LiveWell Went Well (Pun Intended)

LiveWell (LiveWell Chronic Disease Management is the official name) is a program offered to individuals and families who have arthritis, sleep apnea, asthma, and other conditions.  But in my case, I go for my diabetes.

I had my LiveWell appointment on Monday (January 11th).  I knew going in that there would be a lot of information coming my way.  You might wonder if there is a lot of information to take in.  There is, but it is beneficial.

One item that was talked about was my blood sugar numbers.  My educator said they were great and was where they should be.  Points 4-7 is where they should be.  Even though there were a few readings that were that were borderline, they were generally in the good range.  I told her that when I checked one time, it was lower than usual, but I checked again and it was normal.  But if it was lower She asked if I felt different due to that reading.  No I didn't.  We looked at the symptoms such as headaches, irritability, sweating among other things.  I noted that I haven't had symptoms.  I wake up with headaches sometimes if I don't get enough sleep.

She said that different fingers give different reading.  That was something I didn't actually know.  I've just been poking different fingers and not thinking anything of it.  I told her I was down to three tests at most a day as I used to test six times a day which was before and after each meal.  She it is okay to test after a meal once in a while.

One thing I told her was that if I was at a 3.5 that I would take something sugar related, wait 15 minutes and I would be at a normal reading,  She said that was good to do.  She said there these tablets I could take which are chewable that can help with my sugars. I said there is the powder form I put in water help raise my sugars to normal levels.

We also looked at the medications I take from insulin to medications.  We looked at the doses and what they do.  I was misinformed from my doctor about what one of the pills does.  I told her my doctor said this particular pill does this, but she said no.  She said that this pill and my insulin can cause low sugars.  If when I test and I have low numbers to drop my insulin to one or two units.  So far I have dropped it one units.

My educator asked me where I have been injecting my insulin.  I pointed in the areas.  I noted to her that I go in this particular order.  I was told while in the hospital to change up where I inject insulin to keep the area healthy.  She told me to inject on the side of the leg as the front of the leg has more muscle,  That was good and useful information to know.

Another point talked about what physical activity and fitness.  She asked what I do.  I told her that I go walking if weather permits.  I said that one day I did some walking around the Art Hauser Centre. I explained that every seven laps are equivalent to one mile and I did 50 laps which means I walked seven miles.  She thought that was awesome.  What was noted by her was that physical activity like walking lowers blood sugars.  That is a no brainer.

We discussed a little bit about what I eat.  I didn't get any real options as far as breakfast and lunch goes and what I could have that is different than what I usually have.  I said I need something to feel satisfied from breakfast.  She said to have some fruit with my breakfast and I said I do.  I was told what I could add to oatmeal when I eat it.  So I have been adding raisins to it.  I told her that they seemingly have a lot of sugar.  But she said it was okay.  I don't know if I would like flax in my oatmeal.  Bran maybe, but I would have to try it.  Something I asked is if there is diabetic jam. She said that there is and even jam with less sugar.  But what was good to hear was that I could have regular jam as long as I use a small amount.

When it comes to fruit, something like an orange raises blood sugar.  That was good to hear because I told her that I don't eat oranges a lot because it has a good amount of sugar.  More fruit is good.

When it comes to my evening snack, I told her that my pills require food.  She was wondering why I needed a snack in the evening.

When it comes to carbs, I told her when I look at the nutritional information of something, I see things that are higher in carbs.  She told me that the more fibre is in something, the less carbs there is.  For example, if something has 36g of carbs and 6g of fibre, that would reduce the amount of carbs.  Knowing that is awesome!  Having more fibre is a good thing.

Portion sizes were talked about and the amount of rice I would have is next to nothing.  But different have different have amounts based on their size. So because I am currently a bigger guy, my portion size will be different.

I told her that when I was in the hospital that they were not giving me a true diabetic menu and meals.  They were giving options like ice cream for instance.  That was why my numbers were over 9.  Once I was out of the hospital and on my way to changing my eating habits and getting more active, my numbers went down noticeably.  I told her that when my numbers first went down, I rewarded myself.

Another useful item was a sheet of what I could eat, drink, or use a lot of in moderation, or stay away from.  Something useful she said was, "If is swims or grows, it is good for you."

She said I will referred to someone to keep watch on vision and eyes so they can catch anything that might to my eyes and fix it right away.

I have my next appointment is in March.  I will have to go see them sooner if my test reading or more consistently lower. Otherwise, every two to three months.

Overall, it a great feedback and information.  She told me to continue doing what I am doing and I can be off insulin completely which awesome!

This wasn't every little detail of what was discussed, but it was a vast majority of it.