The Keto Conundrum…

Because I don’t write quite as often as I used to but yet my number of followers apparently continues to grow, I’m going to preface this post by pointing out that in no uncertain terms am I a medical professional, dietitian or specialist. I’m just a tired, cranky Type-1 Diabetic in his 40’s that has managed to live through quite a bit and has tried quite a bit. That being said, the following post is essentially my opinion and what I experienced. It in no way reflects one way or another on folks who may be on a keto diet or planning to try one. Let’s begin…

One of the bigger components of good blood sugar control for someone with type-1 Diabetes is the calculating of one’s carb intake and the proper dosage of insulin to accommodate those carbs. Because not all foods are created equal, the absorption of those carbs can sometimes be tricky, which is why my old pump had an ability to bolus on a delayed timer, for slower delivery in some cases for those foods that digest slower. Something that sadly, my new, fancy pump does not have (although it does other stuff instead, so we’re all good).

One good example of this, is what i consider to be the most versatile and delicious meal in the world, second only to a gourmet cheeseburger… That’s right, I’m talking pizza! Pizza has got to be the nemesis of any insulin-dependent Diabetic. The heavy cheese, grease and processed meats will often mean that if you bolus a dose of insulin at the start of your meal, you’ll likely bottom out as your body will deal with the fat and oils first and only get to the dough later. By then, the insulin has already dropped blood sugar levels to a dangerous point. This is where some delayed bolusing or a lower dose comes in handy.

But if you find yourself hitting that low, you’ll be inclined to treat it with some fast-acting carbs right away. Even though the carbs in your pizza will eventually hit your system, you can’t allow yourself to sit at those dangerously low levels for any period of time. besides the immediate danger, there are health implications associated with frequent lows. I won’t get into those here but this makes pizza one of the most chaotic foods that I eat as it usually leads t a full night of being on the blood sugar roller coaster and going without sleep for most of the night. Not an ideal prospect.

So it would make sense that when it comes other something like pizza, a lower carb or carb-free option would be fantastic. On the flip side, for the same reasons I can’t stand tofu or similar substitutes, I still want my pizza to taste like pizza. this is where the keto diet comes in. For those who may not be in the know and don’t follow “trend” diets, we should start by explaining what a “keto,” or ketogenic diet involves.

Basically, a keto diet is where you try to eat as few carbs as possible and get all your calories from protein and fat instead. That’s why you’ll hear your pompous friend say things like, “I’m keto, I don’t eat that white bread stuff…” We get it, Kyle! You’re trendy. But seriously, the effect usually forces your body to start burning your fat tissues for fuel and energy; a process known as ketosis. This eventually causes some weight loss. This is generally intended as a short-term diet to lose some weight. People who hang on to this trend for longer periods can start to have some issues. For a Type-1 Diabetic, going into ketosis can cause the creation of ketones. Elevated keystones are bad news for Type-1’s. SO one needs to be careful if trying a keto diet.

This brings us to my recent conundrum. I follow a few nutrition and diet pages for multiple reasons and I recently found a post for a carb-free pizza. Are you kidding me? The possibility of having pizza that wouldn’t send my blood sugars into a manic fit for an entire night is like Charlie finding the golden ticket to the chocolate factory. The recipe looked quick and easy and my wife was on board, so I decided to try it. As is my usual routine, I took a screenshot of the recipe and transcribed it into my notes app and while later, so I unfortunately can’t link the recipe or provide credit where credit is due. Perhaps the poster will miraculously see my post and recognize themselves. In any event, here’s the recipe:

Low-Carb Pizza Crust
– 2 cups mozzarella cheese
– 2 cups Parmesan cheese
– 2 eggs
– 2 teaspoons of Italian seasoning.

Mix all that shit together in a bowl then mash it flat onto a baking pan lined with parchment paper. Put on whatever pizza toppings you like. We did cremini mushrooms, bacon bits, pepperoni for me and ham for my wife. Bake in the oven for about 20 to 25 minutes at 350 degrees. The entire pan was only about 20 grams of carbs. usually, one piece of traditional pizza is more than that.

