Hi Julia18togo, I haven’t posted for ages and I haven’t got the excuse of kids because mine are grown up. I’ve been a bit low, but it turned out I had an infection. I am pleased that the weight is going down, which is bound to help with my overall health, but I have been disappointed that my blood sugar is taking so long to go.
I recorded “a year to save your life USA” – its on Freeeview on Sunday morning 9am – 11am Pick? In less time than it took me to lose 24pounds one man lost 86lbs but in his head he felt he was a failure – I think that the biggest battle for all of us isn’t the weight or the blood sugar, but our own minds and recognising that every step is an achievement. We are not where we want to be but we are not where we used to be.
I spent years frustrated that I couldn’t sleep, I turned to sleeping pills, hypnosis cd’s and meditiation. Now I have a bedtime routine where I usually don’t go to bed until after midnight, but I know my mind is settled, I am tired and I will be asleep in less than 10 minutes- rather than going to bed earlier and listening to the clock strike every hour and getting annoyed and out of bed. There is research that shows a link between lack of sleep and being overweight – some people think it is because a hormone or enzyme is released when we have a good sleep – some people think that if you are awake at night you are more likely to snack.
Keep going, I know you can do it.

Here’s my results for the last week and a half:

Day 169 Weight 9st 7lbs
Blood Sugar 8.8
Constipated today – I haven’t been drinking enough

Day 170 weight 9st 7lbs
Blood Sugar 7.5 🙂

Day 171 weight 9st 6lbs
Blood Sugar 9.7

Blood sugar has a tendancy to go up as weight goes down

Day 172 Weight 9st 6lbs
Blood Sugar 8.3

Bought some size 8 stretchy pants 🙂 🙂 🙂

Day 173 Weight 9st 5lbs (25 pounds lost)
Blood sugar: 9.6

Day 174 weight 9st 7lbs
Blood Sugar 10.1

Had a bad back so had a long hot bath

Day 175 weight 9st 7lbs (end of Week 25)
Blood Sugar 8.6

Have had subcutaneous cysts for years, the hot bath brought one of them to the surface and to a head. It burst – very painful – in an unfortunate place.

Day 176 weight 9st 6lbs
Blood Sugar 8.5

Trip to out of hours doctors as cyst now classed as an abscess and lymph nodes painful. Prescribed antibiotics for a week. Cyst core came out tonight. The pain was unreal.

Day 177 weight 9st 6lbs
Blood sugar 9.0

Antibiotics are making me tired. Blood sugar readings can be affected by these antibiotics so can’t have my 3 monthly bloods done until next week.

Day 178 Today Weight 9st 6lbs
Blood sugar 8.4.

Still feeling lethargic possibly with the antibiotics, but can now sit down without grimacing.

Onwards and upwards or should that be downwards? for weight and blood sugar 🙂

Hi Sue

Are these fasting blood sugar results?

Yes Igorasusual. My morning routine is get up, go to the loo, get weighed and do my bloods. I have three sets of PJ’s that are similar in weight so the results can be comparable.

I ate a full pizza and some tortilla chips last night hence today’s disappointing results.

Day 179 today weight 9st 7lbs
Blood Sugar 10.3

Hi Sue

If you are measuring fasting bloods then you may get high results. Can I suggest you put Bill1954 into the search box and read his fascinating thread ‘This has to work for me’ which discusses fasting blood results. He moved to testing before and after meals as a more reliable result.

My OH has also been told by his medics that fasting bloods can be very misleading, because the liver clears out all the sugar overnight, producing a high level. He has just come off all his Metformin after the latest HbA1c results (which as I am sure you will already know, take an average over three months) which were normal. His doctor specifically mentioned that these were the indications she would be relying on, not fasting blood tests.

I hope this helps as I think you will be doing much better than you think!

🙂

Hi Sue

I thought I was the only one that weighed my nightwear!
I checked it was all similar, then if I weigh when I’ve got it on, subtract 300g

My sleep is hugely disrupted at the moments by being drawn in to watching the Olympics until silly o’clock, but that aside, has improved dramatically since I started BSD (no more frequent trips to the loo thru the night for one thing!) I think that I am on a far more even keel because I’m sleeping better.

oooooh – pizza – my mouth is watering at the thought!
I did buy some mozzarella at the weekend – planning to make my own with a gram flour flatbread base.

