loathar wrote: The cons-With age, your hands get fumbly and you have a hard time doing some things.The pros-When the drill motor slips in the process of driving a sheet rock screw and the phillips bit plunges all the way through your thumb you don't feel it as much.Or I could have titled this-I've been bleedin on my rail.....road....
The cons-With age, your hands get fumbly and you have a hard time doing some things.
The pros-When the drill motor slips in the process of driving a sheet rock screw and the phillips bit plunges all the way through your thumb you don't feel it as much.
Or I could have titled this-I've been bleedin on my rail.....road....
From the far, far reaches of the wild, wild west I am: rtpoteet
R. T. POTEET wrote: loathar wrote: The cons-With age, your hands get fumbly and you have a hard time doing some things.The pros-When the drill motor slips in the process of driving a sheet rock screw and the phillips bit plunges all the way through your thumb you don't feel it as much.Or I could have titled this-I've been bleedin on my rail.....road....I was diagnosed as Type II nine and a half years ago when I had a heart attack - hadn't been near a doctor's office in six years - I was healthy as the proverbial horse. But I don't have nearly the problems some of you people have outlined; in fact, relatively speaking I guess, I am in great shape.I take one Pravachol® a day and don't really pay an awful lot of attention to my diet; it did take me years to get my blood sugar level down to where my D.O. was happy and he has remained happy for the better part of two years now. My wife was recently diagnosed with Type II and she keeps track of her blood sugar level on a daily basis; periodically she takes my level. One morning it was 212; the next 103; a week later (after a breakfast of four toaster pastries) I was at 147; the next morning I was at 74. When my diabetes acts up I dare not step too awfully far from a urinal. I have lost a couple of footraces with my bladder........
R.T., Being in the same boat, even some meds the same, I'll give you my worth about testing. I test 1st thing in AM & before lunch & dinner. I keep my readings in an Excel program that I take to my endrocronologist every 4 to 6 months. I also keep my food intake in a word program so I can spot something that jumps the blood sugar. My endrocronoligist (a nationally known specialist) says that constant spiking is one of the worst things for the rest of the body. It's like running a Yugo on high octane aviation fuel - it burns everything out!
"Too far from the urinal sure hits a note! Sleeping more than 2 hours at a time at night is a rare occorance - that probably does nothing to help fatigue!
OK, everyone keep taking the meds & checking the sugar levels, and most of all, KEEP TRACKIN'!!
OK, I'll jump in too. Although, after reading some of the replies here, I feel like I'm just a whiner.
I was diagnosed as a Type II in 2002. I turned 55 in September. Thankfully, I've got it under control with Glucophage and diet. I'll admit I don't test as often as I should, but I'm ususally around 110-120 after fasting. A couple of hours after eating, I'm 170-200. I just had my yearly physical. The A1C was good. Cholesterol is a little high so the Doc is having me try Tricor for that. The one test result that bothered me was my protein level in my urine is a little high. I don't like hearing that one. Doc put me on Benazepril to give my kidneys some help. Luckily my blood presure is ok (118/80) so hopefully the Benazepril will help. I have noticed that my eyes are getting worse. I've gotta go get them checked. It's been way too long since I've done that.
Other that the occasional pains in my feet and legs, shaky hands, problems seeing the details and lack of energy, it hasn't bothered my modeling too much. The lack of energy thing really bugs me though. Case in point... yesterday morning, I bought a LokSound decoder for my P2K GP9. By the time I got home from the LHS, I was pooped and laid on the couch watching TV until I finally forced myself to get up and go to work on it around 7 PM. The whole time I was laying on the couch, I was cussing at myself for not having the energy to get up.
To Jeffery and the rest of you who push on in spite of WAY more serious complications than I have, my hat is off to you! What I put up with is nothing compared to what you all have gone through.
Thanks for the inspiration.
Greg
Wow...there are certainly a lot of diabetics here. Personally, I was diagnosed with Type I a little more then three years ago. Luckily, thanks to my alert wife, we caught it fairly early in it's progression, and before the onset of any major complications.
Thanks to an insulin pump (I recommend one for any Type I), I lead a nearly normal life. However, like many of you, I tire easily. After pestering from my wife, we got a dog. This wonderful black lab forces me to exercise (always a good thing) and actually alerts me if my sugar is too high or too low.
