.99. It holds everything so nicely. Ohh the little things that make us happy :)
Easter was good, it's always a challenge to spend it with people other than your family (mine are out of state), and ESPECIALLY when you have celiac disease and diabetes. I am in the habit of bringing my own food to these types of events; I don't want to risk getting glutened by well-intentioned friends. I just about got glutened in two different instances, minutes apart. I want to give you a glance into the world of being celiac, so I'm going to share with you what happened. The first time was with a freshly put out veggie and olive tray. Both of these items are naturally gluten free. And as I was about to grab some vegetables, I watched as someone grabbed a handful of crackers, drop the crackers on his plate, then with the same hand, reach right into the vegetables, foregoing the tongs provided, and as such, glutening the vegetable tray. Had I not seen that and grabbed some vegetables, I would have been in big trouble. Moments later, a well-intentioned person handed me a basket filled with crackers, happily advising me of the new gluten free Triscuits she found. She told me they were now made from brown rice. Me, being my skeptical self (for good reasons, I might add. I alone am responsible for keeping myself healthy) asked if I could please see the original container/box they came in, so I could verify for myself their gluten-free status. And it's a good thing I did. She went to the pantry and handed me the box, which in big bold letters exclaims on the front "NOW MADE WITH BROWN RICE!" Now, turn the box to the side where the ingredients are listed, and it says at the very end in bold, capital letters: CONTAINS WHEAT. Whoa. I wonder how many fell for that. The packaging is very deceptive to those not paying attention. Luckily for me, I am Type AAA about checking these things. Alas, I stuck to my own food that I brought.
I made homemade Gluten Free Apple Celery Stuffing (see pics below of it in the making- the BEST stuffing I've ever had in my life), and Gluten Free Fettucini in a mushroom cream sauce in the crock pot.
This is me frying up the onions, celery and honeycrisp apple (all organic) in Earth Balance butter, and on the right, is when I added the seasoned gluten free bread pieces to the mix along with an egg and organic gluten free chicken boullion (called Not Chk'n). I wish there was an "after" photo but as soon as it came out of the oven, I shoved it in the car and took it over to Easter brunch. And there was none left to take a picture of :(
Here is the gluten free fettuccini I made (made with organic Health Valley gluten free mushroom soup, organic almond milk, Tinkyada pasta, organic whole fat sour cream and grass fed chicken breasts.
Another food that I've made recently and loved:
If you see this over at your local co-op or store, definitely do yourself a huge favor and grab one. These are FANTASTIC gluten free muffins!!!
I plan to do a separate blog to talk about the paleo menu I made last week and share the recipes with you. They were yummy. Here's a sneak peek of one of the dishes (mini meatloaves):
These were quite good and loaded with healthy veggies and ground turkey in place of ground hamburger. I made them "mini" because they are more easily transportable to take for lunch, less messy, too.
Final food pic for the night... here is a picture of a very typical breakfast for me. Two hard boiled eggs, 1/2 grapefruit, water. It's my easy work day breakfast when I don't have time to make something else.
Enough about food. I also wanted to show you my cute new diabetes bag. Isn't it adorbs??????
Cute, right? I got it at Target in the wallet section for $12.99. It holds everything so nicely. Ohh the little things that make us happy :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)