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Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Warning: this post contains science! 
I recently went to the physician because my asthma was not well-controlled. She prescribed an inhaled corticosteriod to help control my asthma. Then I had blood work done: I had a (high) normal A1C 5.8 and high fasting blood glucose 140. I'm wondering if my blood glucose was high because of the inhaled steroid. If I was on a oral steroid like prednisone, it absolutely would cause an increase in blood sugar. You see, that's what steroids like cortisol, prednisone do: they act on the liver to free up a supply of glucose so that you have the burst of energy to outrun, say the lion on the savanna trying to eat you. It so happens that they also act to inhibit the immune system, which makes them good medicines to treat things like asthma. An inhaled steroid limits the side effect, but drugs that enter the lungs can enter the blood stream. This means that I could be experiencing an increase in blood glucose, through no real fault of my own, but because I'm on a inhaled steroid. Research studies have shown that this can happen in about 20-30% of people on an inhaled steroid: an increase in blood sugar, triggering or worsening diabetes. I had gestational diabetes, but it went away. This did leave me sensitive to high blood sugar and increases my likelihood of diabetes. It's something to think about and ponder. I will discuss this with my physician if I continue to see high (fasting) blood glucose and normal post-meal sugars and this tracks with the using my inhaler. I really don't like how I feel on my inhaled steroid: besides jittery and irritable, I have headaches, dry mouth and thirst, some of the signs of hyperglycemia.
Monday, October 22, 2012
Sometimes with my career, I feel like all I can do is go in spurts, periods when I have the time to workout/concentrate on my dietary habits. Then there are other periods when I don't have time to do anything but work. At least that's how it feels. I know that the best way to live would be to have the habits built, where I almost have to exercise at least once a day, and I have to eat well all the time, instead of grabbing whatever food I come across.
After going to my yearly, with the physician concerning with my creeping blood pressure numbers, my high fasting glucose (but normal A1C), and high triglycerides, I have had my attention drawn to my health. I can't be successful, if I'm not well. I can't keep up with my family, if I'm sluggish due to high BP and high sugars. Luckily, I'm still young, and I have time to change this. I have written myself a prescription: exercise 30 mins, take 5-7x weekly. For the past couple weeks I have been able to do it. But as I have two major deadlines looming, I hope I'll be able to continue this path.
I've also started to watch and track what I eat, not just in terms of calories, but carbs, sodium and cholesterol. I've always said that I wanted to avoid the situation I find myself in, but I have no one to blame for my poor choices and not living up to what I know I should be doing. I have a follow-up appointment tomorrow; I hope that she will recognize the progress I've been making and help me continue to reset my habits.
Friday, May 25, 2012
First of, hello everyone. I did not fall off a cliff, but I think I had a bit of a funk after we moved, and I kinda withdrew into myself and my family.
That said, I have decided to do a couch to 5K program. Over the course of the next eight weeks, I am going to walk and run at intervals to train myself to be able to run a 5K in a decent time. The first day was a 5 min warm up, 6 runs at 1 min each, and 1.5 min walking between runs, followed by a cool-down of 5 min. That first day was relatively easy.
Today I did the second day. It was a warm up (5 min), 8 runs at 1 min each and 1.5 min walking in between, then the cool down periods. I feel pleasantly tired now.
Now that it's late spring here, there are a lot of fresh, farm grown vegetables. I want to start incorporating them into our meals here. Baby girl loves her veggies; she already eats black olives, bell peppers, asparagus, broccoli, fresh spinach in addition to the 'normal' kids veggies. Fun fact, where we live now was once the source of asparagus for the entire country.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Sometimes I think I was a little crazy to move two weeks after completing all requirements for my PhD. I find myself having a really hard time adjusting to my new place of residence and employment. Instead of being able to walk to places in the evening or on the weekend, we have to drive to get anywhere. Living out in the country definitely highlights some of the advantages of city living. I like the outdoors and the quiet at night, but I find myself missing Baltimore. I miss 'our places' like the parks, the Inner Harbor, the quirky neighborhood festivals. I also miss my friends - both from work and from the neighborhood.
I'm also really stressed do to issues with my payroll. Instead of having everything in one hiring packet, I had to go to my new department for my contract and to HR for all the state/federal forms. Due to my confusion or something I didn't go to HR. Fast forward two weeks when I realize I need to go by HR. I finally did that three days before I'm supposed to get paid. Now I have to hope that HR approves my emergency payroll advance to get some sort of check.
I'm stressed about the cost of health insurance. In MD, it was $200 at month for the baby and now it's $500. Unfortunately it does not come out of pretax dollars, so I have to right another check every month. I'm stressed because daycare is more expensive, an additional $300 a month. Granted, I should be earning more (once I start getting a paycheck), but I was hoping to be able to start saving money. With all these additional expenses, I don't know if we'll be able to do it.
Sunday, July 31, 2011
My daughter is really amazing. She prefers to eat her vegetables and fruits, and the stronger the flavors, the better. She is so happy in her body. Her body allows her to walk, to run, to play, to eat. Every time she learns how to do something new, she is so very proud of herself. Every time she eats a new food (recently black olives and red onions), she takes such pleasure in the flavors of food. But she does not eat beyond her hunger. When she is satisfied, she stopped eating.
Most of all, she hasn't learned to judge herself based on how she looks, how she dresses, and how she compared to other people. She knows what she likes, and she follows through with it. I want her to keep that confidence. I want her to grow up with this positive self-image and healthy body-image.
I am going to follow her lead: I am going to eat my vegetables and fruits. I am going to be active and take pleasure in what my body can do. It can walk, run, dance, and play. I am going to do this for her and for myself. I know the best way I can keep her from having a negative body image and keeping her healthy, is to model these behaviors for her. I want to take pride in myself, and I want show that through eating well and exercising and being active. I want to reset my relationship with food and exercise and to follow her lead.
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