CPAP and Foam Roller

Medical Spotlight

Yesterday, I had my monthly check up and while he confirmed I was doing everything right (brought in lots of records and trackers showing what I had changed in the last month) he was unable to explain why the sugars have not gone down... so we go up on the insulin, alot!  The lifestyle change have another month to work before I get Mad!

CPAP.... So, I have been on a CPAP for years.  Not very faithful with using it until about a month ago.  Did you know that some people who are on a CPAP are on it because they stop breathing at night?  Yep!  A CPAP is a machine that forces people to breath.  When you don't breath at night your body reacts by releasing stress hormones and adrenalin to force system response and breathing.  It ages your organs and puts intense strain on them, when they should be resting and healing from the day activities.  It can help reduce blood sugar, heart rate, weight and all the other really necessary things you need your body to be kind around.... No one told me I held my breath at night!!!  I was told it would give me energy when I woke up, it did not so I stop using it faithfully.  Every once in a while when I got tired enough I would strap it on but lets face it... it is not a fun thing to wear.  I feel like I am in a hospital bed when I wear it.

We went and had my CPAP machine checked out and I got a fun new head piece....


So much more sleeker than my old one.... but..... it did not seem to create enough positive air pressure last night and I had 7 occurrences of waking up due to breathing issues.  We are giving the new mask a week.... if it does not work then I will have to go to a full face mask.  UGH!

Here is more info on CPAP's:
http://blogs.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/2011/01/more-reasons-to-use-your-cpap.html


Fitness Spotlight

As you know, I started with a personal trainer this week (OUCH).  She is great!  Learned how to use a Fitness Roller.  This little round toy, showed me quick how un-flexible and stressed my muscles are - especially the ones I did not know I had!  After the work out of trying to bend a board over a enlarged rolling pin - we headed to Fred Meyers to get one.  Since the workout with the trainer I have used it 4-5 times and my husband has used it at least that much (actually a lot more, I think he is addicted to the massage effect it gives).  We are both exceptionally sore in spots.

If you are not active and want to start getting active, I would strongly recommend the Fitness Roller!  It is easy and you really do notice a difference after the first use!  Here are a couple You-Tube videos to help you get started:

This is the basic 5 that I was shown this week with my trainer:

Here is a whole 10 minute work out devoted to the roller:

Another good video for beginners that goes a little farther and introduces weights.

Lifestyle Change Schedule:

Possible CPAP refit - Coming in a week or two
BodyMedia Care - Coming in a week
Nutritionist (MD, RD) - Coming in two weeks
Trainer Session II - Coming in three weeks

Exercise & Diabetes.... yep I used the "E" word

When you are a diabetic, you hear about exercise as much or more than you hear about checking your blood sugar!  It seems to be the number one focus of everyone from health care providers to your favorite (or un-favorite) family member.  When you hear diabetes or exercise what do you think?  Be honest.... you think.. usually it is something along the lines of "it's about time Alice lost weight".... believe it or not while that is one of possible benefits it is not the main reason a diabetic should exercise.... yep... I said it, it is not about the weight - weight is not necessarily health but its what the high blood sugar is doing to a diabetics body that maters.

On my quest to become healthy, I have made a lot of changes....a ton of changes but with my check-up and med adjustment tomorrow, exercise was the last thing on my list to "Start".  I had to sell myself on why losing a few pounds would matter to the overall scene.  If you know much about me, you know that I need data to back up anything.  I need to sell myself on stuff with books, reports, white papers, clinical studies...etc etc etc.... it is great to hear from people but the data talks to me.

About a week ago,  I started the data dive as to why to exercise.  Expecting it to be about weight, after-all isn't it always?

That is NOT what I found!  I learned that exercise makes your insulin receptors active and more willing to accept/process the glucose in the body!  Yep, it acts as a insulin booster pack.  OK, the data had me interested... so I dug in deeper.

