December 17, 2015

Bringing Everyone Up to Date

I am very surprised and yet very happy. This fall has been one of ups and downs for many of the support group. Most of us are happy that most of the dual title (RD and CDE) people have moved out of the area. We know that two CDEs are still around and one RD is still preaching high carb, but for the most part, many of the new members have been given permission to see Brenda's daughter or my cousin for nutrition advice.

Tim is very happy as he has been approved for using my cousin for nutrition and Bonnie has worked with a CDE and asked Tim to use her if his insurance will approve. Tim agreed after meeting her and asking several questions, and has told Bonnie that as soon as she can practice, she had better plan on being busy.

Allen, Barry, and Ben have found a doctor that believes them and it wasn't Dr. Tom. Even Sue has changed to the same doctor. Allen, Jerry, and I all had our VA appointments the same day and Allen and Jerry had excellent A1c's. Because of a couple of infections the prior month, and another problem, my A1c was higher than I anticipated. I have other doctor appointments now and may need to see a VA specialist next year.

Beverly is away for some classes and our December meeting could not happen. We did try and other activities seemed to conflict. So, Sue and Jason are planning a program for January. We did have a brief meeting on December 16, since most could attend that evening. There were a few questions that Allen, I needed to answer about insulin, and A.J had quite a few questions about exercise. Sue's husband, Bob said that his fall schedule had forced him to go on metformin and that presently he was taking it two times per day for a total of 1,000 mg.

A.J emphasized that a YMCA membership was not necessary, but could help for those that could afford it. A.J said that with the open fall we have had, he has not needed to use a swimming pool and has been able to exercise outside most days. He asked how many could jump rope and was surprised at the lack of response. A.J said that he is using this for some of his exercise and his incline tread mill at other times on days that it has rained enough to keep him from running.

Then A.J showed the group the jacket he wore when running. With the florescent stripes, we could appreciate why he showed us. Sue commented that she has almost hit other runners and walkers that wear dark clothing in the evenings now that it turns dark early. Several of the new members asked where they could find the florescent material. A.J listed several places and where it was the least expensive and where to find the widest stripes. Then he displayed the pants he uses with their stripes. He said that he has two sets and uses both and is happy he has them. He estimated that his total cost was about $35 and he said that he probably has more stripes than needed, but it was up to each person how visible they wanted to be in the evenings.

This generated quite a bit of discussion and then Tim said the meeting was adjourned and people could talk among themselves if needed. Half an hour later the cleanup was done and everyone left. Tim wanted to talk to me, we went to my car, and Tim said that with Bonnie and my cousin taking classes for several months, we needed to have Brenda's daughter and members of our group have programs for a few months. I agreed and said I would be looking for topics and Tim said he had several topics in mind and he would put them in an email and ask for volunteers. I thanked Tim and said I would wait for the email.

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