dvandom

A metaphor. Thought it up over dinner, probably still needs work.

Just got back from the Diabetes Center (where they're very pleased with my progress in general, but warned me that I might want to cut back on the chromium supplements now), and my body fat as measured on their scale is 14.7%, down from a high of 29.4% a year ago. And I'm within 10 lbs of the "ideal range" established during my visits a year ago, so pretty happy there.

On October 13th 2006, I was diagnosed with diabetes. Since then, I've lost a lot of weight, gotten my blood sugar under control, and had to replace pretty much my entire wardrobe. :) Still taking some meds, but no more insulin.

Just got a call back from my doctor, he thinks I can stop taking insulin now and see how I do! Next target...cut back to one a day of my expensive pills. :)

Six months ago today, on Friday October 13, 2006, I was diagnosed with diabetes. Since then I've lost 40 pounds and gotten my blood sugar under control, although I still need to take insulin.

Just got back from the doctor, about to go to the dentist (to get a cavity under a crown dealt with, whee), here's a few quick notes.

1. My blood marker levels of whatever the thing is called (measuring a running three month average of blood sugar) were a 10 three months ago, and have dropped to 6, which is considered borderline/prediabetic.

2. The fact that my pre-meal glucose numbers are sometimes in the 60s means I should reduce my insulin levels a little.

3. The doctor is otherwise mightily impressed with my progress on all fronts. Woot.

P.S. Will be posting CSV #27 tonight.

P.P.S. Heh...dentist wasn't used to all-porcelain crowns, so it took a bit more cutting to get the old crown off. But it didn't really hurt until she started jamming filling into the sub-gumline drilled cavity. Temp crown is VERY temporary, not as good as the temp crowns from my old dentist, I'm not even supposed to floss around it. Guess gooey grilled cheese sandwiches are out for the next couple weeks.

Well, it's been two months now since I was diagnosed with diabetes. Back then, my blood sugar was around 250-300, I was needing a nap almost every day, I was drinking HUGE amounts of various liquids (about 2 liters of soda, a liter and a half of milk, and 3-4 liters of water a day), and I'd spent a couple days that week nearly passing out from the strain of standing. I'd also lost ten pounds in a month or so for no reason I could figure. And I was suffering from lots and lots of indigestion, bloating that got so bad sometimes I had backaches from it.

Since then, my blood sugar's gotten down to around 90 pre-meal and 110 post-meal. I rarely need naps. I'm not nearly as thirsty, I eat maybe half to two thirds as much on a daily basis and feel less hungry. I briskly walk about a mile a day, and have lost about another ten pounds on purpose. Since starting insulin I've had a lot more energy, although I hope to be able to stop taking it soon (like, before I go to Seattle for a conference in early January). I'm not in great health yet (I still have some backaches, but they're not from bloating), but I feel a lot better than I generally have in ages.

Financially...ehn. Unsurprisingly, I did not live within my means for my November paycheck. A few hundred bucks in medical bills (after insurance) and prescriptions on top of car payments will do that. And I'm not looking forward to shelling out another several hundred for a new dental crown (unrelated to diabetes, just bad timing that I got a cavity under it recently). But with the medical appointments shifting from every other week to every other month, and with the current batch of insulin hopefully being my last, that drain should ease off by early next year.

Well, I've found another sugar-free product that I can enjoy despite my inability to taste artificial sweeteners past the first bite/sip: sugar-free Jell-O. With no unpleasant taste needing masking (as with most diet sodas), when I stop tasting the sucralose the flavor just gets faint, not BAD.

OTOH, I started looking at sugar-free candies today too, and discovered "sugar alcohols" that supposedly Don't Count. Forgive me for not believing the packaging or what I've found online quite yet, I'm gonna bring the matter up at my next appointment at the Diabetes Center this week.

Finally, you know those paper strips with little candy dots on 'em? An entire strip is only 8g of sugar...sure, they're almost pure sucrose, but with the fairly tiny portion size and labor-intensive means of consumption, it makes 'em good snacky food. The mental impression of spending time eating without actually eating much. :)

Well, the dietician I was scheduled to meet with this afternoon had something come up, and I had to reschedule for Wednesday morning. I was able to ask a couple of quick questions, though (i.e. is Splenda/sucralose bad for me? Answer: no, it's fine. Not that I can taste IT either, but it's in a brand of sparkling water I've found I like).

She was also a bit more concerned with my sugar levels than the nurse I met with last week was, and said it might be worth going on insulin briefly just to boot my numbers down rather than waiting the two weeks for Metformin and four weeks for Actos to work. Or adding a drug to amp my pancreas up temporarily. So I may be getting an adjustment soon.