Fun and Frolic With Long-Term Love

Apparently covid triggered T2 diabetes in a lot of people. I was diagnosed in March of 2022 so it was a big wakeup call for me. My A1C was 7.0 then and I've managed to get it down to 5.4 so it's under control now without insulin. I've lost nearly 90lbs since then and exercise 4-6 times a week which has made all the difference.

I test a couple of times a day (Verio OneTouch) to see how my body is processing things. I don't count carbs or anything crazy, just make sure I eat regularly, go for whole foods when I can, and keep the glycemic index in mind.
 
Apparently covid triggered T2 diabetes in a lot of people. I was diagnosed in March of 2022 so it was a big wakeup call for me. My A1C was 7.0 then and I've managed to get it down to 5.4 so it's under control now without insulin. I've lost nearly 90lbs since then and exercise 4-6 times a week which has made all the difference.

I test a couple of times a day (Verio OneTouch) to see how my body is processing things. I don't count carbs or anything crazy, just make sure I eat regularly, go for whole foods when I can, and keep the glycemic index in mind.
We were just talking last night about Covid maybe triggering it! That’s amazing you could get it under control - I’m hoping I’m as lucky. Right now Metformin has me completely ass over teakettle and it’s difficult to stay vertical, much less exercise.
 
Apparently covid triggered T2 diabetes in a lot of people. I was diagnosed in March of 2022 so it was a big wakeup call for me. My A1C was 7.0 then and I've managed to get it down to 5.4 so it's under control now without insulin. I've lost nearly 90lbs since then and exercise 4-6 times a week which has made all the difference.
Wow! Great job, Vicki!

I didn't know that about Covid triggering diabetes. I know Covid affects overweight people more than fit people. I made myself lose 40 lbs during the height of the pandemic by walking 30 mins almost every day, watching portion sizes and eating fewer sweets.

My ex h (and his gf) just had Covid. They went to a party (the first one he went to since the pandemic), which turned out to be a super spreader event! Lots of people got it from one person. He tested positive for over 2 weeks. Covid (aka the Kraken) is spiking again. Not as much as during the peak, but I am masking again in stores and going out to eat much less.
 
Ugh, Bluebird what a bomb drop in a single doctor visit! I’m glad you have the diabetes education office involved, and that everything is being followed up/double checked, and that the other folks will be checking your esophagus (fucking GERD, man. Ugh). I’m sending hugs and hoping your body takes the hint and adjusts so you don’t need the insulin.
 
Thanks everyone. I’m still having terrible side effects from the Metformin. Today was the worst when it came to bathroom issues. I went to the Pagan Pride event in Frederick with MisterMoonbeam, and we met up with SirGawain near the end of it. I had to use a porta potty, and it was nasty, but I survived. I bought a cute fox stained glass piece, so it was worth the trip. The dizziness was much less today, but it did hit a few times.

My period is due this weekend, so I’m wondering if this pain in my belly is just the medicine, or if it involves some cramping from it being that time of the month. It’s pretty constant though, so who knows. I’m also wondering if this will delay or erase my period this month. Sigh. Guess we will find out!

Tonight we had a good D&D session, and in the middle of it I had someone stop buy and deliver like 70 or so packs of adult pull-ups. I guess I will be posting a giveaway tomorrow! Being “officially closed” isn’t a thing, I guess. I’m not soliciting for donations, but people still ask me for help in passing on their stuff. These I was happy to take because I know I can get them out of my garage fairly quick.
 
This is a really common side effect of metformin. Really they should do more to prepare people for it because it stops people adhering to treatment. Nevertheless, there are other types of oral medication that you can switch too as well as a slower release form of metformin that many find easier on the tummy. The latter should be quite easy to change to now.
 
This is a really common side effect of metformin. Really they should do more to prepare people for it because it stops people adhering to treatment. Nevertheless, there are other types of oral medication that you can switch too as well as a slower release form of metformin that many find easier on the tummy. The latter should be quite easy to change to now.
I am aware. They definitely didn’t tell me I would be this miserable, just that I needed to take 1,000 mg twice a day, and that it was important that I didn’t skip any doses. I’m struggling through it. I have an appointment tomorrow morning with someone who is supposed to educate me, so we will see how that goes!

