I came home with my new pair of Diabetic shoes last Thursday, and in some ways I like them and in some ways I don’t. I chose a Velcro closure, which I have never worn before, and that, in hindsight, was probably a mistake, since lace up shoes allow for more adjustment across the ball of the foot.
Even though my foot measured as average width, I am finding it difficult to adjust to the tight feeling across the widest part of my left foot. I’ve been patiently breaking them in, but getting a little discouraged. So, I took the amazingly comfortable special insoles out and put the original insole back in. Those are not as thick, but the shoe feels much better. Maybe after I’ve worn them for awhile I will be able to put the super cushion ones back in.
Medicare and my supplemental insurance paid for them, plus enough insoles to change them out every quarter. I figured since I couldn’t get much help with the testing supplies I’d save the money for a new pair of shoes that I needed anyway, and use that savings on test strips.
I continue to lose weight a little at a time, and I’m very pleased with that. I’ve lost 16 pounds since mid April, the first weight I’ve been able to lose since I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s and put on those meds. The change from PD meds to Essential Myoclonus meds didn’t help that problem, either. As my weight climbed I was more and more at risk for diabetes, particularly since it runs in my Daddy’s side of the family. It was not until my glucose levels were under control that I was able to lose weight, no matter how hard I tried. Adding the discipline of checking blood glucose levels 5 times a day on top of my already busy medicine schedule has just meant more to remember, but it’s pretty much routine by now. I still forget occasionally, but considering how bad my memory is, I think I’m doing quite well.
I guess my brain function is the real problem I continue to deal with. I have spells of being extremely forgetful, plus hubby and I have come to realize that I don’t process visual information very well any more. He will see a bird outside, tell me where to look, and it will often be a very long time before I can finally “see” it. I can’t really explain it, but I do know it’s not normal. I’ve made a few mistakes sending out stuffed animals or dolls that were similar to the one someone had ordered, not noticing the differences until they wrote to say they did not get the right toy. Very aggravating – and it costs us money!!
This Sunday I saw a name on our prayer list, immediately thinking it was someone in our Sunday School class who was having surgery. I embarrassed myself in front of everybody asking how she was doing. Of course she had no idea what I was talking about. I know both of these ladies very well, but for some reason my brain just ignored the last name, as if I didn’t even see it at all. I recently had my eyes examined, so I know it’s more a processing glitch than a vision problem.
Things like this seem to be happening more and more often, and I’d be lying if I said it doesn’t bother me. My mother had Alzheimer’s and my Granddaddy probably did, too, so it’s disconcerting, to say the least.
Well, that’s enough whining for one day. Let me get back to something more optimistic. I am very proud of my weight loss and the efforts I am taking to learn more about proper eating habits and diabetes in general. I just need to keep my eye on that 50 pound weight loss goal, and I know I can do it!
I’ve gone back to working Sudoku puzzles in an attempt to help with my strange brain glitches. I’ve also been playing with an old Rubic’s Cube we still had, too. And I plan on finding some more brain puzzles I can work on the computer.