Onset of Diabetes, Bye Bye Gummies, and On the Move!

Good morning everyone. A few weeks ago, I had my doctor's appointment. It was an exhausting one. It was my biannual glucose test to see if I have diabetes. CF patients are very likely to have an onset of CFRD which is CF-Related Diabetes. In the back of mind, I knew my Gummy Bears/M&M's infatuation was going to get me. I eat a bowl per night (sometimes more) and that doesn't include the candies I snack on during the day. I gave 13 vials of blood (that is not a typo) and took a urine test. Here's irony. I have trouble peeing when someone is standing next to or waiting behind me but give me a cup and I can pee in about 3 seconds flat. TMI right?

13 vials!


Anyway, I had to fast from midnight the night before until noon that day and had to drink a disgusting sugary drink (like a more sugary form of Sunkist) before my last vial. The test showed up irregular. I wanted to tell the doctor, "Duh, you took 13 vials of blood. Of course, it's irregular. I'm alive. Shouldn't I be dead after giving 13 vials of blood?" The final diagnosis: I have pre-diabetes which means I'm dangerously close to having CFRD (CF Related Diabetes). In the back of mind I'm thinking I don't want to have to deal with another issue. Isn't cystic fibrosis and a bad sense of humor enough?

Anyway, I have finally decided to stop the sugar infatuation. I have given up gummy bears and M&M's. Ah, the memories we'll have though. It has only been a week but I have lost about 4 pounds since not eating candy for dessert every night and not munching on them during the day.

I'm going to miss you guys!


I tried sugar free candy but that gave me a ton of stomach aches. Now I'm focusing on Healthy Choice Meals, Zone Bars, Atkins Bars (the man died so I'm not sure how good they really are for me) and mangoes. I was at 186 pounds when I started and am currently at 182 pounds. My goal is to be between 175 to 180 pounds.

I'm also taking a new vitamin twice a week that is supposed to give me a ridiculous amount of Vitamin D. I'm also trying to change up my workouts a little bit as I've gotten into a rut. I'm still working out 6 times a week and running at least 8 minutes each day on the treadmill. I am not running outside in 90 degree weather unless I'm being chased.

I'll continue to work my tail off to get better. On the bright side, my lung function was only down 1% which isn't too bad. Still my symptoms revealed to the doctor that I needed to go on Augmentin. I was coughing quite a bit but the coughing has since ceased and I only have another day of antibiotics. The rashes all over my body are just about gone. I know Andrea is glad I won't be waking up in the middle of the night scratching for a while. It was caused by Cayston, a new drug I was on. I looked like a guy who put sunblock on random parts of my body, sat in the sun for 10 hours and then woke up looking like Super Acne Man! Anyway, it scares me that my last few drugs I've taken have caused major side effects. TOBI gave me hearing issues and Cayston made me look like the poster boy for Poison Ivy prevention. What if the cure for CF destroys my body? Wouldn't that be ironic if my body rejected it? I can't worry about it right now since there isn't one to date.

My softball team is in the Final 4 of the competitive league at Atlanta Club Sport looking to defend our winter league championship. We play tonight and hopefully tomorrow for the title. We were the number 3 seed on Monday night and knocked off the number 2 seed and then the undefeated number one seed.

We are shooting the video this weekend for "I Need a Nebulizer." I got a lot of great comments on my song. Thank you. It's really nice to hear. I know I'm not winning a Grammy any time soon (I think I sound like Kermit the Frog on steroids) but if this song can help raise awareness for CF, I will be thrilled. I have lots of pictures of CF patients from around the world to use in the video. I also just got Chipper Jones to take part in it. I'm working on a few others as well.

The Hall of Famer and the Nebulizer Man


The kids are great. Avery is doing tennis camp and she is having a good time. She continues to excel at gymnastics. Ethan has gone from being scared of the water to begging us to take him to the pool everyday thanks to the swimming lessons that Andrea got for him. We might have the next Michael Phelps on our hands.

Andrea is playing a lot of tennis lately and recently played in a tournament. I never thought she'd be the tennis player in the family but she has gotten really good. I think she might wipe the court with me.

In other exciting news, we may be moving in the next few months. Our offer on a house has been accepted. It's only a few miles from our current place. The kids were hesitant to move until they saw the backyard. I was tired of throwing Ethan the ball in the neighbor's yard and having to watch Avery do somersaults on our steep incline of a driveway. I'll keep you updated.

I hope that everyone is doing well.



Andy