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Tag Archives: Diabetes

It Was A Tough Decision

17 Friday Jan 2020

Posted by Tim Hughes Living with CML in Cancer, Diabetic, Disability, Retirement

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Tags

Diabetes, Disability, Work

WD1

February 14th, 2014 was a date that I will never forget.  One reason is that it’s the date that I asked my wife of 28 years to marry me.  She said yes, obviously.  The 14th was also the date that I was diagnosed with CML, Cronic Myeloid Leukemia. My life has not been the same since.

Prior to being diagnosed, my weight had increased over the years and my diabetes had gotten out of control. My doctor sat me down and told me that I had better start doing something about it or I wouldn’t live to see my kids graduate high school.  That woke me up a bit.  I started watching what I ate, I started walking some and a friend of mine got me riding my bicycle.  In 2012 I started riding my bike religiously; up to 20 miles a day and up to 30 miles on the weekend.  Even after my diagnosis of CML I kept riding.  In 2015 I rode over 7,000 that year.  But that would soon change.

In 2016, I spent a total of four weeks in the hospital.  Not all at one time but through the year.  My cancer meds were causing fluid to be collected around my heart and lungs.  This was also the time I was diagnosed with congestive heart failure and diastolic heart failure.  This was also the time that my vision got blurry and I was diagnosed with diabetic retinopathy. I had to take injections in each eye to remove the blood that was pooling up behind my retina.  Because of all my health issues, I had to take off from work a lot because of doctor’s appointments and hospital stays.  Some of the meds I was on also caused memory loss and I started making mistakes at work.  One was a bad mistake and I was given a choice to either get fired or take a lower position.  I took the lower position which I also got lower pay.  Since 2016, I have been in the hospital at least 2 times a year spending at least 4 days each time.  I missed my daughter’s high school graduation because I was in the hospital with the flu and pneumonia.  I also missed my wife’s birthday twice because of hospital stays.

Some years back the company I worked for raised the age at which you could retire.  Because I had been there so long, I was grandfathered in and I could retire at the age of 55 because I had over 30 years of service. When I got grandfathered in, I had 42 months until I could retire.  I counted each day.  I couldn’t wait.  On August 15th, 2018 I retired.  I retired because I couldn’t do the work they were asking me to do.  My memory had gotten bad, I couldn’t walk without having to stop and take a breath and it was taking me too long to complete my jobs.  I knew if I didn’t retire I would eventually lose my job.

Since I was diagnosed in 2014 with cancer, I was asked several times why I didn’t try to file for disability. For me, disability is for someone who can’t work.  Even now I still think I can do something.  In reality, I know I can’t.  At my age, now 56, I doubt anyone will hire me with all my health issues.  It took some convincing from my wife and some of my other family members, I filed for disability in Septemeber of 2018.  Of course, with any filing, the first attempt is always denied, at least that’s what I was told.  And with that, my first filing, I was denied.

The simple fact that I can’t do anything but short term because I get so out of breath.  Walking, climbing stairs, going up an incline, carrying anything of any distance; things such as these I get so tired with fatigue and afterward I have to go and lay down for a while to get my energy back.  I can’t see any employer letting me go lay down after I do a job.

So, I got denied.  I immediately called a lawyer that had been highly recommended to me. When I filed for disability myself, I had to send in a lot of documents from all the doctors, the hospitals and such that I had.  It took me about two months to gather all of the information.  After about a month after I filed, they wanted more information.  Another month goes by gathering more information.  So, I had saved all of the documentation that was requested by the Social Security office and I sent all the documents I had saved to my lawyer.  After one year and six months, I had my hearing with the Social Security judge.

I met with my lawyer right before the hearing and he basically told me what not to say and what to say to the judge.  He told me to tell the truth and to tell him exactly what was going on, and I did.  They had a doctor on the phone that was representing the Social Security office.  To say that I was concerned would be an understatement.  My lawyer tried to calm me down because he could tell I was nervous.  The judge asked me a series of questions all of which I answered the best way I could.  The judge then turned to the doctor on the phone.  My anxiety levels hit the roof.  The judge asked him a series of questions regarding my work record, my work skill level and then he started asking him questions like, can he lift 50 pounds, can he crawl on his hands and knees, can I stand over thirty minutes without difficulty, can I sit for thirty minutes without difficulty.  The list went on and on.  To my surprise, the doctor said NO I can not do these things.  The Judge thanked him for his service and said I’m done.  That’s all I need to hear.  And with that he said we’re done.  I was in his chambers for less than 10 minutes.  The guy before me was in there for nearly an hour.