A post hoc meta-analysis, published in JAMA on September 12,2001 (vol 286 no 10), looked at 13 studies that compared exercise groups and non-exercise groups based on A1C (A1c is the tattle tale for Diabetics, it is a blood test that shows the averaged based blood sugar level for the last 3 months).  This meta-analysis showed there was a "clinically significant" change in A1c levels between the groups while there was not a significant lose of body mass.... yep, people did not lose weight but they made a nice dent in their blood sugar results.  (Lets face it we are probably talking about typical diabetic patients that do not enjoy "exercise" - as one and related to a few, I pull the I can say it because I represent it card!!)

OK, how did this information help me decide to exercise.... it didn't!  But this next part did.....

There was not a significant difference between the people who worked out via aerobic and the people who did the resistance training.... yep, I can lift a few weights.  Perhaps a lap or 2 in the pool.  Get in some funky Yoga stances or maybe even play with the elastic broken rubber bands (resistance bands) and get a "clinically significant" advantage to my blood sugar.  Lets face it, even the laziest diabetic can lift a weight while they are watching television or if they are playing wow (..... not pointing fingers at anyone specific...) perhaps they can lift a weight while you wait for the game to load.....

When they say "clinically significant" what does that mean?  Well it is different for different studies and etc... but the basis is two things.  A. it can be repeated with a reasonable degree of faith and b. it is enough to make a difference in the symptom/disease state.  For this study, it found a averaged decrease in A1c of .66%.... Does not look like much but lets look at the numbers...It drops your daily average by approx 12 points, at 300 not a big deal (After all you are seriously out-of-whack, you need medical help) but if you are pre-diabetic or if you trying to make sure you do your part to keep your..... eyes, arms, legs, kidneys... blah blah blah.... those points matter! If I had to guess, I would put my A1c between 10 &11 right now.  But not for long!  I bet if they spent less time trying to get diabetics to lose weight and more time educating why exercise mattered (aka made their bodies happier to accept the insulin) it would matter.  Even framing up what "exercise" would do the trick.  After all when I think of exercise I am thinking sweating, huffing, puffing, pain, should I go on??  nah.  I know I would have done more, if I understood more the reason.

In about 30 min, I meet with my new personal trainer (poor girl!).  Next week I have a fun new toy coming (expect a blog on it!!) that will help track every movement I make towards a healthier lifestyle + Exercise.  IF my arms still work, I will post a blog about the workout tomorrow.

Well off to change into a workout outfit and get ready for my next expensive adventure in this process I call "living healthier."

Get more active... that is the basic gest of all the articles I read on the subject (which was about 20).  If your not someone who likes to "exercise" in the tradition way, find something that gets you moving.  Every motion matters when it comes to your blood sugar.  (If your blood sugar is about 250 and all that other, I am not a doc cant give advise  blah blah blah coverage stuff - Talk to your doc!)

Hyperglycemia

Hyperglycemia is when you have too much sugar in your blood.  It is usually the first symptom diagnosed with a patient with diabetes.  They take a quick finger prick size of blood, put it on a test strip and in a few seconds they indicated if you have too much blood sugar in your blood.  You can also buy the testing device at your local grocery store or pharmacy, does not require a perscription and runs anywhere from $8-$108 for the testing unit.

So the symptoms most commonly associated with Hyperglycemia are:

• Frequent urination
• Increased thirst
• Headaches
• Difficulty concentrating
• Blurred vision
• Fatigue (weak, tired feeling)
• Weight loss
• Blood sugar more than 180 mg/dL

If you go untreated and have long term hyperglycemia it may result in:

• Skin infections
• Slow-healing cuts/sores
• Decreased vision
• Nerve damage
• Stomach and intestinal problems such as chronic constipation or diarrhea

Does not sound like fun!  So if you do have high blood sugar what do you do??

....feel a disclaimer coming on...... I am not a doc or in anyway authorized to give any medical advice, simply a patient educating myself (and maybe you) on what I learned along my path to a healthier lifestyle.. please consult your health care provider if you believe you might have diabetes or call 911 in case of a medical emergency...... thank you now back to the blog.

Some people take insulin to lower their sugars, while I am on insulin, I am not going to focus on this avenue as it is really the last option path and should be used in combination with other steps to lower your blood sugar.

