Tag Archives: A1c

Visit with My Endo.

June 1, 2012 – 7:27 am

Wednesday’s DSMA Chat was very timely this week. We all spoke of our feelings about, and tips and tricks surrounding, doctor visits. I had my quarterly visit with my endocrinologist yesterday. I always cringe when I read about someone’s bad medical care experiences: either a doctor who has no time for them, or someone who makes them feel like crap for yesterday’s issues, instead of helping them look toward solving the future. My endo is great. I had to go through three doctors to get to this point, but I’ve finally got a keeper. I mean someone who talks to you, who asks the right questions, who lets you ask questions, and then gets you to adjust what you’re doing rather than telling you to scrap your entire plan of attack for something that’s comfortable for them, or for something that big pharma is paying them for.

So on to the appointment, or as much as I can divulge of my appointment over the internet (tongue firmly in cheek).

First, the big number. I expected my A1c to go up this time. My last one was 6.3. It’s been going down steadily for over two years, so I figured the streak had to end sometime. And I haven’t exactly been on a starvation diet over the last three months. So imagine my shock when I found out that my latest A1c is: 5.9

WTF?

There has to be more to this story. I mean, I’m trying my best to take care of myself, but this is too good to be true. “Have you been having a lot of lows?” asks the doctor. Why, not more than usual, I say (what is usual anyway?). So we look at the Medtronic readout. The chart for the last two weeks tells me everything I need to know about where I need to focus, and why my A1c is good, but not a definitive snapshot of my glucose levels over the past three months:

I know it’s hard to read, so I embellished it with a couple of lines of my own, only to help point out where my trouble is. Right in the middle of the day! My okay to slightly high morning and evening readings over the last two weeks (with a couple of exceptions) were counter-balanced by almost universal lows around lunchtime. It made my average BG over the last two weeks: 106.

The page also suggests three things that I already knew about. One, I eat too many carbs at breakfast. Two, I eat too many carbs at lunch. Three, I eat too many carbs at dinner. Which suggests, without a look in the mirror, that I’m managing my glucose better than my waistline right now. Even though I’ve actually lost a few pounds. Good thing the lettuce will be ready in the garden soon. I have a feeling there will be a lot of salads in my future.

So what do we/I need to do going forward? As you can guess, I’ve already ratcheted down my morning basal a bit. And we talked about how to manage my 150 mile ride in a week and a half. I’ll have the pump on the whole time for this, which makes it different from any other event I’ve entered. I’ll use a temp basal of 50% of my normal rate during the ride, then 60% to 70% of normal for about four hours after. And the carb thing is my problem. Only one way to fix it, and we all know what that means.

Here’s hoping your next visit with a medical professional goes well. Feel free to tell me about it, good or bad, by leaving a comment below.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Disclaimer
I have no medical training. If you consider anything written here as medical, legal, financial, or any other kind of advice, you’re out of your mind. Please speak to a learned professional before making any changes that might affect your health. Any of the original content found on this site is my property and should not be reproduced, copied, or otherwise used without the author’s expressed written consent.

By StephenS | Posted in Endo | Also tagged , , | Comments (0)

Diabetes Blog Week: Day 2– One Great Thing.

May 15, 2012 – 6:35 am

It’s Diabetes Blog Week, Day 2. Today, we’re all talking about one great thing that we do well.

I tend to be one of those people who rarely sees anything that I do as great. I like to think (hope?) that I have the two great qualities all PWDs seem to have: empathy and perseverance. But if I have those qualities, and all PWDs have these qualities, does this make me great? Am I off topic here? Let me re-focus and get back to the subject at hand.

If there’s one thing that I seem to do well, it’s been staying as physically tough as I can be. Now, I’ve never been a stellar athlete. But I love to compete. And even though I’ll never make the Olympics, especially at my age, I’m still able to perform at a level that’s better than average. While that’s helped me complete my first two triathlons last year at age 49, and while I’m training for a two day 150 mile ride in four weeks, that still doesn’t have much to do with diabetes.

But maybe the physical training has made me physically tough when it comes to my diabetes. I know it’s helped me with my A1cs in the last few years (in order the last year and a half: 7.1, 7.0, 6.7, 6.5, 6.4, 6.3). And I don’t really know for sure, but I get the feeling that it’s helped me recover from energy-sucking lows too. Those kind of lows you get in the middle of the day, when all you want to do after is find a sunny spot, curl up, and sleep for about 5 hours, but you pick yourself up and say “Let’s do that important thing now”. It’s either training or pride that keeps me going in those moments. I hope it’s the former.

And the thing is, I like how it makes me feel too. I totally buy into the endorphin rush. I like that I’m doing more athletically than most people my age. And now that I’m starting to read about some of my fellow d-bloggers who have experienced depression in one form or another as a part of their diabetic life, I’m feeling like I really need those feel-goods any way I can get them.

So I know I’m totally tooting my own horn here, but I’m digging the fact that my diabetic life also includes an athletic component. And I’m going to keep it that way as long as I can.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Disclaimer
I have no medical training. If you consider anything written here as medical, legal, financial, or any other kind of advice, you’re out of your mind. Please speak to a licensed professional before making any changes that might affect your health. Any of the original content found on this site is my property and should not be reproduced, copied, or otherwise used without the author’s expressed written consent.

By StephenS | Posted in Diabetes Blog Week | Also tagged , , , , | Comments (2)

The diabetes game.

April 24, 2012 – 2:34 am

Step right up, Mr. and Ms. PWD! You too can take part in a unique challenge involving skill and daring… it’s the game the whole family can play… Diabetes!

Our first round is the diagnosis round. In it, you’ll go through the difficult first few weeks, before you even know you have diabetes. You’ll be thirsty all the time. You’ll go through the lightning round where you try to make it 45 minutes between trips to the bathroom! You’ll feel sluggish, and you might even lose a few pounds a few weeks. At the end of the round, a medical professional will confirm that you’ve got a disease for which there’s no known cure. But watch out for our two whammies– ketoacidosis, and doctors who want to make sure you know about all of the “risks of complications that you need to be aware of”.

If you survive the diagnosis round (literally), you’ll move on to the maintenance round. We’ll test your stamina (and your psyche) with new terms like hypoglycemia and hemoglobin A1c. You’ll go toe-to-toe with well meaning individuals who refer to you as a ““burden on the healthcare system“, and insurance actuaries who determine how many supplies you need to live based on their company’s or your employer’s profit & loss situation.

Still in the game? If you’re one of the lucky contestants who makes it through the maintenance round (literally… but really, you’re always in the maintenance round), you can reach the stage of diabetic maturity. You’ll find the diabetes online community, where you’ll encounter additional players in this game. People just like yourself. Members of the DOC will provide much needed validation, plus valuable information you might not find anywhere else. You might even get a chance to blog yourself, volunteer, or mentor others through the various stages of the diabetes game.

Make it through everything, and you’ll be eligible to win our grand prize! A chance to keep on living. A chance to take advantage of advances in care and technology. A chance to hang in there until a cure is within reach. NOW is the time to celebrate all the milestones in our life. Every birthday, every diaversary, even if they’re not our own, is worth its weight in gold. We’ve earned them all.

Are you ready contestants? Here we go…

By StephenS | Posted in Diabetes | Also tagged , , | Comments (0)