Divabetic Cozy Mystery: Kill Me Madam, Part 3
Britannia Coffin’s death was NO accident. The police have determined that she was murdered! Britannia’s body was discovered near the dumpster in The Kitchen Island parking lot, and it was covered in cash! Apparently, the store was also robbed. The police found Millicent Merriweather, the Kitchen Island store shop owner, locked in the storeroom. The store’s cash register had also been emptied.
This is big news! The death of a member of one of Nantucket’s founding families coupled with this robbery has the whole town buzzing. And everyone, except Max, is glued to the TV and radio for the latest updates.
Max: Oh, well, I bet the competition is going to be canceled. We’d better pack up and head back to New York.
Tonya: Max, we can’t leave now. You might have been the last person to see Britannia Coffin alive.
MaryAnn: That’s true. An eyewitness reported seeing a suspicious man with Britannia in the parking lot right before she was killed. The police think he’s the murderer!
Patricia: That sounds like it could be you!
Max: But I’m innocent.
Mama Rose Marie: Son, if you are a suspect in one more murder, we’re going to have to buy a getaway car!
Patricia: Hey, Max, what are those receipts sticking out of your pocket?
MaryAnn: Let me see, this one’s an herbal pain reliever. They seem harmless on TV but they can interact with other medications and cause problems.
Patricia: I advise my patients to always consult with their doctors before buying them.
MaryAnn: And this receipt is for Botox injections.
Max: What? That’s not mine. I don’t know where that came from.
Patricia: Botox isn’t just for wrinkles, silly. It’s also used to ease hand and foot pain caused by nerve damage. Given her health issues, it must be Britannia’s!
MaryAnn: There’s a list of dates, times and numbers on the back of this receipt. It looks like Britannia must’ve been logging her blood sugars.
Patricia: Good for her! Diabetes and data go hand in hand. Without data it’s hard to know what to change and where to focus on in your self-care management.
MaryAnn: Keeping your blood sugars within a range can help alleviate pain related to neuropathy.
Tonya: Wait! Maybe Britannia stuffed these receipts in your pocket on purpose. They’re clues! In my book, Fixin’ to Die, my character, Kenni Lowry nabs the culprits and solves the murder using clues just like these.
Mama Rose Marie: We should turn them over to the police.
Max: No, if we go to the police they’ll find out who I really am and then it will be all over the papers just like it was in New York.
MaryAnn: It’s a good thing you put on that pirate costume before anyone recognized you.
Max: This can’t be happening again. My baking career won’t survive another scandal.
Tonya: Then, our only option is to stay and solve this murder.
Max: Tonya. (pause) I swear you left my food processor in New York just so something like this would happen.
Mama Rose Marie: Stop bickering you two and let’s put on our thinking caps. Max, who else was in the store when you were there?
Max: Just the owner and Britannia. Britannia was at the cash register when I walked in. Then, Britannia and I left together to go to her car.
Patricia: What about in the parking lot? Did you notice anything unusual?
Max: I got too distracted by all the shiny new food processors in her trunk. Oh, Wait! As I was leaving, Britannia took a box out of the back seat and headed across the parking lot to the antique shop.
Tonya: What was in the box?
Max: I didn’t notice. I was in a hurry to get back to the prep kitchen.
MaryAnn: Hold on a second, didn’t Peggy tell us Britannia rarely left her house because of her neuropathy?
Patricia: She sure did! Maybe Peggy lied to us to protect someone?
Tonya: You mean like her husband, Floyd? Peggy said his lobster business wasn’t doing well and the news reports said Britannia Coffin was rich. Money is always the top motive for murder in my novels!
MaryAnn: Well, if Peggy wasn’t lying to us, then Britannia must have had a pretty compelling reason to leave her house this morning if she was in pain.
Mama Rose Marie: Whatever’s in that box might tell us. We’d better head over to the antique shop and find out.
Max: No, no, no! This is exactly why I left New York. Please, I don’t want to get mixed up in any more murders.
Tanya: Too late. Let’s retrace your steps and get to the crime scene.
Narrator: Our team heads over to the Petticoat Row Shopping district where The Kitchen Island store is located.
