Life after burnout

[pavlosn]

Tonight's dinner. Low carb sushi!

I only had the staffing and left all the rice behind.

God knows what my waiter thought of that. But I was at 5,7 before the meal and at 6,1 and 6,0 one and two hours after.

Not bad but then all I had was three pieces of salmon sashimi, and some prawn tempura.

On a much more pleasant note here are some more light hearted photos from this morning

They do say the simplest pleasures are the best!

And here is a shot my camera decided to take on its own but I liked and decided to keep.

Both my mood and energy levels seem much improved as you will probably have picked up from the general tone of my posts.

I guess I am finally getting used to running on less carbs and normal glucose levels.

Happy days!

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[pavlosn]

Sushi experience went rather well last night

I went to sleep at 5,3 mmol and woke up at 5,00 mold since resuming monitoring.

Have a great day all, I leave you with some more photos of Protaras, these time of the crystal clear waters.

Did you spot the tiny almost transparent fish?

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[pavlosn]

Probably my best ever set of glucose counts for a single day.

Of eight counts taken during the day, the lowest was 83 mg/dl (4 6 mmol/l) and highest 95mg/dl. (5,3 mmol/l).

My step count for the day was about 14000 steps so that may have contributed.

Whatever the reason I am more than happy with those results

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[zand]

Well done Pavlos those are impressive BG numbers, you are properly back on track now
The photos are stunning, thanks so much for coming back and sharing them with us.

 

[pavlosn]

Well done Pavlos those are impressive BG numbers, you are properly back on track now
The photos are stunning, thanks so much for coming back and sharing them with us.

Thank you @zand.

It's good to be back (in more ways than one)

I just returned from another 5km morning walk (which burned this morning fasting count of 5,6 down to a 4,8 mmol/l).

While walking my mind drifted to the role of this forum and this thread in particular. Why is it so much part and parcel of my efforts to get control? Why so revealing at times? Why the photographs? What am I really doing with it? Is it bragging? Is it showing off.

Sure it's nice to reward oneself by sharing success stories with one's peers but in truth, when I started writing here again I did not know that this would be a success story. If anything, I had every reason to fear otherwise.

I still fear otherwise. I am still flying solo remember, just trying to recreate what has worked for me in the past to gain control of my sugars.

I have to at some point bite the bullet, go and see my doctor and run tests to see how my health really is. What damage if any has the period of my diabetes not being so controlled done to my body.

A big part of the answer is I suppose that word "peers". People in the same figurative boat as me, people who understand and people that can help guide and inspire me. If along the way I can help them as well, either directly or indirectly, then so much the better.

So why the pictures?

At one level, because I like taking them and I am not bad at it, even if I say so myself.

At another level, what I am really doing is saying that my life is not all about diabetes.

None of our lives are about diabetes, even if diabetes is no small part of them.

What I am saying, to myself first and foremost, is that there is a whole world out there to experience and to enjoy. A whole world that, if we take the time to open our eyes to it, has a lot of beauty to offer. A world which offers pleasure and satisfaction at a lot of levels and in a lot of ways not just through food and which is worth a few sacrifices to stay healthy for.

Thanks to anyone still reading my rumblings.


Have a great day.

I leave you with a photo of a yellow flower ( large bush, small tree called Teoman stans) that drew my attention during this morning's walk

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[pavlosn]

Just realized that it is a month now since my return to the forum.

Here is my progress in terms of glucose count in the period. Just off the chart is my initial count of 217 mg/dl (12,1 mmol)

That count is visible in this 90 day history which perhaps gives a better idea of the progress

Since there is nothing I can do about that blank early part of the graph, I try not to think about it but it is not so easy to do now. What was I thinking!

 

[pavlosn]

Had a very eventful last couple of days.

Everything started just before midnight on Wednesday when I received a call from my brother who was complaining of very bad abdominal pain. I got dressed and took him to the A&E where after the pain did not subside by 3am he was admitted into the hospital with suspected acute appendicitis.

After catching a couple of hours sleep, I was back at the hospital at 7:00 the next morning, also collecting my mother that insisted that she needed to be the hospital as well. Cypriots, we are a bit like that, when one of us goes into hospital the whole family moves in as well soon followed by friends and relatives that come to pay a visit
.

Anyway diagnosis was confirmed by a surgeon's examination and a CT scan and my brother had his appendix removed at midday. Surgery lasted about an hour and my brother seems to be going fine now, although it will be a couple of days before he us released.

My brother is also my partner and I had to also take on his workload at work, having a number of client meetings that he had arranged. Long day. By the end of the final meeting my assistant commented that I looked a bid off color. My blood sugars were at 80 or 4,4 mmol, which for me is a bid low.

In the middle of all that my wife and son flew to England for a short holiday until next Monday. Fortunately, I had already decided nor to follow then due to busy schedule at work.

My wife being away and my brother being temporarily out of action means I am the only person in the family that can take on driver duties, shopping trips, etc.

I was hoping to get away to Protaras for the weekend but that seems extremely unlikely now. Maybe a day trip on Sunday.

Anyway I got a good night's sleep last night and just completed my morning 5km 55 minute walk

Daybreak in Nicosia

The moon over a neighbor's frangipani tree.

Early morning stillness.

Sugars were at 89mg/dl 4,9mmol/l on waking up, I had 2 or 3 pieces of grapes (tasted too sweet) and went on my walk. On returning I was 87mg/dl (4,8mmol/l).

Mission accomplished!

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[Brunneria]

Sorry to read about your brother, but very glad he recieved prompt treatment and is on the mend.

