As a Diabetic you soon learn there are lots of secondary conditions that follow you around. One those is Gastroparesis. Basicially that means the stomach does not empty in the small intestine like it is supposed to do.
I first discovered this condition when my breakfast cereal did not empty into the digestive tract like it is supposed to do. The acid builds up in your stomach and the cereal balls up into a sour mass. After about 12 hours, maybe ten hours or even 14 or 15 hours after you eat, your stomach lets you know all is not well. And it empties itself the only way it can, by causing you to throw up. After tossing your cookies everything seems to return to normal.
Well I can usually detect when the stomach is building up. It lets you know it is not happy. I have been on occasion able to clear my stomach by contracting my diaphragm which sort squeezes your stomach into properly emptying. It does not always work and when it doesn't you will end up hugging the while porcelain fixture in the bathroom, the toilet. You have no choice.
Last night I had a severe attack and ended up emptying my stomach into the toilet. This time it was cereal, it was all liquid in nature. And that is a change for me. Usually I have no trouble with liquids but I had drank a cup of coffee after dinner. I always take coffee with half and half cream, and that turned sour on me. I had had a bowl of commercial frozen Gumbo which was very soupy, or if you will liquid instead of being a solid. Yes, there were a few crummy shrimp in the Gumbo but there were soft so pretty much turned to liquid in my stomach.
So a 1:30AM the attack began. I tried contracting my diaphragm several times with no relief. Then the stomach notified me things were going to come up. I trotted off the bathroom and sure enough just made it in time when stomach contents started flowing up. Not pleasant but necessary. After the regurgitation things returned to normal and I went off to sleep.
Diabetes, as in my case Type II, is an autoimmune disease. Once you have it, it will be with you the rest of your life. Some once asked what causes it and we do not know what that it is. In some cases reducing weight can cause Type II to go into remission. But it will pop up again when you least expect it. In my case I probably have severe liver damage due to absorption of Agent Orange. There is no cure, one must learn to manage their Diabetes.
Agent Orange, so named because it came in orange barrels, was defoliant sprayed in View Nam to remove the cover from use by the Viet Cong. The primary bad actor in Agent Orange is Dioxen. Dioxen is common in 2-4-D used by all of us to get rid of weeds or other plant growth we do not want or like. The Agent Orange used a lot of it, in a most potent vein. It was sprayed by C-123 aircraft. And they were all over the flight line where I commonly worked. We even used the barrels as trash barrels and modified some of them into Bar-B-Que pits. We had no idea how bad the stuff was. And that contamination was ramped. it was everywhere on a Air Base. Dioxen gets into your liver and makes it intolerant to insulin.
Today all Viet Nam Veterans are subject to a myriad of diseases and cancers all caused by Agent Orange. Many have died due to the onset of cancer including Prostate Cancer and Parkinson's Disease. Fortunately for me, I have no cancer but I do have Diabetes Type II. As a result I have Peripheral Neuropathy in both feet and both hands. That is I am losing sensitivity in my hands and feet. Diabetes attacks your nervous system.
A while back, several years ago, I noted I was getting quite obese. So I set about losing some weight. I lost over forty pounds and my normal weight now days is 190 pounds. I think I had topped out a 243 pounds at one time. I did this by not eating any lunch and I still more or less maintain a no lunch diet. I figure in ancient times one at breakfast and then dinner. So I figured lunch was just a luxury. People told me Diabetics should not avoid meals, that is baloney. Diabetics should avoid carbohydrates with a passion. So I am mindful of my diet all the time. I have rice and corn are very high in carbohydrates. So I avoid those, as do I avoid sugar and sugary drinks. Alcohol does not have sugar but does have empty calories. So I do not drink as much as I once did.
So Gastroparesis is just another health element you have do deal with as a Diabetic. You get used to it over time. Metphormen is a common drug for Type II treatment and it can also stimulate your appetite. I take it and Januvia to control my blood sugar. My body produces insulin but my liver is intolerant to the insulin. Those drugs essentially make the liver work like it should.
Sunday, April 26, 2020
Saturday, April 18, 2020
Survivor Benefit Progam . . .
Survivor Benefit Plan or as we ex-military people would say SBP is basically an annuity for your spouse and kicks in when you, the primary military person dies. If you die on active duty it kicks in automatically for your spouse. But if you are retired like me you have to pay for it. It cost about $320 a month.