My friend who comes to D&D every week has PCOS, and she told me last night that there is a lot of talk about Metformin in her online groups - I guess it is a very common medication for that issue. She said everyone says how awful the side effects are, but that they do mellow out quickly and after that they all seem to agree that it does what it is supposed to do. Tomorrow I will be 5 days in, so I am going to have to weigh the idea of the regulation process being almost over, or switching it up to something that could also give me side effects.
 
Today I still felt a little out of sorts, but things are improving, thank goodness!

I felt perfectly fine when I woke up, but after taking my first pill at breakfast (scrambled eggs and a slice of whole wheat toast) I felt nauseous after a bit, and I had the water poops like 4 times during the morning. MisterMoonbeam and I went to the Farm store and bought some new stuff for our bird/small mammal feeders in the yard and I was fine while there. We hit Lowes for some eye hooks and fishing line, and I was dizzy once.

I took a rest after we got home, and then spent some time giving away around 60 packages of adult pull-ups to people in need. I estimate I have about 60 more packs, at least! I bagged them up and MisterMoonbeam delivered some, while I gave bunches to a few people who stopped by. It was nice to be giving back to my community again! That said, it was way too much movement for me, and I was back down for a siesta afterward. (DarkKnight came out while I was working and fed me lunch.)

Later that afternoon, I cleared out one section of the back of the garage in the area we call “the shed” and dedicated it to our feeders. I hung up the new bird feeders we bought then too.

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While I was working outside, DarkKnight and MisterMoonbeam put together our 12 foot skelly! We had been told our sunroom ceilings were 15 feet high, but nope - our guy barely fit! I’m not unhappy though, this is going to be awesome for our costume party in October!

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I took a shower with MisterMoonbeam after dinner, and now I am curled up in bed. I definitely think I overdid it today, but it was the best feeling day I’ve had since starting the medication. I’m glad! Hopefully when the injections start tomorrow I don’t have any further issues. I’m supposed to go to New York on Tuesday!
 
Apparently covid triggered T2 diabetes in a lot of people. I was diagnosed in March of 2022 so it was a big wakeup call for me. My A1C was 7.0 then and I've managed to get it down to 5.4 so it's under control now without insulin. I've lost nearly 90lbs since then and exercise 4-6 times a week which has made all the difference.

I test a couple of times a day (Verio OneTouch) to see how my body is processing things. I don't count carbs or anything crazy, just make sure I eat regularly, go for whole foods when I can, and keep the glycemic index in mind.
This happened to me! Covid then diabetes out of no where.
 
This happened to me! Covid then diabetes out of no where.
Well, shit.

I had an amazing meeting with the diabetes educator yesterday. She was on the phone several times with the pharmacist and the two doctors that were involved with my case. A lot has changed!

I’m now to cut all of the MetFormin pills in half and take just 500 mg ONCE a day, instead of 1000 mg twice a day. I’m going to see her next Monday, so at that point we will add in a second 500 mg in the evening. Of course this morning I don’t have a pill splitter, so I am going to skip today completely and start tomorrow morning.

I’m also supposed to start taking my blood pressure once a day at different times. My entire life, my blood pressure has been 120/80 or even lower. Yesterday it was 131/87! I was pretty shocked to see that. DarkKnight has a wrist cuff, and last night it was giving me 150/92 which is some bullshit. I’m going to buy a regular one today as well, since we think that might be wrong since it’s made for a big dude like him and my wrists are very tiny. Still. It’s very confusing as to how it has ratcheted up so high out of nowhere!

I’m also supposed to test my blood sugar twice a day. It’s before a meal and two hours after a meal, and for different meals each day. She gave me a monitor and had the doctor write a prescription for test strips. She tested me in the office, which was two hours after my breakfast, and it was 198. That gave her a pause, and she called the doctor and told him she wasn’t going to have me take any insulin injections. So those are on hold for now.

Today it took me 5 tries to use the meter correctly, but I finally figured it out (my poor finger) and got a reading of 189. We will see where I am in two hours.

My youngest daughter just arrived so I will write more later. I’m driving to New York today!
 
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Thank goodness you are now with the right person and not some over-prescribing quack.
 
Thank goodness you are now with the right person and not some over-prescribing quack.
I think they were freaked out to see my >9% result out of nowhere. The nurse grabbed my doctor, and my doctor grabbed the head doctor. The head guy was the one who upped my dosage all of the way! I’m glad too.
 