One thing not mentioned, is the therapeutic value of a hobby. I get engrossed in my modeling, and it takes my mind off my condition. In addition, it helps me monitor my visual acuity and keep my fine motor skills sharp. I am extra cautious with my knives and drills, to guard against cuts and the like.
Nick
Take a Ride on the Reading with the: Reading Company Technical & Historical Society http://www.readingrailroad.org/
I wish I could get my sugar down to 150-200. I can't go to the doctor like I should. No insurance. With blood work it's $500 a pop.(cash) That really cuts into the train budget.
The good thing about model railroading is it keeps me from sitting around the house eating all the time. I'm not really overweight. 6'2" 200lbs. But GOD! I love to eat!
Thanks for the tip on the alo vera plant. I forgot all about those.Maybe it'll help my ant bites. Looks like I should start my own diabetic railroader forum.
I can not relate with any of you folks with real diabetes. I took insulin every day for 20 years only to find out I was not a diabetic. But my old age does affect my modeling. Eyes and shakey , stiff hands. Hope all of stay well and continue to model. NEVER GIVE UP!
Tomas in Durango
I've been a diabetic since 1979 and have taken Insulin every day since then. Right now I take 2 shots a day and I'll in a wheel chair without legs one of these days.
Since I've always been one who eats ONLY what I like, that has caused some of the problems. Of course I stay away from sugar and I have never been a drinker of anything except coffee and now diet Pepsi. But when I was a kid I use to eat a half dozen donuts and drink a Pepsi for breakfast! I'm sure that didn't help anything.
About 3 years ago I had to have surgery on my left foot that has left me disabled and un-able to work standing up for a length of time.
And since my wife gave up on me after I had the surgery, I now live by myself and just about all of my meals are fixed in the micro wave. So I would have to say the food that I'm getting is not exactly what I should have, but I guess it could be a lot worse.
At least I have my model railroads and a nice view of the NS and CN through town from a 6th floor apartment window. What more could you ask for?
I think when I retire full time I will stick a garden hose up my butt and rent myself out as a lawn sprinkler as I have so many holes in my body.
Cheers,
cf7
great thread as it lets us know that we are not alone in our intrests and our misfourtunes.
Did anybody hear about a new medicine that will help keep some people off of insulin? I heard a 2 sec blurp about the upcoming news and fell asleep before they covered the story.
AS far as having trouble modeling I work in O and S nice big bulky trains easy to put on track ect. and details realy standout on the scale and semi scale locomotives.
Just thought I'd pop in here with a bit of an individual perspective--I'm both a type 2 diabetic(controlled on oral medications, fortunately) and a physician. After having said that, don't know that I can add much to what all of you great modelers and forum members have brought up here. Control of glucoses is paramount, so do whatever you need to control it(work on that diet--and no, I'm not perfect there either) and follow-up closely with your doctor--if need be, add more and more or different medications as needed, fortunately, many more options for treatment available then even five years ago.
The decreased senstation that several of you have discussed is called diabetic peripheral neuropathy--only thing I would add here about it is here an ounce of prevention is worth a ton of cure. Watch out for those sharp objects, as Jeffrey W. and others have discussed, the risks of non-healing and infection are high from any kind of injury/break in the skin, particularly on the feet. Check the bottoms of your feet every day, have your mate help you, or stick your foot up to a mirror.
Great idea for a forum topic, and all of you hang in there.
Jim
I was diagnosed back in 96 after coming back from the summer Olympics and was placed on Glynace Prestab then went on Rezulin. In 98 I started taking insulin by injection. in 02, was placed on an insulin pump. Before going on insulin, my sugars ran in the 300-500 range. Went on insulin and my sugars ran in the 200-300 range. Went on the insulin pump and now I have to deal with low blood sugars.
Ch
MP 53 on the BNSF Topeka Sub
Charlie wrote:Before going on insulin, my sugars ran in the 300-500 range. Went on insulin and my sugars ran in the 200-300 range.
300 - 500? That's low compared to what I was. 650 to 800. Totally out of control. Now that I'm on insulin, I'm happy if it's lower than 200. The lowest I've been (and this is recorded in my meter) is 23. I almost had to crawl to the drawer in the kitchen where I keep a stash of those little candy bars. One question I've always had is, why is the return of sensation ALWAYS accompanied by pain?