Admittedly, baking Parmesan cheese made the house reek like nobody’s business and I’ll admit that once the pizza cooled, it quickly lost its appeal. While flavourful and satisfied my cheese craving, it may not be something that we would repeat agin. That being said, I didn’t feel full and bloated afterwards like I would with a traditional pizza and my blood sugar levels stayed nice balanced for the night. So, it was a win. My wife, who doesn’t handle cheese very well, didn’t finish all of hers and likely won’t be partaking of the meal, should I attempt it again.

It was a good idea and help with carb and blood sugar control. My suggestions, for anyone attempting to make this, would be to cut the recipe significantly, unless you have a family of four partaking. Keep the portion small and enjoy your couple of pieces while it’s still hot as cooling makes it lose its flavour and honestly, makes it a bit gross. But I think most people can be honest that the soul of the pizza is in the toppings; the dough is just the carrier. So this was a good try. Doesn’t mean I’ll be jumping any deeper in the keto pool though. ☯️

“That Wouldn’t Work…”

One of the most important aspects about being a traditional martial artist is that you need to have an open mind and be willing to learn new things. Even when those new things may not be directly related to your chosen style or art. There isn’t a martial arts style out there that hasn’t incorporated something, a technique, a strike, anything, from somewhere else. To say it isn’t so would be complete and utter bullshit. If you don’t have an open mind and be willing to learn, proficiency in the martial arts is effectively impossible.

In fact, I follow a number of martial arts pages and websites, given my own experience with martial arts. Considering that my style is Uechi Ryu karate, I follow a few Uechi pages on facebook, as well. What’s nice is being able to see others demonstrate the katas and techniques I grew up with, and see some of the work being done with my style around the globe. But more than that, I enjoy seeing some of the inspirational quotes from martial arts pioneers and authors.

Once in a while, I may see something particular, like a photo of someone practicing a technique in a certain way. And since it’s 2024 and everyone is a fuckin’ armchair warrior, there is always, without fail, at least one commenter that will always say something to the effect of: “That wouldn’t work in a real fight. That technique is completely useless…” Strong words from someone who’s likely sitting in an oversized armchair, eating Cheetos and has never trained in martial arts before.

Look, I get it… Some stuff may look ineffective on the surface and to the untrained eye, it may raise eyebrows as to why one would even practice or train in some techniques if they wouldn’t work in a real fight. But here’s the thing that most non-martial artists usually don’t understand; everything in martial arts has a purpose. It should be noted that I’m not saying everything is an effective technique. I said everything has a purpose. The distinction there is quiet important.

One shining example that I’ve seen more times than I count, is a photo of a karateka kicking straight up. Besides the usual comments about why a woman would be doing karate in a training bra and the usual pointless rhetoric that gets thrown around, many would usually comment that kicking straight above your head would be ineffective and basically useless in a real fight. The issue at hand and what needs to be recognized, is not the effectiveness of the kick itself but rather, the hard work the practitioner has endured in order to have that level of flexibility, balance and precision to execute that kick properly. The end result would be that her traditional kicks will share in those aspects and be all the more effective.

It’s comparable to all the chore-based crap that Mr. Miyagi had Daniel doing in the Karate Kid. Or Cobra Kai, I guess, if you’ve never seen the original 1984 movie (although I highly recommend you do, if you haven’t. Great flick!) Mr. Miyagi had Daniel waxing cars to develop his circle block, sanding decks to develop his low blocks and painting fences to develop his wrist blocks. Daniel becomes frustrated by the chores and tries to quit, until Mr. Miyagi demonstrates the skills Daniel has learned through muscle memory and repetition. Not exactly an apples-to-apples comparison but the idea is the same.

The point is, one may not always fully understand the thought or use behind a particular technique or method of training. While you may never have engaged in such specific methods yourself, exploring it instead of commenting on it may give you the insight you lack and you may even learn a thing or two. If you’re lucky. But dismissing or commenting on any demonstrated technique, form, method of training or style, without having first walked a mile in their shoes is not only short-sighted. It’s ignorant. Food for thought… ☯️

Old School Ways Can Be Eye Opening…

I recently had something occur that has not only thrown a ,monkey wrench into my weekly routine but has made me realize just how dependent I’ve become on modern resources and technology. About a month ago, I started a load of laundry and tossed my jeans in; jeans that just happened to contain my debit card. Under normal circumstances, this wouldn’t be such a big deal. On this occasion however, it was a hot water load and it caused my debit card to warp and bend. I realized this when I emptied out the washer and found the card sitting at the bottom of the drum.

