UPDATE ON SMOKING CESSATION

On Nov. 7, 2011 I posted that I had been 1 week without a cigarette. I had been taking champix to assist with quitting and was in my 4th week of using it. It is now Jan. 3, 2012 and a brand new year has begun. I am still not smoking.... for the most part. 

Till around December 4th, 2011 I did manage to stay completely cigarette free. So I was doing really well, even though the Champix made me feel sick to my stomach most of the time and aggravated my hiatus hernia as well, making that area hurt. Such was my resolve.

Then Frodo blew a disc in his back for the third time. I know from previous vet consults that this can cause euthenasia to be the only option. Of course I stressed majorly. I broke down and had two cigarettes that day and each day for the next two days as well. Once he started to appear to be out of danger I didn't have another cigarette for a week or so... then I had one again. Another week without a cigarette, and I had part of one. I have been weaning myself off the Champix and am down to one a day, which I take in the evening. That way some of the worst of the side effects have faded somewhat.

I am feeling better, I think. I do know I breath far easier now. But I have put on weight again, which can feel very disheartening after fighting to get it off. I haven't gained it all back.... just 12 pounds of the 50 I had lost, but that is enough. Another effect of quitting is that my insulin needs went up almost instantly and have, of course, increased as the added weight was gained. I sure hope I am able to lose it again. For me, being overweight is something that undermines my confidence in many areas. Psycological to be sure, and not how I feel about others who carry too much weight. It's a personal thing pertaining to me only.

I want to decrease my need for  insulin again as  well, and weight reduction does that, though I can see I will have to lose more than the 12 pounds I gained to get back to the same place. I think, if I can get down to an ideal weight for my height and build, I may be off insulin and just be able to work with diet and oral medication. At least that is my hope.

I am keeping an eye on my blood pressure too, as it seems to have increased some with the cessation of smoking. That may balance out again, but is something to keep a close eye on.

All in all I would say that I am doing quite well and 90% of the time I don't even think about having a cigarette. Nor do I often  feel a need for one. I don't beat myself up over breaking through and having one on the days I am stressed to the max.. I get hold of my will power and carry on from there.

I will keep you updated on the progress from here. I know it can't help but improve my health to quit smoking and I am almost there!

A CURE FOR DIABETES?

    Are we close to a cure for diabetes? It seems that there is some success towards a cure to diabetes in a whole new direction. Till now much research has been done with the premise that diabetes is an auto-immune disorder, but new research suggests that diabetes is a neuropathic disorder. In a study performed with mice, the introduction of a "compound designed to circumvent the effect of reduced neurons in the pancreas" appeared to cure the diabetes in these mice.

    Wow! I pray this proves out in further scientific research. It seems more promising than even the stem cell transplantation that I had previously read and written about. The use of adult stem cells is also coming along. It is offered now to some in the USA and Canada according to some sites I have recently been doing research on.

    Islet transplantation is also showing some good results in combatting diabetes as well.

    But a cure? None of these has been perfected to the point of making that claim yet. I pray that one of them will. I hate taking 4-5 needles a day and poking my fingers that many times or more.

    Being a neuropathic disorder makes some sense to me too. I have had many things through my life that have been neuropathic, including epilepsy. If I am prone to neuropathic problems, and if diabetes proves to be a neuropathic disorder, my development of diabetes would not then be such a mystery.

    There is no genetic indication of diabetes in my family. My doctors have said I am not that overweight as to be a cause of my diabetes. Nonetheless, I am an insulin dependent diabetic. I look forward to a cure.

    For more information on these research areas follow the links below or google them under diabetes treatments, stem cells and diabetes, or many other combinations of key words.
　
http://www.informationaboutdiabetes.com/cure-diabetes-58.html

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18040485/ns/health-diabetes/t/stem-cell-experiment-lets-diabetics-forgo-insulin/

http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1891122,00.html

STOPPED SMOKING -- FEELING BETTER

    I have been trying to quit smoking for a long time. It is something I struggle with, but that story is on one of my other blogs. I have been cigarette-free for a little over a week now. For many months I tried the patch, which had worked for me in the past enabling me to stop smoking for up to 1 ½ years. This time, however, it wasn’t working as well. I did manage to not get up and smoke during the night, but as soon as the cravings would hit after getting up in the morning, I would tear the patch off and have a cigarette. I displayed no real will-power at all. But this did keep me down to between 5 and 10 cigarettes a day, depending on how stressed out I was. There were a lot of things going on in my life.

    Now I know, as everyone these days does, that smoking has severe consequences for many. Not only does it cause many cancers, but affects heart, lungs, and blood amongst other things. For a diabetic these dangers are increased by 3, 4, up to 5 times that of a non-smoker.