The women-run retail district, Petticoat Row, on Centre Street was an entirely post–Civil War institution, which developed in the 1860s and lasted into the 1930s. It comprised between two and twelve businesses at a time and involved about thirty female proprietors in all. While whaling created conditions that led some island women to enter the commercial sphere, it was actually the economic and population disruptions that followed the collapse of whaling that brought Nantucket women into the paid workforce in significant numbers.
The Kitchen Island is a quaint baking store packed with tableware, cooking tools, appliances and recipe books as well as delicious pastries. The stylish owner, who just happens to be one of the Decadent Desserts on Deck sponsors, is Millicent Merriweather.
SOUND EFFECT: store bells
Narrator: After exchanging pleasantries, our team gets down to business with their investigation.
Tonya: Millicent, was Britannia in your store for any particular reason?
Millicent: She was bargain hunting for a new zester.
MaryAnn: If she loved a bargain, I’ll bet she also saved money by buying generic medications like Metformin for her diabetes. It’s just as safe and effective as the brand name but it costs a whole lot less.
Millicent: Oh who knows; all she wanted to talk about was entering her famous lemon meringue pie in today’s competition.
MaryAnn: Are you sure? The Perky Pie Princess told us Britannia had dropped out.
Millicent: And you believed Peggy? I wouldn’t trust anything she had to say about Britannia. Especially after what happened between them.
Max: I don’t trust her either after that crack she made calling me an amateur baker. But go on, tell us what happened?
Millicent: Peggy’s husband Floyd was involved in one of Britannia’s slip and fall scams. He lied on the stand. Britannia is the reason Floyd did jail time.
Mama Rose Marie: The big house really changes you; I should know.
Max: Mom, what are you talking about? You were behind bars less than an hour.
Mama Rose Marie: Well, an hour in the pen feels like a lifetime.
Tonya: Do you two mind? Can Millicent finish what she was saying?
Millicent: Paying off the fines almost made Floyd lose the family’s lobster business. To make it worse, Britannia walked away scot free thanks to her high-powered lawyers.
Max: She sounds pretty devious to be scamming people with phony slip and fall lawsuits given her condition.
MaryAnn: Her neuropathy would make her more prone to fall. So how did they prove it was a scam?
Millicent: It turned out Britannia wasn’t using her Nordic poles that day like Floyd testified. The judge threw out the suit because Britannia hadn’t taken the necessary safety precautions.
Mama Rose Marie: Mmmm. My Bridge partner also suffers from neuropathy. Her doctor wants her to check her feet daily but she has difficulty bending over.
Patricia: Her doctor is concerned she could develop a bad infection if she cut her foot. A hand mirror can remedy that. By placing a mirror on the floor you can easily see the bottom of your feet.
Tonya: Anywho. . .was anyone else in the store with Britannia?
Millicent: Loretta Hussey. I overheard Britannia tell her to make room on her mantle for another second-place ribbon!
Patricia: Oooo! That must’ve made Loretta mad.
Tonya: Yeah, but mad enough to commit murder?
Millicent: She was furious. Britannia never missed an opportunity to ruffle Loretta’s feathers. Just last week Britannia announced she was going to sell all the Hussey family treasures. There’s motive enough for murder right there!
Patricia: What would give Britannia Coffin the right to sell Loretta Hussey’s family possessions?
Millicent: Britannia used to be married to Loretta’s older brother. She got the house and everything in it in the divorce settlement. Britannia was heartless. I heard Loretta say, “You’ll get what you deserve!” as she stormed out of my store.
Tonya: But wait! Wasn’t Britannia‘s murderer the same person who robbed you?
Millicent: Maybe – I did tell the police I saw a strange man in the parking lot right before Britannia was killed! He should be at the top of the list of suspects, right next to Loretta!
Max: Oh, no. That strange man had to be- (Tonya cuts me off)
Tonya: -Just one more question.
Millicent: Anything. The sooner Britannia’s killer is caught, the happier I’ll be.
Tonya: Can you think of anyone who would rob you?
Millicent: No. Like I told the police, whoever it was grabbed me from behind and in these high heels, I lost my balance and fell over. Next thing I knew, I was blindfolded and shoved in the stockroom.
