Working on the basics of good health with diabetes

Hi @dorisena you bring up a great topic of having good overall health with diabetes. That's great that you have had some success keeping your blood pressure down.

@retiredteacher @kateia @trishanna and @brendakaye may have thoughts of their own on this topic.

I also wanted to share these two discussions that explore staying healthy with diabetes:

Lighten your Limbs with Friends: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/lighten-your-limbs-with-friends/
Getting back to healthy eating after the holidays: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/getting-back-to-healthy-eatng-after-the-holidays/

Back to you @dorisena, you mentioned some changes in your life that you've made. Are you comfortable sharing those changes?

Blood pressure is about attitude and anger and frustration as well as healthy eating and exercise. I left my church for the third time in 13 years because I didn't like being bullied by people who really don't know any better. Plus I didn't have opportunity to contribute my skills. It took a while to find another church and convince myself that I am not really a social "loser." A positive environment and opportunity to contribute in some way has helped to bring down the blood pressure, I am convinced. I try to eat and sleep on a schedule but sometimes must take a short nap but I don't feel guilty about that. I am watching less TV and have a knitting project. I have an old fashioned lifestyle and it suits me well, so I don't feel lonely anymore. I don't go along with overeating at holidays or on vacation, as it is a time to eat the healthy, expensive food that is good for me. I quit baking cookies, and what I do bake, I usually give away. I never dreamed I would be eating fresh blueberries from Peru or smoked salmon at Christmas. I don't feel like I am missing a thing in life, except traveling. Once in a while I purchase a few fresh flowers for the kitchen and tell my grandchildren a friend sent them to me. Dorisena

@ethanmcconkey Thanks for the tag in regard to this topic. I can suggest through my husband's experience, as he has heart problems. I have diabetes 2 and heart concerns are a part of diabetes too, so we both deal with heart issues. The information we have and know is from a wonderful team of doctors who have been treating my husband since 2011 when he had a heart attack and open heart surgery for quad bypass and aorta replacement. All of this came after he had had two catherizations to insert eight stents to open the arteries. From the doctors, I learned that high blood pressure can be inherited, like most diseases, or it can be the result of lifestyle. My husband apparently inherited his proclivity for the disease. After the surgery, his doctors met with me and explained what we had to do going forward. To control blood pressure, the right medicine is important to give the heart some help. This is sometimes trial and error and has to be changed depending on the circumstances. Once the meds are in balance, a healthy diet is necessary. It does often mean giving up favorite foods. So, our way of cooking and eating changed. No salt; no fried foods, little fat, limited red meat, vegetables, fruits, and limited sweets. That worked for blood pressure and also for diabetes. Included in his treatment is rest and relaxation and some exercise, but not gym rat level. He is 78 years old and is the same weight as he was in high school, so he does not need to lose weight. It seems that with every illness it is an individual program. The best way to find out what we should do is to listen to our cardiologist and PCP who know best.
Carol

Your husband had done a wonderful job of recovering from his issues. And I know you have been part of the team to make both your lives better. My husband was not very supportive and my marriage was quite dysfunctional, but over the years I learned to control the stress and that helped, as well as taking more pills than I thought were helpful to control the problem. The BP meds have made me too drugged to drive and stay awake at times, so I am happy to be able to ease off a little this winter. I am anxious to get outside in the spring as much as I am able. Yes, I followed the doctor's recommendations, but could not function well with the dosages, so it has taken longer to achieve good results. I did not have good results with other drugs in the past, so it has been trial and error in all areas at times. My doctor says my heart is fine. I am grateful for that and am enjoying peace of mind. Dorisena

@dorisena I am glad your heart is fine, but my husband will never enjoy that luxury. I take his blood pressure daily and trips to the ER are necessary all too often. We start 2020 with our round of hospital heart tests and heart dr. appointments. That lets us know how his heart is functioning and how his cow aorta is doing. It is leaking, but not enough for intervention at this time. Every year he has hospital tests to check how well his heart is performing. it is scary, but we deal with on a day-to-day basis. We are blessed for every day we have.
Carol

I understand the problem well, Carol, as my son was a paramedic after college and made many squad runs, learning how to help people in the community when we did not have a paid department, just trained volunteers. We were very devoted to taking care of each other daily in addition to working in the family business. Living rural all our lives, my mother helped others in the community who needed daily support with home care. That is why I am so interested in sharing support on this group so each of us can feel we are not alone in our journey and we can do the home care that supports a better daily life. Dorisena

For a number of years I have not been interested in overdoing the diet on vacations or during holidays, ever since I dieted before going on a cruise and then put it all back on with the cruise food. I also gained ten pound in nine days in Hawaii when I discovered coconut drinks that were "mild." I did not know how fattening coconut products could be at the time. My attitude at holidays is to get some special food that I enjoy and forgo the sweets, even when I serve them to my guests or family. Years of practice has made this plan work for me, however I have learned that Metformin will not erase overeating, especially if I don't exercise in the winter. Then when the headache comes, I know that I must not have certain foods in the house, and I give it away or don't buy it in the first place. I am not waiting until New year's to eat healthy. Today I am eating the leftover veggies that were wonderfully made and I am satisfied. I am also eating cold leftover salmon for breakfast that my son smoked for me. I plug in the tree and it still feels like Christmas around here. Dorisena