What's everybody doing today?

[Supervisor42]

Had cataract surgery left eye, today.
Struggling a bit.
Won't be very talkative for a few days.

 

[zannej]

Supervisor, I hope your eye recovers quickly. Be careful with the eye drops. I saw some kind was recently recalled due to contamination. Multiple people lost their vision, there was at least one death, & a lot of people got eye infections. I think it was called artificial tears or something.

The Continuous Glucose Monitors are an amazing tool and I highly recommend them. I use the Dexcom G6 and it has made a world of difference for me. It not only tells you what your BG level is, it shows you the trend - higher, lower, or steady. I can use that info to make reasonably accurate predictions about what my BG will do in the near future.

I don't know your mom's case at all. I can only speak to my own experiences of being a Type 1. But if she's not checking her BG, to me that sounds like a case of diabetic burnout. It can be a delicate situation, and it can't really be helped until your mom decides to help herself. Good luck and godspeed! Feel free to message me about it if you need to. I don't have solutions, but maybe I can share some relevant info...

She developed diabetes in the 80s. She used to be good about checking her sugars, but I think you are right about the burn-out. At least she still takes the insulin regularly. One of her parents had diabetes so it runs in the family. IIRC, she developed it while pregnant (she miscarried that one). I appreciate any suggestions/advice. I'm still trying to find a longterm solution for both her and my brother.

Medicare pays for once daily testing for non-insulin dependent patients. If the patients is using insulin or an insulin replacement therapy, such as Trulicity, then they cover for up to three times daily testing.

The diagnosis code is for billing. It would be something like E11.65 if they included it.

Thank you. She and my brother are both insulin dependent. My brother was able to get by on a once per week shot but when he got laid off during the shutdowns, he lost his good insurance and got put on Medicaid. Medicaid would no longer cover the weekly shot so he had to go on insulin multiple times per day. Both of them are only supposed to check sugars either once per day or as needed (like if they feel sick and need to check it). The pharmacist said that Mom's request for Medicare to cover her Freestyle Libre was denied bc she doesn't have to check her sugar at least 3x per day. They said Medicaid straight up denied coverage for one for my brother with no explanation of why. I wonder if they could get the dexcom (which I think can be put on the abdomen and not just the arm) instead.

I've been exhausted and had headaches. Stomach still isn't back to normal after the food poisoning. Mom is doing better at least. She had an appointment yesterday that went well. My brother had an appointment today. Took him to that and then grabbed a couple things from Walmart. We were both feeling tired and nauseous.

I've been playing around with sketchup and taking naps bc I can't stay awake for long periods of time.

Hope everyone else is doing well.

 

[Spikedriver]

@zannej So what I'm gathering from your post is that both your mom and brother are insulin dependent type 2 diabetics. Without knowing which type of insulin they use, and what their regimen looks like, I can't say exactly what they should be doing. However, I will say that I don't believe 1x daily BG checks are sufficient for any insulin dependent diabetic. I understand that money may be tight but a person can buy a "Relion Premier" brand meter at Walmart for less than $20 and currently 100 "Relion Premier" test strips are $18 to $19 at Walmart. If a person were to test 3x/day, which is the bare minimum IMO, that box of 100 will last a month. The chance of having a severe hypoglycemic event is much too great for a person on Multiple Daily Injections, so multiple testing every day is a must!

There is a ton of ignorance in the medical community when it comes to both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. Especially with Type 2, which are about 85% of all diabetics, the consequences aren't immediate or obvious if control is poor. Both types need to be treated aggressively to have a good outcome in the long term. Doctors often seem to have an attitude like, "Well, you're not dead yet, so just keep doing what you're doing". But they don't educate patients on how to make better lifestyle choices and then they end up blind, in a wheelchair, or worse.

I'm curious, is your brother using the Walmart brand insulin that sells for about $30? It's obsolete and not nearly as effective as modern insulin, but it's fairly common for people to turn to that insulin when laid off or when they lose their health insurance. I was on it for a long time.

I doubt Medicare will cover a Dexcom. It's really expensive. I love mine but I'd be right back to sticking my fingers if I lost my insurance.