I have this unfortunate habit of taking my debit card out of my wallet, using it, then slipping the debit card back into my pocket without placing it back in my wallet. Lesson #1 for me, as this action is what caused the problem. Had I simply put the card back into my wallet as opposed to dropping it loosely in my pants, all would be well. As a result of my oversight, I now found myself with a debit card that would potentially not function for its intended use. Considering this is the primary expense account for our household, access to those funds is rather important.

Over the next couple of weeks that followed, I tested and used this debit card without issue. The chip function worked normally, despite the card’s misshapen state. The tap function also still worked for day-to-day purchases. In essence, it appeared as though the card was fully functional despite the damage I had caused to it. As a result, I was in no hurry to try and have the card replaced. I had no issue until I tried to use the card at an actual ATM machine. I had stopped in at my local bank’s branch and tried to put the card into the ATM to withdraw a cash amount. This is when I discovered that the warped state of my debit card wouldn’t allow the ATM to accept the card. Fuck me. Of course there’d be a problem…

While most banking or payments can be done by debit or credit card, some payments do occasionally need to be done in cash. Further, there is a growing movement by local businesses to prefer cash payment as debit or credit card payments tend to impose fees and charges against a business that don’t happen if a consumer is paying in cash. But i digress. My point is I needed to replace this shitty debit card so things could get back to normal. And as those who know me may have noticed, I’m not a big fan of change, especially to anything I do that’s routine.

I walked into my bank and requested a replacement card. Since debit cards are embossed and need to be created, I was issued a “temporary” debit card with nothing on it but a magnetic strip. We’re talking old school swipe to use. On top of that, the card would only work in my bank’s branches or ATM machines. Lovely. Since the majority of retail locations don’t house an ATM machine from my bank, I’ve been forced to calculate my expenses ahead of time ands withdraw money BEFORE running errands or shopping.

This additional need has opened my eyes to a few different things. First, it’s woken me up to how much we spend on a weekly basis without thought. I’m not claiming to be rich. In fact, far from it. But having to use cash and calculate whether i have enough for what’s sitting in my shopping cart has made me realize that I never bother to do such calculations when I’m using a debit card. I mostly wind up tapping or paying without paying much attention. For obvious reasons, this isn’t a good ting and I’ve found myself putting back the “nice to haves” and unnecessary items that I may have grabbed in prior shopping trips that I realize I wasn’t carrying enough cash to purchase.

What initially started as an inconvenience has opened my eyes and made me aware of our household’s spending and what steps I can take to mitigate some of it. Sometimes, the most inconvenient of instances can still yield some positive outcomes. I think there’s something there about finding the silver lining. In all honesty, given that I grew up in the generation where debit cards became the “thing,” I’m not sure how I survived shopping and living life on cash alone. Sometimes it’s good to take a look back and go back to a simpler means of getting things done. There are always lessons to be learned. Food for thought… ☯️

The Ontario Odyssey: The Aftermath…

My wife and I recently travelled to Toronto for a work-related business trip. Since my lovely wife celebrated a birthday close to that date, we felt it would be a nice trip for her to join on, since we would have our evenings to enjoy each other’s company and a much-needed break from our little ones. We were lucky enough that their grandmother was able to come spend a few days with them so that our trip could be accommodated. This would be the first time my wife would actually stay and wander within the City of Toronto.

I should preempitvely start this post by mentioning that I have no inherent dislike or hatred for large cities in general. After all, having travelled the likes of New York ( 8million people) and Tokyo (about 13 million people), Toronto is a far cry sitting at only about 3 million people. Still, that’s a marked departure from our home city of only about 250,000 people and the difference in population exposed us to some very harsh realities of modern society at its worst. Here are some of the highlights…

Our trip started decently enough, albeit with a 30-minute flight delay on our departure. While this didn’t affect our 1-leg direct flight, some of the passengers connecting in Toronto were visibly nervous and upset with the delay. Understandably so. While not seated together (we booked separately as my job covered my flight cost), our flight was uneventful and we landed in Toronto in late afternoon. The differences in our home environment and the big city were immediately evident upon trying to get through the terminal.

