Gerd Update
Last night was a scale of 4 -- work up some but not bad. Not at all as bad as the night before, thinking of a scale of 8.
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Last night was a scale of 4 -- work up some but not bad. Not at all as bad as the night before, thinking of a scale of 8.
After having set off all the red flags at Medco, and them faxing all my doctors about the drug interaction between Symlin and Reglan, I got an email from my endo suggesting that I half the Symlin.
I did tonight.
I did really well Monday night and Tuesday night but had a really bad reflux night last night.
If you haven't figured it out already, I'm "morbidly obese". As a result, medical professionals feel the need to suggest Bariatric surgery.
Okay, they don't suggest it. They practically demand I do it and do it now. And they won't take a polite: "Yes, I've researched it, and it is not the answer right now." Often once I disagree with that treatment plan, I am immediately treated as a noncompliant patient.
Here's the deal. I've met with a surgeon and I didn't like him. Yes, there are other surgeons but I've looked at my insurance and I don't like the amount of money that will have to come out of my pocket. And that's if it is successful. I also don't like what my body will probably look like when I'm done, and I'm talking about the sagging skin. I also don't like the idea of opening the door to more surgery.
I don't like the mortality rate.
I don't like the complication rate, NOR am I really thrilled with the known complications.
Much less the rarer, little know complications.
I am also a very good candidate for becoming an addicted person in another way. Yeah, food addiction is probably a problem for me, but at the current time it is much more socially acceptable (much less job acceptable), than drug, alcohol, or even shopping addiction.
I've had long conversations with several people over several different conversations who have had bariatric surgery in various forms. While they are happy with it, at the end of the conversation, we walk away agree I'm not ready yet.
The point of this? My doctors, especially my primary care physician know that I am a highly educated individual, know just about every facet of the diseases I'm am dealing with and know that I research everything. Though I will admit I often take drugs on their word alone and get to figure out the diabetic side effects 3 days later.
As a patient, I'll respect you infinitely more if you find a polite way to work it into the conversation, and then drop it when I respond intelligently in the negative.
Funny, but that works with just about every treatment plan. Not just bariatric surgery.
What is even worse though, is when the physician who suggests it weighs about 10 pounds more than he did the last time you saw him, and he is steadily gaining weight over the years.
Unfortunately the initial contact can be difficult. Be patient, leave phone messages and email messages. They will eventually get you and get your credit card information.
After your credit card information clears, they will send you your initial paper work. It's quite a bit, but does help them get you started.
The next step is clearing everything with your doctor. I haven't seen that form, but it did take mine about a week to process.
So after all that is done -- and it's about a two week process, you are ready to go.
I was sent a food log, an activity / blood sugar type log, and a goals setting sheet. Since this is all personalized AND virtual, don't expect a full blown set of things for you to do -- I sort of did because I've participated in programs in the past that would hand you something that sort of fit you and then they customized it as they went.
So far, everyone appears very cordial, and very ready to work with you.
I am working with a fitness coach, a nuitrion coach AND a wellness coach that is supposed to round out everything.
Not bad for the price!
I've started fitness4diabetics in earnest now. Their Wellness coach and I had a good telephone conversation this evening.
I've got a food log started -- though I think I'm going to make a few changes to it.
I've also got a good bs log going, but no really good exercise log, so we need to get going on that.
All in all I'm placed -- the first week is all about all of us getting to know each other and getting a working relationship going.
I got my first set of information from fitness4diabetics. I got an acivity / blood sugar log, a food log + blood sugar log, and a form about change habits. And a sheet of directions.
Lots of logging but then I'm used to that. I also made some requests of my own towards exercise, etc.
Of course, this morning WOULD be the day that the nuitrition class (we called it home ec in my day) made taco salad and brought some by this morning.
The taco salad was very good, but I ended up doing a wild ass guess for the carbs.
Just got an email from my coaches with some documents I need to read and deal with. I'm going to put them on my Mobile phone -- that way I can get to them at school
YEAH!
She's keeping me on Protonix, 40 mg twice a day.
She added Reglan, 15 minutes before meals and Carafate 1gm at night. Reglan is to aid stomach mobility. The Carafate is in case it is bile acid and not stomach acid. According to the drug information on the web it's also for healing ulcers.
I get a sonagram of my gall bladded a week from Friday and get scoped the Monday after.
Good visit. She gave me an aggressive plan of medication, scheduled a scope, and a sonagram of my gall bladder.
They DO have my paperwork. Now I am waiting for their wellness person to contact me.
Another insulin pump on the market?
Globes [online] is reporting that NiliMEDIX, a manufacturer of disposable insulin pumps from Israel, has filed a 510k fast-track application for FDA approval to market its devices in the US.