You pay for it for 360 months and then you are paid up and no longer have to pay for it. The annuity pays your spouse half of what you got in retirement. So it is different amount for different grades, the higher grades pay more than the lower grades. It is not a case of rank has its privileges. You have the privilege of paying more. I reached 30 years last September.
How much is it? Well is supposed to pay your spouse 50% of your retirement pay. And it runs as long as your spouse lives. I guess they figured since one of the pair is deceased the remaining spouse only needs half of the retirement. That is not perfect but it works for us. And of course it is taxed.
But since I am retired and a veteran I also get veteran's benefits. Should I die from an established disability ala VA, then my spouse collects Dependency Indemnity Compensation (DIC). And since I am now rated 100% disabled the VA considers virtually considers any cause of death as acceptable for DIC. Thus up until now you could not get a 100% of DIC and 100% of our SBP. For every dollar of your DIC you collected a dollar was substracted from your SBP. The law is changing, it has already been enacted. So basically by 1 February 2023 you can collect both of them. It is important to remember one pays for SBP out of ones retirement pay, while DIC is compensation and it cost the veteran nothing.
So it is refreshing to learn you still have the SBP and life a life insurance policy is "Paid Up." In the past if you withdrew from SBP you could not get it back. Those whose spouse precedes them into the grave, you can quit paying for it. You got nothing back, it was money spent for the protection and gone. You can voluntarily get out of paying it only if your spouse agrees since it is a benefit for the spouse not you. Divorce of course, all bets are off too. Now days I still have the protection for Judie but no longer have to pay for it.
When I signed up for SBP I asked my insurance company, USAA, was it a good deal. The answer was a resounding yes. That is I could not get such coverage for that amount of money from any insurance company. And the fee was deducted from my retirement pay before taxes. Nobody else except us military types could get this deal.
So should I die before Judie, she gets a good deal. In the old days we referred to this as the military "Widow's Tax." Congress has finally removed, albeit not immediately, the tax.
You pay for it for 360 months and then you are paid up and no longer have to pay for it. The annuity pays your spouse half of what you got in retirement. So it is different amount for different grades, the higher grades pay more than the lower grades. It is not a case of rank has its privileges. You have the privilege of paying more. I reached 30 years last September.
How much is it? Well is supposed to pay your spouse 50% of your retirement pay. And it runs as long as your spouse lives. I guess they figured since one of the pair is deceased the remaining spouse only needs half of the retirement. That is not perfect but it works for us. And of course it is taxed.
But since I am retired and a veteran I also get veteran's benefits. Should I die from an established disability ala VA, then my spouse collects Dependency Indemnity Compensation (DIC). And since I am now rated 100% disabled the VA considers virtually considers any cause of death as acceptable for DIC. Thus up until now you could not get a 100% of DIC and 100% of our SBP. For every dollar of your DIC you collected a dollar was substracted from your SBP. The law is changing, it has already been enacted. So basically by 1 February 2023 you can collect both of them. It is important to remember one pays for SBP out of ones retirement pay, while DIC is compensation and it cost the veteran nothing.
So it is refreshing to learn you still have the SBP and life a life insurance policy is "Paid Up." In the past if you withdrew from SBP you could not get it back. Those whose spouse precedes them into the grave, you can quit paying for it. You got nothing back, it was money spent for the protection and gone. You can voluntarily get out of paying it only if your spouse agrees since it is a benefit for the spouse not you. Divorce of course, all bets are off too. Now days I still have the protection for Judie but no longer have to pay for it.
When I signed up for SBP I asked my insurance company, USAA, was it a good deal. The answer was a resounding yes. That is I could not get such coverage for that amount of money from any insurance company. And the fee was deducted from my retirement pay before taxes. Nobody else except us military types could get this deal.
So should I die before Judie, she gets a good deal. In the old days we referred to this as the military "Widow's Tax." Congress has finally removed, albeit not immediately, the tax.
Sunday, April 12, 2020
James . . .
Son James has returned to the DFW area and has a new job. All I know about it is software oriented and he works with old friends that he knew from his Motorola days.
They sold their house in Austin, a nice small bungalow that they brought up to date. New fence in back yard, fixed a significant leak under the slab, repainted the inside of the house. They got their money back and probably made some more as prices in Austin have skyrocketed. I am sure now with the Coronavirus things in Austin may have turned down.
