Food, Flu shots, and More

Being home in Lubbock has been very nice and I'm so happy that I don't have to be at MDA until 11/20. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy being in Houston and I love my doctors, but I was quarantined and held captive there for so long that I missed my regular life and routine. Jason has been working a lot so Mom came out for 10 days to drive me around, take Aidan to school, and just help out more generally. I was sad to see her leave but I think no one was sadder than Aidan, who she waits on like he's the one who is ill. This morning, for example, he had me up making him scrambled egg sandwiches, something he'd never had until she introduced them to him. He can text her in the middle of the night and she'll bring him water, snuggles, whatever he wants. It's rather ridiculous. I never got that kind of treatment! What's so special about him?! 

After two consecutive weeks of decent blood work, I was told it was safe to get my flu shot and I went to get it on Friday. I don't know if it's this year's shot, my own immune situation, or what, but I had very different side effects this year than I ever have before. I had figured that I would be less likely to have side effects because my lymphocytes are typically low and I thought that would mean less immune reaction to a foreign substance. However, along with the regular soreness in the arm, I had some body aches, fatigue, and a rash on the injection arm. It was a lot like when you take your babies for vaccines and they get cranky, lethargic, and sleep all day. Most of the side effects have passed at this point. I realize that not everyone feels comfortable with vaccines, but let me say that if you can safely get the flu vaccine, you should. Maybe not because you are at risk, but because others are. Young babies, the very old, and people with severe illnesses can and do die from the flu. The vaccine does not guarantee that you will not get the flu, however, it makes it less likely (also if you do contract the flu, it's usually less severe than without the shot) and, therefore, makes it less likely that you will infect someone else who could die from contracting the flu (someone like me, who may not be able to fight it due to low white blood cells).

Jason went with me for my shot and had a visceral reaction to watching. He hates needles. You'd think that after two brain surgeries, countless blood tests, IV chemo, blood transfusions, etc., that something like a flu shot wouldn't bother him. So, of course, due to my high risk situation, Jason and Aidan also had to get flu shots. You'd have thought I asked Aidan to get all of his teeth pulled. I'm guessing Jason didn't watch his own or Aidan's shot, because he didn't voice the same gut wrenching feelings after theirs. You'd think they'd be desensitized to all medical issues at this point, but no. Maybe I need to get them into therapy in case these things intensify at some point. You just never know what might happen and I can't have them falling apart just because I am being stuck with needles.

I'm continuing to watch my food and comparing my numbers carefully. I'm finding a lot of evidence that I need to watch my protein as well as eating out at restaurants very carefully. I use a test-retest experimental design to determine how certain restaurants and menu items lead to higher or lower glucose numbers using my glucose monitor. I am clear on which restaurants are safe and what I can order there with not much change, however, I am running into a few things that clearly have some hidden sugar/carbs. When I know I need to go out at night, I very carefully design my daytime meals so that I will have plenty of flexibility for dinner. That seems to be working great. I also make sure I incorporate exercise when needed to burn up any excess glucose in the body, although I really need to be exercising everyday anyway (sometimes I get lazy).

I've also been trying to incorporate more anti-inflammatory foods into my diet. I've known that cinnamon and turmeric are anti-inflammatory and try to use them in something everyday. Cinnamon, in particular, has been recommended for diabetics for stabilizing glucose. Another food I've discovered (but haven't cooked yet) is cactus. I read some research that showed not only an effect on inflammation, but also glucose. The paddle of the prickly pear cactus is called Napoles. I read that this is an anti-inflammatory food and off I went to Amigos grocery store to find some, regardless of the fact that I had no idea what to do with it. A very nice woman who spoke very little English showed me what to get and tried her hardest to tell me what to do with it. She was able to communicate that it can be put with eggs, meat, soups, almost anything and gave me a bag of napoles that has already been cleaned and chopped. In addition, I grabbed a whole paddle because she said (or at least I thought she said) that if I cleaned it and grilled it, it could be stuffed or topped with cheese, used as a tortilla, etc. She then wrote down some search words and recommended that I look up those recipes. So now I will try some recipes with cactus and if they work out, I will be incorporating them into my cookbook. By the way, I know some of you are eager to get a hold of my cookbook. I have started on it, but between my self care, my full time job, and my family, everything moves slowly around here. The cookbook just can't be at the top of the priority list, unfortunately. Health first, family second, job third, everything else comes after that. But it will all get done. Here's how I see it: the more I have to look forward to, the longer I get to stick around.