Tag: diabetes

Atkins diet for surgery

On By Michel McDonaldIn Diet, Doctor1 Comment

I had a colonoscopy in September. After the procedure they told me that they were able to remove a couple of polyps, but there were also a couple of polyps that were lying flat in my colon and they couldn’t cut them out, and I would need surgery to get them.

I had an appointment with a new surgeon in November, but apparently he had gotten the wrong chart or the wrong information and he insisted I was there for the world’s worst hemorrhoids. I don’t have hemorrhoids. I tried showing him the pictures from the colonoscopy, but he refused to even look at them.

In December I had a teleconference appointment with the doctor who did the colonoscopy and he was upset that the surgeon thought I had hemorrhoids and actually called him on another phone. He told me they would call me in a couple of days, and they never did.

Last week I remembered to call them to schedule a new appointment and this time he had the correct chart. He told me the only way he can do my surgery was if I lost weight. I was 253lbs when I saw him, and he told me I need to lose at least 15lbs (but better if more) in 8 weeks.

He told me to go on the Atkins diet. He gave me papers that show which foods are low carb. I installed the Atkins app and started eating low carbs immediately. He told me to eat no more than 50 carbs a day.

My problem is I love carbs. I love pasta and bread and I know those turn to sugar and cause weight gain, but it’s so good.

We went to the store and all the low carb stuff is expensive. We bought a loaf of bread that is low carb because we bought lunch meat, which apparently have no carbs, but the amount of carbs in the bread is still too much, so I’ve decided to eat salads with the lunch meat and use the bread with dinner for bread and butter, but only 1 slice. And this bread is tiny lol.

We still have a lot of weight watchers smart ones and lean cuisine in the freezer, so I’ll eat one every night until they’re gone. They have carbs, but it’s not too many, and I still fall under 50 carbs a day.

So I’ve been eating scrambled eggs for breakfast, chefs salad for lunch and weight watchers or lean cuisine for dinner. Although, last night I had boneless skinless chicken breast with broccoli and cauliflower for dinner.

If this allows me to lose weight, I’ll continue eating low carbs. I’ll try to make this a lifestyle choice, but it’s hard.

I saw they sell Atkins frozen dinners and even shakes and snacks, so even though those are expensive, I’ll buy them when I want a snack. They have their own version of M&M’s. I’ll look forward to that, but I’ll wait until after the surgery.

I have type 2 diabetes, sand my blood sugar has actually dropped since I started this diet. I also have sleep apnea, so if I lose weight, it will be easier to sleep. I hope it works. I’ll continue tracking with the Atkins app.

So I’m diabetic now

On By Michel McDonaldIn Doctor, HealthLeave a comment

I think it was 10 years ago when my doctor warned that I was pre-diabetic, and he gave me a glucose meter and my numbers went down because I basically cut out all the sweets and only ate vegetables and meat, no bread or carbs. Eventually after a few months of having good numbers on the meter, he told me I’m cleared and I don’t need to worry about it anymore as long as I continued to eat healthy. He didn’t prescribe test strips.

They tested my glucose in June of this year and it was 373. Yikes! My doctor prescribed Metformin HCL ER 750 MG tablets and I have taken it every day like I was supposed to for 3 months. I’ve cut back significantly on sugar and have eaten basically nothing but salads for dinner for 3 months. They tested my glucose again in September and it had dropped down to 228, still yikes. But the day of our appointment which was a week later, it had gone back up to 391. YIKES!!!! She thought the Metformin would help, but apparently not, so she prescribed Trijardy XR 25-5-1000 MG tablets.

Today I finally got the new medicine and the new glucose machine. It’s a True Metrix self monitoring blood glucose meter and it only came with 10 testing strips and 10 lancests, and I don’t know why they didn’t give me any more than that, but whatever. My life partner has the same machine and he buys testing strips from Amazon, so he gave me some of his for when I run out of mine in 3 days lol.

I tested my blood when we came home from the pharmacy, which was a little after 3pm and my blood sugar was 242. I took a Trijardy. Then I ate dinner at 6pm and did the test about 10 minutes later and it had dropped down to 147. So apparently the new medicine is going to help. I wonder what the side effects will be lol. Joking aside, I’m glad my blood sugar has gone down significantly.

