Back Online and Constantly Monitoring.

In the words of the late Dr. Nick, “Hi, Everybody!” My computer crashed last week and I haven’t managed yet to resuscitate it, although something just occurred to me that may work. (It didn’t, I think the motherboard is fried. A fan over a chip half the size of the main processor wasn’t working, and it may have overheated.) In any case, I also had been given an IMac some time ago by an old friend, and I’m slowly becoming familiar with it. I want to catch up the daily log. Mostly it’s been OK, only 2 of the last 5 days have started with high sugars, the rest have all been normal. I intend to include more comments with the entries, explaining the motivation for various activities, but right now I’m just trying to get the record down. Mostly, I just want to illustrate that for those of us who react to Humulin ™ with erratic sugars and hypoglycemia unawareness, it’s imperative to constantly monitor your sugar and take appropriate action. Sticking to a preset insulin/food regimen doesn’t work, because your daily reactions to the standard amounts vary widely. Also it should be noted that most nights, at least 5 a week, in keeping with the vasodilation principles mentioned earlier, I lift weights, not too much, but at least one set of curls, standing presses, 50-60 (currently) push-ups, also usually, rows and a varying number of stomach crunches or other abdominal activities. I should incude these in the log, but it’s added space on the paper copy, but I suppose now I can take as much space as I need in the blog. Well, here’s the last week. Note also that most days my sugar rocketed up after the 1st light meal, but then, Tuesday and again Friday, it did the opposite, refusing to rise despite repeated food intake. Anyone suggesting I take more insulin to counter the high early blood sugars has to explain how this behavior will be accommodated. The same goes for using a pump.

SUNDAY 9/7/08

4:00pm CLEAR (Success!)

4:05pm 32u NPH Humulin ™

4:30pm 4 oz. pasta HH (would have waited for the insulin to take more effect, but had to drive.)

8:00m HIGH

8:45pm HIGH-

9:20 pm CLEAR

9:25pm 2 Famous Amos otameal mini-cookies (35 cals. 2.25 grams sugar). 1 banana.

10:15pm CLEAR

10:40 1 ham and cheese sandwich (2 breads, 1 slice pressed ham,1 slice Kraft Swiss)

12:00am HIGH

2:15am HIGH-

3:15am CLEAR

3:15am 3 F.A. oatmeal mini-cookies

3:55am 1/2 oz, ice cream. 2.5oz. Fritos.

4:30am CLEAR

5:00am 3 F.A. oatmeal mini-cookies

7:00am 2 F.A. oatmeal mini-cookies

8:00am CLEAR

8:20am 7oz. pasta HH

MONDAY 9/8/07

3:45pm CLEAR (Success!)

3:50pm 32uNPH Humulin(tm)

5;00pm 5oz. pasta HH

6:15pm CLEAR

7:40pm HIGH+

11:00pm 1oz. Fritos (suspected sugar had dropped, but in any case, corn chips wouldn’t raise my sugar quickly because of the fat, and I wanted something in my empty stomach.)

11:15pm CLEAR (Sure enough, it had been dropping, just took a while to show up in my pee)

12:10am 1 banana ( yeah, I waited a bit because I was online, but no worries)

1:15am 6oz. pasta HH

200am 2 F.A. oatmeal mini-cookies.

3:30am 1/4 cup ice cream (really, just nudging my sugar)

4:30am 3 F.A. oatmeal mini-cookies.

4:50 CLEAR

5:00am 1/2 ham and cheese sandwich.

5:30am 2oz. Fritos.

8:15am 7oz. pasta HH

TUESDAY 9/9/08

12:50pm 2 F.A. cookies, 2 teaspoons ice cream (felt a little uneasy while asleep)

4:10pm CLEAR (Success! and earlier suspicions confirmed)

4:15pm 32u.NPH Humulin(tm)

5:00pm 4oz. pasta HH

6:20pm CLEAR

6:45pm 10 grams chocolate (Hershey’s(tm) milk chocolate).

7:40pm CLEAR

7:45pm 10 grams chocolate.

