Onsen? Can go? Or no go?

2 years ago, I went Japan for holiday. One of the places we stayed is a hot spring resort under Mount Fuji. One of speciality of a hot spring resort is of course onsen (hot spring). It's highly recommended by our tour guide then that we should go try onsen.
There are different types of onsen. Different minerals provide different health benefits, and all hot springs are supposed to have a relaxing effect on your body and mind. Very tempted to try at that time but one of the things that stopped me from trying:
Water in the onsen could reach 40 to 44 degrees which is simply too hot! I have read somewhere that diabetics are not supposed to soak in hot water because diabetics can easily get scalded and if you cannot sense it, your skin will simply just rot. Some years ago, there is also a news on an old man who went soaking in hot spring like water for too long, in the end, his legs got rotten without him knowing it. That's scary. Being ignorant freak about all these, I decided to just give it a miss.
In 1 weeks time, I will be going Hokkaido for holiday and will be staying 4 nights at a hot spring resort. Heard alot about how good the hot springs in Hokkaido are. I really wanted to try it out myself to experience it. Was reading through 1 site and this is what it said:
Diabetics: diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) makes soles and palms numb, and diabetics vulnerable to scald; hence, to check the water temperature is a must before diabetics enjoy hot spring.
Therefore, I need to be careful and not soak myself for too long. Just 10 minutes will do and test water before I go in. It's just for the experience ^_^ When I come back, hopefully I can tell my friends: Onsen is good!

Visit to a Support Group: Touch Diabetes Center

I have had diabetes for 10 years. Did not really join any support groups or mixed around with people with diabetes. Hiding in my own world, trying to accept my condition as well as managing this condition all by myself. If not for my doctor, I would not have really get connected with other people having the same condition as me. If not for my new found friend, I would not have known that diabetic can eat normally like any other normal people without a super strict diet. This new friend is kind enough to ask me join the support group that he is with. Well, I joined the membership. With the 2 year membership, it came with a free meter!

Yesterday, I went down to Touch Diabetes Support (TDS) to pay my membership fee as well as collect my free meter. I selected Roche Accu chek Advantage meter. Been using the older model for a long time and this new meter came in just handy.

Stayed for a while at the center and my friend showed me around the place. It's nice cosy place and there is a activity area whereby activites and support group meetings are conducted. Just happened that TDS has organised an event for young kids (with diabetes) when I was there. It's an effort with the Boy Scouts to let young kids know that they too can be active in sports and games. Guess the kids must have had lots of fun yesterday and the lucky draw event was well received too.

I got to know this lady in TDS who has the same condition as me. Heard that she is a baker. Wow, I wanted to learn baking for the longest time but have no idea how to bake and what type of sugar to put for the cakes or cookies. I need to learn from her so that I can bake my own cakes/cookies. It's going to be a healthy one too :)

There are lots of other activities that TDS has lined up for people with diabetes or for their family members. By coming here, I know that I am not alone with this. There are really many other people with the same condition as I am and they can be so near to me.

If time permits, I will try to join them with their activites, especially now I know where they are located ^_^ oh, here is their website address: www.diabetessupport.org.sg

Visit to Doctor

Went to see my doctor 2 weeks ago for my regular checkup. It's the usual routine: register, take blood test, wait for > 1 hour, see doctor, get my insulin from pharmacy.
Everytime when I see doctor, I will always have this feeling like a student waiting for their exam results. Nervous and clueless. This time round, I do not know if my HbA1c is going to be high or low. For the past few checks, my HbA1c has been maintaining at quite a good level, not sure about this time round. After > 1 hour wait, finally it's my turn!!! Doctor is always perky whenever I see her. First question she will always ask me is: How are you? ^_^
Then she will start taking my pressure and then reviewing my results. Hmm..this time round, my HbA1c is 7.1. Hmmm...slightly higher than the previous time which was around 6.8, i think. 7.1 is still quite all right but I wish I can maintain a < 7 HbA1c.
Realized Doc has been helping me with some publicity on my blog. Thanks Doc! ^_^
Everytime when I walked out from the room, I will feel very guilty. Why? Because I have been a naughty patient. Never follow what doctor has asked me to do. This time round, I will make sure I have followed doctor's instructions and target to have my HbA1c < 7.