    I know that there were times that my blood carried too many red blood cells. Enough that my doctor was commenting on it. I looked it up on the internet and found that, aside from smoking being the cause, there was one other cause of this. Those suffering from that cause had to have some of their blood drained off every so often. It was too thick. Something that happens to diabetics when their blood sugars are too high.

    If you are having trouble keeping your numbers in line your blood is already thickened. Add smoking to that and a heart attack could be on the way. It just gets too hard for the heart to pump that thick blood.

    Another affect of smoking is decreased oxygen. This has to affect every part of your body. Now add diabetes to the mix. Your organs are affected by the diabetes. From kidneys to liver to heart, eyes, nervous system, immune system and on and on it seems to go. With smoking you are depriving them of oxygen, (not to mention what affect the many other chemicals in a cigarette are having on you), when they need all they can get to maintain good health and function in their battle with diabetes.

    I know that I huffed and puffed just walking around. I was to the point, a few years ago, that I would get up in the morning, light my first cigarette, and have a major coughing spasm. When I got down to 10 or less cigarettes a day, that improved. So did my breathing.... somewhat. Then, in the last few months, I lost 45 lbs which improved my breathing a little more. I started walking, too.

    Of the many lifestyle changes I am making, stopping smoking is at the top of the list. I am using Champix this time as I had tried it once before and had some success with it. I have been on it just about 4 weeks now and by the 3^rd week I was down to one a day. For the past week I have been down to zero.

    For my overall health I need to do this. I know that I feel so much better. I can take a deep breath. I can walk further. I am not huffing and puffing nearly as much.

    One concern is that I am eating more. It seems to be something to keep my mouth occupied. In effect replacing cigarettes with food, even though I am not hungry. This is making it a little difficult right now to keep my numbers in line, but I know it will pass. If I gain a little bit back while I am stopping, oh well. I know that I will get that back on track after I am over the initial few weeks. I am working on that now by chewing on a toothpick. I guess it doesn’t look so good, but if it helps I don’t care. It is only temporary.

    I don’t know how much I will add to my life, if anything, for I am not a spring chicken and have been smoking for many, many years now. What I do know already is that the quality of my life will improve. I have already become more active and that’s got to help. My breathing has improved drastically increasing my ability to do things. So if I can feel better in whatever remaining years I have, it is worth it whether I add anything to my life span or not.

    I know I don’t have emphysema right now... if I continued smoking I would most likely develop it. Perhaps I will forego the heart attack I would surely have. Or the stroke that would make me unable to care for myself and put me at the mercy of others. If only for those reasons, stopping is worth it. I just feel better. I hope I am 100% successful this time. I feel I will be.

WALKING IS BENEFICIAL

    Hello to my readers. I have been away now for quite some time. My computer/laptop bit the dust and for several months I was off line because I just could not afford another. At around the same time I lost my work and then my vehicle. I was forced to walk everywhere for everything.

    Now don’t get me wrong. There is a bus system in the small city I live in. However, each time I tried to use it, it did not seem to run on any fixed schedule. I would arrive with at least five minutes to the next supposed pick up, only to wait anywhere from 20 minutes to 35 minutes. It is supposed to run every 30 minutes. Once I waited over 45 minutes.

    I can be a little impatient with standing out in the cold. I decided that the town was not THAT big and I started to walk instead of wait. Most times I get where I need to faster than waiting for the blasted bus. And I walk slow due to the arthritis in my back and hips.

    In a few weeks I started to see some unexpected benefits. At first it was finding my clothing becoming a little loose. I didn’t think a whole lot of that because I had gone through it before without losing an ounce according to the scale. But my next doctor’s visit confirmed that I had lost 10 pounds. Oh, happy day!

    For a number of years now all I had seen was the numbers going up. I am insulin dependent and was caught in the spiral. The more weight you have, the more insulin you need... the more insulin you take, the more weight you gain. I had cried many times after taking my weight at the doc’s to find it had gone up yet again.

    Now here I was with a whole 10 pound reduction! I was ecstatic! Maybe it was only ten pounds, but to me it was a great achievement. And I hadn’t even been trying, having given up trying to lose. The next checkup I had lost another 10. Then another 5.

    During this period I started having lows in the morning, so I reduced my night time injection of Lantus. After meals I started having lows as well, enabling me to reduce my injections of Novo-rapid. My appetite went down, thereby reducing my caloric intake and further helping me lose the weight. Over the next several months I lost a total of 45 pounds without making any changes except that I had to walk.

    Some other benefits have been that my breathing has become easier. I am able to walk further, faster, and easier than I have for years now. There is less pain in my hips most days because I am not carrying so much around. I feel so much better about myself, too.

