One of the things I didn't think, of course

When I got my phone in July, I didn't even consider that it would mess up my blood glucose monitoring. I have a Dexcom G7 continuous glucose monitor and wear a sensor with a built-in transmitter on my arm, which then pairs with a device such as a smartphone.  I can then, through a lovely free app that some kind soul provided, run that from my smartphone through my watch face through what's known as a complication on my Samsung watch. This was all working splendidly on my 3-year-old Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 phone and Galaxy 5 Watch.

Then I came across a deal on T-Mobile for the upgraded version of my phone, the Flip 7, that essentially gave me credits that made the phone, which is usually $1100, free except for taxes and activation, plus a preorder incentive of 512 GB storage rather than the standard 128 GB. Since I'd almost capped my storage on my device and had kept it a long time, through three iterations of the Flip, I thought that was a pretty good deal, plus I didn't mind getting locked into the credits because I've been a T-Mobile customer for 25 years (okay, I'm not happy about the Starlink partnership, I will admit).

The problem is, Dexcom has to test new phones to check the compatibility with their applications, the Dexcom app and their Clarity app, and neither of those are yet because they haven't been tested with my new phone. You can check it on their compatibility page. This is for the G7, but you can hit a tab for the G6 system as well. The Stelo has a different page altogether, so you'll have to search that.

Today, while doing my periodic checking (they update regularly, and it populates with each day as the most recent list), the companion phone, in fact, the bigger phone that was released at the same time, the other foldable, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7, is now listed on the page. That might mean mine will be soon, so I'm excited.

By the way, if you can't use your smartphone, all is not lost. There is a receiver you can pair the sensors to, and that will provide readings. I've always had a receiver and have paired it to both phone and receiver, to have a backup, as it can be paired to two devices at once (remember, the watch just piggybacks off the phone, sharing data from it).

For more information on that watch app, look for the Gwatch app in the Google store if you're using a watch that uses the Wear app for its settings, etc. and has complications. There is another for older watches in the Samsung Galaxy store.  There is a Facebook group that is helpful for questions. It's a private group, so if you can't join, let me know and I can send an invitation, or you can ask me for technical help and I might be able to help you with the basics.

Here's a picture of what it looked like when the complication was working on the watch. I could just look down and see if I were getting low or not. Since I'm not supposed to drive if I'm under 100, that's useful info. In the example, my blood sugar was very, very low on waking up (my phone and receiver had probably woken me up to an alarm), as it was only 39. It's there on the top. Not only was I not going to drive, I was dangerously low. I'd have had some orange juice or glucose tabs to get it up to at least 80 before I did much of anything else, and definitely not gotten behind the wheel until it was higher. Fortunately, it was Sunday, so I wasn't going anywhere, but that was probably why I took a picture, because it was an outlier. I don't normally go so low, thankfully. This was sometime last year, I think. Oh, and the arrow means it was falling.

Here's the difference in the phones (stock photos):

Flip 4:

Flip 7:

I slept in till about 9 am today

When I heard the cat trying to claw my bed, which got him yelled at, he stopped, and he proceeded to climb up on me and tread, eventually moving to my pillow and settling on it.  Even with my CPAP, my allergies were reacting.  I love cats (and dogs), but I am pretty allergic to them.  I'm pretty sure he realises this.  Anyway, I petted him for awhile as he purred, got up, took a shower (closing my door so he wouldn't act out further), and so he moved onto waking up YKWIA.  The dogs tried to get me to let them out. We have a rule we established early on; YKWIA lets them out in the morning and feeds them, so they're not as likely to bother me in the morning or have the little dog bark and wake him up since I get up about 6 or 6:30 am each weekday.  I feed them in the evening and let them out.  It works well, usually.  Little dog does normally make it till after I leave; she's the only alarm clock he has.  But she has a little old lady bladder, so eventually, she'll bark.  Anyway, by that time it was about 9:30 or 9:45, so even though he was up later than I, it was time to get up, as he's usually up by 8 or 8:30.

So I've taken my medicine (my blood sugar was 102 today, which is really good). I've eaten.  I've made my bed.  I just need some caffeine to be ready for my day, and YKWIA said he'd get me some soda when I do a little grocery run later.  Things to do:

1. Take those books back to the library after they open at 1:00 pm.
2. Pick up the hold that is waiting for me there.
3. Run to the grocery.
4. Caffeinate.
5. Clean the cat litter box.
6. Trim the cat's claws.
7. Take out the trash and recyclables.
8. Clean the toilet and tub. [The mirror and sinks are fine; the others need a once-over, including the tub, to keep anything from building up like soap scum or, well, you know.]
9. Sweep.
10. Mop the tile.
11. Run the dishwasher.
12. Do laundry.

I didn't work on the game notes yesterday,  I may do that today, depending on how I feel after I do all that.  Yesterday, of course, I did the reading. I also watched an episode of  'Sherlock' ("The Sign of Three").  Then I watched Despicable Me 3 with YKWIA (we had the DVD out from Netflix).  I liked both.  I felt a sense of accomplishment because 1) I rarely read, and 2) I'm not great at watching things, especially on my own.  I can't binge watch.  Three hours is about my limit, usually, and then I normally watch things with other people.  I tend to listen to music more.  I'm doing that now, the Bastille station on the Amazon Music.  So it's been a relaxing time so far.  Now I'm going to see if I can get one more garden book taken care of before I take those books back.

[I decided since it has been raining all weekend, and it is supposed to clear up tomorrow, and I'm off tomorrow, I would do the floors tomorrow.  The trash wound up not being an issue; the recyclables were, and I took those out.  So that leaves the cat's claws [and he threw up his food earlier and isn't feeling well, so I may wait till tomorrow on that too, rather than upset him and cause further distress] and the bathroom stuff.  That I can do in just a few minutes.  I think for now, though, I'll take a nap, because even though I didn't do a lot, I'm kind of tired.  Must be this supposed infection I have, which might be sinus, as this morning I was blowing out goop that was a little yellow.  Not that you really needed to know about that, I guess.  I'll call my doctor's office tomorrow to make an appointment (they wanted me back in two weeks) and to see if I can get any more information.  Then I can text my boss and let her know what's going on.  But for now, I plan to be back on Tuesday morning.]