After I left the judge’s cambers my lawyer came and spoke to me.  He said that he felt really good about my case.  I am to call him in three months.  The decision could take up to six months.  But here is the kicker.  If I receive disability, I am supposed to get back pay from the date I filed or somewhere near that date.  He mentioned a figure of $2,100 a month for the backpay as well as my monthly payment.  I know he’s supposed to either get 25% of the back pay or $6,000, whichever is less.  I have a lot of need for this money so I hope I get it.

After all this, I still think that I don’t deserve disability.  I know a lot of people who are in worse shape than I am and they can’t get it.  The system is totally screwed up.  I know I have issues but I feel like I can still do something.  I’m not sure what but I think there is something out there that I can do.  The trouble is getting someone to hire me.

.

 

The Crossroads

31 Thursday Oct 2019

Posted by Tim Hughes Living with CML in Diabetic

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Tags

Diabetes, diet, Dieting, Exercise, Food, Grazing, Guilt, Gym, Weight loss

_3TH9581_tonemapped

Decisions, decisions.  This weather we are having doesn’t seem to know where to go.  This morning we woke to 70-degree weather, now as I’m writing this it’s close to 40 degrees and dropping.  It will be a miracle if I don’t end up sick or worse, in the hospital.

Although it rained all day, I got to spend some time with one of my daughters. The other daughter decided she wanted to go to Chicago with her boyfriend.  Their flight kept getting delayed because of the weather in Chicago.  I think their trip had a five-hour delay in getting started because of it.

I was able to take my other daughter out to lunch and we got to spend some good quality time with each other. Time flies.  She and her sister are seniors this year in college. It’s hard to believe.  It seems just like yesterday we were taking them down there. They have both grown up to be responsible adults.

Being that the weather was bad and my daughter was home, I didn’t go to the gym as planned.  My daughter will be here until Sunday and I have somewhere to be both Friday afternoon and Saturday so it may be Monday before I get to back to the gym.

I am sticking to my diet but my problem is that I still have a snacking issue.  Late at night, I get hungry and I head to the kitchen.  Now, instead of eating a bag of chips or ice cream, I’ll fix me some cheese slices with a little bit of mayo on them.  It’s not really filling but it satisfies my grazing needs. But, I feel guilty for doing it.  I shouldn’t eat that late at night.

The good thing about all this dieting is that my blood sugar has dropped somewhat. It’s still got a long way to go but at least it’s going down.

 

Day One! My Weight Loss Journey

14 Monday Oct 2019

Posted by Tim Hughes Living with CML in Weight Loss

≈ 12 Comments

Tags

Apps, Blood Sugar, Diabetes, Fitbit, goals, Insulin, Journey, Low Carb Diet, Measurements, MyNetDiary, Overweight, Weight loss

IMG_20191014_075609

Good Morning!!  Today is the day that I start my weight loss journey. Posting these pictures are the hardest thing that I’ve had to do.  I can’t stand to see myself in this shape.  What better way to start a diet right?

I have weighed and taken my measurements this morning. I’m not too surprised at what I see.  It could and has been worse.  I’ll post everything later on in this post. My plan is to weigh every day and take my measurements once a month.

The Plan

I have been on hundreds of diets in my lifetime.  The only one that really works for me is the low carb diet along with exercise.  Another thing that I have found that works is being able to track my intake as well as my exercise.  One of the best ways is through some apps that I can  use on my phone. I have a couple of apps that I like. One is Fitbit and the other is MyNetDiary.  Both of which have similarities but differences as well. The MyNetDiary app allows me to track my insulin and my blood sugar as well.

Fitbit offers a way to track your exercise on a daily basis.  It counts your steps for which you can set different daily goals.  The default is 10,000 steps. It counts stairs or sets of stairs should I say, it counts the total miles that you’ve walked in a day, it counts the calories that you’ve burnt or used and if you want, it will even count the hours of sleep you had the night before.  Each one of these have a goal that you can set.

So, let’s get into the plan a little deeper.  Like I said earlier, I will be on a low carb diet.  I will stay at or below 2,000 calories/day. And by way of the Fitbit, I will try to get at least 10,000 steps per day and at least if not more than 30 minutes of exercise per day.

I will log everyday but not necessarily on here. You can though, expect a weekly report.  If you would like to track my progress more closely then you can request to join my Fitbit group.  To do so all you have to do is send me an email at timhughes1963@gmail.com and I”ll hook you up.

As promised, and I’m embarrassed to say, here are my measurements.

