____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ Wow, we really are a smart bunch of spit shooters. See the following from HealthyDay News: ____________________________________________________________ Tuesday, October 3, 2006 Red Wine May Be Good For You It's Rich in Antioxidants (HealthDay News) -- Red wine, more than a tasty beverage to enjoy with dinner, is rich in antioxidants called flavonoids that can help protect your heart. Recent research shows that red wine -- limited to a four-ounce glass per day -- may help protect you from heart disease, cancer, and even neurological disease. The Yale-New Haven Hospital says flavonoids in wine help reduce bad (LDL) cholesterol and raise good (HDL) cholesterol. Wine can also reduce your risk of blood clots, and positively impact lipids in the blood after a meal. Despite these potential benefits, some shouldn't drink alcohol at all. Liver disease, depression, hypertension and congestive heart failure all can be exacerbated by alcohol. You should talk to your doctor about what's right for you. -- Diana Kohnle ______________________________________________________________ I can hear the corks popping all over America, right now. Ciao! The Grand Lizard

The nausea that came back to me in month 10 is now gone. It only lasted about a week. I don't know if it cleared because of what I did, or on it's own. But here's what I did, for what it's worth. Might help someone out there who are feeling pukey. My wife, who's a real thinker, said to me "What have you changed recently?" Sure enough, I had quit using Glucerna. I just got sick of it's cloying, sweet taste. (Note to diet shake makers: why do you think everyone who needs to diet has a sweet tooth? If they can put a man on the moon why can't you make a diet drink that tastes like a luscious, juicy steak? Why can't you make a diet bar that tastes like a Big Mac? Why do you keep pushing this horrible sweet junk down our throats, when you can easily turn out stuff that tastes like lamb chops! Howzabout a diet shake that tastes like beer? Now that would be the greatest invention since penicillin!!!) For over a year, since way before Byetta, I have been faithfully using Glucerna to replace my breakfast and lunch. Together with the Byetta it helped me lose weight, and every doctor you'll ever talk to will tell you, unlike SlimFast which is horrible crap, Glucerna is a very good product that's excellent for diabetics. It helps your BS stay level and even, which is an important goal for us all. But I was up to here with it's sickly-sweet taste, so I quit using it, and that might have brought back the nausea. I was using Glucerna when I started Byetta, and my initial nausea phase was quite mild in comparison to what some of you describe, so it all adds up. Anybody who's troubled with nausea please try Glucerna and see if it helps. If we get enough reports that it helps with the nausea, we will have discovered something very important here! Ciao! Greg

FOR GREAT PRICES ON SYRINGES AND OTHER DIABETIC NEEDS SEE THE MEDICAL SUPPLY SHOPPE ON AMAZON.COM! ______________________________________________________________________ ODE TO PASTA - MY LOST LOVE I think that I shall never see A dish so lovely as spaghett-ee So snowy white and sauce so red With maybe a meatball and garlic bread Oh pasta, my pasta I miss you so much Diabetes makes you a food I may never touch Ponder luscious lasagna, that special treat Big wide noodle, flat as a sheet Layered upon layer with sauce, cheese and meat You are a joy I can never eat Oh beautiful ravioli, round square or crescent Stuffed with good fillings Oh! How pleasant And your cousin tortellini, that circle so rare Also with fillings A delicacy so fair Of the humble elbow, we must take a look This versatile noodle’s a favorite of the cook Chilled with some shrimp and a sauce made of mayo It’s the perfect cold lunch on a hot sunny day-o But swimming and brimming in soup piping hot As a cold weather treat, it’s the best we have got Ah the wonderful linguini family, so sublime Tiny linguetti, medium linguini, big broad lingue, so fine! With clam sauce, a seafood classic, all right You used to complete, my Friday night Oh the myriad shapes, to fill one’s belly Rigatoni, mostaccioli, radiatori, cavatelli Then there’s shells, little stars and of course big farfalli Plus we mustn’t forget, the long vermicelli Then the tubes, wondrous cylinders, the senses to delight Little penne, medium ziti, large zitos you can bite Even occhi de lupo (yes “eyes of the wolf” surely that name is a clever spoof) Oh fettuccini, how lovely you seem Covered with some sauce Alfredo made from cream I can taste your subtle flavors, only inside my dream Wonderful fusilli, so curly and long Covered with marinara it makes my heart sing a song Delightful capi de angeli, so thin and so straight Show me a plate and I can’t hardly wait There’s no finer food than that starchy delight But my blood sugar says I may not take a bite Poems are made by fools like me But pasta is made, by Ron-zo-nee!

Hi gang! Scotland was way cool. Drank plenty of Scots' Whisky (no "e" and definitely not "Scotch"). Got to smoke a few Cuban cigars. Toured castles, distilleries, Loch Ness, (no monster present), ate haggis, looked around Edinborough and St. Andrew's (the town, not the course) .... but the friends we went with who are golfers played the course at St. Andrew's which is like going to heaven for a golfer. I had a few pints of Tetley's Bitter in the club house while they wasted their time chasing that little white ball. What a bore that is. The Byetta didn't spoil even though it hit room temperature a couple of times, notably on the long flight over and the long flight back. I was talking to the stews on the plane about it, and they said they used to keep people's insulin in the plane's cooler for them, but they got sued a few times so now the airlines don't allow it. The most they can do is give you ice. What kind of jerk would sue an airline after they were nice enough to keep their insulin cold? The people in Scotland were very nice and friendly. We had a super time. But damn, I gained back 4 lbs even though I ate Glucerna for breakfast and lunch almost every day. Must have been the beer and ale, I normally stick to red wine when at home and avoid the high carb brews ... although when you're over there, you've got to sample their excellent beers and ales .... what the hell, you only live once. Oh yeah, in London we went to Harrod's, a must do. Very pricey department store, I must say. Wife was looking for some inexpensive, little mementos for our three little grand daughters, and we came across the hair accessory department, thinking to buy them some pony tail holders. Can you imagine 137 pounds for a pony tail holder? That's about $274. Holy shit! Even if they were made by some fancy designer I never heard of, still, wow! That's the most expensive store I've ever seen! The girls got something else, let me tell you! Anyway, I've got to play some serious catch up ball at the office now, so I'll still be off the blog for a couple of days, but it's good to be back and good to see you've been chatting and sharing info and encouraging each other. You guys are the best. The lizard rules! Ciao! Greg

Hey chilluns, I'll be away on vacation for the next two weeks and won't be checking the blog unless I find an internet cafe somewhere. Meanwhile, here's some advice: FOR ALL OF US WHO POOP TOO MUCH: My doc suggested I try apple pectin capsules which you can get from any vitamin shoppe. You have to experiment with the dose, you could wind up binding yourself up too much. I take one capsule every other day and it cuts down my diarreah a lot, now I only get it about once a week. Hope this helps you poopers out there! I'm outta here. As Linda Richman, played by Dana Carvey, used to say on Saturday Night Live, "Talk amongst yourselves ..... I'll give you a topic: 'Byetta and pooping, why, why, why?' ". Ciao! Greg