 

[zannej]

@zannej So what I'm gathering from your post is that both your mom and brother are insulin dependent type 2 diabetics. Without knowing which type of insulin they use, and what their regimen looks like, I can't say exactly what they should be doing. However, I will say that I don't believe 1x daily BG checks are sufficient for any insulin dependent diabetic. I understand that money may be tight but a person can buy a "Relion Premier" brand meter at Walmart for less than $20 and currently 100 "Relion Premier" test strips are $18 to $19 at Walmart. If a person were to test 3x/day, which is the bare minimum IMO, that box of 100 will last a month. The chance of having a severe hypoglycemic event is much too great for a person on Multiple Daily Injections, so multiple testing every day is a must!

There is a ton of ignorance in the medical community when it comes to both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. Especially with Type 2, which are about 85% of all diabetics, the consequences aren't immediate or obvious if control is poor. Both types need to be treated aggressively to have a good outcome in the long term. Doctors often seem to have an attitude like, "Well, you're not dead yet, so just keep doing what you're doing". But they don't educate patients on how to make better lifestyle choices and then they end up blind, in a wheelchair, or worse.

I'm curious, is your brother using the Walmart brand insulin that sells for about $30? It's obsolete and not nearly as effective as modern insulin, but it's fairly common for people to turn to that insulin when laid off or when they lose their health insurance. I was on it for a long time.

I doubt Medicare will cover a Dexcom. It's really expensive. I love mine but I'd be right back to sticking my fingers if I lost my insurance.

I often wonder if type 2 can also be genetic but shows up later in life. Mom was in her 30s when she was diagnosed. My brother was diagnosed in his late 30s. I haven't been diagnosed but I'm insulin resistant. Unfortunately, I don't have insurance so I'm s.o.l. on getting insulin. My mother takes Novelin 70/30. I have no idea what my brother gets. I believe he gets his insulin from Walmart. Mom gets hers mailed to her from CareMark or something like that. Her insurance stopped covering it so its out of pocket. I think over $60 for a 2 month supply. My brother's insulin is free because its covered by Medicaid. They both have meters. Multiple meters. But they glitch a lot and say they can't read the sugar and both of them got tired of sticking their fingers. Pretty sure they both have Relion Premiers or some sort of relian meters. My brother has 2 or 3 meters but often misplaces them. He just doesn't think about checking his sugar and doesn't bother. Mom burned out on it and got tired of having to stick herself all the time. I know my brother really wants to get either the Dexcom of the Feestyle Libre so he doesn't have to do the finger sticks.

 

[Spikedriver]

Meters rarely Glitch, @zannej but people often don't use them right. They're actually far more reliable and accurate than the Dexcom or Libre. As far as getting tired of sticking fingers - well, I'm afraid that's not an option. It is what it is, and our feelings about it don't matter. That's harsh, but it's the stone cold truth. Burnout is real - I've been there - but it's not an option unless a person wants to die before their time, or doesn't care if they're a cripple from diabetes.

I know that sounds cold, but it's not hopeless. Being dependent on insurance sucks but there are some options through the pharmaceutical companies. I know NovoNordisk has a reduced cost program for low income. That's the manufacturer of Novolin 70/30. Lilly has a program too. GoodRx can help lower costs as well.

Type 2 absolutely does have a genetic component. It's also compounded by lifestyle and diet. The best plan of action is to adopt a lower carb diet, not necessarily like Keto, but maybe 60 carbs per day. That's about the amount of carbs in a big bowl of Wheaties with milk - spread throughout the day. The other thing is cardio exercise. 45 minutes of brisk walking will normally reduce insulin resistance for several hours afterward. The exercise seems to unlock the cells of the body so that they can efficiently use the insulin that the body makes. Doing the diet and exercise isn't a guaranteed cure, and it needs to be done with a doctors supervision at first because it will likely change the amount of insulin needed. Without guidance that can be pretty dangerous. But, it may permit them to get off of insulin entirely, or to drastically reduce the amount. Not every type 2 can get off meds entirely but every type 2 should be able to get off insulin and be able to get by with Metformin or similar oral meds, unless their pancreas is just so worn out that it barely works any more, or their physical condition doesn't permit exercise.

Please remember that I'm not a doctor, I'm just someone who has lived with diabetes for over 3 decades and I'm treating it with a high degree of success. My average BG numbers (A1c) are normal to pre-diabetic, 5.3 to 5.9, which puts me in the top 10% of type 1 diabetics nationwide. I consider myself an expert, but I can't give actual medical advice.

