Jackpot at the Endo's

Congratulations are in order.

Or not. Depends on which part of the appointment with my endocrinologist you witnessed.

On the one hand, I have broken the 8.0 barrier. (dropped from 8.4 to 7.9) On the other hand, it would have been better if I'd not had (2) 400's and 1 (500's) in the past week. I was sort of dissapointed, because I have had weeks of utterly stellar bgs otherwise and was hoping to have broken the 7.0 barrier. So no dancing on the exam table for me. Lowering an a1c is hard work.(impossible work)

And a recheck of my thyroid levels have turned out normal. Yay,yay! And it's time to get my eyes rechecked.(ugh,ugh)

And here's where I confess to being a slobby, no-good-at-keeping-complete-record-books PWD. Although I generally put in an effort the week before an appt. Add that to the practice of sometimes bolusing for meals/correcting via syringe, and not putting the carb count in my pump & the result is a very frustrated endo so I got the whole "we can't help you if you don't keep complete records," etc. It then turned to,"it's better but an average of 160 doesn't cut it if you want to have an a1c in the 6's and your average should be in the low 100's." And displeasure at my post-meal blood sugar being 310.

All in all, there were two minutes of feeling great about myself and 18 of mentally wishing I was 2,000 miles away. Exhausting doesn't describe it. It all needed to be said, for the purposes of the future plans,but more and more you just feel like your endo has turned into Dr. Jekyll from Dr.O'Awesome. Do, or do not-there is no try. Icing on the proverbial cake..news that I may need to switch from Apidra to Humalog (at some point in the future). What fun that will NOT be.(Humalog sticks around forever)

But coming home to this..



















courtesy of Diatribe (signed by the great James Hirsch himself) made the day slightly better. I am a winner.(if not at diabetes, at least at various contests)

The Endo Exchange

Endo #1:
So, I've got this patient...

Endo #2:
Yeah- and you can keep them.Good gosh, I've got enough of THOSE types in my own practice.

Endo #1:
Just listen to me for a minute. She's moving to your neighborhood-and might be investigating you(based on my recommendation). Back when you were my resident,you may have run into her.

Endo #2:
I doubt it, the name doesn't look familiar.

Endo #1
Just wanted to give you a heads up. And she isn't that bad, she's just somewhat of a trainwreck who will probably never have an a1c under 7 + die of every complication in the book- but those types need just as much support, maybe more. And I think you could handle her.

Endo #2
Thanks,I'm flattered by the moral support.

Endo #1
Anytime after Nov.10, be on the lookout.

Yesterday's appointment(unlike some previous) was actually productive, I felt like it was worth the $20 copay. My endo recommended someone she knows in that part of the world,(that I'm moving to) and even said she'd talk to her(put in a good word) if she could accept a new patient. As Endo #2 will be in town this weekend, the above verbal exchange is entirely possible. They took alot of blood(as I've been avoiding the place since May),
and I gave her more updated forms for the CGS/Insurance coverage battle. I could have just faxed them, but stuff gets misplaced very easily there + even when it goes to the right place, it takes a good 7+ days for the endo to even look at it. I felt like I needed to reinspire her(and myself) to the cause.

And my blood sugars have been uncharacteristically flat line-several days of 120-140 range, so my endo really didn't even have much to say in terms of insulin adjustments. I usually have a post breakfast spike(low 200's), followed by a severe drop(4 hours of no insulin and still having to eat) so she recommended square waving my meal to avoid that. But the past few days have been amazing, everything I do, works. I eat/bolus, and two hours later I've got a gorgeous blood sugar that stays gorgeous till the next meal.I hardly move 15 points in either direction. Overnight, I'm steady as a rock.(or drop slightly) It's kind of nice. I'm used to things always moving, requiring frequent input + this is pretty bizarre. Maybe my a1c will come back lower too.(helped by the research study's blood letting)