The Sexy Diabetic

  Results came in at 7 a.m. this morning through the Dynacare app. Yes! My doctor said i had to get below 7.0 to not go on meds, and i'm at 5.9, which means no meds, and in non-diabetic range.  5 months of intense physical activity plus a complete change in diet and work on mindset have all paid off tremendously. i am so happy. take a moment and listen to Abba with me:  Dancing Queen, Abba I know that I have to keep up with all the changes I have made. I'm happy to do so; I feel better.💓💓✅✅✅✅✅ I also understand that this is now and not the future. I have a follow up appointment with my doctor in mid August. She will likely say that I still have to monitor my blood sugar levels, and continue with my physical activity and dietary changes. The next A1C test will be in November. We'll see where we are at that point. But for now... HUZZAH HURRAY WOOHOOOOOO !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Have a lovely day, friends. 😍

Since May I’ve been thinking about August. Not because of hot weather or some kind of love of summer; although I’ve been enjoying the lush flowers and sunlight, but rather because of my A1C test, a test that measures blood sugar levels over three months. March 15, 2022: 9.5 May 11, 2022: 8.0/8.1 August 3, 2022: ??   My doctor told me that she believes that since my blood sugar level was so high in March, it is unlikely that I will be able to manage my diabetes through diet and exercise alone. This was hard to hear, but I kept working on my diabetes management by working my ass off, prioritizing physical activity and food that kept my blood sugar levels in the good zone (before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/L; 2 hours after meals:      5 to 10 mmol/L or milimetres per litre). Today I went for the test. I go to the Dynacare Lab on Kent Street, a fifteen-minute walk from my apartment. I checked in via Dynacare’s Net Check in, which allows people to be in a virtual queue ...

photo by Charles Earl I t's a few weeks until my next A1C test. As you may recall, the A1C is the test of blood sugar levels over three months. 6.5+ means diabetes. In March, mine was 9.5. In May it was 8.1. If it is 7 or higher in August, I will have to go on medication. I have completely changed my diet and increased my physical activity. I monitor with a glucose meter once a day now, as opposed to several times a day with the continuous glucose meter I was using to help me learn how my body reacts. I know now what causes uneven levels and how to even them out.  In the last while, I have been focusing on my emotional and mental health. On the advice of Adam Brown, the author of Bright Spots and Landmines: The Diabetes Guide I Wish Someone Had Handed Me , I have started to do daily gratitude journaling through The Five Minute Journal . At the start of each day, I note what I am grateful for, what would make the day better and write a daily affirmation. At the end of the day, I not...

I am one month away from my next A1C test. I am trying my best not to feel too hopeful that I will have a blood sugar level below 7.0, the target my doctor set for my not having to go on medication. I try to bear in mind what she said: that my 9.5 result in March means it is pretty likely I will require some assistance in the form of medication, but fuck oh fuck oh fuck, I do not want to have to take anything. My brief fling with blood pressure medication was awful. The unsteadiness I felt all the time prevented me from doing as much physical activity as I wanted/needed: not only to lower my A1C level, but also because it makes me feel better now to do a lot of physical activity. I am at the end of the extra FreeStyle Libre 2 sensors we purchased after I tried the Libre 1 and Libre 2 sensors for free. While the trial versions seemed great and taught me a lot about how to manage my diabetes, the purchased versions were awful. Compared with the One Touch glucose monitor, which requires...

a new cafe on Bay and Somerset W.  Ok, not easy exactly. But the title goes with the song. I took my daily walk again today, the second day of summer. I felt blissful and ebullient. If you had told me back when I received my diabetes diagnosis at the end of March that I would feel b & e, I would have been very surprised, and I might have thought you were just being foolish. In a mere fourteen weeks, I have improved my diet and increased my physical activity. I have more energy and I sleep better. I’m calmer and less anxious and while I have blue moments, I don’t have a whole blue period. I have had some obstacles. The blood pressure meds I was put on made me dizzy. I’m now off them and will try again after my A1C test in August. I need to continue to eat healthy and do as much physical activity as I can. After the Freestyle Libre 1 and 2 free sample flash glucose monitors, which helped greatly in my learning about how my body reacts to food, sleep and activity, we purchased two...

the 4g of Perindopril Erbumine blood pressure medication the doctor put me on was making me too dizzy to be able to take my daily walks without shortening them severely. the doctor halved the dosage a week ago and I’m still experiencing the dizziness when I walk and also in the shower. it’s very frustrating along with being petrifying because I’m terrified I’ll fall. I’ve tested both my blood pressure and blood sugar levels when I’ve felt like this and they haven’t been out of range. I’ve tried taking the meds before breakfast and before dinner. Still dizzy. I feel like my attempts to lower my A1C levels are being sabotaged. today I had a bit of a cry when I was sitting outside on a bench in the sun. I love walking and the weather is beautiful. I want to be outside and enjoy the day. Instead I’m home and feeling like I’m not doing everything I can to manage my diabetes. I told my darling husband who has been walking with me after work when he gets home, holding my hand. He will do ...