Category: Blog

I went to my cardiologist office today and had a chemical stress test and a sonogram done.  I was about to leave the place twice, once when the billing people told me it was going to cost a thousand dollar copay which is not what BCBS of Texas told me earlier in the week.  She settled on collecting $100.00 from me, I think, I didn’t pay that much attention to the credit card slip but will later.

The second time I was ready to leave was when the tech started to put them IV in.  She couldn’t decide where to try and I said "well, the right back of my hand generally works well).  It did.  I really think someone who does that should have a big more confidence in what they are doing. 

I was in at 7:30, out by 9:30, but exhausted.  Haven’t gotten any results, but so far, no one acted like there was a problem and they have in the past.

Amy might not agree (she doesn’t seem to like the Animas pump), but I really like the Accu-Chek meter, in fact, Friday after using it for just a couple of tests, I asked the endo’s office to get me a 30 day script (which I just got), and just a few minutes ago I asked for a 90 day script from Medco.  I also called Accu-Chek and demanded a new meter (that’s the best way to go), and it’s on the way.  As I told them, I didn’t want to have to rush around and find a pharmacy and i like to keep a spare around just in case. 

There is something about the shape, the display, and especially the whirring that just makes my Geeky heart happy.  I love the fact that it matches my pump and my CGMS — all three are black. 

I like the gold display, it’s very easy to read.

And again, I like the whirring.  I also like the fact that it "knows" the control solution, and that everything including the lancing device is all i one unit.

Doesn’t take much to make me happy == for example, I am really thrilled because I could download Jimmy Buffet music and play it on Rock Band!

I’ve finished my first full week "off contract", since I’m still working.  I took 2 1/2 days of staff development, worked on curriculum and worked on the district final.

It’s been a good diabetes week.  I saw my endo, and my A1C is at 7.7, down from 8.2.   My blood pressure was 122 over 72. The endo said I was doing better.

I am trying a new meter which I really like.  I’ll have to see how it is carrying around because it is a bit bigger.  It’s an Accu-Chek Compact Plus meter, in black and it matches the pump.  I really like the display, it’s very bright.  I like that it takes AAA batteries, and that everything is one unit. It uses the Accu-Check drum, and the lancing device attaches to the meter.  So far I’ve kept it as one unit.

I still have a lot of One Touch test strips, so I will probably swap back and forth.

Still waiting on the Dexcom software upgrade.

Basically, blood pressure and cholesterol are the most important factors.  We (medical team and I) were working on that at the time of diabetes diagnosis.  However, we couldn’t get the blood pressure where it needed to be UNTIL I got my blood sugar under control.  When I got down to under 7.0, it was like “pop” the blood pressure normalized as did the cholesterol.

The notes on hypoglycemic makes sense too — having been through a few of those events (mostly on injections rather than on pump), they can’t be good for you either long term OR short term.

The third of three diabetes studies testing whether aggressively lowering blood sugar reduces risk of heart attacks and death from cardiovascular disease offers doctors and patients some clarity amid conflicting reports on the issue, the Los Angeles Times reports.

Health Blog : Third Diabetes Study Is the Charm on Advice for Preventing Heart Risk

Baby steps, but I’ve been able to walk 15 minutes straight in the late morning, twice this week. I can’t later in the day, especially if I did it earlier, but I am getting there.

I’m also making progress on the insulin usage front.  I’m doing my — try to walk off the blood sugar from a meal, rather than bolus.  I don’t recommend it for anyone but a Type 2, and then only if you do a lot of testing.  I’m still doing my basal insulin (about 40 units a day), and I correct two hours after I ate like usual.  Yesterday I was able to get to 64 units, so I’m doing better, last weekend I was at 70 units.

I’m also still doing Symlin when I perform this experiment so I’m not completely not treating.  The good news, is that it prevents a lot of lows from exercise and it’s easier than reducing the basal — since I tend not to plan exactly when I am going to exercise.

I’ve been watching these studies — but, when they didn’t report, is are the short terms effects of tight control? For me, keeping tight control is important as high blood sugar makes me tired, and makes it harder for me to think. So I am sticking with the plan.

Quoted from http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/07/health/research/07diabetes.html?em&ex=1212984000&en=bd430c985dfecda0&ei=5087%0A:

Tight Rein on Blood Sugar Has No Heart Benefits – NYTimes.com

Thus both studies failed to confirm a dearly held hypothesis that people with Type 2 diabetes could be protected from cardiovascular disease if they strictly controlled their blood sugar.

For me, the school year goes from June to June.  Yes, I signed out yesterday but I’ve already started next year’s work.  I’ve got curriculum to write, finals to write, and this year I’m probably in charge of a group of Seniors — I will find out more next Thursday.

Today, I went to the endo’s office for blood draws, then Denny’s for breakfast and then to the mall to walk off breakfast.  Did about 4000 steps.  It was nice and cool, and I could stop and sit down for a bit.

The best news is that I really DID walk off the breakfast.  I injected Symlin with breakfast but no bolus insulin for the food (but did correct for the morning, as I was at 125.  When I finished at the mall about 2 hours later I was at 165. I’m often higher than that with insulin!

Nice start to the break.

We kicked the kids out of the building this morning, after giving them their final exam.  Mine actually helped me pack up the lab which was a huge relief.  Honestly didn’t expect them to help at all, because, well, that class was lazy.

I believe I’ve lost 5 pounds.  Hard to know for sure because of the water weight thing — my weight really fluxs back and forth.  But my activity level has increased, and I’m able to do slightly more.  I can tell because I’ve been weighing a pedometer.

Blood sugar has remained a lot smother, and my TDD is still at the lower rate, approaching a 80 unit average — I was doing as much as 130 units without good control, so this great.

I really think I got into a stress, not sleeping, not taking care of myself cycle once again this year, and am going to work hard this summer to try to fix all that.  It isn’t good for me, my husband OR my students.

FYI: Love fit4d.com — check them out.  They are helping me pull myself out of the hole I am in.

All of a sudden my TDD has dropped about 30 units.  That means I am consuming much less calories, especially the carb kind.

I’m not sure if it is the Fit4D class or the fact that the school year is finally winding down (last full day was yesterday), but it’s actually a relief.

And the blood sugar has been fairly smooth.  Especially no highs which I’ll take. 

I am doing the diuretic thing all weekend.  Back during spring break the cardiologist looked at me and claimed that I had at least 20 pounds of water weight.  I did a day of diuretics then but it didn’t do much good.

Decided to do all three days,no matter what it does to the blood sugar, and to low carb as much as possible.

The good news is that my blood sugar doesn’t seem to be very elevated — and my TDD hasn’t gone up.  I think I feel better between the Celebrix and even getting a couple of pounds off.  My activity level was higher yesterday than it was Saturday, without as much effort.

School countdown:
3 teaching days
4 exam days
1 week day

However I don’t get much of a break, I’ve got consistent staff development between now and then.