8:15pm 1/2 ham and cheese sandwich

8:45pm CLEAR

8:50pm 10g chocolate.

10:00pm CLEAR

11:00pm 5 F.A. oatmeal mini-cookies

11:15pm (Brief sweating)

11:15pm 1 cup ice cream. (Wow! A whole cup! Good times…)

12:30am CLEAR

12:40am 1 banana

7:15am 3 F.A. cookies

9:15am CLEAR

9:30am 7oz. pasta HH

WEDNESDAY 9/10/08

4:00pm HIGH

4:05pm 32u. NPH Humulin(tm)

7:40pm HIGH

11:00pm (+) I din’t have to check sooner, I knew it was high.

12-12:30am ~1oz. Fritos

2:50am CLEAR (+)

2:15am 6oz. pasta HH

4:45am MED-HIGH

7:45am MED-HIGH

9:00am CLEAR

9:30am 7oz. pasta HH

THURSDAY 9/11/08

4:15pm HIGH

4:25pm 32u. NPH Humulin ™

7:00pm HIGH

10:30pm HIGH

12:45am HIGH

1:30pm 1oz. Fritos (wanted something slow to burn in my stomach but also suspected it was dropping–mostly because of the time)

2:50am CLEAR +

2:55am 3 Famous Amos oatmeal mini-cookies (2.25g) sugar each.

3:00am 6oz. pasta HH

7:00am CLEAR

8:10am 6oz. pasta HH (not 7oz.: still felt sugar was a little jumpy after yesterday’s high morning reading)

FRIDAY

4:35pm CLEAR (Success!)

4:55pm 3oz. pasta HH (Not 4-5oz,-Still being cautious)

7:40pm CLEAR

8:00pm 1/2 Ham & Cheese sandwich

10:00pm CLEAR

10:15pm 1 Ham & Cheese Sandwich (2 breads). 2 F.A. cookies (2.25g sugar ea.)

11:00pm 1oz. ice cream (low fat, but who cares?)

1:30~am LOW (nothing specific, just bad-tempered and confused)

1:40am 1/2 chocolate bar (20g), 6oz. pasta HH.

2:30am CLEAR

2:45am 1/2 chocolate bar.

3:10am 1 bread and cheese. 3 F.A. cookies.

9:30am CLEAR

10:00am 5 oz. pasta HH. 1 oz. Fritos (stayed up late working on computer unsuccessfully).

SATURDAY

5:00pm HIGH

6:25pm (+)

7:55pm HIGH

9:00pm 2 eggs, 1oz. chipped beef gravy (Stouffers).

10:30pm CLEAR

10:50pm 1 Ham & Cheese sandwich (2 breads)

3:00am CLEAR

3:30am 5 oz. pasta HH

5:30am CLEAR

5:40am ~2 oz. of rice and beef HH (nibbled while cooking)

10:00am CLEAR

10:15am 6oz. rice HH (after all, I had just eaten some earlier)

SUNDAY 9/14/08

5:35pm CLEAR (Success!)

5:45pm 32u. Humulin ™

6:50pm 5 oz. rice HH.

9:45pm 2 oz. Chex MIx (party mix–no nuts, unfortunately)

10:15pm CLEAR (+) HERE WE SEE A NICE, PREDICTABLE SEQUENCE OF CARB INGESTION,

11:15pm TRACE FOLLOWED BY A SLOW, EVEN RISE IN SUGAR, THEN A SLOW DROP.

12:55am HIGH IT REACHES A HIGH OF AROUND 160MG/DL,

2:30am Med-High THEN DROPS BACK TO ABOUT 130MG/DL,

2:35am 2 oz. ice cream (had to take a bath and knew it was dropping.)