Patricia: You know, flats are better for your back and your feet. No one needs to wear 5-inch heels.
Max: But those shoes ARE fabulous!! Do they hurt?
Millicent: What can I say – “Pretty is Painful.” But wait, you look kind of familiar. I think I’ve seen you before. Take off that eye patch!
Mama Rose Marie: Oh, Bartholomew! Look at the time! You promised to take me to the antique shop across the parking lot. Let’s go!
TO BE CONTINUED
Divabetic’s Mystery podcast, Kill Me Madam, cast includes USA Best-Selling Author Tonya Kappes, Patricia Addie-Gentle RN, CDE, MaryAnn Horst-Nicolay MEd, NDRT, Lorraine Brooks, Catherine Schuller, Wendy Radford, Coach The Cure‘s Trisha Artman, Mama Rose Marie, Seveda Williams, and Max ‘Mr. Divabetic’ Szadek. Produced by Leisa Chester-Weir.
Throughout the podcast we will be featuring music from the Broadway Cast Album of ‘Call Me Madam’ courtesy of SONY Music.
HEALTH TOPICS
A new study suggests that Botox, or botulinum toxin, may offer successful relief for neuropathy, not just one form, but two.
Divabetic Mystery Phrase #33
Can you solve Divabetic’s Mystery Phrase #33? Our phrase is measured by the force that pushes on the walls of your blood vessels as they carry blood and oxygen to your organs (systolic pressure) and the force that’s created when your heart rests between beats (diastolic pressure).
Do you know what Divabetic’s Mystery Phrase #33 is?
Diabetes damages arteries and makes them targets for hardening, called atherosclerosis. That can cause high blood pressure, which if not treated, can lead to trouble including blood vessel damage, heart attack, and kidney failure.
There are several ways in which high blood sugar levels in the blood can increase blood pressure:
- The blood vessels lose their ability to stretch.
- The fluid in the body increases, especially if diabetes is already affecting the kidneys.
- Insulin resistance may involve processes that increase the risk of hypertension.
In 2012, researchers quoted figures suggesting that 30% of people with type 1 diabetes and 50–80% of those with type 2 diabetes have high blood pressure in the United States.
The combination of high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes can greatly increase your risk of having a heart attack or stroke.
If your blood sugar level is too high, you may experience: increased thirst, frequent urination an fatigue. However, the American Heart Association (AHA) stresses that most of the time there are no symptoms for high blood pressure (also known as hypertension).
People usually find out they have high blood pressure when a doctor takes a blood pressure reading, or they take one themselves at home.
The reading will give two numbers:
- The systolic is the top number
- The diastolic is the bottom number
According to the AHA, the results will be one of the following:
- Normal: Systolic below 120 and diastolic below 80
- Elevated: Systolic 120–129 and diastolic under 80
- Hypertension stage 1: Systolic 130–139 and diastolic 80–89
- Hypertension stage 2: Systolic 140-plus and diastolic 90 or more
- Hypertensive crisis: Systolic higher than 180 and diastolic above 120.
What is considered normal blood pressure for people with diabetes?
On the basis of recent studies, most people with diabetes should have a blood pressure that’s more than 130/80 mm.
People with diabetes can help decrease the risk of high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease by managing their blood sugar levels.
Here area few effective ways to lower your blood pressure levels:
- Stop smoking
- Increase activity and exercise more
- Lose weight if you’re overweight
- Cut back on sugar, refined carbohydrates and processed foods
Join the happy healthcare host, Mr. Divabetic for this free, fun Virtual Cooking Party with special guest, Registered Dietitian and Certified Diabetes Educator Jill Weisenberger MS, RDN, CDE, CHWC, FAND on Tuesday, October 6, 2020, 7 – 8 PM, EST on Zoom.
Are Nuts Good For Diabetes?
LISTEN NOW
Divabetic Mystery Phrase #22
Can you complete our Divabetic Mystery Phrase below?
If you’re struggling to cope with the stress, and anxiety of daily diabetes self-care: try repeating positive affirmations to yourself each morning to steer your mood in the right direction. This way of thinking can be helpful when the mental and emotional burden of coping with daily diabetes self-care gets tough. We also encourage you to seek out a therapist to help you adjust to life with diabetes.