My 2nd Attempt At Power Walking

Last Saturday, I made a second attempt on power walking. Did not really convinced that by walking > 10km will really make my glucose level go so low for 2 days.

Before I took my breakfast, tested by sugar level. My god! It's 12.2 mmol!!! What happened? I did my glucose test before I go bed the day before and the meter read 5.2 mmol! How come my sugar level shot up so high in just a night? Really no idea. But anyway, I have to give myself more fast acting to bring it down. Gave my usual 20 units of Glargin but I gave myself 8 units of Humalog. In the morning, ate 2 slices of plain bread and a bowl of plain cereal. If you can see from the picture, it's really plain lor. So for people who like lots of flavour to their food, this kind of breakfast is not what they are looking for. For me, I am used to it. So, does not make any difference to me. In fact, I feel healthier eating this way ^_^

Drove myself to East Coast Park for my walk this time round. It's drizzling slightly in the morning. I tested myself again in the car to see what is my sugar level. Now, the meter read 15.6mmol. I'ts high but that was just an hour after I took my plain breakfast. While waiting for my friend to arrive, I ordered a cup of Long Black coffee from McDonalds. Eversince I have diabetes, I have never tried any other types of coffee other than Americano or Super Black coffee (no sugar, no creamer, no milk). Lots of people said it's bitter and indeed it is. Not the type of coffee that anyone will like. I would like to try Latte or Cuppucino but well, I better stick to my Americano coffee. My friend finally arrived and she ordered McGriddles for breakfast. I am soooo tempted to buy McMuffins or hashbrown to munch but I really need to control myself, else, I will really loose control of my sugar level.
Finally, the rain stopped and we started with our power walk. We walked from McDonalds all the way to the Sea food center and we detour back to walk all the way to the end of Fort Road. From Fort Road, we walked back to McDonalds. On the way back to McDonalds, I felt slightly that hypo is coming....But I am not too sure....I actually intended to wait till I get back to my car to test but I think I cannot wait till I reach my car. Plus, I am worried that my friend (who does not know I am diabetic) will panic if I should faint while walking. I decided to stop at 7 Eleven to get some "goodie" for myself. As usual, I got myself my favourite, ice cream!!! I decided to tell my friend my condition. Actually, I was expecting that her reaction will be big but surprisingly, she was calm about it. Then I know why.... because her auntie is having the same condition as me and she has been injecting too!

We have walked for almost 2.5 hours. Time for lunch! We decided to go to Terminal 3 for lunch. My friend suggested Popeye Restaurant in T3. Since, I have not tried that before, I agreed to it. She was surprised that I actually agreed to it because I have always rejected Kentucky Fried Chicken or rather fried chicken served in fast food restaurant. Again, when I reached T3, I tested myself in my car. This time round, the meter shows me 8.8 mmol. Hmmm....ok....better slightly. Now, go for my fried chicken meal!

I ordered a chicken burger set which include fries and water. Felt really guilty eating that fried chicken burger and guess my sugar level might have already gone up again. Sighz..... Immediately after my lunch, I gave myself a jab of Humalog of 10 units.

> 2 hours later, I checked again. The meter shows me 11.0mmol..... What a mess!

Went Chen Fu Ji and ordered their famous frice rice for dinner. Jab myself 12 units of Humalog to make sure that my sugar level will drop to a acceptable level. I proceed to go for drinks after dinner. Well, what can I drink when I go for drinks at drinking places? Alcohol!!! Ok, I have to admit, I am a social drinker who will mostly stick to red wine or beer. Ordered a pint of Heineken and I finished it. Felt guilty again. So, when I reached home, I tested. 7.7 mmol. Phew......

Think power walking did not really do anything special to my sugar level this time round. I will still continue with my power walk but maybe I need to rest a while because my leg hurts! ^_^

My Unlucky Day

Not expecting to be so unlucky today. 2 things happened:
#1: I forgot to bring my Humalog!
I realised this only after my lunch. I will usually inject myself immediately after I come back from lunch. Only then I realised that I did not bring my insulin pen! I should be feeling happy because no injection this afternoon but somehow I felt very uneasy. The uncertainty of my sugar level without any insulin injection makes worried. But come to think of it, my lunch today was not super heavy. Went to Sakae Sushi and I ordered a bowl of Tori Udon (*yum yum*). Mid afternoon, my stomach was growling....swallowed a slice of bread...With this slice before my dinner, I think my sugar level will sure be high. Indeed when I go reach home, before I take my dinner, took out my meter and test. 16.3mmol!!! (Ok, that is my punishment for forgetting to put my insulin pen into my bag this morning). To cover for this, I gave myself additional 3 more units of Humalog. Took my normal dinner of rice, vegetables, meat and toufu soup. I forsee that my sugar level should be back to normal when I test before sleep. Well, unlucky #2 happened.....

