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:

Diabetes is no fun

I hate when my blood sugar goes south. If you've never had it happen, it's hard to explain. I get dizzy and unsteady, and I perspire but my hands and feet get cold and numb, and I just feel like my brain is mush and can barely function. Just now I had an episode where I was falling fast and got the special alarm that tells me on my monitor. It went down to 47, and after a banana, a pear, a frozen fruit pop, and glucose tablets, it's 78 and finally rising. Even once it levels off, I'll feel really hungover and unwell. It's so frustrating. I didn't take extra insulin, and I ate both breakfast and some lunch [and even skipped the short-acting insulin for lunch]. It happened yesterday at work, too, while I was at the sign-in desk, and I ate nearly an entire sleeve of glucose tablets to bring it up after 45 minutes. It should pop up in about 15 minutes. I'm going to dial back on my long-acting insulin some more. I think that will help.

Whoever invented the ceiling fan is my hero

Sitting under three fans (two ceiling, one pedestal) as my blood sugar went low at Kroger and I get very hot and drenched with sweat when that happens, on top of feeling shaky. I carry glucose tablets with me normally, so I ate some and waited till I felt better to drive. But now that I'm home and I've gotten the groceries inside during the rain and my roommate has put then away, I've checked my blood sugar (it's normal now) and stripped down to shorts and a tank top to sleep in. I still need to do some things before bed but I'm going to stretch out and set an alarm and enjoy the moving air.

I somehow managed

to get through Friday, which was a slow 'catch-up' day in clinic, despite almost no sleep.  It dragged by, but I got quite a lot accomplished and got to actually speak with my co-workers more than just a moment or two, which on a busy day is kind of normal.

Last night, I kept YKWIA company while he made dinner and also some soup for someone we're visiting today who is battling cancer.  I haven't seen him in about 20 years, but YKWIA were good friends for a long time and he owned the comic book store we both worked in for a while.  So we thought we'd go and get caught up, visit, and bring soup.

I was very tired before bed, and I was still hurting a bit, although stretching to get things off the printer from my chair during work did help some.  So I took three tizanidine (the recommended dose), a muscle relaxer I've been prescribed for my neck issues. and I slept like a baby, only waking up early this morning to the cat howling because the wind through the windows had shut my door and he was trapped in my room.

Today I have:

1. Gotten some medicine I forgot for YKWIA the other day at the pharmacy, as well as a small bag for myself.
2. Paid my rent [I pay half every two weeks].  I'd forgotten the deposit slip for his account (we have the same credit union, so I just transfer it), but they were able to look it up.
3. Got new lenses for my glasses (for free!).  In August 2016 I got new glasses and got the 2-year Crizal lens warranty.  It was a year before I got one scratch on it, but even though I always use microfibre cloths, they starting getting scratches on both lenses when I was wearing my glasses full-time after running out of contacts.  So, I asked about that, they traced my frames and had new lenses recut and when they came in, I just had to stop by and they popped the old ones out and put the new ones in.  Easy peasy.  I did accidentally leave my travel contact solution on their counter, as I had to take my contacts out to check the lenses were properly made, so I'll have to get some more from the store.  But the travel size that comes with the first pair of contacts is pretty small, so I needed to get more anyway as it was less than halfway full.
4. Helped close all the windows in the house, as it's about to storm.
5. Made my bed (usually I do when I get up, but I waited a bit today).

When I got home, I started to feel shaky and wonky, checked my blood sugar, and despite having eaten breakfast (a toasted blueberry bagel, cream cheese, and a banana) just two hours before, my blood sugar was 48.  So I ate a sandwich with peanut butter and spreadable fruit and drank some orange juice (not in that order).  I feel much better.  I may have to dial back my insulin further, which is good.

Now I'm caffeinating and have a little downtime while YKWIA gets ready to go visit our friend.  I don't have to do any notes today due to the fact we visited without playing the Cthulhu game last week.  Tonight I should really work on finances.  I can't pay much of anything, but I need to come up with a plan/call a couple of numbers that are incessantly dialling my phone.  And I have to figure out what to do about the taxes.

Okay, that's all for now.  Hope you're having a good weekend.  It's been in the 70s here, and was nice and clear this morning, although it's going to rain the rest of the weekend, and then the temperatures will plummet on Monday.  But still, it was nice driving weather earlier.  I had Bastille playing in the car, the window rolled down (my hair is a mess), and my sunglasses on.  Not a bad day, so far, really.

When did this happen?

