General Music Chat

Diabetes runs in my family. My mom, brother and sister are all diabetics. I have been hypoglymeic which can be a precursor to hyPERglycemia ( diabetes ). I changed my diet to low carb. To clarify that I removed all foods that would impact my blood glucose. I won't say that I eat absolutely no sugar, rice, potatoes etc, but I very rarely eat them at all. My diet is very healthy...I eat the foods that I adore ( protein: Beef, poultry, pork, sea food, and even game ). I also choose to eat cheese, eggs, cream. I eat lots of green leafy vegetables such as collard greens, kale and spinach. I eat asparagus, celery root, brocolli, cauliflower. Sweet peppers of all various colors, avocadoes, strawberries, blueberries,. When I have an attack of the old sweet tooth...I feed it. I have 3 quarts of Clemmy's ice cream in my fridge ( I am entering a contest ). My "sweets" are artificially sweetened. I prefer splenda but my gut has adapted to sugar alcohols. I also eat a lot of coocnut products. I eat coconut butter, coconut oil, MCT oil ( derived from coconut oil ). My glucose levels are also stable.

Now, I know you are thinking what about your cholesterol. I just had blood work done and my cholesterol total is 179 mg/dl. HDL is 89 and LDL is 77. Triglycerides is 67. The doctor has been pleased with my progress. This was something I took on for myself after researching it and it became a positive and successful challenge. I must add, I lost 30 lbs.

Clemmy's ice cream, is promoted as an all natural ice cream for people with diabetes. They contribute $1,000s of dollars to the research and treatment of diabetes. A little pricey, but worth it. I don't miss anything. I feel that I cook and eat the same foods but with different and healthier ingredients. My favorite part is getting to enjoy fats. I have always loved cream, real butter, bacon. Now I am learning to balance my dietary needs by including these things. My best energy booster is MCT oil. I get my energy from ketones now instead of carbohydrates.

Now, in addition to that I also do intermittent fasting. Basically this is where you fast one day then eat the next. I don't exactly do it this way. I fast for 20 hours and I have an eating window of 4 hours. When it is time to eat, I am not "ladylike". I eat like a cave man. For example, upon breaking my 20 hour fast for the day, I had a steak and 2 eggs which were scrambled with a lot of cheddar cheese. For dinner I had roast pork in kale and a corn bread muffin and some Clemmys chocolate ice cream for dessert. Today when I break my fast, I plan on having salmon topped with a creamy ranch dressing, with green beans and sliced avocado. Eating like this is priceless, J_Haley.

Now I must add one more thing. I am running in a 5K thi November. I do a 5K run/walk on a daily basis until I can work up to a run. J, you can do this.

Oh I must add. Have your vitamin D levels checked. Low vitamin D levels can contribute to onset diabetes and vitamin D deficiency is one of the most commone deficiencies in our country and it is something that can easily be treated.

Ok J, that is good news. And your first steps are the most important on any new journey.

I was a distance runner in High School. I took very good care of myself. Worked out swam and ran up untill my mid 30's my knee's started going bad. The wife and I started walking about a mile 3 days a week up untill April. I don't know what happened. I just got to busy with the band and gave up walking. Maybe it is time we start again.

I was a distance runner in High School. I took very good care of myself. Worked out swam and ran up untill my mid 30's my knee's started going bad. The wife and I started walking about a mile 3 days a week up untill April. I don't know what happened. I just got to busy with the band and gave up walking. Maybe it is time we start again.

Yeah, get back to walking. You can reduce your blood glucose and stabilize insulin spikes just by walking 10 minutes after a meal. Plus, that will also help those bad knees. I had bad knees. They ached really bad. The more I walked the more they improved. I have to add that low carb foods, which are also antiinflammatory, helped to reduce my pain even further.

HELL,Haley,,, That plain sucks.