The attack of the chatty people

I am chatty, have been all my life, to the point where my mom once said she prayed I'd get laryngitis as a kid.  'Momma, let me tell you one more thing...' was my refrain, she said.  Still, I do try to tone it down in the morning around YKWIA, because he's nowhere near toleration of it until he's finished with his second giant mug of coffee if that.  Today he's been especially testy about it.  Also, the person we picked up to take to the appointment is a very chatty, narcissistic person.  Two of us together made him rather want to curl up into a ball, I suspect.  So he's planning to have a quiet day, and I'll do stuff as needed out of his way.  I respect his need for privacy.  We're both introverts, really, although I've become more able to deal with people as I've gotten older, especially working in customer service.  But still, time to dial down the chattiness, stop filling the silence and focus on other things.

I brought the "A" is for Alibi book with me today and read a few more chapters.  I'm enjoying it; it's not a style I particularly care for, but it's nice to be reading again, and it's going pretty quickly.  I did just realise I've left it out in the car, which, since it's raining and I have houseshoes on, means putting at least my sandals on to go briefly out into the wet.  Oh, well.  I think I'll do that in a bit.  YKWIA did splurge a little by taking me out to Captain D's after we dropped the other person off, which was good because when I checked my blood sugar, it was 58. Remarkably, I didn't feel shaky.  But I was finding it harder to think.

For now, I'm going to work on some things on the computer and maybe listen to some music.  My laptop can play music through the speaker tower so I can stream some music through that.  Later I may work on the game notes for a while.  We're not playing the game tomorrow since I'm under doctor's orders to rest and apparently have some sort of infection, which I don't want to pass on to anyone, especially since the other player is about to take a trip to visit an elderly mother.  So we decided to err on the side of caution.  But if I get the notes finished this weekend, and then she's gone the next, I won't have to do them later when my memory's fuzzier about what we did.  We're on the third leg of the book Ripples from Carcosa, set in the future this time (we've done ancient Rome and Norman England already). I am beginning to hate the Yellow Sign and the machinations of Hastur.  I didn't really engage much last Sunday, as apparently not only was I tired, but coming down with the flu, but I did enjoy the story.  Hopefully, by next time we play, I'll be more involved.

I watered all the plants before we left this morning.  They're doing well.  The ones in YKWIA's bedroom are really flourishing.  I think they like him.  They're in a window seat in a southerly exposure.  The ones in my room are easterly to southeasterly, the couple of African violets in the bathroom (on the back of the toilet) get western light, and then there's his plant in the kitchen (a combination of Christmas cactus and some opportunistic wood sorrel that he likes), again, a western exposure.  The living room gets very early morning light but is fairly dark the rest of the day, which is why I was surprised my plants survived in there on the bed and nightstands for so long.

I would love to really garden this year, now that I have a yard to play with, but neither of us has the money to invest in plants right now.  Also, the best place for a vegetable garden would be out back behind the shed, and I found a really nice plan that would work, but there are the dogs to consider and whether they would damage the plants.  Perhaps a raised bed near the fence would work.  But that costs money to get landscaping materials like retaining wall products and mulch.  We'll see.  In the meantime, I've been looking through catalogues I found online (and one I requested from Burpee's) and have been dreaming of future gardens.  I prefer heirlooms over hybrids, and several of the catalogues are full of those.

I do like my present job, but if I could find one in my field (librarianship) which paid more money, that would be great.  I made more last year, due to the severance and contract work, than I had before, and I was pretty comfortable.  But I've taken a $5/hour hit since October and have really struggled with paying my bills.  I still am waiting for my 1099, so I can't file my taxes quite yet.  I may wind up paying, although I hope the severance taxes (which was a whopping 41%) will offset no tax withholding for the time I was doing the contract work, as the car repairs back in October took the last of my savings.  I'm going to have to have them prepared professionally this year, due to the severance, unemployment, and most importantly the 'self-employed' contract work.  Hopefully, I will get a 1099 form soon.  I talked to our chief financial officer yesterday and he said they had gone out but some of them were incorrect and they may need to be corrected, so that could be the holdup.  But also, since I moved, it may be going through the forwarding process.  He did say that he'd drop a line to headquarters about it.  In the meantime, I'll give it till the end of the month and hope I get it soon.  No sense in panicking until April.  Still, I'd like to know if I owe anything.  The first tax-related item I got this year was a form to be sent to the Fayette County school system for their share of the taxes.  That's why I need an accounting/tax preparing firm, as there are different forms for that contract work, and while they would have them all, I would not.

We do have the prospect of some overtime coming up because we have to 'shuffle' all the appointments out there into new grids, and that should involve some weekend work.  But the grids aren't ready yet, and I couldn't have worked this weekend anyway per doctor's orders.

Tomorrow I'm going to do some chores around the house, like laundry, sweeping, and the cat box--things I normally do before the game.  But I'll try to make sure I get some rest, too.  Monday I have no real plans.  I guess I'll just relax.  At some point, we have a small grocery run to make, just a few items.  Other than that, I'll have some time to rest and recuperate.  I'm taking my medicine as I should (I have to for nine more days).  I wish I knew what the problem was--I know it's not a UTI, and I don't think he'd have prescribed an antibiotic if it were residual from the flu.  It could be a sinus infection, as I have chronic ones, I guess, and I am having some sinus pain. I really was surprised he wanted me home for four days.  And I'm a little concerned because I don't have enough PTO to cover last week.  If they add the long-term sick time (which only kicks in after three days of personal time off), then I'll be about 3 hours short.  Otherwise, it'll be more like 12 hours.  That'll make for a small cheque.  This Monday is covered because of a new pay period, but then we're off the Monday after that due to President's Day, and that's on the same cheque so I won't have enough to cover that. I get something like four weeks of vacation time a year, so it accrues quickly--but not that quickly.  I actually was on track to have a week's worth of time built up before my birthday, but this has wiped out my hours completely.  I asked the payroll clerk to just do what she could.  I'm not sure I can touch the EIB because of the three-day rule.  I worked Monday half a day, and Friday half a day, so I'm not sure how that works.  I would think the PTO would kick in Monday, go through half of Thursday, and then the EIB would cover half of Thursday and part of the time I missed on Friday.  But I have 21 hours of PTO and I need 24.  I don't know if the EIB will kick in if I don't have enough PTO to cover those three days.  Sigh.