Source: NiliMEDIX Insulin Pumps - Medgadget - www.medgadget.com
Choice is always good.
My doctor's office says they faxed their paperwork on Monday.
I'm getting frustrated. Haven't heard at all from them today -- not even a 'no we haven't gotten your doctor's paperwork' yet.
I know I'm not patient, but this is getting down right silly. They all definately treat this as a very low priority part time job.
My primary care physician and I are fed up with the pharmacy service (Medco), so he's sending me to a gastroenterologist tomorrow.
My heartburn is actually worse before meals these days. I still wake up sometimes at night. I also have trouble with it after some meals.
I did best on Propulsid, but of course that is not an option.
I was looking for Bowflexes on Craigslist and found a Weider Max. Got a hold of the guy this afternoon and got him to agree to bring it to the house for me. I snagged it for $120 -- he wanted $110 and I gave him an extra $10 for bringing it over.
Sports Authority had one on clearance for $350 so I think I got myself a good deal. It works out well in the room, though things are a bit crowded. It folds out of the way of the murphy bed fine, will have to move the treadmill out of the way, but it works.
For those who don't know, I have a study downstairs (i'm in there typing now), that is my folding room. It has a cabinet that has a murphy bed built in. I can fold it down for guests. My treadmill folds up and out of the way, and now so does the weight machine. I have an extra weight bench now that I ought to put up for sell on Craigslist.
I've been real lucky with internet purchases, ever since I bought a hard drive after I first got married. In fact, I found all three dogs on the internet!
Still waiting on paper work for fitness4diabetics. Actually I haven't heard from them since Thursday.
Right now, my paperwork is hung up somewhere between my doctor's office and fitness4diabetics. Last I heard it was still on my doctor's desk on Thursday.
Working out is going well, though I did miss a strength workout on Thursday. I was able to shuffle the aerobics to Friday, though I really don't want that day as an off day. iShape has been scheduling it that way.
I was just too tired, and sadly, most of what I did was sitting at a desk that day.
I did call into the fitness4diabetics webinair on Wednesday and did enjoy it. The speaker okayed my idea of getting a bowflex, though I am still putting that off a bit.
David just wrote about his wife's death on his blood. A very lovely love story and very sad. My sympathys' David.
My wife, Catherine Lee Nord, died Tuesday morning of liver failure. It was a complication of her diabetes. She was 69. We had been married for 11 years.
Source: Diabetes - In Memoriam
I found something that REALLY helped this year. I went to bed an hour earlier. Had to take sleeping pills to do it, but it helped.
It also helped that DST started the weekend before spring break. I thought I was going to have trouble today, but it went fine.
Daylight Savings Time
Source: Sleep Disorders: Information and advice on narcolepsy and insomnia symptoms and treatments
Yeah, I'm going to spring for a new pump. It doesn't give THAT many new features, but what the heck. I do use it more than anything else. I think I'll change colors though. Blue or Silver?
The description is out on their website. It looks like the basal/etc dosing is a bit more flexible.
Also more memory and records the carbs, etc. which will make logging a bit easier.
So I'm calling tomorrow and getting on the list.
Or maybe, just remembering to code your meter whenever you open a new vial of test strips. Seriously. Especially since the Bayer meters are at a higher copay than the meters I use.
Blood glucose values that the 116 study participants got from their miscoded meters showed an average error ranging from plus 29 percent to minus 37 percent. “The autocoded meters used in this study gave BG values that results in the lowest risk of insulin dose error,” was to me the most significant result of the study. I know that if I used insulin, I wouldn’t hesitate for a moment before switching to one of these new meters.
Source: Diabetes - Misdosing Insulin
Yeah, I have my ankles back BUT my blood sugar is out of control which is making controlling eating difficult.
Fun, fun.
I did get another week of exercise in. Not bad, I haven't counted weeks in a long time, and should start counting months, but I've only missed 2 strength and 1 cardio workout and they were for dog agility classes.
Back at the beginning of the school year, I got a mammogram. They didn't like something on the xray on my left bresat, and insisted on doing it over.
Then they wanted a 6 month follow up.
I did it today.
No big deal, come back in 6 months for your regular mammogram.
Don't worry -- I never did.
Got my forms in email a while ago. Filled them out and emailed them back. Got a letter of acknowledgement.
The next thing is for them to contact my doctors (primary care and endo), and send forms to them. I've contacted each of them, and hopefully that won't take too long.
Got a call this morning to confirm i wanted to join. Shortly after got an email about the credit charge.
Now I am waiting for them to go the approval from the credit catd company and their paperwork.
I hate waiting.
This 10 seconds too short, when I run agility, and not getting physically better has been getting to me. I've decided to try something new. Saw it on Keri's blog -- Fitness4Diabetes.