5:00am CLEAR (see?) THEN BACK DOWN TO NORMAL (EXTENDED ABOUT 2 HOURS BY

THE ICE CREAM). (This is the way insulin should work and the way it always did with animal insulin)

5:15am 1 banana (See, I am eating fruit!) (and remember, there are at least 2 vegs in the HH)

7:10am 2 oz. chex mix

8:20am 7 oz. rice HH

The Insulin/Food/Sugar Log

I’ve been working on posting the log I keep daily of insulin intake, exercise, food and resulting sugars. If you’ve been keeping up, you’ll have noticed I put it in the right column, but since this does not renew with every post, it ends up going on forever on every page. So now I’ll try copying it into the body of the page. This will give me a chance to include comments, explaining why I have taken a particular action. Starting with the first post, 1 week ago and continuing to the present. From now on, each day will have that day’s log only, unless I have to include any skipped days.

LOG  9/1/08 to (PRESENT):

Codes: HH= Hamburger Helper, not the brand itself, but a mix of 1 packet Knorr Veggie Sides (or Pasta Sides) pasta/vegetable prepared meals, 1 large chopped onion, ~8oz. mushrooms, 2 sticks celery, garlic, 1lb hamburger, 1 can cream of mushroom soup (optional–not so much lately). Makes 3.5 days of meals, eaten at least twice a day.

***REAGENT READINGS:*** [Bayer Clinistix(tm)]

CLEAR=110mg/dl OR LESS
TRACE=115-130 mg/dl
MED-HIGH= 130-160mg/dl
HIGH= 160mg/dl OR HIGHER
(+) or ‘+’  and (-) or ‘-’ if attached means slightly:(+)(-) or significantly’+’ ‘-’ toward the upper or lower extremes of the indicated range. Having 34 years experience reading reagent strips, I’m consistently within 10mg, that is + or – 5mg, up to 200mg/dl.

MONDAY 9/1/08
(slept an hour later due to Labor Day:)

5:15pm  CLEAR (Success!)

5:20pm  32NPH–32 units NPH Humulin ™

6:40pm  1/4 ham (only) sandwich

8:10pm   2 eggs(w/cheese), 1 bread

11:00pm 2 oz. ice cream

11:30pm  1/2 chocolate bar (20grams)

12:10am  CLEAR

12:15am  2 Famous Amos mini-oatmeal cookies
(ea.: 35 calories, 2.25 grams sugar)

1:00am   CLEAR

1:15am   1 banana

2:25am   2oz. potato chips (chips)

4:00am   ~1oz. pasta HH (hamburger helper equivalent) (while cooking)

4:15am   HIGH

7:40am   CLEAR

8:00am   8oz. pasta HH

TUESDAY 9/2/08
4:00pm   CLEAR (success!)
4:08pm   32 Units NPH Humulin ™
5:00pm   6oz. pasta HH
7:45pm   HIGH
10:00pm  (+) (This symbol on its own, means a once used but still clear reagent strip, now reused has indicated the presence of urine sugar, but not the quantity. Has to be significant to register at all. If it reads ‘clear,’ it must be verified with a fresh strip. Of course, all reagent readings indicate the average blood glucose since last urination, not the level at time of reading. This must always be considered.)
11:00pm   CLEAR — Actually somewhat low
11:00pm   1 Banana, 2oz. chips.
12:15am   3 F.A. cookies, 1/4 oz. ice cream
4:30am     CLEAR
4:45am     1/2 ham & cheese sandwich
6:45am      MED-HIGH
7-8:00am   !2oz. cooked ham
8:45am      HIGH

WEDNESDAY 9/3/08
4:10pm   CLEAR (Success!)
4:15pm    32 units NPH Humulin ™
5:00pm   4oz. pasta HH
7:40pm    HIGH
12:00am  TRACE
12:15am  Microsweat (burst of perspiration lasting less than one minute)
12:15am  6oz. pasta HH
12:45am  6 FA Oatmeal mini cookies
12:45am   1/2 cup ice cream
5:00am    MED-HIGH
7:30am    CLEAR
8:45am    7oz. pasta HH

THURSDAY 9/4/08
4:00pm      HIGH***
4:10pm      32units NPH Humulin ™
5:00pm      HIGH
7:40pm      HIGH
10:50pm     LOW (Sweats)
10:51pm     1 cup ice cream
12:15am     CLEAR
12:30am     4 FA oatmeal mini cookies
12:45am     1/2 ham sandwich
3:00am       HIGH
3:45am       ~1oz. cooked ham
9:00am       TRACE
9:10am        6oz. pasta HH

