It's all Greek to Me
Recently, I was treated to a surprise visit home for my mother's 90th birthday. It was an amazing gift and a fabulous 12-day trip that included not only a family reunion and Mom's birthday, but some quality family time and a trip to Bear Lake where I spent a lazy weekend on the water.
While I was sitting at my mother's house one day, a phone call came out of the blue from a group at the University of Utah who were doing a study on the effects of gastric bypass on people over a period of years. Back in 2002 or 2003, I signed up to be part of the study in the control group--the people who did not have gastric bypass surgery. I'd gone in for a couple of in-hospital rounds of tests, done a few phone interviews and then fallen off the radar when I lost my Utah cell phone number a few years ago.
My sister and I had discussed the study a day or two earlier, specifically since I haven't been able to get to a doctor for more years than I like to admit. (Don't ask. It's complicated.)
Anyway, my sister encouraged me to call them while I was in town -- which sounded like a good idea, but I couldn't remember what the study was about so I had no idea who to even ask for if I did randomly call the University Hospital.
But suddenly there they were, calling my mom's house to see if she had contact info for me -- while I just happened to be in town. Coincidence? I think not. As a result I got a lot of blood work done as part of the study ...
Which brings me to the foreign language section of this blog post. Apparently, in the decades during which I haven't been able to visit the doctor, I have developed high blood pressure and type-2 diabetes.
The high blood pressure isn't at a frightening number, and I know for a fact that I didn't have HBP during my last visit to the ER several years ago. The glucose numbers are a bit more concerning.
And so I begin a journey into the unknown -- a world of concerns about blood glucose and blood pressure numbers that make very little sense to me at this point. Luckily, it seems (at first glance anyway) that eating a diabetic friendly diet is a lot like eating a Weight Watchers friendly diet, which I know how to do. The only real difference, is that the stakes are higher than they've ever been.
So even though I don't understand a lot about where my numbers are supposed to be, I do know that they're much too high where they are now and there's only one thing I can do about it at the moment -- change my diet and add some exercise into my lifestyle while I'm trying to find some kind of medical care and researching as much as I can on my own.
If any of you have tips on living with type-2 diabetes or diabetes friendly recipes, feel free to share. If I come across any I'll share. At least it will give us something to talk about!
_____________________________________________
Sherry Lewis grew up in Montana and Utah, but
now lives on Florida's Gulf Coast. For the past 20 years, she has spent her
days writing. Her backlist includes the Fred Vickery mystery series, set in the
Colorado Rockies and featuring the 70-something protagonist who won the hearts
of her readers, along with several contemporary and time-travel romance
novels.
No Place Like Home, book #2 in the Fred Vickery
series, is available in Kindle format now! No Place for Death
(book #3) will be available soon. Sherry loves to hear from readers.
Connect with her online:
Website | Facebook | Facebook Page | Twitter
photo credit: Automatic Electric Monophone 80 via photopin (license)
While I was sitting at my mother's house one day, a phone call came out of the blue from a group at the University of Utah who were doing a study on the effects of gastric bypass on people over a period of years. Back in 2002 or 2003, I signed up to be part of the study in the control group--the people who did not have gastric bypass surgery. I'd gone in for a couple of in-hospital rounds of tests, done a few phone interviews and then fallen off the radar when I lost my Utah cell phone number a few years ago.
My sister and I had discussed the study a day or two earlier, specifically since I haven't been able to get to a doctor for more years than I like to admit. (Don't ask. It's complicated.)
Anyway, my sister encouraged me to call them while I was in town -- which sounded like a good idea, but I couldn't remember what the study was about so I had no idea who to even ask for if I did randomly call the University Hospital.
But suddenly there they were, calling my mom's house to see if she had contact info for me -- while I just happened to be in town. Coincidence? I think not. As a result I got a lot of blood work done as part of the study ...
Which brings me to the foreign language section of this blog post. Apparently, in the decades during which I haven't been able to visit the doctor, I have developed high blood pressure and type-2 diabetes.
The high blood pressure isn't at a frightening number, and I know for a fact that I didn't have HBP during my last visit to the ER several years ago. The glucose numbers are a bit more concerning.
And so I begin a journey into the unknown -- a world of concerns about blood glucose and blood pressure numbers that make very little sense to me at this point. Luckily, it seems (at first glance anyway) that eating a diabetic friendly diet is a lot like eating a Weight Watchers friendly diet, which I know how to do. The only real difference, is that the stakes are higher than they've ever been.
So even though I don't understand a lot about where my numbers are supposed to be, I do know that they're much too high where they are now and there's only one thing I can do about it at the moment -- change my diet and add some exercise into my lifestyle while I'm trying to find some kind of medical care and researching as much as I can on my own.
If any of you have tips on living with type-2 diabetes or diabetes friendly recipes, feel free to share. If I come across any I'll share. At least it will give us something to talk about!
_____________________________________________
Sherry Lewis grew up in Montana and Utah, but
now lives on Florida's Gulf Coast. For the past 20 years, she has spent her
days writing. Her backlist includes the Fred Vickery mystery series, set in the
Colorado Rockies and featuring the 70-something protagonist who won the hearts
of her readers, along with several contemporary and time-travel romance
novels.
No Place Like Home, book #2 in the Fred Vickery
series, is available in Kindle format now! No Place for Death
(book #3) will be available soon. Sherry loves to hear from readers.
Connect with her online:
Website | Facebook | Facebook Page | Twitter
photo credit: Automatic Electric Monophone 80 via photopin (license)
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