They signed me up this evening. I'll let everyone know how it goes.
It's Lori's original post that got me on this. And she makes a very good point.
I'm not sure what to think about finding out that I am, at nearly 42, still so naive and hopeful to think that a person with diabetes can receive good medical care without being beaten or tasered or blamed for poor diabetes self-management.
Source: Very Old, Very Healthy Diabetic
Frankly, every time I treat a potential low, someone makes me feel guilty that my diabetes self-management requires me to eat a bit of sugar.
The good news about the Portland incident, is that it is getting BOTH sides to think.
I don't think that the police officers involved did anything wrong UNLESS it is already addressed in the policy and they acted against the policy. However, I do think that policy DOES need to be thought about a bit harder -- I used to help with that sort of thing when I did K9 stuff, so I know that side.
On the other hand, I hope it is a wake up call for the patient. If you know you get combative when you go low, you owe it to everyone around you to make sure you don't go low.
Oh, course, this is from the viewpoint of a Type 2 on an insulin pump. Someone who hates to go low and treats a 90 blood sugar reading as a low. However, I feel that I owe that not only to myself but everyone I'm going to encounter on the way.
I am not accusing anyone of bad diabetes management -- I'm just saying that perhaps her own procedures need to be reviewed.
I weighed after I took a shower and after spending most of 2 hours in the bathroom and I weigh 9 lbs less than I did yesterday.
Not bad.
Clothing fits better too!
It was good. Very good.
I knew my weight was really high and I wouldn't look at the scale, but finally did record it. But the good news, for once I didn't get fussed at -- I had already complained about edema and was already exhibiting it. So bad, the nurse practioner wrote a script for Lasix on the spot.
She said take it until I stop losing weight -- though I might have to stop it sooner -- good thing I am on spring break as I have spent a great deal of time in the bathroom already today.
They said everything looked good and not to bother with a stress test until next year. That will sure make the insurance people happy! And me too as they are a pain in the butt.
Oh, and the blood pressure was 128 over 74. Not too shabby!
Having been trained as a police officer -- this is a really tough call.
First, let's be honest, the police officers and other responders do have the right to make it through their shift uninjured.
I'm not sure what their options are. Are the responders comfortable with waiting until the woman passes out and then treat her? A review and perhaps policy change is in order.
The woman, who went into diabetic shock and lost control in her home Saturday night, claims police used excessive force when an officer used a stun gun to make her stop struggling. She said she is afraid to call 911 again.
Source: KATU - Portland, Oregon
Of course, the best solution is to find a way to keep the hypoglymicia from happening. Easy for to say when I'm a Type 2 and I have been able to prevent this sort of thing from happening.
First, I'm thrilled to read that the snatched baby was found so quickly. Something I don't get, but then again, I choose not to be a mother. Or maybe I just never got around choosing to do it. I have no idea why someone would take someone else's baby.
I took Friday off and did a three day agility trial. My blood sugars were better than ever, but my blood pressure has been high. Maggie Qed and took a first place on Friday and again today. Finished her Novice JWW title. Marcie and I continue being a few seconds short. That isn't going to change until my physical condition gets better.
Next week is spring break. I'm seeing the cardiologist on Monday and fixing the blood pressure is top on the list.
Also working on my physical condition. I'm not sure where to go -- I'd like to find a personal trainer for one day a week, or maybe every other week.
I did miss one cardio and two weight workouts last week. Both for dog agility. I took an extra class on Wednesday and yesterday I was just too wiped out.
And yes, the time change is doing me in -- one of the reasons I skipped yesterdays workout is that the only way I knew I could handle the time change was to make the change on Saturday so I would get more sleep on Saturday night. I think it helped but I am exhaused.
I'm ready for a break!
I go and post an anniversary post, and then I disappear. Well, this is a busy time of year for me.
I have kept up my consistent exercise schedule, but this week might get hard.
Last week we had our spring parent conferences -- and they didn't bother to tell the parents. I had two whole parents to talk to go.
We also had our fund raiser, which was fun! They had a casino night, and I like playing Blackjack when it isn't real money. Unfortunately my husband was a bit of a drag.
He looked very handsome in his tux.
And since I had to miss the "big dogs" agility class last week, I'm at least making up one this week with Marcie tonight.
Like I said busy.
Next week is spring break and then it is all down hill until then.
I do need to check my CPAP machine, but none of my other equipment has the ability to change with daylight saving time. Probably a good thing.
If you have any medical equipment that uses, creates or records time information about your diagnosis or treatment and the manufacturer has not updated it, the equipment may not work properly when the new Daylight Savings Time (DST) starts and ends this year and in future years