#2: My meter is not working!
Just when I anxiously wanting to know if my sugar level is back to normal, my meter actually went dead! No sign that battery is flat. So I do not know what happened to my meter. Simply blank on the screen. Sigh! Probably, it's telling me to change my meter. It has been with me for many years. Just nice, I am supposed to collect a free meter after joining a society membership. But for the next 2 days, I will not have anything to test. I will just have to make sure I take care of what I eat and the insulin that I need to jab.
I will be fine ! :)

My Senses To High Sugar

Been pretty busy with work these days and that's why not been updating this blog for a while.

This morning, I suddenly have this craving for fried carrot cake (dark version). Ever since diagnosed with diabetes, I have not been eating dark carrot cake. Normally I eat the white version. I will even "warn" my friends not to buy the dark one. The dark version somehow is too sweet because of the sweet soy sauce they add when preparing this dish. Just do not know why I have this craving. Maybe I am too stressed with work.....

Took the whole packet of the carrot cake and I can feel something is happening to my legs. It's not numb and it's not pain. It's just a kind of feeling I get on my legs and somehow I know it's telling me that my sugar level is high! So after finishing my carrot cake, went to inject 2 more units of fast acting insulin, Humalog. Slowly, the strange feeling on my legs is gone.

Well, today I did not bring my meter so I am not able to provide the sugar level but this feeling on the legs is already a warning sign to me.

Some people might have different reactions to high sugar. For me, it must definitely be this feeling on my legs.

Power Walking Causes My Hypo?

Yesterday went "power walking" with my friends @ McRitchie Reservoir. What is power walking? It's simply brisk walking and this is my first time doing it.
Before I started my walk, did a test. Reading was around 13.4 mmol (because I just ate my breakfast).
We started our walk at around 9.15am. My friends were concerned my sugar will go low during the walk and kept reminding me if I brought along any sweets. So touched. ^_^
The air is fresh and walking in the woods is such a new experience. In fact, there are a lot of people walking in the woods as well. Actually, brisk walking in the woods is not easy. If you've been trekking in the woods, you would know what I am referring to. It's not a concrete pavement but uneven paths. Walking on uneven paths can be very straining and in fact tiring. Our aim is to walk to the tree top to enjoy the view. By the time we reached there, I was already very breathless and legs are already aching. It took us almost another hour after the tree top to reach our starting point. My legs are already aching like hell and I am am dead tired. In fact, we have walked for almost 3 hours! This is a good walk and in fact I think this walk is equal to jogging 3 times in the gym!
I was hungry indeed after the walk but do not think my sugars will go low. I do not feel myself with the hypo symptoms but my friends were concerned. Wanted me to drink isotonic drinks. But since isotonic drinks are sweet, I drink plain water instead.
It's time for lunch and I drove hawker center for lunch. Did a test. Oh my god!!!!!! My sugars went so low to 2.4 mmol and I have no hypo feeling at all! This is scary! Of course, I need to bring up my sugars fast!
Through out the day, the legs are aching like hell. Felt like my legs are going to tear into parts. Wanted to go for massage. I really cannot stand it and I went for foot reflexology. For me, I will usually request them not to press too hard on my sole as I know that diabetics are not supposed to go for foot reflexology. But my legs are hurting so much that I need a good massage! Felt better after the massage.
Something is not right after the power walking session. I have been experiencing hypos ever since. In the middle of the night, experienced hypo. Early in the morning before breakfast, hypo again. Before lunch, hypo again. After lunch, hypo again. After dinner, hypo again! Oh my god!!! What is going on?! Is the power walk bringing down my sugars or the foot reflexology has somthing to do with the hypos? Or, is my meter cheating on me? No idea. Need to monitor still.