FRIDAY 9/5/08
4:00pm      CLEAR (Success!)
4:08pm       32u NPH Humulin ™
5:00pm       5oz. pasta HH
7:40pm      HIGH+
12:00am     49mg/dl
12:01am     1 cup ice cream, 2 FA oatmeal  mini-cookies, then 1/2 ham (only) sandwich, in that order.
1:45am       2FA oatmeal mini cookies
5:45am       CLEAR (low)
5:50am       2oz, ice cream, 5 FA cookies
7:00am       ~2oz. cooked ham, 2FA cookies
8:00am       CLEAR
9:00am       9oz. pasta HH

SATURDAY 9/6/08
4:20pm   HIGH
4:25pm   32u. NPH Humulin ™
6:00pm   HIGH
8:00pm   HIGH
9:15pm   CLEAR
9:40pm    Ham & cheese sandwich (2 breads)
10:25pm  2 Famous Amos oatmeal cookies.
12:15am  2 Famous   Amos oatmeal cookies
12:45am  CLEAR
1:10am    Ham & cheese sandwich (2 breads)
3:00am    CLEAR
3:20am    7 oz. Pasta HH
6:40am    CLEAR

SUNDAY 9/7/08

4:00PM    CLEAR (Success!)

4:05pm    32u NPH Humulin ™

4:30        4 oz. pasta HH (would have waited for the insulin to take more effect, but had to drive.)

More About Chelated Calcium

A couple of things to mention about taking chelated calcium, as calcium citrate or calcium tartrate. The different names reflect that different amino acids are bonded to the calcium in each case. They are both effective, although some personal experimentation may reveal a greater absorption of one over the other.

However, it should be noted that the body is limited as to how much calcium it can absorb in a given amount of time, and that limit is 600 milligrams every few hours. Taking more than that in a single dose is just a waste. Since the caplets typically come in 250mg sizes, I find it’s easiest to take 2 at a time, for a total of 500mg at breakfast, dinner, and before bed, for a total of 1.5 grams per day. This, for me, is a maintenance dose. If I were repairing damage from a break, or trying to restore lost calcium, I would take 2 to 2.5 grams a day, in four or five 500mg doses, four hours apart during the waking part of the day.

Again, forget about taking ordinary calcium carbonate, you can eat it until you’re blue in the face and it won’t do you any good. Absorption will be minimal. Plus, this type of calcium is typically made from ground-up oyster shells and is basically chalk, not something I really fancy eating.

Another thing I want to mention is the number of studies that have proved positive results with regard to cannabis preventing cancer. Here’s another one, performed recently by well-known researcher Donald Tashkin, sponsored by the National Institutes of Health, showing, to his admitted surprise, that cannabis tars in the lungs do not cause lung cancer, and in fact, offer some degree (the actual extent needs further investigation) of protection from cancer. I’ll just reprint the article here:

STUDY FINDS NO MARIJUANA-CANCER CONNECTION

By Marc Kaufman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, May 26, 2006; A03

The largest study of its kind has unexpectedly concluded that smoking marijuana, even regularly and heavily, does not lead to lung cancer.

The new findings “were against our expectations,” said Donald Tashkin of the University of California at Los Angeles, a pulmonologist who has studied marijuana for 30 years.

“We hypothesized that there would be a positive association between marijuana use and lung cancer, and that the association would be more positive with heavier use,” he said. “What we found instead was no association at all, and even a suggestion of some protective effect.”

Federal health and drug enforcement officials have widely used Tashkin’s previous work on marijuana to make the case that the drug is dangerous. Tashkin said that while he still believes marijuana is potentially harmful, its cancer-causing effects appear to be of less concern than previously thought.

Earlier work established that marijuana does contain cancer-causing chemicals as potentially harmful as those in tobacco, he said. However, marijuana also contains the chemical THC, which he said may kill aging cells and keep them from becoming cancerous.