Majoratively and for the most part, I’ve noticed that people in the big city will go absolutely out of their way to avoid eye contact with others. While this is a personal choice and fine in concept, the practice is a bit more problematic. Especially when you’re in a large crowd. As we were walking at a rushed pace to find a cab, I had to repeatedly ask people to bring their eyes up as most people either had their eyes down on their phone or would simply walk right into others by virtue of not making eye contact. Just to be clear, I’m not of the impression that it’s everyone else’s job to get out of my way. But at least have the decency to keep your eyes up and contribute to the flow of foot traffic instead of being a hindrance. This would be common sense but I guess if sense were common, there wouldn’t be a term for it.

We stepped out of the terminal into. 36-degree summer heat. The sweat immediately bloomed on my forehead and the dizziness from the heat kicked in immediately. Exhausted and harassed by the crowds, we were quite happy to get to the hotel and check in. Not wanting to exhaust ourselves further, we opted to dine at the bistro located within the hotel, where I enjoyed a very lovely gourmet burger and some crispy fries. It was a nice ending to a day’s travel. We retired to the room and unceremoniously passed out shortly thereafter.

The next morning saw me deal with day 1 of my meetings, followed by an evening of dining with the group at an organized dinner. The menu was too extensive to get into, quite honestly, and the food and wine flowed freely, which made for an excellent evening of conversation, food and relaxation. The following day saw my meetings end around the noon hour. With the second day of conferences completed, we now had the remainder of the day to ourselves and decided to venture into the downtown core to shop and explore. This is where the issues began…

Besides being misdirected to a shopping centre we didn’t want by a “helpful” taxi driver, the heat basically floored us and sapped all life from us. By the time we reached the downtown core, we experienced the full gamut of human ignorance and indifference for one’s fellow man. Walking like a flood of angry badgers and completely oblivious to other people in their path or attempting to walk through, the population continued on the almost religious adherence to avoiding eye contact and willingly walking into others. Despite some verbal attempts, I even had a couple of occasions where I had to hold a had up to prevent someone from walking face-to-face into me. I’m surprised I didn’t get into a fight, to be honest.

Our overall downtown trip was not only disappointing but was enough of make us realize that populated city centres are not our thing. We begrudgingly made our way back to our hotel and once again dined in the main floor bistro, as it was convenient and easy. While we were still ultimately happy at having had some private time to spend together, the overall experience that was Toronto was not ideal. For us. Just to be clear, it wasn’t ideal for us. But we still had the opportunity for good conversation, some fine meals and the opportunity to travel together. That still tips the scales to the positive side.

The lesson for anyone out there reading my little rant right now, is that we live in a world of continuously evolving technology and as it carries on, we get more and more immersed in this technology. We ignore the real world in favour of burying our face in screen where we suddenly become brazen, outspoken and even quasi-offensive (or sometimes flu-blown offensive). But yet in the real world, we ignore the people around us and pretend they’re not there, even in a large crowd. In many ways, this is quite sad.

Let’s just say that I’m quite happy living in an environment that has a little population as it does. Both my wife and I are from towns with a population of a few thousand. Neither one of us can stand large crowds or millions of people. Despite this, we try to accommodate living in the real world because that’s where we all exist. But I won’t lie when I say we were quite happy getting back to our little city and making it to our quiet home in our little suburb. ☯️

Don’t Stress Over It…

I’ll be the first to admit that my tactics at approaching life have changed significantly over the past five years or so. And undoubtedly with positive results. It’s no secret that stress can have a number of adverse effects on one’s physical and mental state, especially in the long term. If you live a life of constant stress and anxiety, you’ll do more damage to yourself than the stress is worth. And chances are, the people behind that stress won’t give two shits about how far you put yourself out there.

Prolonged exposure to stress can lead to nasty effects like muscle tension, headaches, stomach problems and even heart and blood pressure issues. In addition to those few and according to an article posted by WebMD, symptoms of prolonged stress can include chest pains, rapid breathing, insomnia and loss of sex drive. I can’t but help but feel that the last one is a bit of a chicken or the egg scenario… lack of sex drive stresses you out, so you suffer more lack of sex drive, which stresses you out further… Brutal. But i digress…

Stress can also lead to the old saying about things “weighing on your soul,” as it can affect the emotional part of one’s health, as well. Loneliness, difficulty relaxing and becoming easily agitated can all be caused by prolonged exposure to stress. The problem comes from the body “fight or flight response,” which is triggered by harmful situations in one’s environment. It’s important to note that what may be considered stressful for one person may not be stressful to another. For example, some people may give zero fucks about how clean their bathroom is, while another person may get stressed out if a towel sits out for more than a couple of days.