Stress hormones can raise your blood sugar. When you can take care of stress, you can lower your blood sugar.
Shallow, upper chest breathing is part of the typical stress response.
Taking a deep breath really does calm you down by triggering neurons in your brain which tell the body it is time to relax according to a new study. Abdominal breathing encourages the body to relax, bringing about a range of health benefits.
What is the 4 7 8 breathing technique?
Exhale completely through your mouth, making a whoosh sound. Close your mouth and inhale quietly through your nose to a mental count of 4. Hold your breath for a count of 7. Exhale completely through your mouth, making a whoosh sound to a count of 8.
Do you expect too much from yourself? It’s OK to say “no” to things that you don’t really want or need to do.
There are health professionals who can listen and help you find solutions. Ask your doctor for recommendations if you’d like to see a psychologist or counselor.
Many people wonder how their hba1c number relates to their blood sugar levels. After all, daily diabetes self-care management can be a jumble of numbers: weight, blood sugar levels, carbohydrate counts, fat grams, serving sizes, etc. Hopefully, this handy chart will provide some clarification.
Understanding the Mystery of Your A1C
When it comes to the numbers, there’s no one-size-fits-all target. A1C target levels can vary by each person’s age and other factors, and your target may be different from someone else’s. If you feel your hbA1C number is on a higher side, say over 7 or 8%, do not worry! Knowledge is power. You can lower your hbA1C by creating your own personal self-care plan with your healthcare professional.
Join us for Divabetic’s Free Virtual Outreach Event on July 16th
Looking for a fun way to socialize without putting your diabetes wellness at risk? Do you need a little help staying on track with your diabetes self-care?
Join the happy healthcare host, Mr. Divabetic for this free, fun Virtual Scavenger Hunt on Zoom with best-selling Intimacy & Diabetes co-author, Janis Roszler LMFT, RD, LD/N, CDE, FAND on Thursday, July 16, 2020, 7 – 7:35 PM, EST. REGISTER NOW
Divabetic Mystery Phrase #21
Can you complete our Divabetic Mystery Phrase below?
If you’re struggling to cope with the stress, and anxiety of daily diabetes self-care: try repeating positive affirmations to yourself each morning to steer your mood in the right direction. This way of thinking can be helpful when the mental and emotional burden of coping with daily diabetes self-care gets tough. We also encourage you to seek out a therapist to help you adjust to life with diabetes.
As you age and experience certain life changes, it’s important to be proactive about making adjustments to your diabetes self-care and lifestyle. The progression of type 2 diabetes will likely require adjusting your management plan with help with your doctor. And being diagnosed with another health condition or experiencing new physical limitations can affect your diabetes. too. Positive affirmations can help you to approach these changes with a positive outlook rather than a negative one. We believe in you!
How do you keep on track with your diabetes wellness without losing a beat?
Experts agree that the best strategy is to focus on small, achievable changes to improve quality of your diabetes life. Talk to your doctor about setting achievable goals that both of you can get behind.
Understanding the Mystery of Your A1C
Many people wonder how their hba1c number relates to their blood sugar levels. After all, daily diabetes self-care management can be a jumble of numbers: weight, blood sugar levels, carbohydrate counts, fat grams, serving sizes, etc. Hopefully, this handy chart will provide some clarification.
When it comes to the numbers, there’s no one-size-fits-all target. A1C target levels can vary by each person’s age and other factors, and your target may be different from someone else’s. If you feel your hbA1C number is on a higher side, say over 7 or 8%, do not worry! Knowledge is power. You can lower your hbA1C by creating your own personal self-care plan with your healthcare professional.
Can Drinking A Smoothie Spike Your Blood Sugars?
Everyone might think that all smoothies are ‘healthy’ but that’s just a bit of wishful drinking. In reality, many of the most readily available smoothies in America also contain the most calories, added sugars and carbohydrates.