Dr. Frankendiesel aka Scott Running BearSpace Mouse for president!15 year veteran fire fighterCollector of Apple //e'sRunning Bear EnterprisesHistory Channel Club life member.beatus homo qui invenit sapientiam
Jeff,My diabetes is under control..My average is 97.According to my diabetes doctor anything above 120 should be unacceptable.I eat a well balance diet and still have some sweets even though I prefer sugar free candies and cookies..
If I fall below 70 I start to sweat and feel woozy.The lowest I been is 57 and I was really feeling weak and dizzy.
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
loathar wrote: IThe good thing about model railroading is it keeps me from sitting around the house eating all the time. I'm not really overweight. 6'2" 200lbs. But GOD! I love to eat!
IThe good thing about model railroading is it keeps me from sitting around the house eating all the time. I'm not really overweight. 6'2" 200lbs. But GOD! I love to eat!
Loathar,
I too am diabetic (on metformin) and 6 ft 2, and my doctor had me go on a diet, from 260 down to 175 pounds and boy, did it knock the heck out of my blood sugar! Then I dirifted back up to 200 lbs and the blood sugar counts drifted back up with them. Now I have found a way to keep the weight around 200, but keep the blood sugar to earlier levels. Weightlifting. Nothing too extreme, but 3 times a week, 45 minutes at a time. Its given me guns big enough to put a trackplan on (LOL) , increased my energy levels and has also improved my "relations" with my fiancee.
I still have trouble healing wounds, still get my eyes checked yearly, and watch what I eat, but the benefits of the weight loss are nothing to sneeze at.
Now, If I can only get my boss to let me move the vending machine that is across the hall from my office, so I don't hear the sweets calling me!!
If you do the diabetic forum thing, let me know. Maybe we can do an online clinic on redecorating the "Hershey" train cars!!!!
loathar wrote:Tracklayer-THANKS! Just what I needed to hear. Everyone in my family has died of cancer or a heart attack. Maybe I'll be the one that bucks the trend and gets creamed by a freight train at a poorly marked crossing.(probably CSX)
Sorry. Just trying to help. If it'll make you feel any better, shingles aren't ever linked to heart problems, so if anything it will probably only be some form of terrible cancer... Just joking loathar. I honestly hope that everything levels out for you and that you live a long, healthy and happy life. I mean that.
Tracklayer
I used to have the Hersheys,Popsicle, Papst and Coors cars. The good old B.D. days (before diabetes). I used to drive over the NS yard in Columbus Oh. on my way to work each day. I remember seeing endless trains of tank cars filled with corn sweetner. I swear my blood sugar would go up just driving over that bridge. I wonder if the companies switching to corn sweetner over sugar had anything to do with the recent jump in diabetes in this country. Real sugar doesn't seem to drive up my blood sugar.
I've got you all beat on the low reading-17! Wonder what it was when they rushed me to the hospital.
Track Layer-Thanks. I'd still opt for the freight train over the other 2 options.(quick!)
52 and diagnosed with type 2 about 3 years ago . managing it with pills , diet and walking an hour 4 or 5 times a week . my doc tells me i'm his best patient for keeping all my numbers where he wants them . reading the problems people here are having i think i'm going to keep it that way ! so far i've been really lucky , cuts heal slower and i have minor numbness if i stay in one position too long , but nothing serious
just remember , you probably don't need that piece of pie as much as you need your foot !
(no offense meant to anyone , that's just how i think of it sometimes to keep me on the straight , narrow and sugar free)
Reading this thread has brought back many memories for me, my dad died back in September 2000, age 87, from the results of 37 years of the ravages of typeII Diabetes. Everyone on my father's side of the family had type II Diabetes by age 50, all became very heavy by age 50, over their proper weight by at least 50 to 70 pounds. I saw my uncle go through an operation to have veins replaced in his lower legs, it failed as toes turned black and they had to remove both legs below his knees in an attempt to be able to give him ability to bend at the knees. It also failed and he to go through the agony of yet a third operation to remove both legs above the knees. He lived another 13 years and died at 63 due to Diabetes. During trhis same time, my father's weight went from a trim 175 to 245 when he stopped playing softball at age 44 and at age 50, he also had type II Diabetes. But after seeing the horror that his brother endured, he faithfully kept to his diet of low Carbs and his pills, and managed to live well to age 86 before the signs of poor circulation in the lower legs below the knees, especially the feet and toes, destroyed his circulation. My wife and I had to be trained to care for his sores on his toes that could not heal, so that we would not induce infection when changing his bandages. Finally, 6 months after coming to live with us, he had blood poison in his lower legs. He gave me stern warning, not to have his legs removed. He died two weeks later.