My dad has been border line diabetic for years and could control it with diet, but didn't stick to it like he should. He is 82 now. A year ago, he had sever health problems hit him all at once. He got very sick a disoriented one night and I took him to the emergency room. His blood sugar had skyrocketed, his kidneys had shut down, he had a bladder infection, and he had congestive heart failure. He was in the hospital for about 5 weeks. They got everything straightened out except his kidneys. They are working but not 100% so he is on the home dialysis where he hooks up through a gastro tube every night. He can actually go several days without it, but doesn't except when he wants to go on a trip. He doesn't push it though. He has been on all kinds of medications for a long time and can't get off of them now. It taught me not to get hooked on medications. At 54, I'm in a lot better health than he was, though that's not saying a lot. I let myself go the past few years and it has taken it's toll, but I've decided to get myself back on track. Low Carb diet, and eating healthier carbs (salads, low carb veggies, fruits) has helped me drop 23 pounds in the past month and a half. I have a knee injury from 20 something years ago, which has caused me to favor it, putting more strain on my other leg so now it is giving me trouble too. Taking the weight off has made a huge difference in my leg problems, and now since they are hurting less, I can get around and do a lot more, which helps strengthen them more. I'm a firm believer in vitamins and herbs and a healthier lifestyle, though I don't always practice what I preach. Though my life seems good, living like I want, having a studio and plenty of musical toys to play with, I have admitted to myself that I do suffer from some form of depression (overeating, eating unhealthy foods, lying around on the couch when I know I should be out doing something physical) and I would have to imagine that it has to do with being musically frustrated. I'm sure lots of musicians suffer the same thing without knowing it. Self awareness is something I would urge everyone to work on. Self denial will kill you. When you deny your problems existence, how can you fix them? Once you start letting yourself go, it's harder and harder to get back on track. You'll have to exercise more than if you'd just stayed active in the first place. The less you do, the less your going to want to do. I'm too young to be this old.
Many here have said, in a round about way, that they can't do the things they did several years ago. That's mostly due to letting yourself think that, just because you're older, you can't keep doing the same stuff. Then you start doing a little bit less, and babying those little aches and pains. This keeps snowballing and then, one day you wake up old. It's never too late to get active again, but you have to push yourself harder. All the little aches and pains have added up, and now you're going to have a harder time dealing with them, working them out. Pain medications only fool your body and can result in you hurting yourself more. No pain, no gain really comes into play on this. Don't push yourself too much, but you have to go a little bit over your threshold to make up for all the idle time you've had.
Don't let the doctors get you hooked on prescription drugs. The side effects will cause you to need other drugs and it will also snowball. I have too many friends that are younger than me that HAVE to take these drugs. I've chosen a different route, and while I may be prone to diabetes and heart problems due to heredity, I'll not take the same road as my dad. He's from a different generation, one that had great insurance and little knowledge of the dangers of prescription drugs. Most people from his generation are already hooked and will be for life, but we're smarter now and have better access to info so that we can research these things better. Some illnesses will require medication and that is a necessary evil, but we should try all the alternatives first before just giving in.
J. Haley, the little pills the doc put you on may help you now, but be very careful, because, if you put your trust completely into them, it WILL lead to dependencies down the road.
I wish all the best to you bro. And to all of my BM friends.

Yeah Jeff you were the second one I thought about. Like I said, it just sucks.

Rat, thanks for the info. The musical depression is real I have experienced it several time throughout my career. I am starting to have it now. By that I mean just before I started feeling my worst due to this diabetes crap I became involved with a band that gave me appr. 2 weeks to learn their songs a younger generation of music I am not familiar with. the first gig is next Sat. the 15th I am having problems motivating myself to get up and learn the songs because I feel so bad. On the other hand these guy's are counting on me. They are very hard workers and about 12 to 15 years younger than me and the rehearsals are grueling 4 to 8 hours. In my current health condition I just can't keep up. Also I offered to use my p.a. because it is way better than theirs but my system requires 1 hour to 1 hour and 30 minutes to set up. In the beginning I asked if the drummer had drum mics and was told yes he does by the leader. Well it turns out he doesn't have them and I asked if he could get some and he said he didn't need them. To me that Say's he doesn't understand good sound and that he wants to just be a front loaded mixer with vocals only going thru the p.a. and speakers on a stick. While there is nothing wrong with that the style of music they play is very drum oriented and to me good sound is what can put a band in a category above the other bands and is what I am all about and I told them this from the beginning. I am not going to buy this guy's mikes for him. I am going to have a talk with them and tell them my health problems and that we will need to use their p.a. because there is no sense in me working my tail off to get good sound on everything except the drums also I will play the 2 gig's they have booked. then I will have to pull out due to my health issue's at least till I start feeling better on a consistent basis. I have always been a drinker and I like to drink about 3 or 4 times a month lately (before I found out about the diabetes) I have found that drinking makes me feel worse ARG! so the one thing I have left that I enjoy is music and I am finding that maybe for the short term I may not even be able to do that. So this is a source of frustration and or depression for me. After my first divorce I experienced and was diagnosed with clinical depression and I have since moved on with my life but for any of my BM brethren that are experiencing this PLEASE get some help. I wouldn't wish depression on anyone it is a terrible way to live and life is much better. Even with the problems I have now to me the world is still a beautiful place. Any advise to these problems would be appreciated.

JH - keep trying to work out your troubles in a positive way. and STAY OFF the anti-depressant drugs! They haven't been tested nearly as well as they should be, & "trying this one or that" is simply a crap shoot, & can make things worse for you, your family, & everyone else around you.