 

[Amish Heart]

Hey TJ, it could be squirrels grabbing all those peanuts, too.
We've been watching two red cardinals each day. Also armadillo. He relocated under our back deck, and decided to come to the porch with the barn cats again yesterday.

 

[Tommyice]

Supervisor, I hope your eye recovers quickly. Be careful with the eye drops. I saw some kind was recently recalled due to contamination. Multiple people lost their vision, there was at least one death, & a lot of people got eye infections. I think it was called artificial tears or something.


She developed diabetes in the 80s. She used to be good about checking her sugars, but I think you are right about the burn-out. At least she still takes the insulin regularly. One of her parents had diabetes so it runs in the family. IIRC, she developed it while pregnant (she miscarried that one). I appreciate any suggestions/advice. I'm still trying to find a longterm solution for both her and my brother.

Thank you. She and my brother are both insulin dependent. My brother was able to get by on a once per week shot but when he got laid off during the shutdowns, he lost his good insurance and got put on Medicaid. Medicaid would no longer cover the weekly shot so he had to go on insulin multiple times per day. Both of them are only supposed to check sugars either once per day or as needed (like if they feel sick and need to check it). The pharmacist said that Mom's request for Medicare to cover her Freestyle Libre was denied bc she doesn't have to check her sugar at least 3x per day. They said Medicaid straight up denied coverage for one for my brother with no explanation of why. I wonder if they could get the dexcom (which I think can be put on the abdomen and not just the arm) instead.

I've been exhausted and had headaches. Stomach still isn't back to normal after the food poisoning. Mom is doing better at least. She had an appointment yesterday that went well. My brother had an appointment today. Took him to that and then grabbed a couple things from Walmart. We were both feeling tired and nauseous.

I've been playing around with sketchup and taking naps bc I can't stay awake for long periods of time.

Hope everyone else is doing well.

If she's insulin dependent, her doctor should be writing the script to read "test 3 times daily." Speak with her endocrinologist and their support staff. My dad is insulin dependent and the nurse in the office consistently e-scripts it as 2 times daily and I keep having to buy extra out-of-pocket. Even with my employee discount, they are horribly expensive.

@Spikedriver mentioned the manufacturer vouches from Novo and Lilly. Unfortunately, neither your mother or brother will be able to use them. Both require commercial insurance and your mom is on Medicare and your brother is on Medicaid. They are considered government provided or subsidized insurance and is against the terms in that little itty-bitty print. It sucks. My experience has shown that the people who need the vouchers the most are usually barred from using them.

 

[Pearl]

Had cataract surgery left eye, today.
Struggling a bit.
Won't be very talkative for a few days.

Hope you are better soon!

 

[sonya123]

Well, husband has to go to court today as a witness for the crazy guy trying to shoot the guy we get hay from last year. They had the wrong address and the letter never got here, so we got a phone call yesterday evening that he was to show up this morning.
So this morning I have to take care of the animals myself. I am ok with that but hope my shoulder holds up moving hay and water buckets around.
Still have dishes to do from yesterday also, we got back late from shopping. So today is not going to be a fun day

TJ if you want birds , try black sunflower seeds , I think all birds love those. We have hanging bird feeders and all sorts of birds come to eat. Including a very large woodpecker that tilts the whole thing when he is on it and some mourning doves that eat what falls on the ground . We have a ton of really pretty birds here

Diabetes: my mother in law had diabetes, she controlled it with diet alone, because she refused to take pills...(she died from pancreatic cancer when she was close to 90). This is what she ate ( I kid you not): meat, eggs, broccolie, cooked pinto beans, oat meal , peanut butter on sugar free ice cream, cabbage and occasionally some sugar free bread toast that was hard as a rock and she kept in plastic bags.....she was under 5 foot and weight under 100 lbs and looked like a dried up prune. But she didn't take any medication

 

[sonya123]

Hope you are better soon!

me too! That scares me ( having my eyes operate on)

 

[Pearl]

Thunderstorms right now! Got Bear out before they hit, but he needs to go again soon! Really wishing it keeps up all morning, the couple I clean for today don't like their house cleaned when it's raining. Would gladly enjoy a day off ! Time will tell as the morning rolls on!! Will be getting out in it to feed the donkey shortly! Coffee by the wood stove is mighty fine right now!!.