It's depressing to think about.  Oh, well.

How to get absolutely insane blood sugar readings on a blood stick

I was dreaming a vivid dream of a group of five waifs in a hospital with a traditional Celtic harp, something you might see on the Hallmark channel, and I came awake suddenly. It was after 1 pm, so I thought I should probably go ahead and eat something. I poured some soda into a glass and took the bag from Kroger with the bread, peanut butter, and no-sugar-added spreadable fruit inside and took it over to the computer, at which time I discovered the lid of the fruit had popped off and it had oozed into the bag and over the other things. I got a few sticky places on my hand, but didn't think much about it, made the sandwich, set everything else aside to deal with later, and went to take my blood sugar. It read 'HI'. It never reads 'HI'. I've been 460 before in real life, but this seemed very odd. Then I took it again and in a different finger and it it said '467'. But I didn't feel high. So I washed my hands, changed the lancet, and retook it. '177', a little high, but I hadn't taken any insulin yet today, either, and I'd had that one no-sugar-added Klondike bar. It sounded much more correct. So I'm getting ready to take all of my meds, and it doesn't look like I'm heading for a sugar coma. Lesson of the day: always wash your hands before taking a glucose reading. :)

Another very productive day

This morning I went over to YKWIA's at 7 am (so I got up at 6) and got him up for his appointment this morning. I then took him to the appointment, dropped him off at home, and went to the office. Unfortunately, while I'd been at his house I'd gone through my morning routine--taking my oral meds, checking my blood sugar, taking my Byetta and insulin. That in itself is not bad, but I then totally forgot to eat the peanut butter and crackers I'd brought with me for breakfast. I realised it while I was at his appointment. By the time I got to work, I could tell I'd gone low on my blood sugar; it had been a nice 122 this morning when I'd tested it before I took my meds. Now it was 58. I ate something and started feeling better very quickly. I still can't believe I actually forgot to eat.

After that, I checked my e-mail and then tackled the bound journals. Over the course of the rest of the morning I rearranged and moved four shelving units (twenty-four shelves) of very heavy journals, some as old at 1919. I still need to move some of the Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research unbound journals that were shelved with the bound ones (the journal changed its format from monthly hardbacks to larger paper journals a few years ago, which really messed with my OCD). Then I need to move the rest of the bound ones (about a eight shelves) over. That will give me some empty shelves between the books and journals to work with.

I looked up when I got to the point where I was too hot to go on without sitting in the front of the fan for a few minutes to find that it was almost lunch time. I had lunch with my normal lunch bunch, and one mentioned that there was a mobile hearing test station out front for the day that was offering free tests to kids and adults who came by. It's called Songs for Sound. Well, I took the test (you pressed a button on a monitor whenever you heard the tone). My right ear is better than my left, but I'm in the category of mild issues, which considering I'm nearly 50 isn't bad. I've never been around really loud noises regularly, and I've never really played my music very loudly, either. In fact, at work, if I'm listening while I do the data entry, I can usually hear the pages overhead still. Basically 30 decibels was normal. The tones I could hear in my left ear started at 45 decibels, and my right was 35. That's not bad, at all.

After that, I did my data entry, the referrals, the charge reconciliation, and responded to some requests for information or sheets. I called an insurance that we just got in-network with that we're getting a lot of patients from to clarify whether they needed a referral to see a specialist, because the summary of benefits said yes, it did, but I'd been told patient by patient that they didn't need one to see us. Thankfully, I found out that this particular plan does not require them for a specialist (we're an orthopaedic clinic and hospital). Yay (and there was much rejoicing). So those won't clutter up my queue anymore.

While I was on the phone with the insurance company, the therapist I've been trying to reach tried to call me. I left a message for him, and he called back, and we were finally able to make an appointment. Also, yay. It's a first step, anyway, to getting better with the anxiety and hoarding issues. It still amazes me that I can keep my desk at work and my car in nearly-pristine condition, but it's like I nest in my house and try to wall the world out with all the stuff. Hopefully he can help me find real solutions so I don't keep up this cycle.

Now I'm home. I was going to stay late at work to make up for this morning, but I'd finished everything I needed to do for the afternoon job, and I wasn't ready to tackle those last shelves yet. I'm on my gas light again. Fortunately, we get paid so tomorrow morning on the way to work I should be able to fill up, and I am going to try to go in a little early and then go get my allergy shot after work, since I missed their late day. Which, drat, I just realised is today, and they just closed this minute. I could have gotten it after all. :( I was a little focused on coming home and using as little gas as possible, though.

I've plugged the computer up in the living room to charge and I'm listening to music from my phone. I left today with the blinds closed, so I've opened them, and the sun is streaming through, though it is low in the sky. It's hard to believe that it'll be autumn soon. Yesterday I put new inserts into my Mary Janes (you blow dry them to heat them up, put them in your shoes, and then walk on them, and they conform to your feet), in preparation for the new season without sandals.

I finally started my period 4-5 days late. I have a gynaecology appointment the last week of this month, so hopefully I'll learn more about whether or not I'm truly in perimenopause or not, but I'm pretty sure I am.

Okay, I think I'm going to do some reading for a little while. I'll probably write later, but if not, good night.

Yay!

