Oh my goodness. Has it really been over 2 years since my last post? What a horrible blogger I am. Life has certainly been a lot freer since the Dump The Pump occurred. The biggies-I am now a grandmother of 2 little girls. We moved. I started seminary. My husband had a widow maker heart attack. We got a dog. Our youngest (now 21) started back to college again (soon to return for her junior year). My youngest son got married. 

The hardest part with it all has been LOW sugars especially during the move, which we are still unpacking.....will it ever end???? I was so active and my arms never stopped so those levels dropped.  My last post I wanted recipes. Wow did I ever get them. Thanks. Our eating has changed significantly since my husband's heart attack-definitely for the better. Sometimes we eat SOOOO healthy that I take no Afrezza at all. One thing I have found a huge love for is cauliflower crusted pizza. Do y'all have a Blaze Pizza near you? Oh my word. The best ever. We also bake them at home, and, when that happens, no insulin is required. 

It's been a lot easier regulating it all too, learning when and how much to take it etc. 

So, there is my life in a nutshell. Now on to more home improvement projects. By the way, I told my realtor I did NOT want a fixer upper. I bought a fixer upper LOL

Fad Foods & Diets

OK I'm needing some advice......I'm not a fad food/diet jumpin'-on-the-bandwagon type of person. I like fruits/vegetables and occasionally meat. Do you ever get tired of the same old food? What are some of your favorite recipes? Here's my normal boring day with Afrezza doses.

Breakfast
Scrambled eggs
3/4-1 cup of sliced strawberries, blueberries, and banana
Coffee with creamer
Total Afrezza....16-20 depending on the fruit

Lunch
I eat a lot of leftovers from the previous night's dinner, so this really depends. Here's just a quick example:
2 Hard Corn Taco Shells
4 Tsp Seasoned Ground Beef
2 Tbsp Refried Beans
2 Tsp Salsa
LOTS of lettuce
Total Afrezza....8

Dinner
Gluten Free Fried Chicken
Mashed Potatoes
Green Beans
Side Salad with diced boiled egg, green onions, croutons, carrots, sliced avocado, ranch dressing
Total Afrezza....4

Night Snack
2 cups popcorn
Total Afrezza....4

As you can see, I'm a REALLY boring food preparer. HELP! I need great food ideas that won't make my sugar levels spike.

Marching On In

Well has arrived. If you haven't already thought about summer, I'd start now. For many diabetics, it's hard to exercise in the winter. It's difficult being outside especially for those with neuropathy or other complications. We have no excuses now. The weather is turning; there's more sunshine in each new day. Remember in my last blog I asked if anyone was willing to join me in my virtual runs? I appreciate all those who have contacted me. I would like a LOT more to join in though. Send those pictures, stories, ups and downs, and more. I'll post them so we can all enjoy our accomplishments.

Get those running shoes ready. It doesn't matter if you walk to the stop sign in your neighborhood as long as it's a new goal you've set and achieved. Remember, you're not making progress sitting around doing nothing.

Come on fellow Afrezza users, now's the time to change our lives. Living with diabetes is hard. Are you going to let it control YOU or will you control IT?

Virtual Running-Who's In?

Well, my new adventure is virtual running. Have y'all heard that? I hadn't. It is where you join a group (free), and then you sign up to run/jog/walk with your own group, your own area, etc. No meeting up, no one certain day, no one certain time, etc. Currently, I am signed up for 3. I use Moon Joggers (https://www.moonjoggers.com). How stinking exciting is this?

I'm not a "runner" per say. I'm more of a walker/jogger. I enjoy jogging. Running-YUCK. I encourage all my diabetic Afrezza users to join this and join me. I think it'd be exciting for all the Afrezza users to have our own "group." What do you think? Who's with me?

Rejoicing in Small Victories......

Well, here's another reason I'm thankful for Afrezza. I have to have an MRI Tuesday. Before Afrezza, during my "pump life," I would have to disconnect the pump, get the MRI, and then fight with highs and lows for the rest of the night. I could never get my levels adjusted after a disconnect.

Sounds stupid to be excited about something like this, but, hey, if you have diabetes, you take and celebrate every victory you have whether big or small. The first time I had a test where the pump had to be disconnected, it was terrible. This was YEARS ago. They didn't know really what to do, if it'd mess the pump up, or anything. Oh my my. Finally I learned to just not say anything and disconnect it and keep it with my clothing.

So, celebrate with me-another reason I'm thankful to Dump The Pump and inhale Afrezza.

Could You Have Done This While On The Pump?

This past week I had to travel to N.C. to visit my mother in law who was having a very complicated surgery. So what happens? You pack and pack and pack. What'd you forget? Do you really need everything you've packed? WAIT...insulin. So, there I go. Running up the stairs to fetch my Tresiba and Afrezza. Down the stairs I go...WAIT....forgot glucometer strips and needles for the Tresiba. OH MY. The trip hadn't started, and I was already tired.

10 hours on the road, checked into the hotel....dare I say MOTEL. Oh my word! That's ok. I wasn't planning on spending much time there. Tuesday morning we all arrived at Duke University at 5:00am! Yes, you read that right. 5:00am. 17 hours and 3 waiting rooms later, she was done, and it went wonderfully. Praising the Lord.

I realized around 10:00pm that I had not eaten dinner. Breakfast was around 8:00am, and lunch was around noon. I had gone 10 hours without any food. No snacks. No nothing. I tested my blood sugar. It was 130, and after I had eaten lunch it was 174. So in the course of 10 hours, I had only dropped 44 points. Now, you tell me. Would that have happened if you were on the pump? NO! I can answer that. I was on the pump.

I'm again so thankful for the benefits and ease of using Afrezza. There is no way I could have gone that long when on the pump OR even while taking the shots. This is unreal. Wonderfully unreal, but it's unreal. What a great testimony for Afrezza. No lags, no tails, in and out 2-2.5 hours. Having diabetes isn't fun, but Afrezza surely makes it manageable.

Has Anyone Heard About The BCG Study?

Has anyone heard about the BCG Study in Boston? I had not until I, oddly enough, was having my teeth cleaned! My hygienist's husband is a T1D, and she had found the study. Now, let's face it. Any diabetic does not *want* to be one. YES we love Afrezza, but imagine a life without ever taking any type of insulin. Think about it. You could do whatever you wanted and never think about lows or highs. EAT whatever you want without fear of those nasty highs. My mind can't comprehend it.

Dr. Denise Faustmann, Director of Mass General's immunobiology lab, stated T1D's were given two of the TB immunization shots (yes you read right, Tuberculosis TB!!) over four weeks and saw long term results. Blood sugars lowered and remained lowered for at least five years. She stated this was a much more cost effective way to control diabetes.

She doesn't claim T1's would be off insulin permanently, but she does state for at least five years levels remained within the normal range without lows and highs and no insulin. The vaccine is known as Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG). It's already FDA approved. During the study, A1C's went from an average of 7.4 to 6.2 and by the end of the eighth year the A1C was 6.7.

There is a lot of skepticism with this study, but I'm still curious if anyone else has heard about it or even participated in it. I'm not one who does immunizations. As a matter of fact, my youngest (now 18) has never been immunized (yes, I'm one of them!).

I'm excited to hear if anyone else knows about this. Have a great day.