It got so that, I estimated (generously) that she was, perhaps, actually eating less than 400 calories a day. In total. She did this for about 6 weeks, and lost almost 40 pounds. This, while remaining almost motionless for most of the day, immobilized by two broken shoulders that couldn’t be put into casts. It hurt to move, so she didn’t. Add to that the heavy duty pain pills acting like an appetite suppressant, and a truly abysmal meal selection at the nursing home, and you get….400 calories a day and that only because we nagged.

Since then, for the last 2 weeks, the doctors have added another type of diabetes medication, an oral one, to supplement the insulin she normally used. This had the effect of stimulating her appetite and she’s now eating. Not very much at a time, but she’s eating.

Perversely enough, while she wasn’t eating and was only on insulin, her blood glucose levels were routinely in the 200’s. How and why, other than a low level sinus infection (chronic) and some heavy duty healing attempted by her body… I do not know how the levels were that high. Now, with the extra medication and now that she’s actually eating.. her blood glucose levels are in the 140’s before each meal.

I can’t explain it. Maybe a doctor can, and I’m going to be asking mine…Why?