I have had many illnesses over the years. Most are caused by my diabetes. They have necessitated many doctors’ appointments, hospital visits and procedures. Frankly, it is a big pain in the butt. It would be quite easy to be bitter and angry over the whole thing. I’m writing about this subject because I overheard […]

Ahh. Today was one of those rare days when sugar levels were good all day, I had a bit more energy than normal and it’s not a dialysis day. In addition, I took a really fun class on iris paper folding. (see below) You can do so many fun things with it, especially on greeting

Hemoglobin is the protein contained in red blood cells that is responsible for delivery of oxygen to the tissues. Whew, that just means if your hemoglobin levels are low, you feel pretty crappy. For women, a normal range is 12.3 to 15.3. Around the time I began dialysis, mine fell to 5.8. They usually don’t

By far, the most difficult aspect of dialysis for me is the diet. Not everyone has the same restrictions, but I have restrictions on fluid, potassium, phosphorous, calcium and of course carbohydrates. I would say the things I avoid most are potatoes, bananas, lunch meat, hot dogs, cheese, milk and Tums antacid. Over the years,

Normally my blood glucose numbers are pretty good. My A1C is currently 5.4 but today was a frustrating sugar day. I was in the car on my way to Harbor Freight looking for storage for some craft supplies. They have really good storage stuff. Anyway, my insulin pump alarmed. I knew my sugar was good

Here you will (eventually) find posts from Sam herself. I’ve asked her to share some of her experiences with kidney dialysis. Hopefully she will give us some insight into what her daily life is about, some of her struggles, and lots of her triumphs.