Weight: 210

Fasting: 95.

I ate a lot today. I'm dealing with tons of financial stress and a potential life change, which, of course, adds stress. When I'm stressed, I eat. That's not entirely true. I like to eat. I eat all the time. I wish I didn't.

This evening, I am finally able to start Byetta. Just like the nurse told me in my endo's office, I prime the Byetta pen by "wasting" one dose. Even though I don't like using the shorter pen needles, I decide to give it a go since that's what came with the Byetta starter kit. I pinch the skin on my tummy and squeeze in the medicine.

Interestingly, it burns just a little. Usually, with Novolog and Lantus, I don't get a burn. But, also, I usually use my love handles, not my gut. I sit still for a few seconds before I remove the needle. No blood and no liquid. I think I'm good. And then, I see the smallest trickle of medicine. Shoot! I know that will make a difference. I definitely learn a lesson and will administer differently tomorrow.

With the family scattered tonight and no formal dinner plans, I scrounge for dinner and decide on a bagel with butter. Neither the healthiest choice nor diabetes friendly, but I'm really not interested in changing my eating habits right this second. I take my 1,000 mg of Metformin and decide to do a pre-meal blood sugar test so I can gauge whether the Byetta is working. Or, rather, how it works.

I prick my finger and count down from five with my meter. It beeps and shows 351. Oh, man. That's not what I expected. I really wish I could take Novolog to bring that down, but I can't take it and Byetta. I wait for feelings of nausea or simply to lose the desire to eat. Despite my impatience, I decide to give the medicine a few hours to get into my system before I start passing judgment.

90 minutes post dinner: 187. Shocking! I really expected much less of the medicine, but I was definitely proven wrong.

Almost 2 hours post dinner: I'm hungry, so I grab some carrots and a little ranch dressing.

Two and a half hours post: I test, and I'm 185. Again, shocked. Maybe there wasn't enough time for the carrots and dressing to hit my system. Bad news, though, I'm still hungry and feel like I haven't eaten anything since lunch. Out of desperation, I eat a granola bar with no redeeming nutritional value whatsoever. It doesn't even curb my hunger.

Three and a half hours post: 216. Not great, but it's only a 30-point climb from my actual post-dinner reading.