They have moved into an apartment off Beltline road. An all new facility, accepts the dogs and has a nice grassy area with Bar-B-Que grills, a few yard games and a swimming pool. The place is located on a lake that once served as source of cooling water for an electrical power plant for Dallas. The plant has long been removed and the land has all been reclaimed. While it is on the line with Fort Worth and Coppell, the land belongs to Dallas so it has a Dallas address. The location is just north of DFW International airport.
They elected to rent and then look for a house later. Joan's job has always been in the same area so she can ride her bike to the office. James has to go a bit further, perhaps a couple of miles. I am sure that is a wise decision with the current Coronavirus issues.
They are happy to be back. He still retains an interest in his old place of employment but I am sure in time he will convert it back to cash. They are high tech and their product gets exported to China regularly. While China telecoms are the primary customer they do sell now inside the US. Originally, they were not permitted to trade in the states with their respective post employment agreements. Those agreements have essentially expired.
The big deal is they are back home again. Both are very pleased to be close to us as we are too. No long treks back and forth to Austin. I really don't miss that. However, Amanda Lou and Mike are still living in the north side of Austin in Phugerville.
They sold their house in Austin, a nice small bungalow that they brought up to date. New fence in back yard, fixed a significant leak under the slab, repainted the inside of the house. They got their money back and probably made some more as prices in Austin have skyrocketed. I am sure now with the Coronavirus things in Austin may have turned down.
They have moved into an apartment off Beltline road. An all new facility, accepts the dogs and has a nice grassy area with Bar-B-Que grills, a few yard games and a swimming pool. The place is located on a lake that once served as source of cooling water for an electrical power plant for Dallas. The plant has long been removed and the land has all been reclaimed. While it is on the line with Fort Worth and Coppell, the land belongs to Dallas so it has a Dallas address. The location is just north of DFW International airport.
They elected to rent and then look for a house later. Joan's job has always been in the same area so she can ride her bike to the office. James has to go a bit further, perhaps a couple of miles. I am sure that is a wise decision with the current Coronavirus issues.
They are happy to be back. He still retains an interest in his old place of employment but I am sure in time he will convert it back to cash. They are high tech and their product gets exported to China regularly. While China telecoms are the primary customer they do sell now inside the US. Originally, they were not permitted to trade in the states with their respective post employment agreements. Those agreements have essentially expired.
The big deal is they are back home again. Both are very pleased to be close to us as we are too. No long treks back and forth to Austin. I really don't miss that. However, Amanda Lou and Mike are still living in the north side of Austin in Phugerville.
Monday, April 6, 2020
Closing In On the End . . ..
End of what? End of the family Usufructs Agreement. A Usufructs is a legally binding "use" agreement. They have been around for centuries but until the early 1980s were not recognized in Louisiana.
Well my family had a Usufructs Agreement drawn up. My father wrote it and then his lawyer took over and put it good legal language. He also had it "peer reviewed" and subsequently had it inserted in the Louisiana Constitution making legal.
That agreement controlled the frontage of the plantation and who could do what with what. My brother built a log house on my father's part of the usage agreement. There were four more or less equal area across the front of the farm. One part had the old family house which I call Angeles House. We subsequently sold the house to a Morrison who is a share holder.
With in a year of my brother building the log house he died. He died intest-state ( no will) but the agreement was in force so the log house fell to my father as it was on his area of control. There were other bank issues that were resolved and my father rented the house. My father died in the mid 1990s at age 86 and the log house became ours. By ours I mean his heirs; my brother's children, my sister and myself.
I was in the military and then retired to a town outside of Fort Worth, Texas so I could not provide any management help keeping the log house and it became my sisters duty as she lived closest to the house. My nephew Johnny lived nearby but my sister did the job anyway.
My sister has since died and Johnny has taken over the responsibilities. Herrise left it in a good lease and all he had to do was collect the rent and pay for the fire insurance.
Well, the Usufructs Agreement expires at noon, May 28, 2020. After that the log house reverts back to the plantation. We will turn over a nice four thousand square foot log house and the management now falls to the plantation. We, as share holders in the stock ownership of the plantation, will continue to participate in the proceeds but on a per share basis. We no longer as subset of the larger family have any responsibility for and to the log houseersonaly.
Basically, it has been forty years since the agreement was placed in use. It will expire. Others will manage the place and we will all share in any income on a pro rata basis.
Saturday, April 4, 2020
Quarantine or Social Separation . . .