Now that I know I have an issue with my blood sugar, I will slow my roll on junk food and try to eat healthier from now on. It’s hard because I REALLY love junk lol. I am a 50 year old man, I need to grow up and stop acting like a child who thinks he can eat anything he wants. I don’t have a grown up to tell me to eat my vegetables and that cookies and ice cream will spoil my dinner.

Actually, my life partner has told me you’ll spoil your lunch or dinner and I laugh because whenever I do eat lunch or dinner, it’s never enough and I’m still hungry. Perhaps if I filled my stomach with vegetables, which from what I understand breaks down slower in your stomach, which makes you feel full longer, then I might not be so hungry all the time.

I downloaded the True Metrix app called True Manager. I don’t have the True Metrix Air which apparently connects to the app with Bluetooth, but I can manually enter the data. I hope my blood sugar drops down to a normal range and stays that way. I will know on the app since it has a log and it tells me my average based on my log entries. They told me to do the blood test in the morning on an empty stomach, and then again after dinner.

Halloween Allergy Free Candy

On By Michel McDonaldIn HalloweenLeave a comment

halloween candy sign
Halloween is a fun time of year for children and adults alike. It’s the time when you can role play and be someone you are not. It’s fun, yes? I think so.

It’s not fun when a child comes home from a long night of door-to-door begging for candy (let’s call a spade a spade), only to find out they can’t eat 3/4 of the candy they collected because they have food allergies. And yes, food allergies are real. I am lactose intolerant which means no milk chocolate. I won’t die, I’ll just fart until no one wants to be around me, even me. Oh and it causes stomach cramps. Have you seen what happens to children with peanut allergies? Imagine having to tell your child that all their efforts were for nothing, because if they eat the candy they collected, they might die.

At first when I saw this sign on the Today Show website, I was like most people who probably think this is just too much PC bullcrap being shoved down people’s throats. But then I started thinking about how legit the allergies really are, and I put myself in my little 2 to 10 year old shoes and thought how I would have felt all those years ago if I were told I couldn’t eat any of the candy. I would have been devastated. So instead of thinking about how PC this sign is and start thinking how the children might feel. Also, that candy that you spent a lot of money is just going to go into the trash, so you’ve wasted money on candy that will never be eaten.

Now, I don’t agree with everything on the list, like come on, carrots? Raisins? Really? No child wants dried fruit or vegetables. I mean come on people. And if you hand out apples or oranges to kids, their parents are just going to throw them in the trash, and you have a huge chance of your house being decorated with toilet paper.

There are a few things on the list that I used to love to get as a child, and that is Necco Wafers, Smarties, Life Savers and Lemon Drops. And if you really want to hand out chocolate candy with or without peanuts, why not do both? Why not put a sign on the door saying you have dairy free, peanut free, and gluten free candy as well as regular candy? That way the parents of children with allergies will know which house to go to, and they can tell you that their child has the food allergies so they know which bowl of candy to grab. It’s not that difficult.

I did the Today Show Halloween Candy Poll and was shocked by the lack of empathy of Today Show viewers and website readers.

Today Show Halloween Candy PollIt never occurred to me before reading this article that there might be a child out there with food allergies. I know there are children out there who were born diabetic, so I am sure those parents don’t even introduce them to Halloween because the candy could literally kill them if they ate too much sugar. Or maybe those parents bring their child to a Halloween party where they know the candy is sugar free.

Hey, speaking of a Halloween party, why couldn’t the parents who have children with food allergies just throw a kick ass haunted house and Halloween party with allergy free candy that all children could enjoy? This way the kids can still go home with a bag full of candy that they can eat, and they will have a fun memory of the party they went to. I seem to recall going to a Halloween party or two as a child where I never even went home with a bag full of candy. I remember bobbing for apples and playing games, and it was fun. I think this is the ultimate solution to this problem. Don’t you?

Ice Cream Scoops

On By Michel McDonaldIn Products I LikeLeave a comment

I love ice cream, I love it so much that when I eat it, I don’t just have 1 serving, I usually fill a bowl with it.  I guess you could say that ice cream is my downfall.  Despite my diabetes, I can’t just say I’ll quit eating it because when I quit something then I’ll end up sneaking around and cheating.  So it’s better to continue eating but moderate how much I eat.

