**Things that Affect Blood Sugar Levels

This is a list from Everyday Health: Eight Things You Didn't Know Affected Your Blood Sugar:
Alcohol:  Alcohol comes with extra calories, and if you mix it with sugary substances comes with sugar.   At the same time too much alcohol can cause dangerously low blood sugar levels.
Stress: Stress can directly cause a spike in blood sugar levels.  When I burnt my back by blood levels went way up.  I attribute this to the added stress of healing.
Feeling Under the Weather:  At the same time as the burn, I came down with a bad cold (which may have been attributed to the stress of the burn as well.)  These two things spiked my sugar and I had a difficult time  getting it back down.
Medications and Supplements"  Who knows what you are taking may contribute to blood sugar levels.  Best to tell your doctor and or pharmacist everything you are taking.  SOme cold medicines have sugar in them.
Coffee:  Just the coffee itself can cause a spike, but then often sugar and creamers are added.
Extreme Exercise:  this time the worry is sugar that is too low.  Check blood level before exercise and have a high carb snack available if needed.
Diet Soda:  Even with no calories and no sugar, these things can spike sugar in other ways.
Hormones:  Hormones can effect blood sugar.  Not everyone is effected, but if you are a good journal may help.

**Urine Color and Health

I always thought the lighter your urine the better.  That is mostly true, but this article from Everyday Health points out urine can be too light if you are drinking too much.  It also highlights other colors which can point to a problem.  Such as a syrupy brown color could point to liver disease.  Red color could be something major, or could just reflect what you have been eating like beats.  Very good article so check it out.
Update Jan 2017: Grandpa has been having kidney problems.  He has been told to drink until his urine is clear. It doesn't matter what he drinks so much.  He drinks lots of juice.  But water is also good.
I hers the same from Stan Dye as he prepared the Scouts for a winter camp.  He said you should drink water with the same result, clear pea.  That has become my goal as well, although I do not always accomplish this.

**Get Health, Save Money: Kick Cigarettes

 This is a bulletin hanging at Mental Health Urgent Care.  Tobacco use is the leading contributor in premature death of individuals with mental illness.  The bulletin is very large and these are my pictures of it.

 Rinancial benefits of not smoking are determined by how much you smoke.  A pack a day is almost $2000 a year.  That is a big wow!

The Health benefits form not smoking are even greater.
Within 20 minutes of not smoking your blood pressure and heart rate lower.
Within 8 hour the level of oxygen in your blood rises to normal.
Within 24 hours your risk of having a heart attack starts to drop.
Within 2 weeks to 3 months your circulation and lung functions improve.
Within 1 to 9 months you will have more energy and less coughing, sinus problems and shortness of breath.

**Diabetes and Burnout

This article entitle "On the Rebound" in the Web MD Diabetes magazine for Winter 2015 by Erin O'Donnel is the basis for this blog.  This article deals with sliding in maintaining your diabetes regimen.  What with blood checking,  and controlling carbs, and exercising, and medications, it can be a bit daunting.  And nobody is perfect.  Thinks to remember:
1) Check in with your team.  Who is it that supports you in you diabetes management.  If you have a diabetes educator now is a good time to check in.  They can help with meal planning, or other modifications to get your diabetes under control.  Check-ins can lead to positive change.
2) Don't be too perfectionistic.  Perfect control does not exist.  Blood levels fluctuate, and won't always be in the perfect range.  It is part of diabetic life.
3) Focus on victories.  Victories are there.  maybe it is an evening walk, or avoiding a late night carbohydrate intensive snack.  By focusing on the victories, you can then add maybe an extra walk per week or some small step.

Diabetes and Stress

I picked up a Web MD magazine when I was in Walgreens, and found two articles on diabetes and stress.  The first, they studied people who were stressed and found their brain areas governing self control were turned down or turned off, so they ate more sweets and junk food.  The stressed the people by having them hold one hand in ice water for three minutes.  This is a known stress producing stimulus.  Then they presented them, as well as a control group, to a buffet with junk food.  MRI scans showed less activity in the self-control portion of the brain among those who were stressed compared to those not stressed.   Those who had the ice water bath were more likely to give into temptation as well.
The second article, written by Gina Shaw, tells that stress and diabetes and wreak havoc on your hormonal system.  Stress also makes one less likely to take care of their self.  Diabetes, for the most part, is a self-care illness.  You monitor you carbohydrate and calorie intake, you exercise or not.  It is all a person choice.  When there is lots of stress, it is less likely someone will take care of their self.
Stress relievers:  Breathe; deep breathing from your diaphragm will help send oxygen to your muscles and reduce stress, set yourself up for success.  Having healthy snacks available is good, but also a way to monitor your exercise and remind you to be active.  Then finally, having an understanding of your stress signals, so you know when to be on the alert and when to take action.
I have just gone through a period where by diabetes was not under control.  This was after I b urned myself.  It makes me wonder if the two things are related.  I had numbers over 300--a few not good outliers,  but have finally gotten my fasting blood sugar below 200, averaging about 175.  Some readings have been as low as 140, which is unheard of for me.  However, the doctor threatened me with insulin.  I don't want to go there so I have no choice but to watch my intake, and get plenty of exercise.

**Want to Quit Smoking? 1-800-NO-BUTTS

This is a California cost free phone line for smokers who want to quit.  They have a confidential one-on-one phone counseling services.  In addition the refer to local programs, and offer self-help materials.  Nicotine is a hard addiction, so they admit not everyone is successful, however there is no rule against trying again, and sometimes it takes multiple tries to give up the smoking habit, but persistence will pay off.  They have many different languages available.

**Crisis Intervention Team

Mental Health in the county where I work has done some innovative things for mental health/ police officer cooperation.  One of those things is the mental health department provides training for police officers who want to become certified as Crisis Intervention Team officers.  At this time there is not an active mobile mental health team for adults, and consequently the police are called upon to do mental health interventions.  However the crisis intervention team officers are provider an intensive training to help them with mental health consumers.  This started with San Jose Police Department, but has now spread to all of the police department through out the county.