1. Yesterday morning, I managed to get to the gas station even though I was over 12 miles on my gas light, and I got it to 3/4 of a tank. I had a sense of accomplishment all morning as a result.
2. Yesterday afternoon, before leaving for my eye exam, I tested my blood sugar and it was completely normal--105 mg/dL. I had my exam. Turns out my old glasses are too strong (as were the contacts), and so my prescription went back a little on distance and increased in terms of the bifocal so that I can hopefully read small print better (I've been having to take my glasses off to see my phone, and then hold it something like four inches from my face because I am nearsighted). These frames are also purple (I was going to go with tortoise-shell or something like that, but really, the purple was best on me, and they didn't any of what I was looking for in tortoise-shell). Because I was looking for a specific type of glasses (the one with magnetic sunglasses, and my insurance currently only works with one manufacturer that they carry in them), I had my choice of about seven frames. But I like my choice, and can have the sunglasses rather than the Transitions lenses, which don't turn dark while driving a car. I did get an anti-glare coating and progressive bifocals (that's what I'm used to). All told, the glasses and frames would have come to over $1000. My part, including the co-pay for the eye exam, was right at $300, most of which I was able to put on the last of my flexible spending card, so I paid about $65 altogether, which I didn't think was bad. They should be there in about two weeks (my insurance requires them to go through its labs).
3. After that I went to Meijer, which is in the same shopping centre, and got a cable for my glucometer and a few groceries. I came home and pretty much got ready for bed, as I had an early appointment this morning.
4. Today I got up really, really early (4:15 am!) so I could go get YKWIA up and drag him to my 7:30 appointment with my endocrinologist, since he had an appointment at 9 am [well, 8:45, as they called a day or so before and said be here then], and we were trying to get to both. Despite crossing a black cat's path (just kidding, although I did), everything worked out fine. My blood sugar in the office was 112; the hA1c was 6.8%, down from 7.4% last time, and at one point I was 10.4%. So I'm doing much better. Actually, at the level I'm testing now, my next hA1c should be in the area of 5.8-6.2, as it's running on average about 121 mg/dL. Of course, that's dependent on me keeping up the good work. And because I am doing better, I don't have another appointment until February. She did tell me to go down on the morning long-acting insulin by 5 units if I continue to have lows before lunch. I've already gone down 10 units, so that may be enough. She doesn't want me having to eat to keep up with my insulin, but rather reduce the insulin if needed, which (of course) makes sense. The worst part of the morning is since I needed fasting labs, I didn't have anything to eat or drink other than water this morning, so no caffeine, either. The best part is I still managed to get to YKWIA's appointment early, even though they'd called and moved it up by 15 minutes.
5. YKWIA bought me breakfast after our appointments at McDonald's drive-through since I had taken him. After getting to work, one of my (sometimes) supervisors bought her people lunch at Columbia's Steakhouse today and included me, since I help out in the scheduling department sometimes. I had a fish sandwich with giant steak fries. But the fried food didn't sit well on my stomach, I have to admit, and so I just ate dinner and it's almost 9:30 pm--I became really hungry just a little while ago. YKWIA and I went and got some groceries for our respective homes, and so I got some burritos and some veggie sausage/egg/biscuit sandwiches and had some of the latter for dinner, along with some string cheese and a banana.
6. I am so sleepy. I've been up for almost 18 hours, and I think it's time to call it a day. I need to be over at YKWIA's by 10 am tomorrow, and I have some things to do before then, so I'm going to try to get up early (but not nearly as early as today).

Okay, that's all folks. Hope you have a good weekend. Good night!

I'm still here

Listening to: Linkin Park, A Thousand Suns

The weekend was okay, but not nearly long enough, I guess. We got to play the game. I started the notes today, but ran into some trouble with Windows Media Player on my laptop, so I'm going to try to use Groove Music, which is recommended for Windows 10, instead. It just stopped playing, then said there was a trouble with the file, then wouldn't start Media Player at all. Fortunately I still had it on the voice recorder should the file have been corrupted, so I have another copy as a backup.

Yesterday I got a phone call asking what I was doing after work. Apparently YKWIA's coffee maker went out before the first cup of coffee of the day, which is a crisis in that household. So after work we went to Meijer, found a simple yet very efficient coffee maker, and I put everything together and brewed the first cup of coffee. Apparently it has a warming tank for water, and makes the coffee from that, so what your pour in only replenishes what is used. So after I got it all together correctly, I had to put water in it and let it warm up, then could brew the coffee. I had to explain not to turn off the tank switch or unplug the coffee pot (he was somewhat dubious of the safety of this. Keep in mind he's from a family whose family house was so old it didn't originally have that new-fangled electricity in the bedrooms, and it was added later, running lines outside the walls. He also once destroyed a computer by unplugging all the cables to the computer before a storm, even though it was on a surge protector/battery backup, and at the time didn't realise that the VGA monitor cables screw in, so he tore the video part of the motherboard apart. He's always turned off the coffee pot AND unplugged it as a matter of course, so it didn't get accidentally left on, which is quite reasonable, really. But this one is different. I made him a couple of cups of coffee, fully expecting a call in the morning, even though I'd explained briefly how it was different than his last one. Well, apparently today he learned not to put the water in first (closing the lid to the brewer makes the water run on through), got cold water a couple of times, and coffee=coloured water at one point, and I have no idea what he was doing wrong, but he eventually got it right before I got off work. I am not allowed to ask what the problem was. He insists he did read the instructions. But the important thing was as a result, he needed coffee from teh store, and creamer, so I went and got some of that, and he splurged for dinner from McDonald's, too, so we ate. Then I dame on home.

I found out that my endocrinologist appointment is apparently Friday at 7:30 am. I thought it was the 29th, though, so YKWIA had made a fairly urgent appointment with one of his doctor's at 9 am that day. I might be able to make it work, but it will mean getting him up at an ungodly hour and taking him first to my appointment, and then his. Thank goodness for that coffee maker, is all I can say. I'll call tomorrow to make sure the appointment time is correct. I actually spoke to one of the nurses today about whether they had a code to put into the OneTOuch Reveal program, and she was unfamiliar with it (as a professional office, they use a different program entirely) and she said she'd ask the rep when they come in a couple of weeks.