It’s like when I quit smoking with the patch, I didn’t toss out all of my cigarette paraphernalia because I knew if I wanted to cheat I’d end up buying another pack so I might as well keep my current pack so if I do cheat then it won’t end up costing me more money.  I did cheat, twice but I still ended up quitting and haven’t looked back, that was in 1996.

I decided to try a little experiment.  I bought some ice cream cones at the grocery store because I figured if I ate an ice cream cone then I would be ok right?  The only thing was, our ice cream scoop sucks ass.  It’s this plastic see through piece of junk that you are supposed to fill with hot water to keep it warm so you can use it but I can’t take the cover off to fill it.  So the only way to use it is to soak it in hot water but as soon as it touches the ice cream, it gets cold and is hard to scoop again.

I wanted this to work but that ice cream scoop just wasn’t working.

I’ve been looking around the internet for an ice cream scoop like the one they have at Thrifty’s drug store which we all now know as Rite Aid.  They still sell Thrifty ice cream and still use the iconical gun that has the flat top making it easy to add more layers.  What I found was the Cuisipro Scoop and Stack Ice Cream Scoop on Amazon.com for $14.99.  It has the free shipping option if you buy something else valued at $10.01 with free shipping available but that means I have to spend $25 and all I want is an ice cream scoop.

Last night I was looking at my options that would cost $10.01 because I wasn’t about to spend $8 for shipping and not get anything except for the ice cream scoop.  I’d rather spend $10 and get something I can use.  But the problem was, everything that I wanted cost either $15 or $20 which made my shopping cart higher than I knew I could afford.  All this for 1 ice cream scoop.

Screw it!  I went to Albertson’s this morning and they had this heavy-duty ice cream scoop made by Good Cook on the 50% off rack and all I paid was like $1.70.

The thing is, I have a problem with scooping ice cream because of my carpal tunnel syndrome.  My hands pinch in the palms and wrists from the stress of scooping ice cream so I have to wait for it to melt and use a spoon.  Well, the Cuisipro was supposed to be easy because I just push it down into the ice cream, pull it back up and viola, ice cream for a cone.

The one I bought from Albertson’s is actually a lot easier to use.  You know that as soon as I came home from the store that I used it to make myself an ice cream cone lol.  It was so easy to use that it made a perfect ice cream ball and my hands didn’t even feel anything.  And what was awesome was that the ice cream didn’t even stick to it like it does with my cheap plastic ice cream scoop.  I was always having to use a spoon that I had to soak in hot water to remove the scoop from the scooper lol.

All this trouble for an ice cream scoop and I end up buying one for way less than I thought I would.  I win!  I’ve already lost 11lbs in the last month because I have cut way back on my ice cream intake by having ice cream cones instead of a huge bowl of ice cream so you tell me if the experiment was worth it or not.  Actually, I also quit drinking soda, coffee and iced tea but towards the end of the month I started drinking coffee and tea again but still lose 11lbs.  I was surprised when I weighed myself this morning that I was no longer 260lbs but 249.

I can’t say that the Cuisipro ice cream scooper would have worked out for me as much as this Good Cook one does but it’s cheaper and I’m glad I didn’t rush myself to buy it from Amazon.  I read a few customer reviews of the Cuisipro one and people were leaving negative reviews so maybe I am better off with the one I ended up with.  Either way I’m happy now with what I have and I hope the weight loss continues.

Save Your Cord For Later

On By Michel McDonaldIn AdLeave a comment

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of CryoCell International. All opinions are 100% mine.

I’m a big believer in Stem Cell research only because they can use Stem Cells in fighting diseases. People have mixed feelings about Stem Cell research because they think that a baby has to die but that is so not true. When you have a baby, his or her umbilical cord is cut off the belly, well, instead of throwing it away it can be saved because the umbilical cord has stem cells inside of the blood.


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www.Cryo-Cell.com is a company that can freeze your cord blood for later using cryogenics. You’ve heard of cryogenics. Your baby’s umbilical cord blood can help cure their future diseases, especially if you are aware that your family has a history of heart disease, diabetes, cancer etc. It’s up to you to take these preventative steps before it’s too late to make sure your healthy baby boy or girl can live a full life disease free.


