Interesting updates
I'll pass on the inhaled insulin.... I've never done well if inhaled medications.
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I'll pass on the inhaled insulin.... I've never done well if inhaled medications.
Went to the primary care physician today. Couple of reasons -- my prescriptions are starting to expire and I wanted to make sure we were both on the same page.
Also wanted to talk to him about getting a different sleep doctor. I want someone a bit more aggressive and less reluctant to make sure I have the right equipment. I also want to make the switch when things are going well, I've had a chance to meet the new doctor before there is a real need or at least a crisis. I also want to avoid either someone who is really into drugs to solve the problem or surgery. In other words, someone who is a bit middle of the road.
He doesn't have any experience with sleep doctors, so is going to ask his referral person. I'm also going to run it by the endo and CDE before I make any appointments.
The new mask is working very well, I'm sleeping all night, not waking up, and was able to get up for 7:00 am departure for agility trials this weekend AND workout before going!
Food is much better too.
Called Medco and asked them about the birth control. I think I'm going to stay with Depo for a while, and go with the generic. It's very inexpensive, but I am also going to talk to the doctor's office about the last charge. I don't think I should be paying an office visit for a shot.
Interesting post on Seasonale -- which is the back of my mind to switch too.
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Man is it making a difference.
I came in and took about 1 1/2 nap very early, then went to bed at 10:30 - 11:00 and slept all night.
The mask did not wake me up either time, which is a huge improvement. I was waking up and adjusting the other mask nightly, which doesn't seem like a good thing to me. Doesn't seem to bother the doctor, but oh well....
Worth every penny...
The doctor recommended this mask: FlexiFit HC431 Full Face Mask
And it is working very well. It is easier to fit than any ask I've ever had, it doesn't leak and it is comfortable.
I woke up this morning wanting to sleep longer. Sometimes I wake up tired, and have trouble waking up. And while I've been short sleep lately, I just wanted to sleep. You won't understand unless you have sleep problems....
And yes, it's worth $150.00 to be able to sleep.
We live less than 2 minutes from the fire station, so I think I'll just let Rich use the alarm system.
Amazon.com: Health & Personal Care: Philips HeartStart Home Automated External Defibrillator (AED)
Yeah, it's been a long day. 3 doctor's visits in one day.
This appointment was productive -- though I'm sure if I had insisted the dentist would have obliged ....
The CDE insisted I get a flu shot -- she brought it up. I told her I felt like I must be from Minnisota, because I didn't want to deny an 80 year old woman a shot, but she said since I was exposed to so many people (classroom teacher), I needed it, and not the flu.
I've got a plan to play with Zocor and see if it is causing my long muscle pain, which reminds me the Zocor is downstairs.
She couldn't answer my biggest question and I did bring up the gastric bypass thing.
I don't think I want that. But right now, I can't make myself lose weight. I have been gaining slightly, and I don't want that to happen.
I know I don't want to be bigger than I am now, I'm just not sure I want to be smaller. As I told her, I know this, and I'm comfortable with this.
I am afraid that doing the gastric bypass is either a) not going to work and just add onto the medical team, or b) going to work while removing a set of medical problems I can deal with but adding a set of medical problems I'm not prepared to deal with.
Though if it is going to happen this year, I need to start making plans -- I have to do it at the beginning of June to avoid missing to much class time.
Is he a good dentist if he doesn't do any work and doesn't charge?
My mouth hasn't bothered me since he put in the temporary filling, so he and I both are not inclined to mess with anything. Helps my pocketbook, not sure about his.
Am doing the yearly checkup thing on the 27th of December though.
They also have a forum at CPAP Talk
It appears I have gained a couple of pounds since my last sleep doctor visit. It was three months ago.
I knew that things were bad this month, but I didn't think they were that bad. Oh well.
At least I'm compliant. Doctor did mention a new mask -- different model, that might solve one of my problmes, said I needed to wait until the insurance would pay, but I just ordered it off of the internet from the CPAP.com They are down in Houston.
It's supposed to arrive tomorrow, which will be cool.
The good news, is that this mask comes in one size, with two sizing things, which should work out better.
I do think this was my last appointment with him. He is only seeing patients two days a week now and only wants to see me every year. If I can get CPAP stuff off the internet and pay Flexible Savings Account dollars, I think I'll be better off. So will the insurance company.
I'm going to the sleep doctor, the dentist and the CDE tomorrow, and hopefully things may get better.
I've had 3 weeks where working out was difficult. I think this is true for me every fall, and getting back on it was easier since the gym is downstairs. I have been consistent again for the past week and half.
I'm having a lot of leg pain when I am on the treadmill. I got smart though, and spilt my cardio in half, doing half in the morning and half in the evening.
My insulin usage is way up. From 50 to as high as 80. The 80 was Friday.
I think I'm having GERD problems again, which is again, typical of the fall for me. I don't know how much is allergy related, since I am more congested, I have to use the heated humidifier right now to avoid headaches.
I'm doing a lot of coughing, especially after meals.
It's very disappointing, because I truly expected to feel better after losing 30 pounds, and I don't.
And also frustrating, is that I'm between sizes, so clothing doesn't fit well. One size is way to big, another is way to small.