I suspect they're going to have me go down a bit on my insulin. I'm on quite a bit, after all, having gone up on the Lantus slowly until my blood sugars got more normal, but now I'm going low in the morning sometimes, unless I eat a mid-morning snack. I went down to 58 this morning right before lunch, so I ate a piece of bread with peanut butter on it. By the time I normally leave for lunch, it was up to 68, which was still low, so I didn't use any rapid-acting insulin for lunch. I'm also tracking my insulin this week to see if the program will notice patterns. I've taken down the morning long-acting insulin by 5 units; I think it needs to go down at least 5 more, but keep the nightly dose the same, as that affects the morning blood sugar levels, which with me are usually higher (today, uncharacteristically, was only 103 this morning). I am also happy that now that things are more normal than they were (I'm averaging about 129 over the last two weeks, with good control), that the eye doctor's office called, and where I was on the waiting list, they've moved my appointment up to Thursday at 4:45 pm. That's a better time for my blood sugar than the morning appointment I had, and now I won't have to wait until September. So I went ahead and told my bosses of the new appointments and they were fine with it. Thursday and Friday are slower, anyway, and I can come in early tomorrow and Thursday to offset any loss of time.

Today at work I was asked if I had any trouble with the revenue cycle people taking over the referrals, which is really who should be doing them, and with an eye towards transition to the new medical centre, they want to take it off my hands, which is fine with me--it's the least favourite task of my job, to be honest, particularly calling insurance companies to see what a referral entails for their company. I still have the charges to put in and the reconciliation of charges to do. Probably at some point they'll take over the monthly audit; I think that's really supposed to in that area, it's just I was the one who started doing them when they were instituted, so I have been. But since neither my librarian job nor the data entry position are going to the new building, they're having to examine what to do to carry on some of my tasks. The facility charges won't be an issue--that's something only a hospital can charge, and they'll be an ambulatory care centre. I don't know about the cast and procedure charges I put in--they may have to be done by somebody else. And the reconciliation of charges will probably be taken over by surgery, as it is their charges.

I also spoke to the administrator today about items in the library and have a better idea of where we need to go with breaking up the library. I'll take the ideas to the library committee meeting next month. I also have a better idea of the algorithm for disposing of hospital property and the level of services available in the new building (the latter, may be a real issue for them, as they won't be able to get free interlibrary loans unless they come up with some sort of agreement with the folks at the university). I also have an editor interested in a short column on closing a library, so I'm going to write up something on it before January and maybe get it published, too. The last two books of my order came in today, so I'll catalogue them tomorrow, and that will be it. We may be able to break the newer books into appropriate offices (i.e., Green's Hand Surgery to the doctor who specialises in that, the gait analysis books to the motion laboratory, the family resource centre books to care management, etc.) The journals are actually the big issue. I really don't want to have to recycle a lot at the end of everything. I have orthopaedic journals, some of which have very good runs (I have the Journal of Bone and Joint SUrgery back to the early 20th century, as in during World War I, for example. There's also (randomly) an 1832 book on fractures. Really. And I found out that they did find a place for some historical proceedings that had been donated by a former board director, so that's great.

I'm trying to do what I can to lessen the blow of losing the library as much as I can. Considering that when it closes, it will have been in existence for 30 years and was relied upon for information needs, articles, and a host of other things, it will be sad to see it go. And of course, I go with it. :( But I'm trying to keep a stiff upper lip on that front, and in the meantime I keep looking for a position. I check my sources every day or so.

Okay, I guess I should wrap this up. Sorry I didn't blog for a couple of days. as life was rather busy. Hope you have a good week.

I've been working on my health today some

For one, I made an effort to walk around the hospital regularly, as I've had a lot of back pain lately, and while that hurts worse when I stand or walk, the only way to help it, really, is to build up my core, which walking will do. So while I didn't overdo it, I reached my activity goal for today (my phone keeps that as well as my steps) and then some, and I walked 6,865 steps, which is better than I've been doing with this flare-up.

I also was careful today with sweets and took all my medicine with me, in their bottles (I threw them all in the backpack) so I could fill my pill box properly. As a result, my blood sugar was very good today. I'm still having problems with my ankles swelling; when they get big on a day I don't take my diuretic, like they did yesterday, it takes a day or two to get the fluid off of them).

But primarily, there was the meter issue. I see the endocrinologist in a couple of weeks. My values have been good on my blood sugar, for the most part. I should have a lower hemoglobin A1c than last time, and last time was an improvement. I hadn't transferred my results to the computer in awhile, though, and I like to so that I can print a report for her. But I discovered when I tried to bring up the software that it 1) didn't work anymore, with a runtime error and 2) wasn't being distributed anymore. So I couldn't just uninstall and re-download. Instead, Lifescan has created a combination web/mobile application called OneTouch Reveal, which allows you to upload values and find patterns, create reports, all the stuff the old standalone software did and more, and presented graphically and in an easily understood format. My meter, a OneTouch Verio IQ, has a cable that came with it that plugs into the USB port of the computer, and I used a downloaded transfer utility that they have you get (it's free) to transfer several months of readings across to the new web interface. I also downloaded the mobile application. I was very happy with the results. There is also a provision that if you get a code from your doctor's office, they can share the information with them, which is presumably more secure than my e-mailing the logs to the doctor, which is what I had been doing. So I have a call into the doctor's office for that. But along the way, I discovered a new meter that connects and syncs with the mobile application (which in turn, syncs with the web interface), so you don't even need the cable. That way, you can update frequently. It is the OneTouch Verio Flex. I checked, and it was available at the pharmacy for $20, and it's a flexible spending item, so I was able to go ahead and get it after work. It uses the same strips and lancets as the IQ, so that doesn't change. I've set it up, taken my first test, and paired it with the phone so I've already sent that one to update the database. Here's how the two meters stack up:

OneTouch Verio IQ
• PROS:
  1. Colour display
  2. Test strip port light that shines on the strip when you're testing
  3. Rechargeable battery
  4. Tags (before/after meal) can be made when you take a test on the meter itself
  5. Can use an included standard USB cord to download results to a computer
  6. Can browse results in multiples by day
  7. Alerts when high or low patterns are indicated
  8. Case zips to contain lancets, solution, etc.
• CONS:
  1. Must be charged regularly, either by using the USB cable in a computer, or using the enclosed power adapter with the cable.
  2. No way to communicate directly to phone; must use cable.
  3. Small lettering on menus.