Well we do not have any Coronavirus ergo we are not quarantined. But we, like all the rest of you, are practicing, in our own way, social separation. Let me give you an example.
Last Saturday, our neighbors came over and we all had a glass of wine or two glasses or . . . Any way we did this on our screened back patio which we now refer to as the porch. We had the ceiling fan on high to blow all those bad things in the air down, not up and flying around. We place all the chairs six feet apart except for Judie and I, who sat on the little outdoor sofa. So there was three couples and one widower. We had a rare good time and did not exceed the 10 person limit.
Yesterday we ventured into Fort Worth to Costco. I was just about out of coffee and I get a big bag of beans there and grind them up. It was coolish day, temperatures are 55 to 60 degrees with blustery winds. We found this huge line of people waiting to get in to the facility. We all stood the requisite six feet apart, some with baskets and some waiting to get baskets. We were strung out a block long.
We were there only a few moments when the line moved up. We did not make it into the store, we were now the third couple in line at the door, many were behind us. We observed two fellows wiping down the roll-a-round baskets down with alcohol soaked cloths. Killing the virus, you know, before the customer got his dirty filthy hands on them.
Then they let 10 sets of us in. No more than two persons to a set. No family reunions allowed, so to speak. Into the store and we found it sort of picked over, tons and tons of water in all sorts and kinds of bottles. No Kleenex, no toilet paper, no paper towels, but lots of paper plates and lots of baggies to store stuff in.
The staff seemed normal, then we got to the checkout area. There they had a woman marshalling us into various check lines making sure we were practicing social clearances. There were all kinds of markings and lines on the floor to guide you through the checkout.
The couple in front of us were didling around, trying different charge cards, talking on the phone, etc. The clerks and helper would not let us put things on the conveyer belt or move up. We had to maintain that social separation. The couple continued to screw around and you could see the checker was losing patience with them. Finally, the woman hung up her telephone call, things got straightened out and the check out was complete. And they continued to just stand there and chat with each other with no consideration to anybody else in the place.
No more coffee grinding machines. They did not just cover them up, they literally hauled them off and hid them. Fortunately, we have coffee grinder rarely ever used and now will have to do the duty. I am sure it will work.
Later went to Walmart, they had close all but one entrance. And that entrance had a marshal watching you but essentially doing nothing but looking hawkish. Baskets and cones used to direct you exclusively to one automatic door to enter and once inside barricaded line proceeded further into the store with a station every six feet with towels and hand cleaner. The first one I stopped at the hand cleaner was empty.
Checked and still no paper towels or toilet paper. I had to walk all the way to the other end of the store to get my toothpaste, checkedout and then out the only door open. I got eyeballed by the woman a the door on the way out. Have to follow the rules, you know.
I wonder what Home Depot and Lowes is like? Oh well that is another store for another day.
Last Saturday, our neighbors came over and we all had a glass of wine or two glasses or . . . Any way we did this on our screened back patio which we now refer to as the porch. We had the ceiling fan on high to blow all those bad things in the air down, not up and flying around. We place all the chairs six feet apart except for Judie and I, who sat on the little outdoor sofa. So there was three couples and one widower. We had a rare good time and did not exceed the 10 person limit.
Yesterday we ventured into Fort Worth to Costco. I was just about out of coffee and I get a big bag of beans there and grind them up. It was coolish day, temperatures are 55 to 60 degrees with blustery winds. We found this huge line of people waiting to get in to the facility. We all stood the requisite six feet apart, some with baskets and some waiting to get baskets. We were strung out a block long.
We were there only a few moments when the line moved up. We did not make it into the store, we were now the third couple in line at the door, many were behind us. We observed two fellows wiping down the roll-a-round baskets down with alcohol soaked cloths. Killing the virus, you know, before the customer got his dirty filthy hands on them.
Then they let 10 sets of us in. No more than two persons to a set. No family reunions allowed, so to speak. Into the store and we found it sort of picked over, tons and tons of water in all sorts and kinds of bottles. No Kleenex, no toilet paper, no paper towels, but lots of paper plates and lots of baggies to store stuff in.
The staff seemed normal, then we got to the checkout area. There they had a woman marshalling us into various check lines making sure we were practicing social clearances. There were all kinds of markings and lines on the floor to guide you through the checkout.