Hi Igorasusual and Frog,
Igorasusual – I tried doing my bloods at other times of the day and got higher scarier results (one was over 17!). I know about the dawn effect and have had conversations with Bill1954 in the past. I figure if I do my blood results in the morning – whatever the actual figure- if it goes down that is good and if it goes up it is not so good. I put my results in a graph to see the overall trend. The first three months showed an average of around 10 which came out on the actual 3 monthly HBa1c results as 57. Over the last three months the average is around 9 so I am hoping for better results. I was due to get bloods done today, but my antibiotics would affect the results so I am booked in to get them done next Wednesday.

Frog – I weighed myself in my pj’s and knickers from the start, so the weight I put down is the weight I am in my pj’s and knickers! I found a change of mattress and bedding helped with my nocturnal toilet trips several years ago. When you lose weight you snore less and you get a better sleep.
I just had a bog standard cheap 12″ pizza and some tortilla chips – usually I would eat half the tub, but I ate less than a quarter. It was nice having pizza for a change – we used to eat it once a week. I made some mini pizza’s with gram flour a while ago.

When I started the diet I didn’t throw out all the “bad” stuff – I left it in the freezer and waited until I was normal BMI. Now I am going to have one or two a week until it is used up and wont buy any more. I can’t stand to waste food. No doughnuts in the freezer unfortunately mainly pies, pizzas and quiches.

Hi Sue

Great that you read Bill’s thread, his is such a great story 🙂

But I don’t quite understand why – if the liver always clears out BS overnight, therefore causing higher results in the morning whatever you’ve been eating – you feel you want to aim for a declining trend in a fasting blood test. Surely that will be beyond your control?

Anyway, I do think you are doing really well, and 57 is very close to normal for your HbA1c, great stuff. OH has moved from 90’s and 70’s down to 54 and 55 and is off his metformin.

With regard to ‘bad stuff’, of course again that’s your choice. Hope eating it up won’t affect your results. We feed all our ‘bad stuff’ to guests! 🙂

Hi Ignorasusual

Well done to your OH – he has done really well to come down from those figures and to be able to come off metformin as well must be wonderful. I have a horrible taste in my mouth most of the time and I blame the metformin for it.

My take on the dawn effect is this – in the morning your liver releases glucose and your body releases insulin to deal with it. In people without diabetes this results in a normal range fasting result. For me as a diabetic – I feel a high reading shows that my liver is releasing the stored glucose, but I feel a lower reading shows that my insulin is starting to work to process it properly- wishful thinking?!

I live very close to a pub that serves excellent meals with generous portions at a very reasonable price, when my visitors come they expect to go there, and I don’t mind because it means that we can all catch up while someone else is cooking. I have only been once since I started this and I pigged out, but I didn’t enjoy it.

Day 180 Weight 9st 7lbs
Blood Sugar: 9.2

Did a fair amount of gentle gardening to try to get moving.

Day 181 Weight 9st 6lbs
Blood Sugar 7.8

Antibiotics are still making me feel tired, but I will finish the course Sunday morning, so I hope to start to feel better then.

I have been good 🙂

Day 182 Weight 9st 5lbs (Back down again -25lbs) End of Week 26 so I have been on the journey 6 months.
Blood Sugar 8.5

Day 183 Weight 9st 5lbs
Blood Sugar 9.4 (had a lie in until 9.45am not sure if this has had an effect on the result?)
I finish the antibiotics today

Day 184 weight 9st 5lb
Blood Sugar 8.7

A very mixed day made some bolognase and tried making the courgette & apple muffins I used gram flour, apple juice and cinnamon instead of coconut flour, orange juice and mixed spice. Not too bad taste but might add some artificial sweetner or some sugar free flavouring as lacking something.

Mum had a funny do at lunchtime but refused to go to hospital in the ambulance – three hours later she changed her mind went down to see her at 4pm and got home from the hospital at 11:45pm by the time I got off the phone to everyone I got to bed about 12:45am.

Day 185 weight 9st 5lbs
Blood Sugar 8.0
Trying to be very good today and catching up on jobs I didn’t get done yesterday. I made some Gram flour pancakes for lunch. 3tablespoons of flour, 1 egg, some milk, some water and some salt – I should have sifted the gram flour first as it had a lot of lumps. This made 3 pancakes – the thinner ones were better – you have to watch them because they cook really quickly in rapeseed oil. Going to the hospital to see Mum tonight.