OneTouch Verio Flex
• PROS:
  1. Can use Bluetooth to pair/connect directly with mobile application
  2. Can use a standard USB cord to download results to a computer
  3. Large numbers, easy to read screen
  4. Indicator easily shows whether high, low, or normal in range
  5. Small, compact case, so whole thing lighter, and it fits in a purse flat and easily
  6. Doesn't have to be recharged regularly, so no need to carry cord in case
  7. Holster comes out of case and can be clipped on belt and still hold meter, lancet, and strips
  8. Lightweight
• CONS:
  1. Monochrome display (the colour used to indicate high, low, or normal is part of the meter, and then an arrow on the screen is the indicator)
  2. USB cable not included
  3. Battery is a standard watch battery. While it doesn't need to charge, it does need to be replaced--but on the othe rhand, most meter batteries last awhile
  4. Tags are assigned in mobile application, not on meter
  5. No menus, patterns, etc., although it does allow you to go up and down the results
  6. Pouch for lancets doesn't zip--I have mine in a Ziploc snack-sized bag tucked into the pouch.
  7. Not as hefty, but also seems more cheaply made

I hope the above might help if you're planning on getting a meter. Here's what I decided: I'm going to go from now on with the OneTouch Verio Flex, because I have a phone with the mobile application and can sync easily. I'm going to give the other meter, the OneTouch Verio IQ, to a friend who has asked me to check his sugar a few times, so he can have one of his own and I don't mess my results up with his. I went ahead and gave him the new lancing device from this kit and kept my own (both of these come with a OneTouch Delica lancing device, so they're the same). I put some lancets in his pouch, along with a bottle of strips, so he should be good to go, and if the doctor wants him to start testing regularly, the strips would be covered by his insurance. I'm going to give him the user manual as well (I have the original papers and box). So it won't go to waste. It would be helpful to him, I think, because of the colour display and the light on the strip port. He doesn't have (or want) a cell phone, much less a smart phone, so that should be fine for him. The bulkier case shouldn't be a problem for him, as he'd mostly be using it at home. So it's a win-win scenario.

Okay, on that note, time to unpack everything an get ready for tomorrow. Good night.

Important tip when using bread machines

Make sure the paddle is in the pan before putting in all the ingredients. Really. I just had to reach in and place it after the fact, and it was pretty gooey. At least I realised before I turned the machine on. I hope it still works okay. :)

I came home terribly tired. I'm not sure why, really. I didn't do anything particularly tiring. I went to my ophthalmology appointment this morning, nearly got run old while standing for a moment perfectly stationary in an empty parking place fiddling with my purse by someone who obviously wasn't paying attention to the 300-lb woman in bright turquoise, did my normal stuff at work--where I struggled to stay awake and alert--then picked a friend up from work, took him to the bank, and then met up with another friend so they could both go grocery shopping (I stayed in the car), and then took them to their respective homes. I got home after seven, parked out on the street because they'll be resurfacing our section of the lot tomorrow, spoke with YKWIA briefly on the phone, and then fell asleep for about three hours, finally giving in to the sleepiness. I slept well last night, my blood sugar has ranged from 80 (fasting)-149 (two hours' after lunch) today (which is good, even a little low on that first number). I don't know what the issue was. I just got up and got some pasta leftovers and I'm apparently quite hungry now. While that was heating up I put the bread ingredients together, then realised the thing about the paddle. Now it's happily mixing the ingredients. There's a storm brewing, so I hope it doesn't interrupt the power, as I don't think that would work well for the bread.

I went to the bathroom when I got up and I am unexpectedly bleeding. Now a guy would panic. A woman who's already had a period two weeks ago would surmise break-through bleeding, although this is heavier than the normal spotting. If it continues, I'll check with a doctor. Maybe my iron is low--I gave blood, had my period, and now I'm bleeding again, and they have me on iron (and were quite annoyed that I gave it away in my donation, which I honestly didn't think about). I won't worry for now.

My house smells like roasted pine nuts--not unpleasant, just a little odd, and the smell was something I got strongly through the CPAP machine and couldn't figure out at first.

Ah, here comes the rain. I wonder if they'll be able to work on our lot tomorrow, after all. It's a 40% chance of rain tomorrow, and the rain right now is strong enough to be hitting the windows. On the plus side, it's watering the geraniums on my windowsill outside. We just got a strong lightning burst nearby that made me jump so hard my hand is now cramped, and the car alarms for several cars just went off. There's nothing on the radar to indicate this storm; it must be terribly localised, as in where the pin dot is for Lexington.

Okay, I'm finished eating. I should go on back to bed until the bread is done, because I need to go into work early tomorrow, as I will be leaving to take a friend for a minor procedure and want to make the most of my time. I need to put a book order in tomorrow morning and catch up a little on my data entry. Good night.

I seldom wake up hungry

But I did, several times throughout the night, so apparently last night's crackers didn't stay with me. This morning my blood sugar was 78, which is on the low end of normal, and almost unheard of for me, and it's probably just as well I got up early (5 am) and checked it. So now I'm having more crackers, but with some peanut butter this time. At least it is actually Wednesday, so I'll get paid late tonight, around midnight.

