New bedroom

The house we bought 7 years ago is a nice one, but the bedrooms are tiny,so when we had the bathroom renovated we eliminated the storage room next to it with the plan to knock the walls down and make the bedroom on the other side of it larger. Well, with the help of our sons and an Amish man named Mose we are closer and closer to moving in to the room. The one we are in is just that A BED ROOM a ROOM FOR A BED...I often feel claustrophobic...this will be so much nicer!...yahoo for us.

Hubby has all kinds of things going on with him that are being checked on in the coming weeks...tumor on the pituitary gland, back problems, soooo a visit to a neurologist, an endocrinologist, and a chiropractor are happening in the next couple weeks. All of these visits are with the VA. He is 80% disabled due to the neuropathy in his arms that is due to being diabetic and he was in Viet Nam and exposed to agent orange so that is why he was found disabled. We are even getting a handicap sticker for our car now. So it goes, a daily reminder...married to a diabetic.

BUT and it is a BIG BUT, his attitude has been amazing lately now that his pain is better managed with a narcotic and nerve medicine...so yes! Life is a lot better lately for both of us because when he is mellow...life is good.

Hear me, sisters? Can I have an AMEN? Manage that pain and keep them upbeat and our lives are a whole lot better...tolerable...nice.

HUGS

Back problems...hope

Spent the day at the VA with hubby. He has spinal stenosis and some bulging discs that are causing the sciatica and painful episodes...he was told it will take a long time but with physical therapy three times a week and nerve meds and pain meds he can get through the ordeal. Might need cortisone shots at some point and if the PT does not help, chiropratic consult will be next to try.

Next we start the process to do something about the tumor on the pituitary gland which will be accomplished with visits to a neurologist and an endocrinologist.

Healthcare is a daily routine. Daily daily daily.

He signed on to Health Buddies at the VA and will get a modem that connects to the computer and send his daily sugar readings to the VA and a nurse there along with his clinic PA will more closely monitor his diabetes and daily managing of it. After all these years he is eager to be connected and have the checks and balances...encouraging.

I had a rough time of it last week with an infection in my breast...the breast that had a hematoma surgically removed...on Keflex and it is clearing up so hurray!

As we age and take care of each other it is a strengthening bond...but nonetheless all encompassing.

Two sons are here for a while and it has been a blessing...hubby can talk business with one and son's dog has been a godsend for hubby to pet and love...both sons are great pals to Tom...win win. And having them around helps with the stress of coping with so much pain and limited quality of life.

PEACE ON EARTH...a state of mind. HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Pain Pills and Power

Hubby is on another pain pill and it has him feeling no pain but loopy...so much so that he has me driving...that is (driving) something he still wants to do so...Pain or Power...Pain or Power. He is mellowing out to want NO pain and who cares about power over driving etc. zone out...painfree...more tests coming to see what is really going on...pain pills...temporary fix. We hope!

hope or hopeless

Seems hubby has one medical concern after another and they roll right into the next situation.
Been suffering with sciatica or what he thinks is sciatica for almost three months now. Tried some meds but nothing changes the fact that he can't get comfortable. He can sit behind the steering wheel and drive and not feel too bad, but trying to walk is painful and trying to sleep is often challenging so unless we plan to drive around all day...it is sucky for him...This month they are doing some testing finally.

He does watch what he eats and leaves food on the plate...he is trying. I am thankful for that. I love the guy and hate that he can't get comfortable. :(

Lately...

I see I have not posted anything since September. Why? Well, I think it is because things have been good for the most part. I was self absorbed with my own health concerns...I had surgery for thyroid disfunction and a quarter of my thyroid was removed. Hubby was by my side and a wonderful care giver to me during the ordeal.
I admit that since he has been on meds for depression he has been so mellow and relaxed and just plain happier...I truly think there is a connection and highly recommend to others who seem depressed while dealing with chronic diseases to check out the mental health. wow...it has made a huge difference in our daily lives, I am not always wondering if he is reacting negatively or strangely because of sugar high etc.
His sugar is still higher than it should be...he is still chewing tobacco...but he is in good moods all the time.
At the moment he is dealing with sciatica and is in pain a lot and trying to get comfortable. Poor guy, it's always something, but like I said...being retired and having a good handle on his eating...good good.
I was told that I have Hashimoto's disease and that is why my thyroid was not functioning properly and something a person with this disease can do to control the attacks on the thyroid is eliminate certain substances from their diet. I was already not doing gluten and alcohol, but they also suggest dairy,caffeine, and sugar. So now I am committed to no sugar...and that means I won't have sugary treats around the house that might tempt him...so it is win win. It is good for me...so it is like we are both diabetic and in fact I am more deprived if you want to look at it that way...but we are both feeling better and losing weight. Like I said WIN WIN.

For this week...it's all good. Stay tuned. And how are you all coping?

Mental health is important

I find that since my hubby addressed his depression issues he has been easier to be with...used to be so negative and argumentative and he is much more mellow now. Oh it is a lot better...and he finally gave in to accepting he is disabled (due to diabetes -- nerve damage on and on) so for the time being I am pleased with his overall behavior...does he still have high blood readings ...yes...does he stay totally away from sugary things and overeating...well, no but he is so much better than in the past...but he is calmer and happier acting so I say hooray for mental health...postive is easier to live with than negative.

Taking a deep breath...and exhaling slowly.