Day 186 Weight 9st 4lbs (-26lbs 🙂 )
Blood sugar: 10.2

Had my Diabetic Checkup and 3 monthly bloods done today. Blood pressure 100/60 I think this is low but nurse said was fine.

Been to visit Auntie at Care home she looked awful.
Hospital think Mum has a clot on her lung as she collapsed in hospital earlier today – she is going for a CT scan to confirm later tomorrow.

Day 187 weight 9st 5lbs
Blood 8.6

Auntie readmitted to hospital for IV antibiotics – it looks like she is in the same side of the hospital as Mum, but in another department further up the corridor, so will pop between the two during the visiting hour.

Mum was stable overnight – no word about Cardiologist check or CT scan yet – both due this afternoon.

Hi sue.

Wishes for the speedy recovery of your mum and your auntie. 🌺

Thank you greenjanet. Auntie was fast asleep last night snoring her head off all through visiting 🙂
Mum hasn’t got a clot on her lung – so no further forward ???!!!

Day 188 weight 9st 5lbs
Blood sugar 8.4

I haven’t been sleeping very well and have been getting up late. I’m going to try to get to bed sooner tonight.

Day 189 weight 9st 5lbs (end of week 27)
Blood Sugar 9.0
Tried to have a night out but gig was cancelled at last minute so went home and watched casualty with my friend and had 1/2 a bottle of wine each – oops

Day 190 weight 9st 5lbs
Blood Sugar 9.8

Update:
Mum – its a problem with her heart, but hospital don’t know whats causing it – on monitor all the time
Auntie – Now has pneumonia and on new lot of antibiotics as no improvement since she went into hospital
Me – my HBA1c has gone up from 57 to 59 🙁 Will be seeing doctor w/c 5th September.

Day 191 weight 9st 6lbs
Blood Sugar 8.7

Day 192 weight 9st 5lbs
Blood Sugar 7.4

Started knitting again today – I see it as a form of exercise for my arms.

Day 193 weight 9st 5lbs
Blood Sugar 8.7

Day 194 (Today) weight 9st 4lbs (-26lbs again 🙂 )
Blood Sugar 6.9 🙂 🙂

Mum – waiting to be discharged. They still don’t know what caused the heart fibrillation, but have tweaked her meds.
Auntie – Antibiotics changed Sunday, seems to be picking up a little bit, they are trying to sit her up today and then trying again to assess whether she will be able to eat and drink. Has been Nil by mouth since she went into hospital.
Me – still as crazy as ever, but pleased with today’s blood results.

Fed up – Went to see my doctor today. As my HBA1c has gone up she wanted to put me on more pills as the clinical guidance says that between 58-59 is the marker for increasing the medication – mine was 59. I have persuaded her that I will continue with the food change and weight loss in an attempt to reduce this figure, she has given me a six month ultimatum, but she has said that I am a diabetic and this position will not change, in any event I will stay on the Metformin 🙁 My family agree with her 🙁
Only positive is she has stopped the ramipril because my blood pressure was getting on the low side 100/60 and she says that the weight loss will have had a beneficial effect on my fatty liver. – I did not see this as a consolation as my focus is my diabetes.

Day 195 weight 9st 4lbs
Blood sugar 7.5

Day 196 weight 9st 5lbs (end of week 28)
Blood Sugar 7.5

Day 197 weight 9st 5lbs
Blood Sugar 8.5

Day 198 weight 9st 4lb
Blood Sugar 6.9

Day 199 weight 9st 4lbs
Blood Sugar 7.2

Day 200 weight 9st 3lbs (-27lbs)
Blood Sugar 7.4

Day 201 weight 9st 4lbs
Blood Sugar 7.3

Day 202 weight 9st 4lbs (today)
Blood Sugar 7.4

Me- Bought a mini exercise bike so can sit on the sofa and knit and pedal at the same time. Hoping to go away on holiday next week.
Auntie – latest lot of antibiotics finished and they haven’t worked. She has pulled out so many canulas that she doesn’t have anywhere left to put them. She hasn’t eaten or drunk for nearly a month. If she is stable over the weekend she will be sent from hospital to a Nursing Home.
Mum – Home from hospital, she has been very tired and irritable. I got in touch with Social Services before she left hospital and she has a Re-ablement Team going in four times a day. She is in a lot of pain.