One thing about being home so much is that I'm starting to get on YKWIA's nerves because while the first few days I was exhausted and asleep, as I began to feel better I tended to do lots of small talk and chatter, even though I tried to rein it in.  Apparently, I miss the interaction with other people, and he's been working on projects on the computer and studying, so there have been large blocks of time I've been on my own.  Yes, I've read, watched videos, listened to music, done chores, and I've taken occasional naps, but still, I'm kind of lonely and bored, and what I don't get is this is the hallmark of an extrovert, and I've always been very introverted.  I score INFP on the Meyers-Briggs, always very strong on the introverted side, although it's moved closer to extrovert over the years, as is normal (you tend to move closer to the other side of the spectrum as you age and experience life, if I understand things well).  Anyway, maybe this is part of my problem with reading.  Maybe somewhere along the way it didn't satisfy my need to interact with people rather than characters.  I also find watching the TV to be rather passive, although I do get immersed in the story, just as I do with reading.  Music I enjoy on a different level, both in terms of the actual sounds and the lyrics.  But still, somewhere along the way, I got to where it's harder to amuse myself--me, the kid who was always alone and felt unloved.  That's a little unnerving.

I cuddled with the cat for a while earlier, although I really didn't sleep.  He got right up on my pillow with his head up next to mine.  Then I fed him and the dogs, and he seems to be keeping this food down, so he's happier.

I'm not really sleepy.  I just ate something extra because my blood sugar went low despite taking my insulin back 20 units each time for the long-acting insulin [so 60 units twice a day, which I think is going to have to go down to 50 or 55] and keeping the short-acting one at 34 units for all meals, not 34-42-42.  I kept track of what I've eaten today.  Even with four little meals, basically, I've stayed under the recommended amount for losing weight.  I've been pretty full.  Today I've had two bowls of cereal with milk, a banana, some homemade cream of mushroom soup, a piece of bread, two little applesauce cups, two peanut butter and honey sandwiches, and I think that's all.  So I've had 1 serving of vegetables, 3 of dairy, 4 of fruit (there were raisins in the cereal), 2 protein, 6 servings of grain, and a bit of sweetener, for 1333 calories (an I've burned 2004 for the day) between my activity/steps and my metabolism.  It's not exactly balanced, but it's not bad. If I eat anything else today, I'll make sure it's a vegetable choice.  We've got a turnip-apple dish in the refrigerator, along with 'green rice', which is basically rice with spinach and onions.  So those are possibilities.  In the meantime, I'm making some more bread right now; we should have an extra-large loaf ready by 10:30 pm.

So the question is what to do now. I'm listening to the OneRepublic station on Pandora.  I could read.  I could watch another episode of 'Sherlock'.  I just don't feel like doing either of those things.  It's kind of annoying, actually, that I don't.  I don't want to go to sleep or I won't sleep well tonight.  Sigh.  Maybe I'll try reading. I'm not up to Julius Caesar himself, but maybe the book on his legacy on the landscape (called Caesar's Footprints: a Cultural Excursion to Ancient France by Bijan Omrani).  It might be good to read before tackling Caesar, as I'll have a better idea of the lay of the land for the Gallic War, anyway.  Actually, I should go to the library's website and check to see when each book is due, then come up with a reading plan.  I know the one YKWIA is reading is due on Valentine's Day, the next one that's due, but I think I should be able to renew that one.  I just renewed The Forgetting and The Oversight.  I just checked out Anatomy of a Genocide.  So that leaves Caesar's Footprints, The Landmark Julius Caeser, and La Belle Sauvage to figure out.  Okay, I guess I'll do that.

The cold continues...

It's supposed to be six degrees tonight (Fahrenheit) with a wind chill down to minus 15.  I went to the store on my way home tonight and it was so cold going out, as the wind had picked up.  We're not really getting the snow you see further South, just a few flakes here and there, and I'm thankful, as it's too cold for salt to do much good.  A lady on the UK shuttle was talking about a friend in Myrtle Beach freaking because they'd had a lot of bad weather.  When I lived there in 1972, we had an ice storm followed by seven inches of snow.  We wound up piling into a neighbour's recreational vehicle and driving to Garden City so that we could plug up at a K-Mart parking lot--all nine of us.  It was miserable.  So yes, it does happen, but rarely.