High high high

He says to me today, "My sugar is 482! I am so surprised. I feel great and I didn't suspect it would be this high." I felt sorry for him. I can see how hard this is...this thing called, "diabetes"...kind of a no win disease...he has a wrist brace on because his wrist hurts all the time. He is supposed to try the brace and next week when he is at the VA hospital for another appt. he has to get it x-rayed...everything effects the sugar readings it seems...I used to freak and remind him of everything he ate the day before but since he is more in control than I have ever seen him be I kept my mouth shut. Yes, he is still chewing Skoal long-cut straight and I am convinced that is not helping his readings, but what do I know...nicotine effects insulin...I read that...and he said he asked the doctor but I am skeptical...I wonder if he did and then again...we wives get tired of treating our diabetic husbands like children, questioning everything...should we walk into the appointments holding their hands?...no, I walked across the street and did some shopping when he was in the doctor's and hoped he would ask the right questions and get the answers he needs...he told me his doctor thought he was making progress....his blood pressure was good, his cholesterol readngs were better than before so I left it alone...he is more in control of the amounts of food he eats and even leaves some food on his plate, something that was unheard of in the not so distant past...so I went shopping...we have to take care of ourselves too. RIGHT?

I am also going through some health concerns of my own and this helps to focus on me and not always just on his health...thyroid biopsies and possible surgery to remove a hematoma from the car accident we were in last April.

Sometimes we all need to just go shopping...

All the traveling

We were away for two weeks and for the most part everything was fine...but I was very short with hubby on many occasions and am not sure if I was short with him or he bugged me for some reason and instead of tolerating it and blaming his sugar or health issues and excusing what bugged me on that, I was not tolerant.

What does it matter, I think...been so long dealing with his being a diabetic and most of that time his having high blood readings that I don't know anymore.

I wish he would stop chewing and I nag now and then about it, but I have my own issues lately and that is what I am focussing on...some feel-sorry-for-me time...not really feeling sorry, but focussing on my health issues instead of just his.

He does have a lot of his life under better control lately than I have seen him behave in the past, so that is encouraging.

I had to have a nuclear thyroid scan, due to a nodule and enlargement on the left side od my thyroid. I will find out if that is a problem on Monday.

Then I have the hematoma in my left breast that might have to be surgically removed... I have my own concerns.

It was a great to get away...we all benefited and the other day it was our 38th anniversary and we went away for the night for that and I must say it was fabulous!

Bittersweetness...one without the other would be dull, I guess. :)

Good most of the time...and then...snap!

Life has been fairly calm these days. Is it because he is retired and 80% disabled...or his blood sugar is controlled? Not sure...but then he will snap over what I think is a silly thing and it seems I have to wait for a while to have the sting of his snapping leave me...not fun...otherwise things are good. But the snap is usually unexpected and sucks the fun out of the air for me.

He is still chewing tobacco, which I hate...I hint and he listens but still chews.

Oh well...all in all, things are pretty good.

Calm

hubby is calm ... it is very nice...seems he has finally after all these years totally embraced being diabetic...I feel I can breathe...or at least take a breath.

But tomorrow is another day and the moods can change and something small can push that button that switches him from accepting to rejecting. But for now...hooray!

smooth sailing lately

You go along on rough waters and all of a sudden the sea calms and you say, "hey" things are pretty good at the moment, knowing full well that the storms will come again, but the calm is nice.

Hubby is still battling the high sugar readings but doing what he should eatingwise medswise so we are hoping it evens out or changes or we get a clue as to why it is still high.

His spirits are good...I am thankful. Raingear is ready though.

Hematoma

The sonogram discovered the lump is a hardened edged hematoma that they will check in a month to see if it has lessened. No problem now but might be if it does not go down. I am relieved.
Hubby has a new attitude this week...very upbeat...sugar still high...still chewing...but happy as a clam, which is easier to deal with than sadness and negativity...so hooray!
one day at a time...always. chin up!

Riding away...

Some run away when they can't stand their life...well, I ride away on my mountain bike and the other day I rode 18 miles...my arms were sunburned...I didn't care...it was wonderful...the sights and smells in rural NY state...the best. I feel rejuvenated.
On April 13th hubby and I were in this car accident so along with the diabetes we have been dealing with his subdural hematoma and my bruised breast which then housed a lump...so a mammogram yesterday, that found nothing and a sonogram today to see if there is anything there worth worrying about...four people in the medical profession have felt the lump so I certainly am not looking for attention or one of those people who make up stuff so they GET attention...ugh...no, that's never been me...but there is a lump and we will find out what it is...hubby joked that he does not like that I have a health concern, it is usually all about him...we both laughed hard over that. So this morning we are off to find out why there is a lump in my breast. Fun stuff...HUGS

Embracing diabetes

Tom oftens says "it sucks" when referring to being a diabetic, but last night when I joked with him about it sucking to be a diabetic he actually said it was okay and that let me know that for at least last night he was finally embracing the FACT that he is a diabetic and is okay...I burst into tears...halleluiah! the condition is not going to go away, so for him to accept it...priceless. (took 25+ years, but that's okay...we all have to accept things in our own time).

Getting there...

Okay so after all these years hubby seems to be trying to get it all together (except for the tobacco chewing, ew)and it is more settling, but since I just had the realization that I am married to diabetes I really don't feel I take any time off from thinking about it, so in a way it is harder to take a break from thinking about it now that he is attempting to do most of the right things and the VA has gotten him in a better place as far as managing pills and insulin amounts...so I am officially taking a TIME OUT right now (in my mind). THERE I did it...T.O.

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At long last...

I am delighted to have people to talk to about being married to someone who is diabetic. It appears the e-mail I have here at blogspot is not working for whatever reason so if any one wants to message/e-mail me you can do so by using tbarry3@rochester.rr.com

I googled married to someone with diabetes

I have support with food intolerances, writing, and adoptive parenting so I thought I might need some support after all these years with being married to someone with diabetes and after reading that two others already are blogging about this I was inspired...here I am.