 

[FarmOR]

Especially in rural areas, we are all trapped in the medical \ insurance, pharmaceutical, food processor industrial complex. They are all in bed together and own the political system on both sides. How are we to live without getting trapped in the system? Daunting.

My entire mother side of family are all trapped. Every single one of them and my mom has seven siblings. Obesity, diabetes, heart, stroke, doctors on speed dial, first name basis with insurance, pharmacist, doctor and eat main stream food junk. My mom is particularly interesting case because she was a medical coder.

She was "in" the system for most of her life. And this was very destructive as she succumbed to the frequent pharma hand outs. Try these for free, but when you come back it's gonna cost you! Sound familiar? She suffered massive stroke years ago that ruined her quality of life. She took viox.

Change is extremely difficult. But we must break the cycle somehow. Like our life depends on it! Because it does? The government is against us. The whole system is entrenched. Nothing outside of their influence is going to be made easy. We must choose a harder road. We must act differently while we still can?

My current situation and strategy is challenging too. My intention is to use the system for diagnostic testing purposes. But to travel and pay out of pocket, out of system for acting advice. Holistic. Homeopathic. Naturopathic. Difficult. Systematic. No quick "cure". No take a pill and go back to " normal ".

In the timeless sage advice of Ramsey " if you don't want to live like everyone else, you must live like nobody else "?

 

[Pearl]

I'm off today!! Will make up for it Saturday! Going to run a few errands when the rain stops in a bit!!

 

[TeeJ]

Hey TJ, it could be squirrels grabbing all those peanuts, too.
We've been watching two red cardinals each day. Also armadillo. He relocated under our back deck, and decided to come to the porch with the barn cats again yesterday.

Oddly enough, we don't have chipmunks or squirrels in this part of Utah, so I'm baffled. I put two pints out this morning in two different locations, got in the shower and 30 minutes later they are all gone I'm super intrigued to see who the peanut bandit is so I refilled them and I'm now camped out watching them - with no signs of activity...

@sonya123 - I have a mix of millet and black sunflower seeds in my other feeders and we have so many birds! Between generous feeding and having the most/biggest trees in several blocks we're definitely bird mecca - I especially want to attract back the bluebirds (scrub jays) and woodpeckers that have become scarce lately

 

[Grimm]

If it is a chest freezer, put something moderately heavy on it. A bleach jug on each end works.

If it is an upright, put a bungee strap around it. You can use glue on hooks on the sides to hold it in place.

Child proof fridge lock. We use one on the house freezer that K still needs to replace the seal on.

 

[Morgan101]

The day started off by having to clean up the man-cave, so the cleaning lady could clean it up. Go figure, but there is no point if arguing with my wife. I did the dishes, and cleaned up the kitchen, and snuck out to play nine holes of golf. It was a little chilly (temp is still only 45) but moving the whole time I really didn't feel cold. Only needed a light sweater. I had the course to myself, and got finished just as a light rain moved in. Good day so far. I hope it continues.

 

[Peanut]

Had cataract surgery left eye, today.
Struggling a bit.
Won't be very talkative for a few days.

In case no one has mentioned it... don't bend over, especially don't bend over and pick something up. Leaning over hurt my eye, changed pressure.

Don't rub your eyes... it'll sneak up on you... like when you take a shower or wash your face. You rub your eyes without thinking about it. That still hurts 10 days post.

Found the first yellowroot bud opening up this spring. There'll be a little leaf by the weekend.

 

[Supervisor42]

In case no one has mentioned it... don't bend over, especially don't bend over and pick something up. Leaning over hurt my eye, changed pressure.

Don't rub your eyes... it'll sneak up on you... like when you take a shower or wash your face. You rub your eyes without thinking about it. That still hurts 10 days post.

I got all of that in my paperwork.
I'll post an update of my "journey" in the cataract thread so searchers can find it.
Short story: vision in that eye now = 'shockingly clear'.

 

[Grimm]

Got another 25 minutes done in the school room. Filled another donate box and trash bag. Listed a few things on FB Marketplace. You can see the change now. Emptied 3 totes of craft junk.

Added more shampoo bars to the stores. I opted to get K some 8 oz shampoo body bars. Once he is finished with the bottles of shampoo I'll put them in his bath tote. I even added some dog shampoo bars! WAAAAAAAY cheaper than bottled dog shampoo.