I drove to NY on Tuesday with LittleMichigan, and we were peas and carrots the whole time. We haven’t had alone time like that since pre-Covid! It was really wonderful bonding time with my youngest daughter. ❤️

We stayed at my oldest nephew’s apartment, and went to see a play called Alice by Heart where he was AMAZING. It was opening night and we really enjoyed it.

On Wednesday we went to brunch with my sister, her 11-year old son, my daughter and my oldest nephew again. :) My sister had me stressed out in a second. She found a hair in her food, received an entirely new meal, and then refused to leave a good tip, saying that the waitress “did all right” and didn’t need a tip.

She complained loudly about her ex being ill with cancer, and how she forgave his $24,000 back payments for child support. She thinks it was unfair that she is expected to be a parent while he has done nothing, and now that he has cancer, he probably never would. It sounded like she was saying that his death was going to be a terrible thing because she will never get any money. Ugh.

She told me that she shared over the phone with our mom that I might have esophageal cancer. I was not happy about that because, I have no confirmation of that and I have my consult next Monday! Anyway, she said that my mom was like, “oh, well, I need to get my stuff from her!”

This confused me because my brother and my mom were just here, but apparently my mom has some stuff missing, like her headboard and bed supports. This irritated me because MisterMoonbeam said that when they were loading up the moving truck, he pointed out the headboard to my brother, and he said it wasn’t hers, and my mom was really thorough about what was hers and what wasn’t. 🤷‍♀️

I told my sister that she could relay that they were welcome to come back and get whatever she was missing, but I wasn’t going to worry about it. When I finish emptying my garage, if anything is here, it’s getting donated. Their oversight isn’t my problem.

Sigh.

My oldest nephew left after the meal, and my sister immediately confided that her daughter had gotten fat. My own daughter recoiled and I stared at her, like what? She said that she’s lazy and doesn’t want to work weekends, and that she’d been eating lots of trash food and was fat now. I was like, wait, doesn’t she go to college during the week, and work nights to close at the fast food restaurant? And play softball for scholarships that pay for her college? Shouldn’t she be allowed to have downtime on the weekends??

My sister said, no, she was lazy and fat. That my niece needed softball pants and some new headlights for her car that cost $100, and my sister had to buy them, which was bullshit, and that my niece should be working more to afford her own shit.

I told my sister that sorry, I disagreed, that those sounded like parent-purchases to me, which made her really mad. Then my young nephew piped up and said, “My sister is fat?” OMG, her head whipped around and was like, “Oh, no, I didn’t say that, she’s fine.” I guess she didn’t like how that sounded coming out of his mouth.

LittleMichigan and I left and went to lunch to meet my niece. Lol We didn’t tell her about what her mom had said about her weight. She had not gained any, that we could see. She’s not willow-thin, but she is not overweight AT ALL. She’s 19 and looks just fine!

I asked her about her schedule and she said she has 19 credit hours and she’s working most nights to close to make sure she can afford her car insurance and cell phone and food. She has softball practices before work and sometimes her work interferes and she misses. Games are on Sundays and she can’t miss practice or she gets benched, and if she’s benched, she can’t get scholarships. She sees her girlfriend (who goes to another college a couple of hours away) on Saturdays. She says her mom expects her to work early mornings and then go to school as well. My niece is a straight A student, but holy fuck. She deserves a day off! She admits that she’s struggling to get essays written on time but she has managed to do it all so far. She’s graduating in the Spring and needs to decide where to transfer, and she wants to go to the same college as her girlfriend, but isn’t sure about her major yet. Right now it’s Humanties.

Shit like this upsets me. I gave her some cash (today is her birthday) and we talked about other things.

My daughter and I drove home last night.

Overall I think it was a good trip, though a fast trip. The overall theme was about how broke and disillusioned the 19 to 25 year old young adults are right now. I felt pretty helpless to hear them speak about how hard they feel they work for not enough money, and how sometimes they don’t have money for food. LittleMichigan was in tears a couple of times. Actually, my niece was as well. They all feel that they work more and they can afford less than the last few years, and they don’t see a way to improve that. My nephew and his husband told us about their rent struggles and how nothing is affordable.

I told them all to please reach out and I would try and help them if I could. When we got to my house, my daughter took one of my cat carriers to borrow, as I had figured out there was a low-cost shot clinic being held by the humane society next week, and she is going to take her cat to it since it needs to get up to date on rabies and distemper. I also gave her a Hello Fresh meal, as she gets paid on Friday but didn’t have food for dinner Thursday - today.