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Science has come a long way in the last 100 years, you have to admit that. So why not trust a company like www.Cryo-Cell.net to keep your cord blood for the future.  If you don’t do it for them, then who else is willing to make that call for you?  Science can help them because it is their blood and in most cases you need blood that is a match, who else’s stem cells can match them but their own?  Think about that.

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DO NOT CALL!

On By Michel McDonaldIn Daily BlogLeave a comment

National Do Not Call Registry

Telephone numbers placed on the National Do Not Call Registry will remain on it permanently due to the Do-Not-Call Improvement Act of 2007, which became law in February 2008. Read more about it at http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2008/04/dncfyi.shtm.”

I’m very curious about this because despite my being on the Do Not Call registry since 2007 when they first announced it, I still get calls.

Recently it has been calls from a telemarketer trying to sell us diabetic supplies. First they ask for me by name then they ask how many people in the house are diabetic. The first time I talked to them I said there are 2 people who are in the house who are both taking pills to control their diabetes with diet and exercise and we don’t need any diabetic supplies. The guy I spoke to was satisfied with not getting a sale and hung up. But for some reason didn’t take me off of their list like I asked him to.

The phone number that called was 682-227-6805 and the caller ID said the name was “Texas” but now I’m getting calls from 302-752-1422 where it says Unknown Name. The last time that “Texas” called us was on Sunday 12/12/2010 at 7:36pm. First of all, that’s so not cool to call on a Sunday. Second of all, they have called us for months, sometimes as late as 10 or 11pm.

The other phone number I think we’ve gotten twice already. Darrin chewed them out on the phone, I think last night. It’s his day off, he doesn’t want to get these calls on his day off.

Ok so I Googled the phone number and it shows me this website 800notes.com where you can look up a phone number and you can read what other people had to say about this phone number calling you. The 2nd phone number (302-752-1422) has 17 pages of people complaining about that phone number (see link).

Well, besides complaining about these phone numbers on the 800notes.com website and in here, I will file a complaint with the FCC website. I already went there and started filling out the form but they want to know the last 3 times they called. I can only give them one time because I didn’t log their calls. So in order for me to know this information to give a proper complaint, I’m going to have to type out the date and time they call until I have 3 or 4 times to complain about. Not just on the 302 number but the Texas one too.

It’s already a hassle having them call me, now I gotta log every time they call? Sheesh! I shouldn’t have to do this, you know? I shouldn’t be getting these calls in the first place if I’m on the do not frigging call list! But I will do it because it is my duty to let the FCC know they are harassing people with their constant phone calls.

Another Diet

On By Michel McDonaldIn Diet, Exercise, Food, HealthLeave a comment

I went to the doctor’s office yesterday for my regular visit and found out how much weight I have gained. Over 20lbs.

Here’s the story for those who aren’t familiar. I was diagnosed with diabetes earlier this year when I weighed 252lbs. I went on a diet and went down to 215lbs.

Our diet wasn’t very inventive but it was good enough for me since it had protein, grains and vegetables. I had cut out all breads from our diets (mine and Chips) and my diet gave me so much energy that I was always cleaning.

One night Darrin said to me that he didn’t want to eat this anymore, you’re working too hard and it makes me feel bad. Well, I had lost 37lbs and by telling me that, he discouraged me. He started asking for pasta and for other things and next thing you know, he’s buying cookies and donuts.

I started gaining weight again and before I knew it I was losing all of my energy and becoming lazy again. Now, I’m 239 according to the doctor’s office. The doctor said 20lbs but that’s according to where it says 218 in my chart.

What happened was, I was 218 then went to the doctors then lost more weight and before my next visit I had already gone back up to 218 because of Darrin not wanting to continue the diet. Then I just kept gaining more and more weight.

So now that he has a job, he can’t tell me what I can make for him for dinner or to not clean and I’m going to tell him flat-out that he needs to just let me do what I’m gonna do to help us lose weight. I can’t keep up with this yo-yo dieting. I have to lose this weight.

I’ve already started cooking vegetables for dinner again so when Darrin comes home from work he has a balanced dinner to eat before he collapses on the couch for the evening. I’m going to get off my M&M’s binge and stop eating sugar and breads altogether again. I can do this, I know I can.

I have a feeling I will be hosting Thanksgiving this year which means I gotta get this house clean lol. In order to do that, I need to eat balanced meals to give me the energy. I just drank a Red Bull to give me the energy to mop the kitchen floor which takes all of about 10 minutes to do lol.