So how does this tie in to Type-1 Diabetes? Well, the short answer is, surprise, surprise, EVERYTHING affects Type-1 Diabetes and stress is no exception. Stress will often adversely affect blood sugars, mostly due to the release of adrenaline and glucagon during those periods of increased stress. The result can be blood sugars that will slip easily out of whack, especially if you’re on a clever little insulin pump that will try to adjust for rising blood sugars but won’t understand WHY it’s happening. But all things being equal, everything described in the last few paragraphs are reason enough to try and avoid stress as much as possible.

We live in a crazy world that seems to promote stress rather than try to mitigate it, so it can be hard to avoid. For the most part, I spent over twenty years waking up to an alarm, hitting the ground running and rushing to get from point A to B, every day. There are reasons why my A1C’s have been total shit for almost two decades. In recent years, I’ve flipped the script a little bit on what it means to be healthy and have made some changes. I no longer wake up to an alarm. No, I’m not rich and I do hold a day job. I’ve accomplished this by having a reasonable bedtime at night and sticking to it in general terms as a daily routine. Even on the weekends, when I know I can sleep in a bit, I won’t wake to an alarm but will allow my body to wake on it’s own, which is far less stressful and shocking to the system than any alarm one could imagine.

A bit part of managing one’s stress has to do with how you choose to begin your day. My morning routine usually includes those first few sips of caffeine, followed by showering, dressing and prepping my lunch. Sound pretty standard? That’s because it is. The difference is I make a point of taking my time and not rushing. If I should be a few minutes behind or late, so be it. Granted, not everyone has that benefit but if you do, be sure to take advantage of it. On your way to work, try listening to some music as opposed to the news. Find a tune that you’ll sing to or groove to. Or both. Puts you in a much better mindset than hearing what political or world issues may be threatening your world.

Obviously, I’m not suggesting burying your head in the sand; I’m just saying there’s no need to constantly make yourself on edge and there’s plenty you can do to calm yourself and reduce your stress level. Finally, find some time for yourself. Whether it’s meditation, sitting with a book or just sipping a pint while watching a game, take the time to decompress and unwind. While built with the inherent ability to react to stress, we’re not built to be constantly exposed to it. That’s why so many people experience burnout and develop mental health issues.

Keep tabs on your stress. Doing so will help with one’s overall blood sugar control and help promote better overall health; diabetes-related or not. And let’s not forget the most important reason, health and stress issues aside, for doing well of this for yourself, which is to be happy. It’s important to be happy. If that isn’t motivation enough to help get you out of bed without an alarm, something may need to be changed. Food for thought… ☯️

A Belt Is Just A Belt…

I still vividly remember the first night I stepped into Sensei’ dojo. I was young, impressionable yet still chock full of sarcasm and quasi-narcissism. However, I was extremely aware of my own reality and recognized that I needed something life-altering in order to keep myself alive. Karate turned out to be the path towards that goal. After that first night, it would only get better. That’s not to say there wasn’t a significant amount of literal blood, sweat and tears. But I was willing to work at it and do what had to be done to reach my goals.

As I began to grow and progress within the dojo, I started to take notice and recognize the different belt ranks and how they seemed to play a role in the overall flow of the dojo. Generally speaking and for most people, black belt is usually the ultimate goal for the students. Ironically, achieving black belt was never ACTUALLY one of my goals, although I would eventually achieve it in early 2002. It would be a turning point for me and a significantly important day in my life and my martial arts journey.

One phenomenon that I’ve come to realize over the years is that the majority of students who stick with it long enough to reach black belt soon quit afterwards. For me, I never actually permanently stepped away from karate, although I can admit there have been times in my life where I’ve taken a hiatus. Such a break is never inherently a bad thing; one sometimes needs to evaluate one’s life in order to rot determine next steps. But the one thing I never did is hang up my belt permanently. And such a thing should not be done. Although addressed in different ways in different styles, Sensei always said that passing black belt was a student’s way of formally asking his Sensei to teach him karate. Can’t do that, if you quit.