I've scaled back the new dishes I want to try (yes, I've been somewhat obsessed with food and the recipes I've found, probably because I haven't seen fruits or vegetables in days, except for some papaya and pineapple a co-worker gave me yesterday). Side note: Tropical fruit cups (I think it was by Dole) have red and yellow papaya and pineapple--not mango, which is great, as I am allergic to mango. I think I had a banana one day at work. But I've had almost no vegetables, and the things I've planned are heavy on fresh vegetables. But, one author advised trying no more than three recipes a week when you're beginning to cook to avoid being overwhelmed, and also fresh produce adds up and I can only spend so much. So I'm definitely going to try the blackberry-ginger salmon (the most expensive dish, but blackberries are on sale right now), the eggplant pasta, and the potato leek soup this week, along with the Mexican orange-avocado salad, (Yes, I know, that's actually four.) And I'd like to try the recipe I have for honey wheat bread, as I'm quite comfortable making bread, and it's designed specifically for my machine.

Wow, now that my stomach is satisfied, I'm trying to go back to sleep, even though I had several hours' worth. I may go back to sleep for a little bit--I did get up awfully early. The sun's not even up yet, although it is twilight outside. Maybe till 6:30 am? Then I can still go into work early to make up for the time at the appointment yesterday,

I should not disparage

An entire state just because they have trees that are deadly poisonous in every part.  I was just surprised by the sheer toxicity.  I'm used to something like that being in someplace like Australia,  where many things are poisonous.  So,  my apologies to any of you Floridians out there. And after all,  I've lived in Louisiana,  which also has gators and poisonous snakes,  the Mojave desert,  with its rattlesnakes,  and Kansas,  which has tornadoes.  So every place has its dangers.

I'm at an appointment with a friend,  and I'm a little sleepy.  My blood sugar's been a bit high lately,  and I've been normal to low today,  so I keep feeling low.  Funny how your body adjusts one way or the other after awhile.

Okay,  I need to charge the phone.  Fortunately I have a little portable charger a friend got from his workplace,  and it should have some charge left.  I'll write later.

Ah, potato-y goodness

So the potatoes turned out wonderful.  I put the majority away in a container for tomorrow's lunch,  but ate a few that were left,  and they were very good.  I put some beans in another container for tomorrow,  and that cleared out the crock pot.  Then I boiled ten eggs while I ran the dishwasher and did other dishes by hand.  Finally,  I wiped down the counters,  kitchen island,  and stove.  Once the dishwasher finishes,  everything will be taken care of in there.

Now I've brushed and flossed my teeth,  and I'm in my comfy clothes. I've taken my night medicine,  so here's hoping I'll have a better blood sugar in the morning,  since it's been high for two days now. Monday it was 386!  I had been bad about my medicines over the weekend. I'm not doing bread tonight,  so I won't be tempted to eat a piece on the middle of the night.  Come to think of it,  I have a fasting blood draw at 8:30 in the morning,  so nothing after this anyway. I keep forgetting about it.  Hopefully I don't go straight to work tomorrow. Now I'm having some water,  and then I'm going to go on to bed.  Good night!

Funny, the picture rotated, even though it was taken in landscape. Weird.

I feel awful, and it's my fault

I've gotten off on my meds the last few days and I over-ate tonight.  My blood sugar just now was 295,  four hours after I ate. I've taken my nightly meds and filled my pill planner box for the next week. I  made sure I had plenty of insulin with me for tomorrow.  I may have to start sending my values to my endocrinologist again. :( But hey,  tomorrow is another day,  even another month. I won't give up,  and I see my endocrinologist in a few days, anyway.

I'm also topping off the charge on my Kindle,  as tomorrow I am dropping my car off at Mitch's Auto,  a coworker is picking me up there and bringing me to work,  but I'll have to take the bus back over there from work because the other coworker who was going to take me there had a niece born today and so won't be at work after all, which is fine.  I'll just leave early enough to get there before they close.  It sounded to the mechanic I spoke with on the phone like a heat soak problem with the starter,  which can have a few causes and fixes.  But at least he had more of a clue than the last place.  (Tire Discounters called me on Monday and I explained what happened.  The guy apologised and said they would work on communication in the future.)

Okay, I'm meeting my coworker at 7:40 tomorrow morning.  Better set an alarm and go to bed.  Good night!

I finally came out of hibernation

because I was hungry, which was good, as I my blood sugar was going a little low (68). I found a package of peanut butter crackers I'd forgotten were in my lunch bag and ate them, with a few multigrain crackers as a chaser. I feel a bit bleary, and my back hurts from so long in bed, but generally, I think it helped. I've found that a good lie-in bed is good for me about every three months or so, especially as I don't sleep like I used to.

The snow has stopped. I'm not certain how much we got. The parking lot drive is clear, and the steps are shoveled. I don't think I'll have any trouble getting out, as I just have to get the snow off of my car, which I can see from my window. I'm the only one who put their windshield wipers up last night; hopefully that will help. Today it's gloomy and there's perhaps going to be rain or a little mixed drizzle. But given how much rain we have in the forecast, the snow won't be around much longer.

One good thing about not eating much this week; I've lost four pounds exactly. It's not the best diet plan, and there's only so much peanut butter one can eat, but hey. I did eat a fish sandwich meal at the cafeteria Friday with the promise of paying later. Yes, I'm like Wimpy from Popeye. But I always do pay, so they let me; I just try not to abuse that. But otherwise it's either been bread and peanut butter or crackers and peanut butter for awhile.

Okay, I'll take the rest of my medicine and think about getting a shower. I'm moving slowly but really, isn't that the point on a day off? :)

Feeling much better

My blood sugar was 96 just a bit ago and I had some cheese and peas,  as I was hungry,  and while the peas are starchy,  they weren't simple sugars like the fruit.  I'll limit my fruit to one at a time from now on.

I'm actually in the laundry room doing my laundry now,  three loads,  as I didn't do any last week.  I brought my Kindle so I have no excuse not to read.  Funny how I keep finding other things to do.

With that in mind,  I'll put my phone down and go from there.

