My story is similar to yours. I found out I had diabetes in the same way - but it wasn't the diabetes that was causing the leg & foot pain - at least not according to my neurologist and endocrinologist. From what I understand, diabetic neuropathy doesn't show up for years after you have diabetes and usually only if you have been poor about managing it. What is your HA1C? I had plantar fasciitis. I had the surgery. For 2 years my foot was worse but it gradually got better. It is still a little weak because I lost some feeling in my foot and I don't get the normal feedback. I also have sciatica which is what has been causing all the pain in my butt and calf.

When you have a digestive challenge you'll find soaking or sprouting grain before consumption will aid in easier digestion. Soaking/sprouting allows enzymes, lactobacilli and other helpful organisms to break down and neutralize phytic acid. The simple practice of soaking cracked or rolled cereal grains overnight with some whey, kefir, buttermilk or yogurt added to the soaking water will not only make the grains easier to digest, but it will improve their nutritional benefits. The soak neutralizes enzyme inhibitors. During the soaking and fermenting, gluten and other difficult-to-digest proteins are partially broken down into simpler components that are more available for absorption. Oats/oatmeal may be low in the hard-to-digest gluten protein, but oats contain more phytates than almost any other grain. So if you have digestive problems, pre-soaking all grains, especially oats, would be very important. Freshly-milled whole grain flour can be made into a gruel and the gruel used as a base for a smoothie, instead of a fruit/dairy-based smoothie. You can add all kinds of things to your gruel-based smoothie. If you don't have a grain mill for this process, you can use a coffee/spice mill for milling small amounts of grain into flour (barley, brown rice, wheat, kamut, spelt, rye, etc.) and mill it as needed because FRESH IS BEST. To make 2-cups of Gruel: (source: Nourishing Traditions - by Sally Fallon and Mary G. Enig, Ph.D.) 1/2 c. freshly ground organic flour from spelt, kamut, rye, barley, wheat, rice or oats 2 c. water plus 2 T. whey, yogurt, kefir or buttermilk 1/4 t. salt Mix flour with water mixture, cover and leave at room temperature for 12-24 hours. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Add salt, reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, about 10-minutes. Let cool slightly and serve with cream or butter and a small amount of a natural sweetener, such as raw honey. ------------------------------------------------------- Add ground flax seeds (flaxmeal) for more nutrition and fiber. Flax seeds are relatively low in phytic acid and when taken in small amounts do not require soaking. Mill them in a coffee/spice mill so you have the freshest source possible, plus they are less expensive. I'd also suggest adding chia seeds or chia seed gel (chia seeds mixed with water) to this gruel smoothie for additional fiber and nutrition and the great health benefits from this simple little seed. Chia seeds are easy to add to water or other beverages. A common drink used with them is called "fresca" - 1 glass of lemonade and 1 t. chia seeds - allow to sit for 10-minutes before drinking. I realize lemonade would be too acidic, but that's an example of how to add chia seeds to your diet - in any kind of beverage - just allow to sit for 10-minutes. Another add-in that would raise fiber AND aid in digestion is High Maize Resistant Starch. We add all three of these to our morning smoothie. Add water, juice, dairy, if necessary, to make the smoothie texture. --------------------------------------------------------- Have every tried crumbling baked goods in a bowl and pouring milk over it. Lots of people crumble cornbread and top if off with buttermilk and I thought it might work for wholegrain muffins or cake. This recipe is a nice wholegrain snack cake that might work crumbled. Just omit the topping and the nuts in the recipe. BANANA CRUNCH CAKE (Source: The Quaker Oats Wholegrain Cookbook) Crunch Topping: 3/4 c. Quaker Oats (Quick or Old-Fashioned, uncooked) 2 T. butter or margarine, melted 2 T. chopped nuts 1/2 t. cinnamon Cake: 1/2 c. butter or margarine 2/3 c. firmly packed brown sugar 1 c. mashed banana 2 eggs 1 t. vanilla 1 c. ground oat flour* 3/4 c. all-purpose flour (use whole wheat or spelt flour) 1 t. salt 1 t. soda 1/2 c. chopped nuts, if desired For crunch topping, combine all ingredients; mix well. For cake, beat together butter and sugar until light and fluffy; blend in banana, eggs and vanilla. Gradually add combined dry ingredients, mixing well after each addition. Stir in nuts. Pour into greased 8-inch square baking pan; sprinkle with crunch topping evenly over batter. Bake in preheated moderate oven (350-degrees F) 40 to 45 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. *How to make your own ground oat flour: 1. Place 1 to 1-1/2 c. oats in blender or food processor. 2. Blend or process for about 60 seconds Yield: about 1 cup ground oat flour 3. Store in tightly covered container in cool dry place up to six months. ------------------------------------------------------- -Grainlady