I recently read a post online by Steve Rowe. For those who may not be familiar, Steve Rowe is a martial artists and author and has posted a number for very insightful things about the martial arts. One of the best takes on black belt that I’ve read in while was from him. Here’s a taste…

“Taking responsibility for themselves.
Their own training.
Their own standards.
Their own progress.
Never blaming others for a setback.
Being stroking enough to help others.
THAT’s a black belt.”

I wish I could find the post again but I’m sure if you Google Steve Rowe, you’ll no doubt find it. But the post goes on to talk about how becoming a black belt is an investment in oneself and how passing black belt is like finding the ladder that you now need to climb. Not only do I truly love this perspective but I agree with it, as well. Over the past 22 years, I’ve continued to push myself, to learn new things, to teach others and to continue my training.

If I were back home, I have every confidence that I would have climbed the dan ranks without question by now. But deep down, I understand that it doesn’t matter. It’s just a belt. And the certificate is just a piece of paper. It’s what you do with those that knowledge once you have it that will make you an effective martial artist. Food for thought…☯️

A Hearty Middle Finger To Type-1 Diabetes…

It’s been a little over two weeks since I started on my brand new Medtronic Minimed 780G insulin pump. To be completely honest, I upgraded primarily because my previous pump’s warranty ran out and I didn’t want to risk being stuck high and dry if something happened to it that required repairs. While I looked up some of the new pump’s enhanced features, including but not limited to upgraded SmartGuard technology and Bluetooth connectivity for better communication with the CGM sensor, I kinda wondered just how worth it getting a new pump would be.

Over the past couple of weeks, my curiosity was satisfied many times over. With at least two sensor changes and multiple reservoir changes, the difference in my overall blood sugar control has been phenomenal. While I couldn’t guess at what my A1C is currently sitting at, I would assume it’s dropped significantly from my last bloodwork results, all thanks to the increased control and time in range that the new pump has provided. One handy feature is to be able to monitor my blood sugars and perform certain functions through an app on my phone. One of the fun features is that it provides a percentage of time in range for the previous 24 hours. I used to average somewhere between 70 to 80% time in range. Lately, I’ve been hitting the 90’s. And then a few days ago, this happened…

It’s a pretty satisfying feeling, knowing that for the past 24 hours, your blood sugars have been so well controlled that you haven’t gone out of range at any point. Obviously, I could hit a low or a high in the following hour and that percentage would drop but still… In that moment, I had been in range for the 24 hours preceding that moment. While it could have happened before, I don’t know that it ever has. And even if it had, I would have had no way to comprehensively know it before getting this pump. I’m almost looking forward to my next round of bloodwork…

To say I’m impressed and happy with this new pump would be an understatement. The monitoring and micro-bolus adjustments have made things great. Between that and how much my blood pressure and organ health are improving, it kind of feels like everything is coming up me. Here’s hoping that nothing breaks the spell… ☯️

The Forgotten Luxuries…

Despite some of the hardships of life, I have to admit that I’ve had the benefit of growing up in a pretty fantastic time in history. While not the case in other parts of the world, I enjoy the benefits of healthcare (in whatever stage it exists now), proper nutrition and access to food whenever I want it and safe, warm shelter from the elements in the form of my home. I sincerely appreciate all of these things and couldn’t see myself living without them but despite that appreciation, it can often be quite easy to take these as a staged for granted; or completely forget that they’re advantages. Enter: last weekend…

Friday nights are usually earmarked for an evening with my oldest son, Nathan. We started this tradition almost by accident a few years ago, and it involves grabbing snacks and enjoying a binge-fest of old school Nintendo games in the basement, followed by “camping out,” which usually involves Nathan crashing on the floor and I sleep on the guest bed we have in the basement. I’ve gotten too old to sleep on a blanket on the basement floor. But I digress. Just roughly after supper was made, the power went out. It’s a little hard to hang out in a basement with no power. Not to mention that the gaming system wouldn’t work, anyway.

Luckily, we live in a world where lack of electrical power doesn’t necessarily cut you off from the outside world. A quick search of our energy provider’s website revealed a downed line in a central area as the cause for the power outage. The question now was, what to do with our time. Nathan and I ran out to buy our evening snacks, committed to getting on with our evening once the power returned. The power outage had a significant radius and we had to drive for quite a while before reaching a part of the city that had power. Given that most locations operate based on debit machine and/or use electronic cash systems, we couldn’t shop anywhere nearby where we reside.