I suspect your lovely dawn walks will be curtailed for a few days, swamped by work and family.

Loved the image of the whole family moving into the hospital. How wonderful.

Hope he gets better soon

 

[pavlosn]

LCHF Sushi again

Before

After, all rice left behind on the plate.

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[Brunneria]

So what are the battered thingummies on top of your sushi?
And how have you managed to resist the pickled ginger? It is my favourite bit!!!

 

[pavlosn]

Thingummies = prawns and never cared much for pickled ginger or Wasabi. Which is probably just as well as being a root ginger is probably high in carbs

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[pavlosn]

Chasing shadows

While the city yet sleeps

During another early morning walk. A leisurely seventy minute 5,5 km walk, that sent my glucose from 5,1 on waking down to 4,4 mmol/l.

Enjoying a guilt free breakfast of two fried eggs and bacon as I write this.

Have a busy morning ahead of me involving giving various members of the family lifts from one place to the other, I suddenly find myself the sole driver.

I will be relieved when my brother is finally out of hospital and back in circulation, for reasons that ate not entirely altruistic!

Reflection

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[pavlosn]

Up early again today, went on a 96 minute 8,5 km walk, burning down my glucose level from 5,8 to 5,1 in the process

Walk helped rid some of my frustration of being stuck in AZ Nicosia in Mable to go to the beach. Being home alone is also nothing to be excited about once the novelty wears off.

Once again I headed to the ground of my favorite monastery from which the photos are taken.

All photographs are of edible date Palms

Anyway have a great Sunday anyone reading.

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[pleinster]

Some very nice photos @pavlosn. There are worse ways...and places...to start a Sunday.

 

[pavlosn]

Good morning all

A blue/grey chamaerops palm from my garden.

Woke up at 4,1 mmol/l so decided that was too low to exercise on. I had a slice of watermelon, which will have to count as breakfast and went on my 5km, 52m morning walk.
Came back to measure 5,1 mmol/l, happy with that.

Weight is continuing to drop, I am now at 85,3 kg, which makes me only just overweight at a bmi of 25,2.

People have been noticing the loss of weight and commenting uppon it though to be honest most sound concerned rather than complimentary!

It's time to move on to the next phase of my get back in control masterclass and get to the gym to try and get some muscle back on me (or at least try and stop all my muscles from wasting away).

With my brother, who is also my business, partner still in the clinic following some post op complications, and a busy work schedule coming up, it will not be easy to find time but I guess I will just have to make the time.

My wife and son are due back from the UK this evening. I missed them.

Have a great start to the week all

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[pavlosn]

Palms in the morning sunshine

Decided to bite the bullet and go have a proper full blood analysis tomorrow. If my results show anything wrong I might as well find out sooner rather than later.

My Hba1c is actually the least of my concerns as it is only just one month since I started my new effort to control my glucose through diet, exercise and metformin.

Wish me well!

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[pavlosn]

Equipment failure put a premature end to this morning's walk. Only 2,5km instead of the usual 5.

It was always meant to be more of a gentle leisurely stretching of my legs rather than exercise today anyway. The reason being that I decided to have a blood sample taken this morning for lab analysis and so I have been fasting since 6 last night; my morning sugars were 4,7 mmol/l and I want be able to break fast until after the sample is taken around 9:00 AM.

I plan to go for a proper British breakfast afterwards although in will probably skip the toast and baked beans.

On a more pleasant note here are some shots of Caparis Spinoza in bloom from this morning walk.

This plant grows wild on rocky ground and dry walls here in Cyprus.

I think the flowers are stunning in their delicate beauty.

The edible capers are the pickled flower buds of this plant by the way.

Have a great day

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[pavlosn]

I have just given the blood sample for analysis.

Typically for me I hate the suspense of waiting for the results. They should be available later on today, since I am doing the tests at a private lab, so there is no waiting queue like in the hospitals.

The few hours I have to wait are still a few hours too many as far as I am concerned.

This is even more ironic as during the last month or so since I started taking control of my sugars again the last thing I wanted to do was go and have a blood analysis.

Logic says it would have been good to have tested immediately so as to know how bad things were and to have a benchmark against which any future progress could be measured.

I know that now just as I knew it at the time.

I still chose not to be tested though.

I did not feel ready to go through that then. I was not ready to face up to any consequences of my previously negligent treatment of my health.

And I don't regret my choice.

It was more important for me to prove to myself that I could get back in control, to build up healthy habits again.

Now with a month back in the driving seat again

I am ready to actually look at the bigger picture and take stock of what the current state of my health is.

Who said I am a logical being? Emotions and in this case fears are a big factor in my decision making. If I am to be successful in trying to get/remain healthy and in control of this diabetes curse, I have to be aware of them and manage them accordingly.

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[Mike d]

Like kicking a small rock down the road @pavlosn We all have failings. It'd be great if we didn't but that's life

Great to see you back by the way

 

[pavlosn]

Hi Mike D

Nice to hear from you.

Slightly odd feeling talking again to people I remember trying to advise when they first joined, only this time the shoe being on the other foot. Odd but nice just the same.

I am only human, I know and accept that.

At the risk of sounding conceited, I believe one of my strong points as a person has always been a very strong sense of empathy for others and that can only come if one knows, understands and accepts oneself first; faults and all.

Crying over spilled milk never helped anybody. I prefer to concentrate on what I can do something about.

I just wish they would hurry up and ring me with those results

I am forgetting my manners. I never asked how you are. I hope you are well on top of things and taming this diabetes beast as much as possible.

Keep well


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