Best advice I can give you has been said & said again - keep yourself busy! This is the best way to deal with depression. Keep your focus on the task at hand.

Healthy eating and a healthier lifestyle will start helping most of the health and depression problems quickly. And, while you don't have much time before that first gig, the sooner the better, and every little bit helps.
As far as mic'ing the drums, here's a little trick that I came up with years ago when I put my first PA together. Use a good vocal mic on the inside or front of the kick drum. Cut the highs and high mids completely out on that channel. Use another mic (it can be cheaper as you won't need the low frequency response) on a short stand, aimed at the point where the beater meets the head. Cut all the lows and low mids out of that channel. Mix the two channels tweaking the eq's further and you will be amazed at what a sound you can get. I did it first using a couple of Shure Prologue mics (remember those $20 mics?) and had other bands listening and thinking my drummer was triggering the kick to get that sound.
If your PA is a LOT better than theirs, you might still want to use it to get that sound that will make you happier which will make you more comfortable playing, just make sure the younger bucks are there to do the heavy lifting. I know, while I was going through the feeling bad times, I settled on a lesser PA because it was so much easier to set up, and got used to it, but recently went back to the larger system and, though it's more trouble to set up, the sound makes me feel more like playing. You know there's nothing like knowing that you're sounding great out front.
Now, as far as the drinking making you feel worse, well that's just what happens when you get older. Also, alcohol is a depressant and so, will slow down the process of not being depressed. But, when you start eating healthy and taking in less sugars and carbs, the sugars used in making alcohol will have a less devastating effect on you. You can also, drink pickle juice a bit during a night of drinking and it will reduce or do away with the hangover. If you do get a hangover, eat a banana. The potassium will do more for you than aspirin or ibuprofen.
Hope some of this helps.

Rat,this is serious. If you drink pickle juice while your drinking of course people are gonna say you just got pickled.
Couple years back I tried CHANTIX stop smoking stuff. After four days I felt so down I threw it all away.Have to be so careful about what meds you take.
If thats anything like depression Its horrible beyond belief.

I used to drink a lot in the early 90s. I woke up the hospital one morning after drinking a lot and letting my sugars drop to 35. With my wifes prodding I gave up beer completely, havent drank a beer since 94. Ill have a shot of tequila one in a while but not much more than that. I think today playing out in front of a crowd gets me higher than anything else. You have to let some things go and replace them with better things. You will live a lot longer that way.

And its another day in Paradise !!!!

Hey J,
with what I have expierenced with this illness is not 1st hand however I have had friends and family that have dealt with it and have read and known a few celebs taht have and are dealing with it. it did not stop them but merely slowed them down but they all bounced back and kept on. I guess what I am trying to do is offer up some encougement, ever heard of BB King ( bet Yo have) He is a dieabetic and He still performs with "Lucille" sometimes He has to do so from a stool or a comy chair but He still gets it done. If You do as doc says,exercise,diet the only thing You shall notice changing is the fact You are paying closer attention to Your health. heck probably wouldn't hurt Me to start doing the same. take care Dude and hope to hear from You again hang in there and keep ROCK'N!!!!! ( You are in Our Prayers)

Thanks for the kind words #1 and Soundcheck, as I was poking myself repeatedly this morning trying to draw blood so I could test my blood sugar level, I haven't quite got the sticking myself 6 times a day to draw blood down yet. Oh I was pissed I had to stick myself 7 times to get blood LOL! I thought I was completely out of blood These lancets and test strips are expensive over a dollar a test and I used up more than a days worth for one test Anyway my wife and I were talking and she said "you know BB has to do this too LOL! You are exactly right Soundcheck when it comes to my health I have been out of control for about 15 years now. It is the same old thing you watch your father and grandfather go thru. I can't do what I used to and that includes neglect my health. I always try to look at the positive and that is the good thing that will come out of this. Right now my blood sugar level is very high and I am literally sick from it. It feels like you have the flu all the time, you ache all over and have no energy at all. This is a life altering illness in the sense that you completely have to alter your diet and lifestyle. The good news is today my blood sugar seems to be stabilizing it is staying in the 290 range and should be starting to fall as I am following the regimen my doctor has put me on.

I had to cancel rehearsal today because I am feeling so bad. This morning the bass player I have played with in the Cruise Control Band, he was with me for 3 of the last 5 years now and as many of you know we recently broke up. He came to get some of his gear that was in the trailer took one look at me and freaked by how much weight I have lost in the past 2 weeks. I hope soon I will get better and things can get back to some sort of normalcy.