I hope everyone else is getting better results.

Sue1234,

Hope you don’t mind me jumping in here…just wanted to say that from reading your posts that you have been through a stressful time recently…what with your mum and auntie both being unwell.
Did your doctor ask if there had been a change any significant stressors in your life recently? The reason I ask is that there is a direct link between the stress response and blood glucose levels…which may be contributing to this increase in your levels at the moment and would have skewed the results. Stress hormones prompt the release of glucose into the blood to allow us to deal with short term stress or danger! It can take people with diabetes much longer for these levels to return to normal.
Just a thought. Try not to be too despondent.🌻

Hi Sue

that must be incredibly frustrating with the blood sugars being on the increase – they can’t force you to take or increase metformin, and as you say, yours are just on the borderline, it’s not as if your sugars are rushing off in the stratosphere.

I didn’t know about the link with blood sugars and stress, but it does sound as if you’re having a hard time of it with caring responsibilities and concerns about your family.
Great news about the rampril and your blood pressure though – when you do the next set of blood tests, ask if the fatty liver tests can be done too – forgotten exactly which test that is, but my fatty liver problems are no more since starting BSD.

Good news on the bike – don’t do all of it while knitting though, do try and fit in some speedy spurts for an aerobic work out. MM’s “Trust me I’m a Doctor ” program last week looked at the impact of High intensity interval training (HIIT), definitely worth watching.

Hi Imogen & Frog

On the stress front – doctor doesn’t give a stuff if I am stressed or not – she just looks at the “scores on the doors”. She has given me a 6 month ultimatum and I have something to aim for.

I understand that hi impact exercise is the best. If you knew me really well you would know that I am practically allergic to exercise, so any movement I do I see as a bonus, I count chopping veg as exercise.

I have been on holiday for a week and have chilled. I expected my Auntie to die while I was away, but she has hung on. I don’t know what the doctors are doing – one minute they say she can’t have a canula and then they fit one to give her antibiotics, one person says she can’t eat and then another says they are trying her with soft food???!!! I’m going to see her tonight.

Day 203 weight 9st 4lb (end of week 29)
Blood Sugar 10.7

Day 204 weight 9st 6lbs
Blood Sugar 9.5

Day 205 weight 9st 5lbs
Blood Sugar 8.2

I didn’t take my scales on holiday
Day 206 Blood Sugar 6.3
Day 207 Blood Sugar (forgot to test – doh)
Day 208 Blood Sugar 8.9
Day 209 Blood Sugar 8.8
Day 210 Blood Sugar 8.8 (end of week 30)
Day 211 Blood Sugar 9.9
Day 212 Blood Sugar 10.2 – have had a really bad stomach and the runs – not exactly the best thing when I had a 4 hour journey home ahead of me with only one toilet stop at the 2 hour mark.

While I was on holiday I found that I was able to walk a lot further and I didn’t need to sit down every few minutes because my legs were not tired. I definitely felt better in myself.

I have bought some Macushield – it was the only make that had Lutein, Zeaxanthin and Meso Zeaxanthin that was recommended on Trust Me I’m a Doctor to improve the back of your eye. Started taking it day 212. I have my retinopathy screening in December – I wonder if they will be able to see a difference to last year’s picture.

Day 213 weight 9st 8lb
Blood Sugar 8.6

Have put on a bit of weight on holiday, ate fish and chips, doner kebab, and hog roast in a white teacake. I think eating these carbs is possibly the reason for my dicky tummy. I felt that my throat was swelling when I ate the white teacake, so I am glad I am avoiding eating those sort of things now.

Back on the journey. I want to lose about a stone from here. Going to have to push myself for the next 6 months as the last part of this is going to be more of a struggle than the first – especially during the winter months when I get a bit low, I invested in a “Daylight bulb” which is supposed to help, and then Christmas when there is a lot of temptation. I like decorating the house, because I don’t dust while the decorations are up, but I think about the people who aren’t around to celebrate it with and can get a bit low, so I have to be vigilant.

I have bought a cheap pedometer watch, I have put it on, will see what happens and if it works. It seems to pick up me walking better than the clip on pedometer which didn’t seem to register anything except when I shook it.