Today started a bit shaky.  I didn't get paid till about 9 am (it's usually there at midnight) due to the New Year's holiday, so I didn't get breakfast at the University of Kentucky Dining but rather ate some homemade bread that I'd brought for lunch.  But it all worked out.  It was a slower day, especially about mid-day, and we got a lot done on queues.  I showed one of our co-workers who helps out in her department how to do check out.  All in all, it was a pretty decent day.  I didn't get a shower this morning, mainly because I couldn't contemplate it as cold as it was, I wanted to save time, and also because my friend went to the bathroom and I didn't realise he was finished for ten minutes.  He said he told me, but I didn't hear.  Anyway, by that time I was past the window for the shower, but really, the idea of getting wet and then going out in this didn't appeal to me.  So my hair wasn't as nice, but really, I have thin, baby fine hair, so it pretty much never really does much of anything.  This afternoon they sent an e-mail out saying that we were going to rebuild the employee directory on the intranet, where employee photos are listed by department and name, so you get to know your co-workers.  We had it at the old place, and apparently, they took it down when they moved.  I was trying to show one of the new co-workers in our department who the care managers were, for example, and the doctors, and it wasn't up anymore.  Anyway, they sent out the e-mail stating that they were bringing it back and instead of having pictures from our badges (which are usually bad), they invited people to send in a favourite self-portrait, take one in our work area (for which they are giving a prize for best 'selfie'), or the public relations department will take one if we'd like.  So I looked through some pictures and didn't really like any of them, and decided to take a picture in my work area, even though I didn't feel like my best.  It came out pretty well, actually.  Here it is:

YKWIA says I always do this thing in portraits where I put my head out like a turtle.  He's right.  But this isn't too bad.  I could use some makeup, and the hair isn't as bouncy as usual, but they always say hair is easier to style when dirty.  Of course, I just combed it.  But anyway, that's what I sent in for my 'selfie'.

I did better with my blood sugar.  They've been running normal, but I haven't eaten much lately and yesterday it was hard to gauge how much insulin to take. I wound up testing my blood sugar AFTER lunch, and it was 56 or 58.  I downed quite a few glucose tablets, as that was all I had with me, and brought it back up.  But I was pretty shaky.  Today I dialled the insulin down, taking 55 units of Lantus this morning, I think, rather than the normal 70-80.  That definitely helped.  If I can come down on the two insulins, I think that would be a wonderful thing.

We ate some wonderful soup with egg and homemade bread along with a lentil salad for dinner, then shared an apple that Brenda left on Sunday for us to try--it's the Opal variety.  It was very good.  I found some 'lunchbox'-sized McIntoshes at Kroger and got some.  That is my favourite variety, and I hadn't seen any at Kroger in probably a good three or four years.

The cat and the dogs have been fed; I didn't leave the dogs out but a few minutes.  The night is not fit for man nor beast.  The cat's in his post-prandial cuddling phase.  He likes to curl up with us afterwards.  YKWIA is reading, and of course, he wants in his lap.  I think I'll go listen to some music in bed, and so he'll probably come in and climb up on me.

Tomorrow I have two doctors' appointments, with my psychiatrist at 8 am, which is pretty early, about the time I usually get to the University, but it's further away.  I have to take a shower before I go, either tonight or tomorrow morning. I think I'll try to do the latter and wake up earlier. My ophthalmologist and field of vision test are at 2 pm.  On the bright side, because I'm coming and going for appointments, my boss put in for me to have one of the five spaces in the back parking lot.  Yay.  They're doing a lottery for any spaces that aren't used on a daily basis, which is fun, too.  But tomorrow, I get one for its intended purpose.

So, I think I'm going to sign off here.  Have a good night.

A strange combination

Tonight things were pretty bare in the cupboard when I got home about 9:30 pm after running errands with A. I wasn't really hungry,  but needed to eat,  so I had a small bit of a Dove chocolate bunny (we'd had them donated at the hospital last week and I've slowly been eating it) .  It's solid chocolate,  and very rich,  so I didn't have much,  and I didn't want to blow my blood sugar through the roof, as I have my eye exam tomorrow. But then I feel asleep,  woke up about 1:30 an,  realised I hadn't had my Lantus (long-acting insulin),  gave myself a shot,  and also realised I felt odd and should probably take a reading,  which I did,  with difficulty.  If I can't get enough blood out of my finger after three sticks,  is a sure sign I'm low,  and,  indeed,  I was 53. I ate the last bit of the bunny and then microwaved the one bit of real food in the house - - Gorton's grilled Salmon,  which is probably what I should have eaten in the first place. So I've eaten that and my glucose is up to 93. I'm glad I see my endocrinologist day after tomorrow.

It's not good

when the first thing you do once you get home is to check your blood sugar and then wind up having to take some glucose tablets because it's all of 55 mg/dL, which is way too low, and if I'd realised just how low I was, I wouldn't have driven home until I could get it back up (70-130 mg/dL is the ideal range for a diabetic). So now I'm eating some crackers and peanut butter to bring it back up. I just thought I was getting sleepy because it was late, so I rolled the window down a bit (I was hot) while driving. But the shakiness didn't start till I got out of the car, thankfully. I will definitely be more careful in the future and test if I feel the least bit off before getting in the car.