Simplifying

 

I have been making many conscious and major life changes lately.

Some of them began when I first moved in here like lowering my Visa credit card. Little by little I have been paying as much as I can possibly squeak out of my meager income. Sometimes $600 a month, which requires a lot of planning on my part. Now I have been able to transfer the entire amount to a 0% interest card that I should be able to pay off in the time allotted. However it will require even more belt tightening when it comes to gifts and any unnecessary spending of money.

About seven months ago I began walking again. At first I only walked about five minutes a day. Now I have worked up to 15-17 minutes three times a day, or between 45 and 54 minutes a day! I can't do it all at one time, but they tell me the cumulative amount is what counts.

All my life I have tried dieting and eating in different ways to lower my weight (and my blood pressure and my blood glucose.) I have been eating two meals a day, fasting for 17 hours in between for many years now, but only lately have I found foods that I truly enjoy, that fill me up, and keep me healthy all at the same time.

I am finally getting the help I need for my feet which require toe spacers, orthotics, and gout medicine. I have been able to lower my blood sugar as low as 78 using only minimal amounts of Glipizide. I have eliminated some of my blood pressure medicine and still lowered my blood pressure more than it was when I played tennis years ago. I am still anemic, but I can keep my iron at a minimum level with medicine if I take it at exactly 11 PM and with four ounces of orange juice every other day.

These things all put together have required my current doctor to work with me as my body does not respond to medicine the way most people's do. He finally understands this. I still have stage four kidney disease, but hope to keep on maintaining my kidneys enough to stay off dialysis.

All this requires me to stick to a pretty rigid schedule of walking, eating and medicine, but I think it's worth it to make my final years enjoyable.