  • Waist  43.5
  • Chest  45
  • Thigh  23
  • Calf  17.5
  • Neck  18
  • Weight 280

IMG_20191014_075625

Well, there you have it. Like I said, I’ll post updated pictures about once a month to see if you can see any changes and I might post some weekly stuff as well but I’ll try not to make them boring.

I hope some will follow this journey with me.  I really think this will help me to stay on track.  I nearly forgot, my weight loss goal for the three month time period is 15 pounds.  I have no doubt in my mind that I will be able to reach this goal.  I will have to stay on my diet in order to reach it though.

Wish me luck.

 

Today’s Thoughts 3/22/2018

22 Thursday Mar 2018

Posted by Tim Hughes Living with CML in Cancer, Leukemia, Photography, Weight Loss

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Tags

A1c, Cancer, Diabetes, diet, Food, Meds, Sugar, Weightloss

My new CML meds have not arrived as promised.  They were supposed to have arrived on Tuesday but alas, not here yet.  My oncologist called this morning to see if I had started taken them yet.  He was not happy that they had not arrived.  He said that he was going to find out where my meds are at and let me know.

I’ve attempted to start dieting again.  It’s been a tough couple of days.  I’m doing the low carb diet.  I lost 60 lbs on it last time I was on it and I’ve still got that and many more to go.  I’m trying to limit my carbs to 35 a day.  Today and yesterday I have gone way over.  Today was better than yesterday and I’m hoping that tomorrow will be even better.  I want to get down to 255 by August 15th and I’m 276 now.  I don’t think I”ll have a problem reaching it if I can gain the willpower to stick with it.  In 2009, I weighed the most I’ve ever weighed. At 346, I came to the realization that I had to do something.  Especially since my doctor told me that I wouldn’t see my kids graduate college if I didn’t do something.

The other reason I’m on the low carb diet is that of my sugar.  My body can’t handle carbs.  I can drink a cup of milk and my sugar will jump from 159 to over 250.  I did well all day today until I got home.  I checked my sugar around 5:30pm and it was 185.  I had a cup of milk, exactly 1 cup, not a glass full, and when I checked it just now, 10:35pm, it was 325.  The last time I did the low carb diet I pretty much did away with carbs altogether.  I went from a 9.6 A1c to 6.7 A1c in six months.  Now that I’ve gotten off my diet, my sugar has gone out of control.

Tomorrow is another day!!

365 Day Photo Challenge 329/365 “Day 24”

24 Tuesday Nov 2015

Posted by Tim Hughes Living with CML in Photography

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Tags

365 Day Photo Challenge, Diabetes, Doctor, Exercise, neuropathy, treadmill, Weight loss

Today was a bust.  I spoke with my doctor and he advised me to not get on my treadmill for a few more days.  If it’s not any better by next week I’m to come to him for some x rays.  With that said I guess I’ll wait until the weekend to try it again.

“Life Goes On!”

365 Day Photo Challenge 321/365 “Day 16”

16 Monday Nov 2015

Posted by Tim Hughes Living with CML in Photography

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Tags

365 Day Photo Challenge, Diabetes, Low Sugar, treadmill, Weight loss

Just as I figured I woke up this morning to find that I had gained over a pound making my goal just beyond reach again.  I’m not worried because I’ll obtain it again in a few days.

Today was tough one for me because I had four low sugar episodes today.  I woke up with one, got it under control and made it to work.  Not long after arriving I had another.  Just before lunch I had yet another low sugar episode and the last one came about an hour before I got off from work.  With each episode came weakness, heavy sweating, confusion and dizziness.  Normally I can tell when these things are about to happen and I can get something to eat and after a few minutes away but each of these came without notice. I was fortunate that with each of these I was able to go by one of our company stores and purchase something to help bring my sugar up.  I normally keep some glucose pills on me but today I had left them at home.  Tomorrow they will be in my pocket.

“Life Goes On!”

 

365 Day Photo Challenge 309/365 “Day 4”

04 Wednesday Nov 2015

Posted by Tim Hughes Living with CML in Photography

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Tags

365 Day Photo Challenge, Diabetes, diet, Exercise, treadmill, workout

2013-05-03 06.45.30

Today was a wild ride.  I had to make a trip to Montgomery today to work on an AC unit that had frozen up.  I was instructed to work on several other items while I waited for the unit to thaw out.  I wished it was as simple as that.