You know your energy levels are at 0 when you can’t even do the simplest chores such as mopping the floor. I seriously don’t know how I cleaned the bathroom and living room last week.

If I am hosting Thanksgiving this year then I have a lot of work to do to get this house up to snuff. I’m sure I can do it all by myself… UGH! I’m gonna need a LOT of Red Bull. I wish I had the money to hire a housekeeper a couple of days before they arrive to make damn sure this house is spic n span.

Scary Kisses

On By Michel McDonaldIn Halloween, Products I LikeLeave a comment

Anybody who knows me knows that Halloween is my favorite time of year despite the fact that I sit in my room with all the lights off because I can’t afford to buy candy for the little brats that don’t even bother to dress in costume.

It’s my favorite time of the year because I just love carving pumpkins, I love the funny spooky Disney channel movies, special Halloween episodes of my tv shows and well, and frankly, I love candy.

Unfortunately this year the Halloween candy is off-limits because I am diabetic now. I can’t say that the candy contributed to it because I only eat candy 3 times per year, Easter, Halloween and Christmas. During those holidays I don’t eat enough candy to have caused the diabetes, it’s everything else that I eat that did it.

This year I will not be able to indulge which is sad because of this…

Candy Corn Kisses, Pumpkin Spice Kisses and Caramel Kisses. I do love me some caramel but this I can have every day, how often can I have a candy corn kiss or a pumpkin spice kiss? Now only on Halloween.

Sorry sugar-filled blood in my system but some of your friends are gonna come for a visit tomorrow lol. Don’t worry, I wont be inviting too many of them over, just a few. I can still eat sugar in moderation which means when I buy these candy I gotta buy a safe then forget the number.  Or maybe give the rest away.  I have no self control lol.  I wish they didn’t have to sell them in such big bags, why can’t they sell these in little bags at the check out counter with the other candy where I can get a small bag with 3 or 4 pieces in the package?  It’s totally unfair.

Biking is Easier

On By Michel McDonaldIn Cycling, Diet, Exercise, HealthLeave a comment

Riding the bike is getting a lot easier.  I rode the bike from my house to Oak and Palm before realizing I didn’t stop for water once so naturally I stopped for some water.  I got all the way to the park in 19 1/2 minutes this time which is I think 3 minutes faster.  Probably because I didn’t stop to take a water break so many times.

I also didn’t sit on the picnic table for that long either, on Monday I think I sat there for 20 minutes before heading back home and this time I think it was like 10 or 15 minutes.

When coming home I didn’t turn right on H st. going on 21st st.  Instead I went further down to Chester Ave. because H st. has no bike lane in downtown Bakersfield but Chester Ave. does.  I think it’s easier to ride in a bike lane than cause an accident, don’t you?

So, I went a further distance and it was only 40 minutes this time.  The last time it was 45 minutes and this time I went a further distance which tells me that 1 I’m going faster and 2 my legs are getting more used to riding that I don’t have to stop to take a break for them.

I can remember not too long ago that I could only ride up to California Ave. and back and that was like 12 minutes and when I came home I could barely walk because of the stiffness in my legs.  If I am able to go faster and further than that just means that I will start to lose weight a lot faster.  I can already see it in my face that the fat is starting to come off.

If I can just keep doing this 3 days a week it wont be long before I’m thinner.  Oh and I need to start following the SparkPeople food plan again if I’m going to be successful.  The food they have is low-calorie and very good for us especially for Darrin because he has borderline diabetes now so whatever I make for myself I can make for him too then before you know it he will be losing weight too (but just on food, he doesn’t want to exercise).

Light System

On By Michel McDonaldIn Cycling, DoctorLeave a comment

I checked the tracking today from USPS for my light system for my bike and it was brought there to the post office on Monday but they didn’t ship it out until today.  So basically they sat on it for 2 days.  That’s fine though because it did say 2 to 9 days and it is the post office and not UPS or something so I don’t expect it right away.

I am actually glad it isn’t going to be here tomorrow because we both have doctors appointments.  Darrin is going in to find out what the new tests for his diabetes will be.  I’m afraid that it might come while we aren’t there and they are going to leave it to get stolen.  So, hopefully I’ll get it Friday or Saturday instead.