I really did feel helpless. I’m going to think on this. I have to say when I was doing my Blessing Box, this population was my least served. If I saw people in this age range, they were without kids and their main requests were always food, tampons, laundry pods and toilet paper. They weren’t on food stamps and not utilizing food banks. They were working and extremely stressed out. But I didn’t see many of them.
 
I am really struggling with all of my new daily tasks, managing my diabetes. I know there was a trip the last two days, and that definitely threw a wrench in things, but overall it’s difficult to keep track of what I’m supposed to be doing.

I did buy a new blood pressure cuff. My last two wrist cuff readings were 150/101 which seemed really crazy high and inaccurate. I bought this cuff at a Rite Aid in NY and it takes the measurement automatically, and uploads it to an app on my phone. I used it last night, and I was a 135/88. Which is still high, but seems more correct. After I finish writing this, I will take my reading for today.

I’ve been logging my food choices on this app called FatSecret that my diabetes person requested. I think the food choice information is less than what’s in MyFitnessPal, but it tracks the fat/carb/protein ratio for every meal, and that’s what she wants me to pay attention to right now. So I make it work.

My ratios are all off, and it’s unclear to me as to what I should be aiming for, other than 45 carbs per meal. So far I have done that. But my fat content is like 50% for each day, which I know is high, and most days I am waaaaay under for my calories. Like, yesterday I still needed 900 calories when I went to bed, so I made some egg salad and got my gap down to 800. My total calories is supposed to be 2200. I need more protein, I guess?

This morning I am already not off to a good start. I had two scrambled eggs with a 1/4 cup of shredded cheddar, and a slice of whole wheat toast with butter. This puts my fat at 60%. Sigh. I am looking forward to seeing my week’s worth of food and figures, and seeing the expert on Monday to get her input on changes I can make there.

I just took my 500 mg of metFormin. I didn’t take any while I was on my trip, because I was afraid I’d get sick again. When I stopped taking it Monday afternoon, all of the terrible side effects instantly disappeared. I’m home today now, so I figure if it hits me again even at the lower dose, I can suffer in my bed. Lol

I’m doing okay with my acid pill and I feel great - like the best I have with that in years.
 
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No physical side effects so far today, but I just started crying for no reason during lunch.

My blood pressure today was 116/86. Still high but much improved.

After I had breakfast this morning at 6:30, I went to my bedroom and fell back asleep until 2 pm.

MisterMoonbeam wants me to go on a walk with him, so after I finish this I am going to go put on deodorant and clothing that is not pajamas.
 
Yesterday, I had none of the terrible side effects I had grown used to on the higher dose of MetFormin. Yay! No water poops, nausea or dizziness. However, I cried all afternoon and evening for no reason, at random intervals. Not sure if that is the result of the meds, or missing my period.

We started watching Star Trek: Strange New Worlds last night. We had finished Picard, finally! DarkKnight wants to start the second season of Wheel of Time, but there are more finished episodes of SNW, so that’s first up in the order.

While we were in bed, MisterMoonbeam booked he and I two nights in a hotel in Gettysburg, and we now have two weekend passes to Mythicon, the weekend after Valentine’s Day! There are TWO dances - Friday is the “Sea Mobster’s” ball, and Saturday is “Frost Faerie.” I’m very excited about them both! Last year SirGawain was the quickest at snagging a Valentine’s Day date - we went to a weekend D&D adventure. I just found it funny that MisterMoonbeam booked so early! He also talked about going to the Ocean City Ren Faire later on, but we didn’t get tickets.

Today I have to go to the UPS store and the post office to process some returns, from BloomChic, Amazon and Stitch Fix. I definitely need to do some budgeting. MisterMoonbeam has the day off and he says he is craving Waffle House, but also we need to go to the Farm store and buy some more regular bird seed, as we are almost out. He leaves Sunday morning at ass o’clock for Arizona (gone for a week), so he needs to get packed for that! I’m missing this trip because my birthday is next weekend and I have tickets with DarkKnight already to see Moulin Rouge and stay overnight in DC.

I’m also hoping to get some of the Halloween storage bins upstairs so I can start decorating soon. I want to do some weeding out in my closet as well. I didn’t realize that I owned two orange cardigans until Stitch Fix sent me a third. Lol I’ve now organized my cardigans, hoodies and light jackets, so that part is done already!