Thanks for the support everyone. I truly appreciate it. If I provide a bit more backround perhaps it will answer some of the questions that have been raised. My parents built their retirement home on a lake in central Ohio 23 yrs ago. They still enjoy the home, but my Dad feels the maintenance has become too much for him and periodically tells my mother (not me) they should sell. The last couple of years she told him she wasn't ready yet - she likes being near family. For the past 12 years they have been spending 6 mos. out of the year in a mobile home in FL. They have a lot of good friends there and it's particularly good for my Dad because he has buddies he hangs out with. Buddies who will ask him to come along if they run errands. In Ohio he has friends, but not the kind who want to hang out, so he's mostly in front of the tv during his waking hours. Going into town to run errands every day was his break, his entertainment so to speak, and now he can't do that. My mother's sister lives on the opposite coast of FL from where my parents winter. She has friends in a retirement community in central FL and has wanted to move there for a few years now. Her husband passed last July, and since she has been more avid to move. Since neither of my parents want to spend winters in Ohio, they are thinking of selling the lake house and buying into the development where Mom's sister wants to live. My mom's sister is 79 and has been undergoing cancer treatments for a number of years. One thing gets cleared, then something else pops up. She is doing okay - as in she's not feeling terrible - but from what I get from my mom the treatments continue. My fear is that if my parents sell the lake house, put all the proceeds into buying new home in the FL retirement community it could be only a matter of a few years until my mom is there by herself. I HATE thinking like that, but given my father's and my aunt's health issues it is a real possibility. I don't believe my mother would want to live there without any family around, so I would probably end up moving her back to Ohio to live with me. A better plan- to me -is for them to sell the lake house, buy an Ohio home closer to town for the 6 months they spend here and keep the trailer for winters since that is where Dad is happy. I've suggested this to Mom and that's when she told me she would never buy another house in Ohio. I'm not sure why she is so adamant. Last summer during our 30 min commutes back and forth to town I would point out areas on the outskirts and say "It's pretty out here and not too far from town." Once she shot back: "Why would I want to live where there wasn't a lake?" I replied, "Um...because you'd have something nicer to look at than your neighbor's windows? Which is what you would have with a house in FL." Maybe she sees buying a house in OH without a lake as "coming down in the world"? Or she feels buying another house here means eventually having to live here during the winter? Maybe she wants to be nearer her sister while she has her? I don't know. I agree the track I need to build for myself is a way to support myself in my own small place. Let mom and dad do what they want to do and cross the bridge of taking care of one or both of them when the time comes. I suppose I'm just trying to prepare myself psychologically for that future. Thanks again Lavender and all, for letting me explore that here.

Fleece pants or pajamas would be even warmer than flannel. I got my mom fleece nightgowns and pjs in her last years. Brushed nylon would be in between. Agree with Company Store down ocmforter. We have the lightest weight White Bay and the cover is so nice and soft, it's plenty warm for our coldest nights, they have warmer weights and they are washable. I just ordered silk long johns for my son -- from Wintersilks and Land's End. He says the Lands End have better elastic at the wait, so they might be better if he is slim, Wintersilks if he is thicker around the middle.