Find out what types of smoothies and/or smoothie ingredients you should enjoy and which ones you should avoid to enjoy during Divabetic’s free At Home Scavenger Hunt & Smoothie Party on Zoom this Thursday, June 18, 2020, 7 – 7:35 PM, EST with Special Guest, Diabetes Care and Education Specialist and Registered Dietitian Jill Weisenberger MS, RDN, CDE, CHWC, FAND . Register Now.
We encourage people with diabetes to be mindful of carbohydrate intake in their smoothie, as this is what will directly affect blood sugars, rather than rely on a bunch of fancy terms like ‘superfood’ , ‘green’, and ‘detox’ to quill any suspicions before taking a sip.
Thankfully, our friend, Jill Weisenberger MS, RDN, CDE, CHWC, FAND agreed to share a few quick facts on smoothies for our Divabetic blog readers prior to our zoom outreach event.
Q: Will fruit smoothies spike blood sugars?
Jill Weisenberger (JW): Anything with carbohydrates has the potential to spike blood sugar levels for people with diabetes, Certainly fruit, especially blenderized fruit, can do that. So the key is what else is in your smoothie.
Q: Jill, are smoothies in general as healthy as most people seem to believe?
JW: Smoothies can be an excellent way to get health-boosting, disease-fighting nutrients from fruits and vegetables. However, the wrong kind of smoothie can be a bad choice for people with diabetes, especially when eating out. There’s an infinite number of smoothies you can make, so each person is bound to find several healthy combinations they like.
Are you wondering if smoothies will spike your blood sugars?
The American Diabetes Association recommends checking your blood sugars one to two hours after you start eating and/or drinking to capture the peak level of your blood glucose.
Keep in mind that blood glucose results often trigger emotions. Blood glucose numbers can make you feel angry, frustrated, and/or blue. Knowledge is power: tracking your blood glucose levels is wonderful tool to see how your diabetes care plan is working, and whether you need to adjust your plan with the help of your healthcare professional.
One lucky Divabetic Zoom Party participant will receive their pick of one of Jill Weisenberger’s sensational books (see below) in the random drawing held at the end of our outreach event:
Diabetes Weight Loss Week by Week is a bestseller and can help you manage your weight and blood sugar at the same time.
The Overworked Person’s Guide to Better Nutrition offers solutions to your everyday food and nutrition problems – no matter how busy you are.
21 Things You Need to Know about Diabetes and Your Heart gives you specific actions to take to improve your health right away.
Prediabetes: A Complete Guide leads you through dozens of concrete steps to lower your risk of developing type 2 diabetes and other chronic health problems.
Learn the Do’s and Don’ts to Healthy Smoothies with Jill Weisenberger MS, RDN, CDE, CHWC, FAND at Divabetic’s Zoom Smoothie Party on Thursday, June 18, 2020, 7 – 7:35 PM, EST. REGISTER NOW
Jill Weisenberger’s candid and energetic approach and her sound nutrition and fitness advice has earned her a place as one of 10 Dietitians You Need to Follow on Social Media in US News & World Report. Jill offers healthy and delicious recipe ideas and nutrition strategies that are based in sound nutrition science. Whether you’re looking for disease prevention or management, nutritious meals that people actually want to eat, or truths (and myths!) about the latest food trends, get reasonable and realistic tips from expert Jill Weisenberger.
Undetected Diabetes May Double Risk of Heart Attack
New research finds an intriguing link between undetected blood sugar disorders and the development of heart attacks and severe gum disease.
For decades, researchers have probed the link between gum disease and cardiovascular health. Gum disease begins when plaque builds up around teeth. A completely different type of plaque — made of fat, cholesterol, calcium, and other substances found in blood — can build up inside arteries. Known as atherosclerosis, this fatty plaque is the hallmark of coronary artery disease.
The risk of mortality from ischemic heart disease combined with diabetes-related kidney complications is three times higher in people who have both diabetes and severe periodontitis, compared with people who only have diabetes.
“Periodontal disease increases the body’s burden of inflammation,” says periodontist Dr. Hatice Hasturk of the Harvard-affiliated Forsyth Institute, a not-for-profit research organization focused on oral health. Acute inflammation — which involves an outpouring of immune cells that attack irritants and microbial invaders — fosters healing over the short term.