Once we got home, the power was still out. Considering we’re slowly creeping our way into the summer months, days are longer and it remains light out for longer periods. For my wife and I, no power isn’t a huge issue. She was able to read by daylight and i was able to muck around on social media and YouTube, considering my phone had a reasonable charge to it. But have you ever tried to convince a 4 and 9 year old to entertain themselves without screens and devices? This is unfortunately the world they live in, and convincing them to play games or use toys was surprisingly hard. I ended up putting on a movie on a portable DVD player to keep them engaged.

Throughout the course of the next couple of hours, we contemplated how we would address meals for the following day if power wasn’t restored. Considering the reported extent of the damage, we could have found ourselves without power throughout the night. Luckily, power came back on just shortly prior o 9 pm and I was able to get a couple of things done and have a bit of time with my son for our Friday night. But it certainly opened my eyes and had me recognize the fact that something I take for granted on a daily basis is a definite luxury and getting through our daily routine is significantly compromised without it.

My wife and I have been binge-watching Dr. Quinn in recent months (don’t judge us!) and I’ve often thought how peaceful and easier life must have been, back then. But after seeing how our house basically came to a standstill just because we didn’t have power (while it was still light out, no less), I’m a bit more inclined to appreciate the creature comforts that modern life offers. We don’t realize just how much we use it, until we don’t have access to it. Food for thought… 😘

Welcome to Medtronic: The Next Generation

Time flies… It’s a constant of life that people rarely choose to acknowledge. Almost to the point where most folks seem to be of the opinion that they have all the time in the world. But I digress… In this instance, I say that time flies because somehow, five years have gone by in the blink of an eye. In late 2013, my endocrinologist and the RCMP were both pushing me pretty hard to start insulin pump therapy. I resisted this with all of my will, because I didn’t like change and I was fearful of wearing a pump while working as a police officer. Oh, how wrong I would turn out to be.

I started on the Medtronic Minimed Paradigm in early 2014 and it would turn out to be nothing spectacular. Sure, I no longer had to carry an insulin pen and all I had to do was input my carbs and the pump would do the work. It was neat; a technological gadget that was more fun to talk about than actually deal with. That first year was an absolute mess of botched infusion sets, inadequate ratios and failed boluses due to injecting into scar tissue. There were growing pains but after a while, the pump became as much a part of me as Type-1 Diabetes had been for all the years prior.

In 2020, I was told that I qualified to obtain a newer pump and was issued the Medtronic 670G insulin pump. I’m usually very in line with “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” so I wasn’t jazzed about getting yet another new piece of equipment. Plus, this new pump featured continuous glucose monitoring, which I would be on for the first time. I never could have anticipated how much of a difference this would make in my life and my A1C even dropped below 7.0 for the first time in almost 20 years. Despite the many pieces of hardware taped to my abdomen and some of the headaches that come with using new equipment, there’s no arguing that pump therapy has been a game-changer in ensuring my advancing years are healthy.

My new Medtronic 780G. Don’t judge the blood sugar; Auto Mode isn’t on, yet.

Yesterday was like Christmas. After 5 years, I ordered and received my new, upgraded Medtronic 780G insulin pump. I spent the better part of a few hours in the evening getting everything charged and ready, examining the new functionality and a new glucometre (boo). By the time I finally crashed for the night, I was using the new pump, had a brand new Bluetooth CGM installed and I am now waiting for SmartGuard to finish warming up so I can jump on auto mode. Some of the fun benefit with this upgraded version is the Bluetooth pairing, which improve CGM connectivity and prevents all those nasty communication losses. It also allows for a fun mobile device app, which allows me to monitor my blood sugars without constantly in clipping my pump or pulling out of my pocket.

The app screen

I should probably make it clear that there are several companies that distribute insulin pumps in Canada and that, much like martial arts, which brand/company you use is subjective to one’s preferences and experiences. For me, this will be my third Medtronic pump because I like the functionality and excellent customer service. And I don’t like change. Although I always look at all available options, I’ve never been able to bring myself to switch to anything else. Plus, Medtronic spoils their customers. They sent me a shit-ton of supplies along with my new pump.