Tashkin’s study, funded by the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute on Drug Abuse, involved 1,200 people in Los Angeles who had lung, neck or head cancer and an additional 1,040 people without cancer matched by age, sex and neighborhood.

They were all asked about their lifetime use of marijuana, tobacco and alcohol. The heaviest marijuana smokers had lighted up more than 22,000 times, while moderately heavy usage was defined as smoking 11,000 to 22,000 marijuana cigarettes. Tashkin found that even the very heavy marijuana smokers showed no increased incidence of the three cancers studied.

“This is the largest case-control study ever done, and everyone had to fill out a very extensive questionnaire about marijuana use,” he said. “Bias can creep into any research, but we controlled for as many confounding factors as we could, and so I believe these results have real meaning.”

Tashkin’s group at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA had hypothesized that marijuana would raise the risk of cancer on the basis of earlier small human studies, lab studies of animals, and the fact that marijuana users inhale more deeply and generally hold smoke in their lungs longer than tobacco smokers — exposing them to the dangerous chemicals for a longer time. In addition, Tashkin said, previous studies found that marijuana tar has 50 percent higher concentrations of chemicals linked to cancer than tobacco cigarette tar.

While no association between marijuana smoking and cancer was found, the study findings, presented to the American Thoracic Society International Conference this week, did find a 20-fold increase in lung cancer among people who smoked two or more packs of cigarettes a day.

The study was limited to people younger than 60 because those older than that were generally not exposed to marijuana in their youth, when it is most often tried.

In addition, the following articles also turned up:

Cannabis-Linked Cell Receptor Might Help Prevent Colon Cancer

FRIDAY, Aug. 1 (HealthDay News) — A cannabinoid receptor lying on the surface of cells may help suppress colorectal cancer, say U.S. researchers. When the receptor is turned off, tumor growth is switched on.

Cannabinoids are compounds related to the tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) found in the cannabis plant.

It’s already known that the receptor, CB1, plays a role in relieving pain and nausea, elevating mood and stimulating appetite by serving as a docking station for the cannabinoid group of signaling molecules. This study suggests that CB1 may offer a new path for cancer prevention or treatment.

“We’ve found that CB1 expression is lost in most colorectal cancers, and when that happens, a cancer-promoting protein is free to inhibit cell death,” senior author Dr. Raymond Dubois, provost and executive vice president of the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, said in a university news release.

In their study of human colorectal tumor specimens, the researchers also found that the drug decitabine can restore CB1 expression.

In addition, mice that are prone to developing intestinal tumors and also have functioning CB1 receptors developed fewer and smaller tumors when treated with a drug that mimics a cannabinoid receptor ligand, the researchers found. Ligands are molecules that function by binding to specific receptors.

“Potential application of cannabinoids as anti-tumor drugs is an exciting prospect, because cannabinoid agonists (synthetic molecules that mimic the action of natural molecules) are being evaluated now to treat the side effects of chemotherapy and radiation therapy,” DuBois said. “Turning CB1 back on and than treating with a cannabinoid agonist could provide a new approach to colorectal cancer treatment or prevention.”

The study was published in the Aug. 1 issue of the journal Cancer Research.

— Robert Preidt

SOURCE: University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, news release, Aug. 1, 2008

Copyright © 2008 ScoutNews, LLC. All rights reserved.

Here’s a page, too long to reprint here, containing background on a number of studies starting with the 1974 Medical College of Virginia study, the first (that we know of) showing the anti-VGF (see earlier posts) properties of cannabinoids that starve tumors, up through the Madrid, and the subsequent Naples study of recent years, proving the effectiveness of cannabis to eliminate or greatly reduce in size, cancerous tumors.

http://www.jcrows.com/cancerprevention.html

Again, I’d like to point out that the relationship between cannabis’ anti-VGF property and its effectiveness in preventing diabetic retinopathy has not yet even been imagined let alone investigated and I would like to claim credit as the first person to suggest it. You heard it here first, folks!