Gingivitis can turn into periodontal disease if left untreated. The gums become loose around the root of the tooth, creating a gum pocket that gradually deepens. Eventually, the infection and inflammation can cause the tooth to loosen and possibly fall out.
Daily toothbrushing and flossing can prevent and even reverse an early stage of gum disease, known as gingivitis.
We’re talking about ‘Diabetes & Pride’ on June’s Diabetes Late Nite podcast with musical inspiration from Ricky Martin.
What Causes Hair Loss On Legs?
Diabetes can cause hair loss on the legs reports Medical News Today.
Hair loss on the legs is also known as anterolateral leg alopecia. This is because it is visible on the front (anterior) and sides (lateral) of the lower legs. Another name for it is peroneal alopecia.
Over time, diabetes-related damage to the blood vessels can result in peripheral artery disease (PAD). In PAD, a fatty deposit called plaque builds up in the blood vessels inside the legs. This interferes with blood flow and, consequently, hair growth.
READ MORE
We’re talking about Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD) on this one hour of wellness with a wow podcast.
PMDD is a severe, sometimes disabling extension of premenstrual syndrome (PMS) that start about 7 to 10 days before a woman gets her monthly period.
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists estimates that at least 85 percent of menstruating women have at least one PMS symptom as part of their monthly cycle. PMS is much more common than PMDD.
Biologic, psychological, environmental, and social factors all seem to play a part in PMDD. It is important to note that PMDD is not the fault of the woman suffering from it or the result of a “weak” or unstable personality. It is also not something that is “all in the woman’s head.”
Rather, PMDD is a medical illness that impacts only 3% to 8% of women. Fortunately, it can be treated by a health care professional with behavioral and pharmaceutical options.
Podcast Guests: Dr. Andrea Chisholm OBGYN, Peak 10 Skin founder Connie Elder, We Are Diabetes founder, Asha Brown, and Laura L. who are both living with type 1 diabetes.
Throughout the podcast we will be playing selected songs from P.M. Dawn’s live album courtesy of SONY Music.
LISTEN NOW
Intermittent Fasting on December’s Diabetes Late Nite podcast
We’re talking about intermittent fasting on December’s Diabetes Late Nite podcast with Rachel Stahl RD, CDE on Tuesday, December 10, 2019, 6 PM, EST.
Intermittent fasting means you are reducing your window of eating that allows you to shed those deep levels of fat, belly fat + promote cellular health.
This hot trend on social media may sound like a great way to lower your hemoglobin A1c as the pounds melt off. But is it a good idea?
Several doctors believe there are much better ways to achieve a healthy weight.
Dr. Fitch says, “the most consistent way to lose weight and keep it off when you have type 2 diabetes is limiting the carbohydrates in your diet.” Eating less than 150 grams of starchy carbs a day improves blood sugar levels and helps to promote weight loss for most people with T2D, she says. Eating less than 20-50g is even better, but harder to maintain long-term, she says.
The quality of those carbs is crucial, she says. She advises eating carbohydrates with higher fiber content. Choose cauliflower, for instance, not white rice.
Despite the findings of a New Zealand study that the intermittent fasters lost some weight loss and lowered their A1c levels, the study did find a higher risk of hypoglycemia on the fasting days, points out Caroline Apovian, MD, FACP, FACN, professor of medicine and pediatrics at the Boston University School of Medicine and director, Center for Nutrition and Weight Management, Boston Medical Center.
“The reason is people on insulin and sulfonylureas really cannot safely do intermittent fasting is because of the risk of hypoglycemia,” she tells EndocrineWeb.
December’s Diabetes Late Nite podcast is scheduled for Tuesday, December 10, 2019, 6 PM, EST. Our guests include Dr. Bart Roep of City of Hope, Rachel Stahl MS, RD, CDN, CDE, Her True Beauty founders Barbara Nicholson, Nikki Livingston and Patricia Addie-Gentle RN, CDE.
Throughout the podcast we will be featuring music from Yolanda Adams’ album,“What A Wonderful Time” courtesy of SONY Music.
Diabetes Late Nite is a fast-paced, full-filled hour of diabetes education and wellness advice that encourages listeners to “laugh a little, learn a lot.”