Mum is complaining and has had a bad week while I have been away. This is to be expected, but I am trying to not feel the guilt for going away that she is trying to impose.

My oldie has been really good – a relative visited him while we were away and he was really chatty. – It definitely will snow pink.

Hope everyone has had a better few weeks. Keep going – I will (until I am able to stop the runs 🙂 ).

Sorry it has been so long since my last confession – I mean update. 🙂 A lot has happened. My Auntie died and my Mum (her sister) has taken it quite badly.
For info: My steps monitor is on my wrist and records better than the one that I used to clip on my waist, My mini exercise bike is one I peddle while sitting on the sofa and my pedometer doesn’t register it.

Day 214
Weight 9st 7lb
Blood Sugar 7.7
Steps Recorded 3445
*Had Flue Jab

Day 215
Weight 9st 7lb
Blood Sugar 8.6
Steps Recorded 2449

Day 216
Weight 9st 7lb
Blood Sugar 8.6
Steps Recorded 1072
Bike Time 60 minutes

Day 217
Weight 9st 7lb
Blood Sugar 7.9
Steps Recorded 1922
*Me still sore from flu jab
*Auntie looks terrible
*Oldie not very well

Day 218
Weight 9st 7lb
Blood Sugar 7.8
Steps Recorded 1231

Day 219
Weight 9st 6lb
Blood Sugar 8.1
Steps Recorded 526
Bike Time 60min
*Auntie – no change

Day 220
Weight 9st 5lb
Blood Sugar 8.3
Steps Recorded 2664
60 minutes light gardening (dead heading)

Day 221
Weight 9st 7lb
Blood Sugar 8.4
Steps Recorded 3050
Auntie – died at 8.40pm

Day 222
Weight 9st 7lb
Blood Sugar 6.5 (reading taken at 6.30 am as couldn’t sleep)
Steps Recorded1115

Day 223
Weight 9st 5lb
Blood Sugar 9.0 🙁
Steps Recorded 1952
*Me – Busy day registering death, signing paperwork and collecting Auntie’s things.

Day 224
Weight 9st 6lb
Blood Sugar9.0
Steps Recorded 1508
*Me went out to a coffee morning

Day 225
Weight 9st 7lb
Blood Sugar 8.6
Steps Recorded 3032
Bike Time 60mins + 5mins Arms
* Me went for a short walk with my friend

Day 226
Weight 9st 6lbs
Blood Sugar 8.2
Steps Recorded 3544
* Me nearly 2 hour walk with my friend

Day 227
Weight 9st 6lbs
Blood Sugar 7.7
Steps Recorded 2809
* Me 3/4 hour walk with friend.

Day 228
Weight 9st 6lb
Blood Sugar 6.8
Steps Recorded 706
Bike Time 60 minutes

Day 229
Weight 9st 6lbs
Blood Sugar 8.4
Steps Recorded 513 (Took counter off for funeral as bright pink)
*Me – Went to Auntie’s funeral. Ate one of everything at the funeral tea. Everything had carbs. But didn’t want to be seen to be picky or fussy.
*Mum – too ill to go.

Day 230
Weight 9st 7lb
Blood Sugar 8.5
Steps Recorded 304

Day 231 (end of week 33)
Weight 9st 6lbs
Blood Sugar 7.9
Steps Recorded 708
*Me -sorted Aunties clothes
*Oldie – a lot better – more like his old self.

Day 232
Weight 9st 7lb
Blood Sugar 7.2
Steps Recorded 427
*Me – making more of an effort on the food front to stick to the calorie intake and not have a quick carb lunch.

Day 233
Weight 9st 6lb
Blood Sugar 7.6
Steps Recorded 309

Day 234 (today)
Weight 9st 5lb
Blood Sugar 6.8

In the last couple of weeks I have been knitting more. I have knitted 4 hats, a pair of socks, finished one jumper, nearly finished another, finished off a blanket. I am trying to get more organised in the knitting department. I have a lot of stuff that is half finished and just needs sewing up. I feel as if this reflects where I am on the journey, I have got so far and the end is in sight, I just need to focus and aim for the finish. I am more of a starter than a finisher, in Chris Powell terms I am on phase 3 which if anyone watches the programme is a particularly hard phase, although less weight to lose at this stage – keeping the motivation and focus is very hard, but I don’t want to have my medication increased – I want to be medication free by the end of this year (March 2017).