The couple in front of us were didling around, trying different charge cards, talking on the phone, etc. The clerks and helper would not let us put things on the conveyer belt or move up. We had to maintain that social separation. The couple continued to screw around and you could see the checker was losing patience with them. Finally, the woman hung up her telephone call, things got straightened out and the check out was complete. And they continued to just stand there and chat with each other with no consideration to anybody else in the place.
No more coffee grinding machines. They did not just cover them up, they literally hauled them off and hid them. Fortunately, we have coffee grinder rarely ever used and now will have to do the duty. I am sure it will work.
Later went to Walmart, they had close all but one entrance. And that entrance had a marshal watching you but essentially doing nothing but looking hawkish. Baskets and cones used to direct you exclusively to one automatic door to enter and once inside barricaded line proceeded further into the store with a station every six feet with towels and hand cleaner. The first one I stopped at the hand cleaner was empty.
Checked and still no paper towels or toilet paper. I had to walk all the way to the other end of the store to get my toothpaste, checkedout and then out the only door open. I got eyeballed by the woman a the door on the way out. Have to follow the rules, you know.
I wonder what Home Depot and Lowes is like? Oh well that is another store for another day.
Friday, April 3, 2020
Backup Power Supply . . .
We use ATT Uverse for our land line telephone and DSL connection to the Internet. When we signed up yea years ago they included a battery back up system so when the power is out the telephone will continue to operate.
Well the other day the power supply died, that it had a red light on it. That meant the internal battery had died. Thus either the whole assembly needed replacement, or a trouble call to ATT or perhaps I could replace the battery. Of course, there were no instructions given with the device. So I unplugged it and the phone quit as well as the internet quit. The modem was of course dead.
I unplugged the power supply and it was weighty which indicated to me it had a battery in it. I moved it over to my desk/work station and opened it up. It did have an access door and sure enough it had a 12 volt sealed lead acid battery in it. I extracted the battery and did a search on Amazon and found maybe a dozen replacement batteries at price ranges from $17.95 to $40.00. I ordered up the $17.95 unit, free shipping but had state tax included so it was about $19.40. That was okay.
But it was going to take a week or more to be shipped. Well the unit had a switch on it and I had turned it off when I moved it over to my desk. So I hooked it all up again, plugged it into the modem and turned it on. And it worked except I got a red light as there was no battery in the unit. It worked just fine, powered up the modem and we were in business. We just did not have a back up for a while.
The new battery arrived a while ago. Perfect fit. I hooked it up, installed in the unit and installed the cover door and plugged it into the modem. I had not unplugged it from house power, but did turn it off to install the battery, a safety thing to me. Once the battery was installed and the switch turned on it showed a green light and the modem came back alive.
So we were without a land line phone for about five minutes. And the Internet connection came right back up. I filed a three month warranty with the "MightyMax Battery" company via the internet. I suppose the new battery should last maybe another five or so years like the original one. No matter I know how and where to get a replacement battery now.
Well the other day the power supply died, that it had a red light on it. That meant the internal battery had died. Thus either the whole assembly needed replacement, or a trouble call to ATT or perhaps I could replace the battery. Of course, there were no instructions given with the device. So I unplugged it and the phone quit as well as the internet quit. The modem was of course dead.
I unplugged the power supply and it was weighty which indicated to me it had a battery in it. I moved it over to my desk/work station and opened it up. It did have an access door and sure enough it had a 12 volt sealed lead acid battery in it. I extracted the battery and did a search on Amazon and found maybe a dozen replacement batteries at price ranges from $17.95 to $40.00. I ordered up the $17.95 unit, free shipping but had state tax included so it was about $19.40. That was okay.
But it was going to take a week or more to be shipped. Well the unit had a switch on it and I had turned it off when I moved it over to my desk. So I hooked it all up again, plugged it into the modem and turned it on. And it worked except I got a red light as there was no battery in the unit. It worked just fine, powered up the modem and we were in business. We just did not have a back up for a while.
The new battery arrived a while ago. Perfect fit. I hooked it up, installed in the unit and installed the cover door and plugged it into the modem. I had not unplugged it from house power, but did turn it off to install the battery, a safety thing to me. Once the battery was installed and the switch turned on it showed a green light and the modem came back alive.
So we were without a land line phone for about five minutes. And the Internet connection came right back up. I filed a three month warranty with the "MightyMax Battery" company via the internet. I suppose the new battery should last maybe another five or so years like the original one. No matter I know how and where to get a replacement battery now.
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