Going out of town takes me out of my comfort zone as far as my dieting goes.  Normally I can do better if I stay within a routine but with me going out of town it threw my routine out the window.  For breakfast I normally have a bowl of cereal with fat free milk.  Today we stopped at Chick Fil A.  I ordered a number 4 which was a spicy chicken biscuit with hash rounds and a medium coke.  I wished I had done better.  For lunch I normally fix a salad at the salad bar in our dining center.  Today we went to Baumhowers.  I had one pound of of hot chicken wings with french fries.  I wished now I had done better.  It wasn’t until I got home when I got back on track.  I had a baked pork chop with mac and cheese.  As you can see and has been noted earlier that my willpower is no good.  The silver lining to this is I did get back on track and didn’t continue to spiral downhill.  Another plus for me is that I didn’t have any sweets and I did get to get on my treadmill tonight and I did 2.25 miles at 3.2 mph.

One thing I have learned over the years of “dieting” is never to give up.  You may have bad days occasionally but don’t let it continue.  In the past I have made the statement after a meal that I have just botched that I might as well continue and start back on my “diet” again tomorrow.  The beauty of this is that you don’t have to wait until the next day, you can get back on track your very next meal.  Another fault that I have is that sometimes I think that it’s ok to eat whatever I want to eat as long as I do some exercise later that evening.  I know it’s wrong to think that and I’ve got to stop letting that thought enter my head.

There are other things I’ve learned over the years when it comes to my diabetes but I’ll save that for another story.

“Life Goes On!”

365 Day Photo Challenge 251/365 “New Diabetic Symptom”

06 Sunday Sep 2015

Posted by Tim Hughes Living with CML in Photography

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Tags

365 Day Photo Challenge, Diabetes, Diabetic Nerve Pain, Swollen Feet

Book-Edema

For the last couple of weeks I’ve had some unusual swelling in my right foot.  Some days it’s much worse than the other.  Today it’s probably the worse that it’s been since I’ve started having this problem.  I’m a diabetic and I’m on medication for diabetic nerve pain already.  The bottom of my feet stay numb and my feet feel like they’re on fire all the time.  Now, because the foot has swollen, the top of the foot hurts when I wear shoes.   I go to the doctor at the end of the month and until then I’ve been told to keep my feet elevated above my heart as much as possible when I’m relaxing.

“Life Goes On!”

365 Day Photo Challenge 165/365 “Riding With the Pain”

13 Saturday Jun 2015

Posted by Tim Hughes Living with CML in Photography

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Tags

365 Day Photo Challenge, Alabama, Diabetes, Diabetic Nerve Pain, Foot Pain, neuropathy, Photography

I’m a diabetic and have been for several years.  When I go to the doctor every six months my check up report always says “uncontrolled diabetic”  However, since I’ve been riding on a regular basis my A1C has come down quite a bit.  Being a diabetic I have developed something called Neuropathy, or diabetic nerve pain, in my feet.  I’m on medication for it but I still have to deal with moderate to severe pain on a daily basis. I have been able to ride without having any problems with my feet until lately.  I’m not sure what the difference is but the last several rides have really slowed me down due to having to unclip and rest my feet.

Actually, I’m having two separate issues with my feet.  One is the Neuropathy and the other is the pedals themselves.  The pedals effect the bottoms of my feet around the balls of my feet while the Neuropathy effects the tops, bottoms and my toes in a very unique way.

The solution?  Well, there is no solution for the Neuropathy but for the other, changing the pedals to a pedal meant for a road bike instead of a mt. bike.  No matter if and when I get my diabetes under control I’ll always have the Neuropathy.  The damage is done and there is nothing I can do about it.

“Life Goes On!”

Down Right Scary!!

09 Sunday Feb 2014

Posted by Tim Hughes Living with CML in Uncategorized

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

Cancer, Diabetes, Doctor, Feelingfine, Oncologist, Scare

Every six months I go to the doctor and let them check me over as I’m a diabetic.  Two weeks prior to my doctor visit I go to the lab and let them draw blood so that when I go to the doctor he has everything in front of him.  I went to the lab last Tuesday, 2/4/14 and on Wednesday the next afternoon the nurse called and said that my CBC’s were highly elevated.  She wanted to know if I was sick, running a fever or otherwise in any discomfort.  I told her I felt fine.  The nurse then said that it was probably a lab error but wanted me to do another lab session.  I went Friday morning and did another lab session and by Saturday night I got another call.  Lab work showed high elevated levels of CBC’s again.  Now I’m expecting a call on Monday from an Oncologist.  Hell, I didn’t know what a Oncologist was until my wife looked it up for me.  It’s a cancer specialist.  Now I’ve got something else to worry about.  

I’ll post more when I find out more.

 

 

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