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I got everything sent out yesterday, so I am happy to not have a pile of returns sitting around, stressing me out. Yay! MisterMoonbeam and I pretty much spent the entire day together, and that was fun.

In the evening we had a fun date night and went to a bar my friend opened in August, but we hadn’t had time to visit yet. We shared a charcuterie board while there and MisterMoonbeam had a couple of their specialty drinks while I sipped on a Diet Coke. Afterward we went to the mall game store, but didn’t buy anything. The end of the evening, we watched another episode of Strange New Worlds with DarkKnight.

Y’all we had sex TWICE last night, which is like only the second time that’s ever happened with him, and it was absolutely AMAZING. I was really vibrating - he knows me so well!

Unfortunately, BugGirl messaged last night and asked again to move home, and that is happening today now. Since MisterMoonbeam is leaving for Arizona for a week early Sunday morning, she will be able to crash in his room until we can get her space ready for her. I feel very overwhelmed with everything, because I was supposed to spend time today with my son, and taking him shopping and to get his Pennsylvania license, since he’s been there and out of Maryland for a bit now.

I’m doing well with the 500 mg of MetFormin and haven’t had any nasty side effects. I’m counting my nutrition numbers and doing well with the parameters set with the carb count. My blood pressure is still high but 126/91 isn’t horrific. I did have issues yesterday - I made it over to the pharmacy to get a supply of lancets and test strips for my blood glucose monitor and when I got home, they were the wrong brand! The prescription was incorrect. Thankfully I hadn’t opened them and was able to return them, but they had to order the type I need. I have plenty at the moment so waiting isn’t that difficult.

My numbers have been in a range between 176-236 since Monday. I’m only supposed to take it twice a day - once before a meal and then two hours later. My body is definitely not working as it should with this, but I am optimistic that things will work out as they should.
 
BugGirl ended up moving on Sunday. She called crying, asking us to get her a UHaul. DarkKnight and my bestie went to pick her up and load her items, and I stayed home to finish emptying & did the cleaning in MisterMoonbeam’s office. This was after I was up at 3 am to take MisterMoonbeam to Reagan Airport so he could spend the week in Arizona for work.

After lots of drama, we got BugGirl all moved in. Then she left and spent the rest of the evening and night where we just moved her out of, with her ex. Sigh. I do hope they work it out but he is toxic and controlling. She seems to still think that if she only makes enough concessions, he will trust her. I’ve told her this is something he needs to work on, not her. We’ll see I guess.

I’m so tired today but I have two doctor appointments.
 
AdorkableDude and I called it off today. Our schedules just do not ever align and he is just not available. He was apologetic and I was as well. I messaged him to tell him I wasn’t feeling it and he responded that he’s not in a place to be dating anyone but wanted to stay friends. I absolutely hold no animosity or anything and I am actually excited to hang out with him and his wife - we all need more poly friends.

I am not sure about dating anyone else right now because of my health issues and with how busy I am just trying to function on a daily basis. I’m still active on OKC but I haven’t logged in, in like a month. I’m still steadily getting alerts but it’s not something I am interested in right now.

My doctor appointments went well and I’m now taking 500 mg of Metformin in the evening. The doctor told me to be prepared for side effects so I don’t have anything scheduled for the next couple of days. I might go to the fair with SirGawain Wednesday, but if I am feeling terrible, Thursday will work too. I had my first new dose tonight at dinner and I am feeling nauseous. Gah!
 
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Gahhhh

Because I lost weight previously this year, and now an additional 5 pounds, I’m beginning to have issues with my clothing. This shirt totally doesn’t fit me right now, and though I bought it a while ago, I’ve only worn it a few times. I feel cheated! Today I added one of my corsets and I think it looked great. I am worried about losing too much and then all of my corsets not fitting…yikes!

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Great news! SirGawain finally got a job offer he can accept! After 5 years of no raises, missing paychecks and absolutely awful abuse from a jerkface of a boss, he’s going to be working as a litigation paralegal. He’s signing tonight, and then once his background check clears, he can get a start date and put in his notice. I’m so very happy for him. He’s lost a ton of weight over the last few months in an effort to improve his health, and now his second biggest stress is going away.

We’re supposed to go to the Frederick Fair tomorrow, and I can’t wait to see him and celebrate. Unfortunately, I had a rough day on the increased medication but I’m hoping tomorrow will be better as my body adjusts.
 
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