Past the pain
It is Friday afternoon, and I’m sitting at my desk thinking about the past week. Wow! What a week it has been, and despite everything I’ve kept to my Intermittent Fast.
It has been a struggle, not to keep up with my fast, but to keep my blood glucose in tight control. I try to maintain my readings in a range between 4 and 7.8 mml, from my Free Libra meter. Twice in the past week my readings have been wayyyyy too high, up as high as 15 mml for a few hours after a meal, and even as high as 10mml all day long on my fasting days. Ouch! But I need to explain that in order to keep my levels in the right zone, it isn’t as simple as it seems.
I have to control not only my food intake, which I’m managing by eating low carb healthy meals on my eating days, without being obsessive about it, and fasting my three days a week, but also adjusting my insulin and other medications to balance off my fasting and feasting.
This week, for the first time, I haven’t been taking my jentadueto which up until I’ve been taking twice a day, once in the morning and once at dinner time, even though I’ve been skipping on my fasting days. This week I’ve stopped taking them altogether, largely as a result of concerns about chronic pain, which seems to have become much worse since I switched from pure metformin a couple of years ago. My pain this week has been terrible, and I’ve thrashing about trying to figure out what’s triggering it.
Metformin itself can cause chronic pain, either as a standalone drug or as a component in Jentadueto.
I probably should have increased my insulin even more than I did, both on my fasting days and my eating days. As an adjustment for not taking the metformin I increased by long acting insulin to 35 g from 30 on my fasting night, and 40 to 45 g on my eating days. On both days my blood glucose levels were high all day, above 8mml but even higher, up to 15mml.
Tonight I’ll increase my insulin long acting to 50 units, and see if that does the trick, along with controlling my carbs. I’ll get it right, sooner or later.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/christopher-columbus-51243643-5c3bf8b946e0fb0001d0be57.jpg)
However, what made me say “Wow” to my week is that this is the first time in my life I’ve actually been a paid actor in a documentary tv series. I don’t know if my scene will end up on the cutting room floor, although I hope not, but in some way it doesn’t matter. I’m now officially an “actor” because someone has paid me to appear in a movie or tv show.
One of the things I’m determined to do is to try new experiences, and to expand my capacities. Having shot one show suggests that I can do more, if I want. And I think I do. It’s important for me to make some money, of course, since I don’t think anybody can live on their Canada Pension Plan and Old Age Security checks. But I don’t need to make a lot of money, just enough to take the edge off, and be able to afford the luxuries of life, like food and housing.
The fact that my acting debut happened the same week as my excruciating pain, and all my adjusting of my meds is perfect. Fasting doesn’t interfere with life, it is simply just another part of life. Pain interferes with life, for sure, but I won’t allow it to stop me from doing something fun and interesting.
Rain Coast Review 
I’m a T-1 diabetic too. It’s tough to manage. It never takes a day off. I, like you, eat healthy and walk 2-:3 miles 5-6 days a week to manage it. I’m a retired 8th grade teacher, baseball and fast pitch softball coach, and also pastored small rural churches. There were days I felt like crap, but, like you, I kept going. Great post. Thanks
LikeLiked by 2 people
Good that you were able to get out despite the pain. I know it’s not easy. I hope you will be able to find a way to keep it consistently managed.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I have been in chronic pain for a long time, although it has been increasing at an alarming rate in the past year or two. Pain used to be relatively isolated in my shoulders and back, but how includes arthritis pain in most of my major joints, as well as neuropathy in my feet and hands from my diabetes. Because I’ve practiced managing my pain for a long time, I’ve developed strategies which are helpful in allowing me to persist even in its face.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Pingback: Health and Wellness – Creative Space
sorry to hear about your pain, but happy to hear that you are now a paid actor. good news!
LikeLike
Good luck with your health efforts and congrats on your acting induction.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Congrats on your acting job! I’m sorry that you are in pain. It sure is hard to keep juggling all the things in order to keep it under control. Just plain old high stress or weather can even spark a flare. Keep pushing on!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Glad you were able to keep going, even through your struggles with pain. God bless you.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hello Don,
yesterday I was reading about Generation X’s – a few years older than I, the youngest ones – and how they lived on their pensions; their SSI and other income that may or may not have been from their place of work.
Feeling you here.
Found you from Early Musings / Ups and Downs Mum.
Best with the fluctuating glucose and everything else.
Congratulations about the acting life!
Yes – more people need to know that fasting is a part of life.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Your story is inspiring and I’m glad I have the chance to share it through your posts – the fasting will help as will your change in diet – of that I am sure – the pain will recede and could be the result of toxins leaving your body. I have read of similar experiences. Congratulations on your acting part! It seems you are certainly on the right path 👌
LikeLiked by 1 person
Good post. Good luck with the acting.
I have fibromyalgia and ME – pain is the pits, no matter what causes it, because no one else can see it, so everyone else expects us to carry on regardless.
I don’t have diabetes, but i am a 100lbs overweight, which isn’t healthy no matter which way you or i look at it, i am making big changes, slowly, seeing what works and what doesn’t, no food plan works for everyone, at any time.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I hope that your portrayal of Columbus survives to be broadcast.
My wife is Type-2 Diabetic, and has her own issues surrounding that.
Many thanks for following my blog, Donald.
Best wishes, Pete.
LikeLike
Cograts on the acting gig! Very cool!
LikeLiked by 1 person