To date, all things preschool are going very well. With that, I decided it's probably time to write about something not preschool-related!
I could talk about registering Ian for kindergarten.....how walking him to school registration was liking walking through the next rite of passage. How he goes beyond what I ever dreamed my son would be like. How articulate, inquisitive and honest he is and how I worry that this isn't the right school for him. It's all part of a story for another day.
I am a nice person and it could be due to all of the excessive sugar I was eating....in coffee, soda, tea, and assorted goodies. However, in the last few months, I have been feeling rather ill and discovered that I can attribute it to my diet. Ill meaning I would feel incredibly shaky, my hands would feel numb and I would not be able to drive or think clearly, especially following serious doses of sugar. Since I drive all day and I have precious cargo, I didn't think it was wise to let it go unchecked. Visiting the doctor last week, he requested that I take a 3 hour glucose test for pre-diabetes to watch what my blood sugar is doing.
After requesting a half-day off from work today, I fasted for over 8 hours and went into the doctor to get the lab work done. After waiting 40 minutes to be seen, the nurse said that she wasn't able to administer the test there and I would have to drive to another lab. Looking at the time and considering wait time at the next lab, I had to scramble and take the rest of the day off to accommodate the length of the test. I came home mad and hungry, but luckily my sub wanted to work a full day anyway.
Back out the door to the next lab and it was quiet there so I could get the test started quickly. They did one blood stick, gave me the horrid orange sugar drink and then retook my blood every 30 minutes and then each hour. My left arm wasn't cooperative, so all of the blood came from my right arm. By the 4th stick, I was worn out and tired. They even asked if I wanted to lie down for a bit. During my wait, I crocheted two doll scarves for Froggy and Ribbit (Sheila-I will post photos once I finish the fringe) and read a bit. I was done just before 1:00pm and I drove to the nearest pizza place for two veggie slices.
I have been eating really well for a few weeks now, with occasional sugar here and there. I feel better not eating sugar and I have lost a few pounds as a bonus. The pizza was probably not the smartest carb choice, but I did not care by then. But eating better is worth not feeling like a total zombie after certain meals. Hopefully the results will be okay and all my recent blood work was great, including cholesterol, thyroid, etc, I am hopeful that it will not result in an actual diagnosis. Regardless, the doctor wants me to work to cut out processed sugar and focus on eating veggies, protein with each meal and the like to keep the blood sugar from spiking and because I have several risk factors in place to be a good candidate for pre-diabetes or type 2 diabetes. I have added ground flaxseed on my oatmeal in the mornings and am trying to eat some healthful monosaturated fats like olive oil, avocado (love it!) olives and walnuts/seeds. I did try eating roasted pumpkin seeds for about three days (in the shell) and I pretty much hate them. I use agave syrup to sweeten my tea and I have stopped drinking diet soda and coffee completely.
Anyway, anyone who wants to swap recipes or health tips or wants to eat a low-glycemic diet with me, let me know.
I am going to rest for a bit. All the testing has me crabby and tired!
5 comments:
Good that you took the tests. Hope your results are good and that your careful eating leaves you feeling better all the time.
My mother could write you a book on this. About 2 years ago my blood sugar was high, but with eating more protien than carbs it is more inline now. Hope your test results are ok, I am glad you got this checked-
I used to have really low blood sugar. I was passing out all the time. I passed out during my fasting for the 8 hr. test at the dr.'s office. They told me it was so low, I should be dead. Nice. So...I ended up on a no sugar, no sugar substitue diet for a while. I had to eat 6 small high protein meals a day. I wasn't even hungry but I had to force myself to eat. I didn't need to at that point but I lost about 20 lbs. I should try that again.
Good luck with your results. Sounds like you're eating much healthier!
That's a test I should probably have done too as I often have a tendency to crash within an hour after I eat anything! Get to a point where I simply can not keep my eyes open and I will nod off seated in front of the computer, sitting in my recliner -any place pretty much except in bed! LOL I don't have a family history though of diabetes so that is somewhat a bonus I guess but still, it's something that most all of us should probably keep a close check on. Recipes though -if you find some good ones, send 'em to me but don't look for me to provide any "healthy" food recipes in return as mine generally are high carb stuff -with two kids who prefer to eat pasta 95% of the time, how else you gonna manage?
Getting off high doses of sugar/high fructose corn syrup was one of the hardest things I've ever done, but also one of the best. It takes a solid 2 weeks before you notice how different you feel, but it's amazing what you day can be like without those peaks and crashes. Granted, I've slowly worked sugar back into my diet - eliminating it 100% is damn near impossible, but I'll always go for a diet soda over a regular, or splenda in my coffee vs normal sugar. I'm convinced that high fructose corn syrup is seriously damaging to people, especially kids, so I avoid it when I can (again, impossible, but I try). Good luck though, and stay strong! It's a rough 2 weeks, but totally worth it in the end!
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