Type 2 and Parkinson’s gene linked

The following headline on the Diabetes Blog caught my eye this AM: Type 2 diabetes directly linked to one gene causing Parkinson’s. According to this article, the scientists concluded that biochemical changes brought on by diabetes can switch off functionality of a the PINK1 gene, causing Parkinson’s. I’d be interested to see the study itself to find out which biochemical changes they are referring to - are they the result of high blood sugars or perhaps related to insulin resistance? Is Type 2 only mentioned because there were no study participants with other kinds of diabetes? My father was diagnosed with Parkinsons shortly after I was diagnosed with diabetes, so this link gives me even more reasons to keep those sugars in tight check.

How is everyone? Things are good here - just chugging along with low-carbing and the occasional correction dose with insulin. Life is busy and I’ve fallen off the obsessive record-keeping and food-measuring wagon, but am still testing frequently and exercising. My numbers are looking good, save the occasional morning when I hover in the “helpless zone” of 130-140. 140 and above are fixable, but 130 is a tricky number for me because it’s too low to correct with the 1 unit minimum that my Humapen can do, but high enough that I want to do something about it. At my next appointment I plan to ask for a prescription for and a lesson on good old fashioned syringes and insulin vials. I love the convenience of the HumaPen, but now that I’m mostly using insulin for post-meal corrections, 1 unit doses are more often than not too large. Why Lilly would make a pen that allows half-unit increments only after the 1st unit is beyond me.

10 Degrees South

Last night the Mr. and I went to 10 Degrees South for a belated South African birthday dinner. The food was quite delicious and diabetic-friendly and even brought back some fond memories of our trip to Cape Town many moons ago. We had the crab pastries (seasoned with peri-peri, a perfect spicy something I intend to look up and pursue for use in my own kitchen) and Boerewors to start, then Ostrich and Lamb for main courses. G. had a dinner roll then sent back the remaining bread, and I skipped the mashed potatoes and ate around the carrots in my vegetable side. The meat portions were large but not over-sized, and I left stuffed but not comatose. My blood sugar was 131 an hour after dinner, and probably would have been lower had I not had a two tiny bites of G’s chocolate dessert.

My mother just emailed me to “brag” that her BG after her breakfast of oatmeal and toast, which I suspected was too carb-y and have been nagging her to test after for at least two weeks now, was 90. I’m excited for her and maybe even a teeny bit jealous that her Januvia is allowing her to eat carbohydrates, but not too jealous because I think I’m adjusting to low-carb life just fine, thanks in a large part to G’s constant support. He reminds me to check my blood sugar, helps police what I eat without being overbearing, sends away bread at dinner, buys me tomes full of low-carb recipes, handles more than his share of errands so I’ll have time to exercise, and accepts huge changes his own diet without a single complaint. I feel incredibly lucky to have him. The first few days without carbohydrates were hard but once that scary “constantly hungry” feeling subsided (and the head cold passed), things started looking up.

Oh, and a special thanks to my friend out there who encouraged me to get some light cardio WHILE I was sick. It felt like torture for the first few minutes but afterwards I felt human again. My lungs especially are thanking me today - this is the first cold I’ve had in years that I haven’t been coughing up junk for days afterwards. Thanks E!