I saw this name, and KNEW I knew it.
The surviving widow is the partner of one of my absolutely favorite doctors. I think I saw her once and she got involved in my case at least in a consulting way.
Before diabetes and before sleep apnea, I saw a Dr. Fitzgerald who was an allergist. He was treating me for allergies when I started having problems with asthma. He helped a lot, tried to get me to a sleep study, but I wasn't ready.
My insurance changed and he didn't take that insurance, but his daughter, Dr. Marie Fritzgerald did take my insurance. She was absolutely terrific, DID get me to do the sleep study but was absolutely convinced that the asthma as GERD related. Her partner got involved as they couldn't resolve the asthma until my GERD was treated.
Oh, and one of the reasons I didn't do the sleep study the first time around was the primary care physician. He was VERY resistant, but the insurance change was a blessing and that doctor signed off for it.
Found a "free" link.
At Cigna, conflicts of interest surface in appeals: South Florida Sun-Sentinel
I'm very intrigued by the Apria references, I was wondering about them as I got absolutely NO customer service out of them. I had to go to their office to be fitted, and they mailed the humidifier to me, and provided absolutely no training.
I have had my durable medical needs meet by Lincare and my Sleep-Med, and in both cases have always had personal care by a respirator therapist at every stage. They have always offered to come to me, though I often go to Sleep-Med since they are on my way home to work and I can get there before they can get to me.
Two unforunates on this -- you need a WSJ subscription to read the article.
Second, this went on before my denial. But sounds a lot like the denial that was made.
Conflicts of Interest in Appeals at Cigna
When a little-known supplier offered a big discount on a device for diabetics, Cigna thought it sounded like a great deal. But Cigna's deal on insulin pumps became a prime example of cost-cutting gone wrong, doctors and patients say
Servings radically different than package size. They should do the math not us.
What brought this on?
Bought lunch meat with different flavors in the package and serving si1 shows 3 slices but 4 slices in package.
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From my Treo
The New York Times > Health > I Beg to Differ: A Diabetes Researcher Forges Her Own Path to a Cure
The reason for the resistance, Dr. Faustman and some colleagues believe, was simple: her findings, which raise the possibility that an inexpensive, readily available drug might effectively treat Type 1 or juvenile diabetes, challenge widespread assumptions. Many diabetes researchers insist that a cure lies instead in research on stem cells and islet cell transplants.
Of course, this doesn't help Type 2 diabetics.
I have dust allergies and my mom is always trying to get me to vacuum daily -- yeah, right, but finally I'm going to make her happy.
I finally broke down and bought a Roomba vacuum. Both my husband and I have been skeptical that it could handle the dog hair, but it appears it does it fine.
Amazing piece of technology. I got the "Discovery" edition and so far, I've got my living room clean. Probably going to leave it in the gym and front hallway tomorrow because I have it picked up and the major wads of hair are gone.
For some reason, I decided to try the self test -- I DID use it when I first got the watch, and well, I have had it for a month.
Got "FAIL" every time.
So I called tech support today and while I'm on the phone ... you guessed it ... got a PASS both tries.
I figured they would say hang onto it, but they said we'll send you another one anyway. So it's on the way.
Of course, I'm always interested in anything like this.
I'm STILL not sure I want to do gastric surgery, though if I do, I need to start getting things together now, if I want to do it, as I would want to do it sometime after the AP Computer Science test.
Bariatric Surgery use in Type 2 Diabetes
Non-randomised observational studies show that bariatric surgery has a highly beneficial impact on diabetes. Bariatric surgery leads to remission of diabetes in at least two thirds of patients, and reductions in drug therapy for many others. Those with more recent onset diabetes, fewer treatment requirements, and able to achieve most weight loss are more likely to achieve remission. Therefore, bariatric surgery is an attractive treatment option to consider for selected more severely obese patients with favourable characteristics. Although data on bariatric surgery in subjects with diabetes are provocative, all recent clinical studies have been uncontrolled or otherwise flawed. Moreover, bariatric surgery has yet to be compared either with medical treatment for weight loss, or against standard medical treatment for diabetes in any randomised controlled trial with diabetes-specific end points. There remains a need for long-term randomised controlled trials before bariatric surgery is used more widely as a first-line treatment for obese patients with type 2 diabetes.
I've used my first box of insets and man or man do I love them. I've only yanked out two accidently which isn't too bad, especially for me.
I'm able to move my sites better with them, because the inserter lets me put the site where I can't see it. I also have fewer failed sites, because of the inserter.
And I love not having to see a needle!
I gritted my teeth and got on the scales this morning. I'm not gaining weight. Not losing it though.
The last three weeks have been REAL hard. I've been tired and as a result eating has been hard to control and even getting to working out has been hard too.
The new mask seems to be helping, but it takes a while to put the sleep back in the bank. Every time I have disrupted sleep it seems to take longer to recover. Age probably has something to do with it.
Splitting my cario workout has helped too. Getting up and doing 30 minutes is daunting, but doing 15 minutes in the morning and 15 in the afternoon is doable. Though this week I've gone to 15 in the morning and 20 in the evening -- except I overslept yesterday and did 35 in the evening.