I feel bad

I was listening to music after having a snack of orange juice,  toast and fruit. Didn't think to give myself insulin because I didn't consider it a meal.  So wrong.   I was feeling torpid,  not sleepy.  I took my blood sugar and it was 431! Considering I have been in the normal range rather than running high,  this was terrible. I took my insulin and am waiting for it to come back down.  I think I'll skip the library for now,  even though they just opened.

Back to working on the house,  I guess.  The activity will help.

At least

I finally slept well last night. I was asleep by about 12:30 I think, but then I didn't wake up till 5:30, did my monthly libation, and then went back to sleep till 8:30. The first thing I did was clean the tub/shower, as I'm going to take a bath in a little while. Then I gave myself my Byetta, which you have to delay eating a bit after, picked up around the house, and put my meds into my pillbox for the trip. Now I'm going to get some water, check my blood sugar, and eat something. The last few days I've done very poorly with my diabetes, haven't had any sleep hardly, ate emotionally, and was somewhat haphazard with my meds, and with the stress and everything my blood sugar reading in the morning yesterday was the highest I've ever had. So yesterday was all about getting back on track, taking my insulin correctly, and eating well. It's still a little high this morning but nothing near yesterday, so I think I'm doing better. As one of my co-workers said, the last thing anyone needs is for me to get sick on top of everything else.

So this morning I have to:

1. Take a bath
2. Try out the dress I bought last year in case of funerals to make sure it still fits fine
3. Dress in a black skirt and top for the visitation
4. Pack
5. Run the dishwasher
6. Take out the trash
7. Get gas

Okay, I've eaten, taken my meds, etc. Time to go take a bath and try to relax a bit.

Well, I must say

since going to the endocrinologist I have faithfully taken all of my diabetes medicine on time, as scheduled, and have been watching what I eat better. In those few days--

1. I have not had much of an appetite (one of the drugs shrinks the stomach so you don't eat as much)
2. I haave not had any of the side effects from the one drug that they put me back on at a lower dose (and hopefully won't)
3. My morning blood sugar values have dropped about 80-100 points
4. I've lost about 8 lbs (in three days, probably some of that is water weight, as I go up and down within 10 lbs pretty easily. But this happened last last time I was on that oral medication it stayed off for quite some time). I need to lose 30 to increase my insulin sensitivity and maybe decrease the insulin I'm taking.

So I'm hopeful. So hopeful I'm going to put some clothes on and go for a walk. :) At work they're doing a thing this month where we track our steps on a calendar and work our way up to 10,000. Since I'm tracking my steps anyway, and my Sunday steps usually are not many, I thought I'd take a short walk today and then try to build up throughout the month.

It occurred to me as

I made my pimiento cheese sandwich for dinner, that I had a salad and pimiento cheese for lunch, as there wasn't much on the menu I liked at the cafeteria today. I haven't been particularly hungry today, either, which is probably good, given my weight. I was able to actually get up this morning and take my Lantus and Byetta before going to work, so I suspect the extra time for the Byetta to work helped. I'm also happy to say that my blood sugar just now was very good, whereas this morning it was utterly through the roof, so I was able to bring it down to a manageable level.

The first thing I did on reaching home today was water the plants outside and in, and then I opened the windows and brought the fan out to the living room. I started some lavender incense in the dining area, which I find relaxing. I had been telling YKWIA about how I was very lucky to remember to pay my electric bill today, as it was the last day to pay and I'd meant to as soon as I had been paid, which was last Thursday. He pointed out for someone with lots of gadgets, it's a shame that I don't use them to keep track of my bills. Since the point was well taken, I downloaded an application that reminds you to pay your bills and then you just mark them paid as you go along. It's a simple concept, so hopefully it will work. I spent some time putting those in.

So I'm home tonight and I think I'm going to go through a couple of paper bills and get those out of the way, so I can mail them tomorrow. I have a lab draw bill from the last time I went to the endocrinologist for about $4, for example, and it's so small I'd forgotten to take care of it. I don't want to be owing a bigger bill by not paying, right?

I did get some disappointing news today from the public library that they'd filled one of the positions I'd applied for. Since it's been three weeks since the remaining one closed and there's been no call, things aren't looking good for it. I would really love to work there and I think I would really be good for them. But first I have to get to an interview. Oh, well. At least it was worth a try, and every time I apply that's just more experience at the whole job hunting thing.

Okay, time to look over those bills. I'll write later, most likely.

Tomorrow I need

to call my optometrist and order new contacts (my glasses are already ordered at the optician's) and then call my dentist and make an appointment for the restoration and crown on that troublesome molar, which the endodontist could not totally take care of. Apparently one channel is still calcified. She said if I ever had trouble with it, I would require some minor surgery. She wants to see me in a month, too. I also need to tell my dentist about the broken partial. We'll see what can be done about that. It is a temporary one, at least. And there is a warranty on the finished product of about six months, too. So hopefully it won't cost much more. I am reminded of the skeleton that Charlton Heston finds in the original Planet of the Apes, where the person had various aids to help his body's deficits, or the snake in The Seven Faces of Doctor Lao, who makes fun of the frailties of the human body. Between my eyes, my teeth, and my aches and pains, I'm feeling my age of late.

I just haven't felt myself lately. Partly it's my blood sugar, which has been higher since I changed from the Invokana to Byetta, and I haven't been eating particularly well the last couple of days, either. I'm going to try to be better on that. But even with just the medicine change, I'm suddenly up in the 300s in the morning, which is not good at all.

Tonight I went over to YKWIA's and watched 'The 100'. I hadn't seen it in a couple of weeks. It was a really good episode. I like the show quite well. It really keeps one's interest, going back and forth between the ark in space and the kids on earth who are the test subjects for whether mankind can survive in a post-nuclear world.

But now I'm home, and I think I'm going to just turn in. I'm still working on waking up early enough to do something around the house. If not, I usually stay home on Thursday nights, so I can work on it then. Friday's 'Grimm'. Saturday I've got a project already lined up, but I won't be taking A to the grocery, as he'll be out of town. Sunday may be the game, so tomorrow I should try to do the game notes. Anyway, have a good night.