Tenth Anniversary

I was diagnosed with diabetes ten years ago this month.

I had given blood at the local Red Cross, and got a letter from them saying that my blood was rejected, due to high liver enzymes.

I went to my physician, saying "What's wrong with my liver?"

Ultimately, his answer was, "Nothing's wrong with your liver, but you have diabetes."

And thus, my diabetes life was launched.

I had to remind my current physician that I am now 10 years post-diagnosis, as there is often a change in this disease that seems to happen 8-12 years after diagnosis. Previous control methods may stop working, and new meds or new eating or exercise plans may need to take place.

I've had to step up my medications. I'm now on Januvia. Hooooray!

It controls my numbers very nicely. I'm still on the other meds, metformin, glipizide, etc.

I remain discouraged about my diabetes, and about my ability to reach my goal of being a very old, very healthy [person with diabetes]. My feet still hurt, but I'm able to function. I'm scared to walk my dogs, though, or do other standing exercise for fear of debilitating pain.

My weight is about 200 lbs. I am discouraged about my ability to get it back down to about 150-160, which would be very healthy for me.

But, life is good.

I'm hoping to become more active in my blog. I know, I know. I took a year off. So sue me.

We'll see how it goes. With this disease, with me, with my life, I've got to focus on the positive. I've got to focus on the next step in front of me, not the 999 miles beyond that. One step at a time, and, in a flash, ten years have gone by.

PS. I owe Bernard $100. I have not forgotten. He is a saint. I'm writing the check today.

Allison & Joplin

I hate Allison. Well, not true. I don't hate Allison. I hate Allison's idea for the OC New Me challenge. Because I am waaay up on my weight numbers. I think they swapped out my diuretic (really, it's for the blood pressure, not for weight loss) and put in a fake one. My number this evening was 183.2 lbs. Curses.

However, I believe that Pod #2 has given us the correct diagnosis for the foot issue.

Apparently, I have Joplin's Neuroma. Or, as the scientists put it, perineural fibrosis of the proper digital nerve to the hallux. And I have it in both feet. So put 'bilateral' in front of that big long latin sounding phrase, and you have it. Also, you can substitute 'compression neuropathy' or 'entrapment neuropathy' for the phrase 'perinural fibrosis', and still be correct, I think.

Pod #2 injected lidocaine solution into each foot, specifically into the nerve she believed involved. She then had my try and trigger the foot pain. I squatted, resting all my weight and balancing on the balls and toes of my feet. (Hyper-extended? I don't know the correct term.) This would normally trigger severe pain within two or three minutes, which would then last for days.

The good news is: I think Pod #2 has nailed the diagnosis. Pod #2 also spoke very highly about Pod #1, so I can go back to Pod #1 for treatment options. Also, correct diagnosis allowed the acupuncturist to adjust his treatment, and the feet feel much better.

The bad news is: damage like this to the nerves is, apparently, very difficult to actually heal. Also the delay in correct diagnosis, may have allowed the fibrosis to progress. The fibrosis, scar tissue, can almost strangle the nerve. Also, there is very little information on this particular location of neuroma on the web; most information is about Morton's neuroma, which is further in between the toes. (And yes, I found this article, and this site, too. Great site, I must say, but not specific information about the Joplin's neuroma.)

So, treatment options: surgical removal of the neuroma. Also, alcohol injections to damage/calm/cauterize the nerve. (Couldn't they use Botox for this, I wonder?) They may adjust the orthotics further. I'll also ask if the medications should have any adjustment, now that we know the nature of the source of the pain.

I'm troubled by surgery and by the injections to damage the nerve. Although I'm very attracted to life without pain, and to regaining at least a normal activity level for a person my age (41), I'm deeply troubled by the idea of deliberately creating numbness in a diabetic foot. Wouldn't that just set me up for trouble in future years (hopefully 20 or so)? We shall see. We shall see.

Weight Loss Summary 2006

This year, I've kept a calendar up in my bathroom. Every day, I've stepped on the scale and recorded this weight on the calendar.

I started the year at 186. I'm currently at 170. I'm about 5'6".

I've gone from the category labelled 'obese' to the category labelled 'overweight.' Now, neither one of those categories is great for a diabetic, but overweight is closer to where I want to be. When I look at the numbers for 2006, it looks like I lost about 5 lbs in January, none in February, 5 lbs in March, none in April, and about 5 lbs in June.

June was when I started having foot trouble. Since then, I've been down as low as 167, but 170 seems pretty stable for me. 171 is an alarm weight. If the scale says I'm 171 or higher, it's time to cut back on the treats.

I mostly stopped eating greasy breakfast burritos five days a week. I replaced many meals with SlimFast Optima bars.

I think I earned a gold star for weight loss for 2006.

I feel a little guilty for patting myself on the back - and in public no less - but I did good!

Weight loss goals for 2007?

1) Remain at or below current weight of 170 lbs.

2) Find and build a good habit of exercise that will not injure my feet

3) Lose another 15 lbs, if possible. That would put me at 155, which is the top end of 'normal' range for my height.

4) Build muscle tone. Build muscle and lose fat.

We'll see how I do on these.

I bought a new notebook computer, which should enable me to post to my beloved diabetes blog more frequently. Perhaps this will result in more knowlege and fewer opinions. Or perhaps not. Either way, I'm feeling pretty good on this winter day.