The stockpile

As I get older, life makes it more difficult to properly maintain blood sugar levels and stay healthy. Eventually, Diabetes will kill me. That may sound a bit morbid but it’s a stark reality. While acknowledging that reality, it’s nice to know that technology is doing its part to ensure that my longevity is as long as it can be. Maybe eventually, technology will outrun Diabetes and it will be a thing of the past. Until then, I’ll continue to be the nerd who gets excited over the prospect of a new insulin pump. ☯️

The 6-Month Aftermath…

Throughout my life, there have been a few times where my life was in genuine jeopardy and I stared death in the face. Sounds a bit melodramatic, perhaps, but accurate nonetheless. The first although not the most memorable, is when I was initially diagnosed with type-1 Diabetes. This happened at the tender age of four, which means that while I fell ill and passed out in my bowl of Froot Loops, I didn’t necessarily have a clear grasp of what was happening or even what Diabetes even was. That being said, it started a lifelong journey of obstacles, medical complications and even goals for myself.

It wouldn’t be until years later and poor treatment of my Diabetes that complications and insulin resistance would threaten to end my life before I had the chance otherwise live it. It would be at this stage that I would begin to lose faith in the health care system and take my care into my own hands. This is also what prompted the beginning of my martial arts journey. While I have always been successful in, to quote Star Trek, take death and turn it into a fighting chance at life, there is some damage that I’ve never recovered from. One good example are my eyes. As a result of my preteens being spent with extremely high blood sugars and living through a half dozen comas, my eyes have damage to them that would decades to treat and those treatments are still ongoing to this day.

However, nothing has been quite as scary as test results I received from my endocrinologist back in November. Although I usually have the benefit of a “boring” visit by virtue of how tightly I control my Diabetes, this visit would be anything but. While going through my blood test results, my kidney function was raised as a concern. For those who haven’t read previous posts and may not be aware, my brother had kidney disease and had a transplant, and it eventually contributed to his death. I knew how serious this was and the potential negative outcomes. To put things into perspective, the normal range for proper kidney function is between 0 to 20 mg/L. My test results in November showed me at 175!

My doctor did the usual, where they try to sugar coat and soften the news as much as possible, mentioning that losing some weight and altering my diet would help to reverse some of the damage. But the basic reality slapped me in the face; I was beginning the downward spiral towards the earliest stages of kidney failure. I left the doctor’s office a deflated man, that day. My doctor had also prescribed Ozempic to help with some of the concerns surrounding my Diabetes. As I’ve written on a couple of occasions, smaller portions and an altered diet have actually given me some success and I’ve shed a fair amount for weight. Having started at about 217 pounds back in November, I weighed in at 191 pounds last week when I visited the doctor’s office.

My doctor was extremely pleased, not only with my weight loss but with the results of said weight loss, which included my kidney function having dropped to 16 mg/L! Coupled with all the nasty issues like cholesterol and blood pressure being absolutely normal, my kidneys had not only completed recovered and all damage was reversed but I essentially had the kidneys of a non-Diabetic. The sense of relief I felt was indescribable. The only thing better than getting a clean bill of health is getting one after you spent months believing you had reached the point in your Diabetic journey where everything was going to start shutting down.

Now, it’s important to recognize that although I work really hard to maintain my health and fitness, none of that whole “turning death into a fighting chance at life” could have happened without help from others. Without Sensei to teach me and train me the way he did, my health and overall fitness wouldn’t have progressed as well as it did. And who knows where I’d be today. By the same token and despite my best efforts, weight loss has been a difficult journey for me over the past fifteen years. Without my endocrinologist prescribing the right medication and seeing me through to losing roughly 25 pounds, my kidneys would likely still look like Rocky Balboa at the end of the movie.

In closing, I think it’s important to recognize the significant difference a bit of weight loss also makes in one’s overall health. People are often resistant when their doctor tells them they need to lose some weight and people today are usually more for the whole “love yourself the way you are” than they are for getting up off the couch and doing something. But that proposed weight loss can make a significant difference in all the systems in your body. And it’s important to recognize that sometimes, one needs a little help in getting there. And there’s nothing wrong with that. Some food, albeit a lot less of it, for thought…☯️