Surgery: blood sugar & the immune system

Calories eaten yesterday: 1533
Fat: 79g (48%)
Carbs: 41g (11%)
Protein: 105g (28%)
Calories burned in exercise: 118

Here's one part of what I have to do twice a day - for 10 minutes I soak my foot in warm or hot water with Epsom salt, then put antibiotic cream in the hole where the toenail used to be, place gauze over it, and tape it in place.

Cindy came up with an interesting observation about my blood sugar being high lately. She said it might be connected with my recent surgery, and directed me to a post by Dr. Vernon discussing trauma from surgery and high blood sugar.

I was curious, so I ran my fasting blood sugar numbers before and after the surgery. The results were indeed interesting. I have nine days of data from before the surgery. Average morning blood sugar - 87. Lowest reading was 79 and highest was 94.

In the six days since the surgery my average is 101! The average was about 103 yesterday, but I has a good fasting reading today and that brought the average down. Lowest reading since surgery was 93 (this morning) and the highest was 118.

This toe surgery has also compromised my immune system and I find myself suffering from something I haven't had since I began low-carbing 2 1/2 years ago - a cold sore. Yike! I thought I had seen the last of them, but there it is - a white sore on my lip. Yuck. I'm treating with Carmex during the day and some Abreva at home that's past its expiration. I don't want to buy more Abreva because it's expensive and this cold sore is the exception, not the rule. I used to get them all the time, but not anymore, all thanks to Dr. Atkins. :)

By the way, if you do get cold sores, Abreva really does work great. It's just expensive as hell. If I remember right it's about $15 for a tiny little tube.

Anyway, I'm trying to nip this problem before it gets worse. I'm sure it's because the toe issue is putting my immune system under a lot of stress.

Technorati tagged: atkins, diet, atkins diet, low carb, weight loss, obesity, obese, overweight, fat, exercise, fitness, diabetes, glucose meter