    Until I became diabetic I had been around 100 pounds. I had been tiny all my life. Then came diabetes and insulin. I spiralled up to almost double that. In fact, for me one of the first indications of diabetes was a very rapid weight gain, unlike many who experience a rapid loss. Insulin dependence just exacerbated the problem.

    Now I started feeling like I was getting my life back. For years I wouldn’t even look in the mirror. Now I was starting to feel like I could get the old me back. Oh, not the youth and ability to do many of the things I could no longer do. Diabetes isn’t my only drawback. But I can stand to see me now.

   

    I am still walking. I am benefiting. My little dogs are benefiting too, for now they get a walk after dinner every day, no matter what other walking I have had to do. I will lose the last 25-30 pounds. I can’t wait until I am in a size 5 - 6 again.... but I will be satisfied with a 7-8 if I must. After all, I am getting older.

    Until next time, my friends.

8 Things That Affect Your Blood Glucose Levels

There are so very many things that affect your blood glucose levels that it’s hard to know where to begin. Everything from the type and amount of food you eat, to how hot it is that day are known to have an effect. The eight items below are amongst the top things that affect your diabetes:

1. Caffeine - depending on how much coffee, and other caffeine rich beverages you drink in a day, can have an effect on your metabolism, causing fluctuations in your readings. A higher metabolism will cause you to burn more calories, thereby affecting the insulin dosage needed to control your diabetes. Drinking 5 or more caffeine rich products, (coffee, diet soda, cocoa [also sugar rich]) can increase your blood sugar. Caffeine affects two hormones, glucogon and adrenaline, which in turn release sugars stored in the liver.
2. Heat - A hot day, or even a shower or bath that is too hot will affect your sugars. Heat can cause your sugar levels to fluctuate. According to the Mayo Clinic, diabetics often have damage of the sweat glands affecting the body’s ability to cool down. Dehydration can be a result of a hot day, as well as a result of high blood glucose levels. High levels cause the body to excrete more urine, causing dehydration if one does not increase their intake of caffeine free fluids like water, seltzer, and sugar-free drinks. Heat can cause dehydration as well and could result in the more serious affects of heat exhaustion. Remember, try to keep out of the direct sunlight on a hot day, drink lots of fluids, exercise in the cool of the morning or late evening. You may find, like me, that you just cannot take the heat like you did before the diabetes.
3. Exercise - exercise must be carefully done and balanced, with readings taken before and after to make sure that your levels are not dropping. If you are feeling at all strange for any reason, take a reading even in the middle of your routine.
4. Weight loss - Though generally good for the overweight diabetic, weight loss will have a great effect on how much insulin you have to take. So will weight gains.  If you are on oral medications, weight loss can affect the amount you need to take of these as well. Certainly, if you are overweight, working on losing the excess will be most beneficial, but don’t take over-the-counter medications and weight-loss formulas without being under the care of and with the approval of your doctor(s) and health care professionals. Combine diet and exercise for the best results if you are able to, again, under your doctor’s supervision.
5. Medications - Everything from your diabetes medications and insulin changes, to over-the-counter medications such as cold tablets, headache medications, vitamin supplements etc., can change or affect your blood glucose. Have caution in taking ANY medications or supplements and please, talk to your doctor first, then your pharmacist before taking anything.
6. Illness - Fluctuations in your sugar levels is very common when one is ill. Some of it is due to the fact that, many times, your appetite is low when you are ill. The medications, be they prescription or other remedies, can interact with the diabetes medications you are on and should only be taken on the advice of your physician. Often too, your pharmacist will have an even better idea of what will or will not react with any medications you are on.
7. Food - What you eat, how much you eat, when you eat - all will have an effect on your glucose levels. Carbohydrates turn in to glucose in the blood far more readily than protein or fats. Some green vegetables, like lettuce and celery, have little or no effect on glucose levels, while white rice or potatoes have a dramatic effect. Always include a protein with whatever you eat. A handful of nuts is great with a snack. A piece of cheese (1-2 ounces) will help slow down the absorption of carbs into the blood stream as glucose. 
8. Sleep - Though a lack of good sleep patterns has been pretty well researched, and links have been discovered between that and the development of diabetes, the effects of poor sleep patterns can be extrapolated to affect those who already have diabetes. A lack of sleep, either in total or in the stages of sleep, can effect glucose resistance. This means that the cells that take up the insulin for use in the body aren’t working properly. Lack of proper sleep also affects your immune system in staving off colds, flu, heart ailments, and infections, all of which also affect or are affected by diabetes.

I know that many more things can affect your diabetes control and I can’t begin to go into them all in one article. Do your research. Know how your body feels. Be aware. Test often. These go a long way toward your control and overall health.