I am the 1st generation of my father's family NOT to get Diabetes by age 50. I am now 68. I keep to a low Carbohydrate diet and maintain a weight less than 190 pounds for a 5'-9" frame. Can you keep type II Diabetes away from your doorsteps? You bet you can, but it takes a lot of discipline starting BEFORE age 50, and even before age 40 in some cases. If you are unfortunate to have type II Diabetes, please do your level best to control Carbs. Your body only uses what it needs in Carbs and then via the action of insulin from your Pancreas, converts the carbs to glucose and stores it in cells. When that process fails....typeII Diabetes is the result. The side effects are terrible. Sugar ( glucose ) attacks the linings of your veins, the smaller ones are first to go, and this is why your eyesight gets effected so much with Diabetes, as well as your extremities like your toes and feet, and why sores do not heal well.
My prayers to all you, my MRR buddies with Diabetes, I hope that new advances in medicine will soon provide a cure for this via gene engineering in the Pancreas.
Hey guys,
Don't come down on yourselves too hard. I'm 43, diagnosed with Juvenile-Onset (Type 1) when I was three and a half, so I've had it a few days. Know what you're all going through. Got a pump 3 years ago and life is great. Much easier to control the blood sugars, but self-didcipline is a MUST. My lowest was a 23 several years ago and I've had high ones too. PLEASE take care of yourselves. I have many complications (impotence, neuropathy, stage 1 kidney disease, eye laser surgeries (5), low blood pressure (yes-low), and slow healing) related to the disease but I deal with them. The only way it has majorly affected me is that I can't be on my feet for long periods or lift over 15#'s. And I can't run with my girls but I still coach softball.
Keep your heads up and your blood sugars down. If your dr can't help you control it, find one that can.
Dan
Loathar/CSXect:
Our club is right down the road from there on Wilson Road near I-270.
Jeff: the sensations from neuropathy can be quite variable, from mild tingling to painful tingling, even electrical shock type senstation, to complete numbness. If you're not already on any medications for neuropathic pain, they're are several that can help, the most common used are Neurontin or Lyrica; ask your Doctor if you're having neuropathy symptoms and not on any specifac medications for this.
jbloch-Where's your club at? I used to work at Clark Graphics on Wilson. Pretty much lived at Tom Thumb Raceway when I was a little kid.
The one thing that bothers me about some doctors, (and I'm not trying to bash doctors here) is once your branded with the scarlet D on your forehead, most doctors don't look past diabetes for a diagnosis.---Let's see here....Hmmm, this diabetic was hit by a bus. Well, his diabetes caused him to stumble in front of the bus. Give him this blood pressure and cholesterol medication. Tell him to check his sugar 10 times a day and come back and see me in two weeks.
I had two doctors treat me for nuropathy when I really had shingles. What a fun experiance that was! I know diabetes IS the major cause of most things, but a case of tunnel vision seems to happen once your charts read.
Just to keep us on the MRR track - don't forget that most of us "seasoned" modelers are role models to the young modelers joining our ranks. We can teach our modeling skills to these youngsters as well as health habits!! Model railroading, although not exaxtly weight lifting, is better than sitting in front of a TV or video game for hours on end! While teaching them MRRing we can also caution them on diet & excercise, which may well help them NOT become one of us. We are better role models than many professional athletes - our meds come from a prescription, not Big Willie on the street corner!! My 10 y o grandson has ADD, and used to give us fits to take 1 1/2 small pills. We now "race" to take pills. When he sees me taking my 8 evening pills he dosn't mind taking his!! He has a sweet tooth, but he now looks at nutrition labels - he dosn't want to stick his finger 3 times a day or inject Byetta twice!!
When we help the younger modelers, we can teach them safety with tools - which may help us keep from stickig ourselves!! Has any one modeled a pharmacuticle plant? Or a drugstore? Model safely!