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I've worked really hard the past few months to lose some weight. I've been eating better (cutting out fast food, "extras" like dinner rolls or second servings, and leaving the snacks on the snack aisle at the grocery store). On top of that, I'm working out about three times a week either at the gym or on the treadmill at home. And I'm proud to say that I've lost six pounds and several inches.

But the past week has thrown a major kink in my progress. I'm too scared to even step on the scale to see how these low and "lower" blood sugars are affecting me. I know my calorie intake has increased between the cokes, snacks, and extra carbs I'm consuming to offset these things.

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I have never been a big fan of the heat.

And no, I'm not referring to the NBA team in Miami with whom Lebron James is going to be playing basketball. Unlike many other people I know, I couldn't care less about that.

I'm referring to the sweltering high temperatures and humidity that come with the summer months. They make me sick. Literally!

For as long as I can remember, even before I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and congestive heart failure, I’ve had problems with being out in the sun and heat for very long. Even short periods of exposure to the heat have the tendency to leave me feeling pretty bad at times. And when that does happen, I’m usually left extremely tired and weak, with aches and pains throughout my body, and completely soaked in sweat. All of which are symptoms of a condition called heat exhaustion.

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So, um, I had a good couple of days last week.  Bloodsugars in the 100s for full days, felt great, even lost a couple of pounds.  But the bottom dropped out on Tuesday this week. 

I love rollercoasters.  This post means no offense to my favorite part of most amusement parks.  I really, really enjoy climbing aboard a cart on rails and that feeling just after you've crested the peak of the ride and you know you're going to fall and you take a good deep breathe and think, here's it goes.  I also really love the feeling of riding that downward curve, the g-forces ripping at cheeks and lips, heart beating hard in fingers and neck.  

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Good grief, it's been hot here. Depending on which bank I was driving past, it was either 99, 101 or 103 today. Any one of them is too freakin' hot, especially for early June and most especially for New England. My Yankee bones don't like that kind of temperature one little bit.

Nor do Olivia's. She's been miserable the last few days. Weather had a lot to do with it and I've been making sure she's checking her blood sugars frequently and staying well hydrated. Her numbers haven't been great, but I don't know whether I can attribute that to the weather or to the fact that she just got dumped by her boyfriend.

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The most recent heat wave may have passed, but summer is still in full swing -- which means heat-related health alerts. While these issues are not directly related to diabetes, diabetes can confound a heat-related health issue, making it harder to recognize and treat. Heat-related symptoms can mimic sugar-related symptoms and vice-versa, so it is in our best interests to know our normal ranges and reactions to the greatest degree possible.

The most basic heat issue is hydration. For some of us, dehydration will cause our blood glucose levels to drop; for others, it will cause those readings to rise. For some of us, the physical stress of dehydration will, at one point or another, trigger an adrenaline response and its associated glycogen release, leading to u-shaped curves (think "Dawn Phenomenon").

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We had a spate of hot weather at the beginning of June and Olivia, like the rest of us, was guzzling liquids like no tomorrow. At the time, all we had in the house was lemonade mix, juice and water. She does drink a fair amount of water, but was also drinking a lot of juice and lemonade. I wasn't thrilled with all the extra calories she was taking in, not to mention the cost of restocking all that juice and lemonade. It's amazing how quickly the people in my house go thru that stuff - I don't drink it, but man, I hear about it when it's gone.

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On my mom and I's Italian vacation back in May, I discovered a new love: risotto. A delicious Italian rice dish that's full of flavor and tailored to my own tastebuds. On the cruise, I had two types of risotto. My favorite was mushroom and spinach risotto which combines two of my favorite ingredients anyway.

I generally don't choose rice as a side dish or main ingredient. I'm more of a pasta or potato kind of girl. However, I do enjoy a nice dish of brown rice every now and then. So I'm not exactly opposed to rice, but not exactly enthralled at the idea.

So risotto was kind of a shock at how much I do enjoy it. Enough to even take an attempt at cooking it a few nights ago. For a first experience, it turned out pretty good so I thought I'd share the recipe with you.

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Summer.  I really do love summer.  I love being able to take off at will to the beach on a weekend night and spend time with people I adore.  I love all that's happening in my city - arts fairs, outdoor gatherings, BBQs.  I love taking off to camp nearby or afar or on the roof of a city building. 

If there's one thing I'd change about summer it's the impact the searing heat always seems to have on my diabetes.

I've lost a bunch of weight this summer, primarily because I am never, ever hungry in the heat.  Nothing seems to taste as good. Well, maybe watermelon, ice cream, and ribs - but who can live on those things alone?   On top of that, it seems that my body is working so hard at trying to cool me down, it forgets the part it needs to play, in conjunction with my pump, in bloodsugar regulation. 

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I’m home this week watching the kids while Susanne is enduring four straight days of alien-like probing at Temple University Hospital to study her newly diagnosed gastroparesis. They are sticking tubes everywhere they possibly can - snaking her like a backed-up toilet.

Tomorrow they’ll go from mouth to nose and perhaps nose to ear as if her head is a wooden Tinkertoy spool.

Today’s tests were pretty horrible for her. The kids made cards to cheer her up. Charlie’s sentiments appear to come from his own personal experience.

Front cover: "Sorry the Docter STINKS! I Love U!"

Inside: "Dear Mom, I’m sorry the Docter is a nag! Who likes the Docter! I Love U Mom! Love, Charles"

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Perhaps I should clarify. While Saturday, October 29 was the designated day for many children's Hallowe'en-themed activities — including costume contests, mall Trick-or-Treats, and the costumed American Diabetes Association Step Out to STOP Diabetes Walk, Mother Nature had other plans for us — plans that included snow shovels, flashlights, streets full of wet, slushy, ice-snow, and not a microwatt of electric power to be had for three towns' radius around us.

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