Drinks lots of water!  IF you do not have kidney damage (can be caused by untreated diabetes), drink that water to help lower your blood sugar level (coffee and soda do not count!  needs to be water)

Take a walk (OK caution here!  If your sugar is above 290 you should seek medical direction on exercise before doing anything)  If you know me... I am not an exercise type of person, do not enjoy it, however..... in prep for this blog I learned through numerous studies and articles that exercise actually makes your insulin recepters more willing to function properly thereby lowering your need for insulin injections and blood sugar in the blood.  I will get into this deeper in a future blog.

Stop eating so many carbs... ok this is very ignorant to say.  My carb intake is less than 1/2 of what it should be (I keep a food diary - you should too) and my blood sugar is still running over 200 on any given test.  That said, I do notice a significant increase when I have eaten any carbs at a meal that day.  So don't stop eating carbs but rather be aware of what you are eating and add extra water/exercise to balance your sugars out.

Moderate Hyper does not make you pass out or put you in a coma but it does lead to some pretty naste results. 

More information about Hyper can be found here:
http://www.chemocare.com/managing/hyperglycemia-high-blood-sugar.asp

What are the blood sugar ranges?

What ARE the blood ranges we should be shooting for?  The answer for me has shifted with each new pracitioner. 

Chart information taken from http://www.joslin.org/docs/Pharm_Guideline_Graded.pdf

If your blood sugar drops below 70, it is considered hypoglycimia and can be exceptionally dangerous. Stay posted for a blog around this...

Stay tuned for posts about hypo and hyper impacts, symptoms and recommendations (based on learnings).

Take a peak at the Diabetes Basics page!!  That page will evolve as I learn more about the condition/disease - a great highlights reel.  It already has some pretty amazing and new information.  Such as the 2011 ADA medical standard of practice for Diabetes!

The next post, will be about the 2011 standard of practice for ADA - a patients cliff notes version.

Disclaimer moment... not a doc or anyone else in authority to offer advise. Just a patient, exploring my condition and taking an active role in getting healthier!

Diabetes - building the frame

Learning how to live a healthy life style is a topic source that is like the energizer bunny..... it keeps going and going and going.  

Because most recently, I learned that my Diabetes is playing games again and has now affected my kidneys -  I am going to kick off this blog with learning more about Diabetes. 

Ok, to cover me.... I am not a medical practitioner/dietician or in any other way qualified to give offer medical advise.  This is a blog based on my experiences and learnings - if you have (or think you have) any medical condition please consult your health care practitioner for medical advise.  Back to the blog....

The one thing that I have learned through the years of being diagnosed with Diabetes is that there is a lot of "little bites" of information and there is not much of a cohesive collection of Diabetes or even standard care regiments followed within the medical community.  When I was first diagnosed, there was little education, I was told I needed to "watch" my sugars and given a script for insulin resistance.  Three years later, I moved and my new doctor asked what my A1C was... my what?  She asked how often I check my blood sugars....1 time a week was not the answer she was looking for.  By this time my sugars were sitting above 200 at any given reading (I was not told what the range was to worry about).  She immediately put me on two more meds and took me off of the one I was originally put on - she then had me go to an endocrinologist. Who took me off of two of the meds she gave me, put me back on the initial medicine, started two others and a shot..... next move..... I have received another medicine and have been placed on insulin.  What do I know about diabetes?  That there are a lot of meds for it........ what should I know - a whole lot more!

This video shows the basics behind the diabetes disease.  Basically, the body does not create or create enough insulin for the body to use the sugar present in the blood stream.  Why does it mater?  If there is not enough insulin in the body the sugar can not get to the cell and the cells are starved.... yep that is right that "fluffy" person with diabetes is actually suffering from starved cells!  They need insulin to decrease the sugar in the their blood... you knew that but did you know that reduction is actually a result of the body processing the sugar and eating it up in a scenes?

There you go, you just got more education on diabetes in 10 minutes than I did in the 6 years I have been diagnosed with it and I spent about 3 hours on this post..... I am thinking this blog is already working.