 

[sonya123]

Especially in rural areas, we are all trapped in the medical \ insurance, pharmaceutical, food processor industrial complex. They are all in bed together and own the political system on both sides. How are we to live without getting trapped in the system? Daunting.

You know what the biggest rip off and bad for you thing is? All the medications out there for various mental problems which can be fixed by growing some weed in your yard for relatively little money and without the big pharma involved. It certainly fixed my anxiety /panic attacks, fixes depression, insomnia, ADHD , OCD and what not. Maybe not major mental stuff like schizophrenia but a lot of stuff people take a lot of pills for

There are lots of other herbal remedies for a variety of things, but the doctors want to sell you the expensive new pills they have.

 

[dademoss]

Trash / recycle day. Renewed my FCC license, did some laundry, read some. Cleaned the crock pot for tomorrows "Volunteer Pot luck" meeting for February and set the cocktail sausages into the fridge to thaw.

 

[backlash]

I installed the grab bar for my friend. He actually got to come home today.
He's getting around pretty well for a guy with 5 breaks in his pelvis.
If anyone need to put in a rock solid grab bar in a fiberglass shower stall I can highly recommend this system.
It wasn't difficult and it took me about an hour even with several trips to my truck for tools.
https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B0BP7JJMJ5?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

 

[Neb]

We’ll compromise- Magenta

Our neighbors across the way have the same light(s). The intensity of it gets to me a little but I have crazy sensory levels.

It is all in the lighting.

Ben

 

[LadyLocust]

It is all in the lighting.

View attachment 103709

Ben

I’ve seen them elsewhere also and on gardening videos but I’ve never heard the purpose for the color.

 

[Neb]

I’ve seen them elsewhere also and on gardening videos but I’ve never heard the purpose for the color.

Good question hard answer.

Plant growth involves building molecular structures. The building involves fitting energetic assemblies each of which has a characteristic energy value. Different light colors have different energies. The photons of the right type encourage building the plant structure.

Ben

 

[TeeJ]

Well, recon was successful - it was the scrub jay after all

Two of them managed to empty this feeder in about 5 minutes flat. They definitely worked for those peanuts!

 

[TeeJ]

You know what the biggest rip off and bad for you thing is? All the medications out there for various mental problems which can be fixed by growing some weed in your yard for relatively little money and without the big pharma involved. It certainly fixed my anxiety /panic attacks, fixes depression, insomnia, ADHD , OCD and what not. Maybe not major mental stuff like schizophrenia but a lot of stuff people take a lot of pills for

There are lots of other herbal remedies for a variety of things, but the doctors want to sell you the expensive new pills they have.

While I haven't had much luck with herbal remedies, my personal issues have responded extremely well to fungal ones. But I'm stuck taking a chemical that's less effective and much more expensive because I'd rather not take a multitude of chances acquiring it...

 

[Amish Heart]

Husband is feeling yuck today, so he's spent the day in his pj's. Hopefully tomorrow will be better for him. I took the girls to school, got the animal chores done, and then took neighbor and her two little ones into the bigger town. First, though, I brought her some pink eye drops for the little ones. She kept saying their eyes were "cheesy". We shopped Aldi and Walmart, then took the two little ones to the chiropractor. Then to Freddies for lunch. Got the freezer dryer emptied of chicken. Filled it up again with more chicken and some hamburger. No luck finding 1/2 gal mason jars at Walmart. Was wanting more for freeze dried food storage.

 

[Patchouli]

While I haven't had much luck with herbal remedies, my personal issues have responded extremely well to fungal ones. But I'm stuck taking a chemical that's less effective and much more expensive because I'd rather not take a multitude of chances acquiring it...

I had to read that three times. And I'm not even using fungus.
We don't have scrub jays around here, blue jays, yes.
I saw a young flock of cedar waxwings, rarely see them, a couple of weeks ago, at my work area. I wonder if they were heading north or south. Migrations of birds seems kind of off the past couple of years.
One of the girls has been having a sore hip and she jokingly said maybe it was kinda out of the socket. Day three and it is doing a little better every day.

 

[Spikedriver]

Had a pretty good day at work, then came back to the hotel casino and won $28 at the roulette table. It paid for dinner, I guess...