Get training on the Dexcom on Jan. 4. Hee hee.
I forgot to mention last time that my doctor has contnued to use me as a guinea pig. He put me on some heartburn medication to see if a ppi (proton pump inhibitor) response would help me. He says there is data that a ppi response can stimulate beta cells.
It took a week or so, but now I am having more lows than usual. He may be right. It's kind of exciting. I definitely need to lower my bolus rate a tad. So we'll see about that. In the meantime, "my precious" (dexcom) will help notify me of those lows.
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Fun times at the endo. Plus CAPS. LOTS OF CAPS.
So, I went to the endocrinologist last week. He still loves me, thinks my attitude of "I want more beta cells and I don't care what I have to do to get them" is great. My a1c is still 6.3.
It's a nice rhyming number. (A1C! 6.3! There's a cheer in there somewhere.)
My LDL is also down to the 150's, so that's better, but we're still treating it. HDL still high, so that's good.
He also did some kind of sensitivity test, and my cardiac risk is low. I'm not sure what the test is called, because they DIDN'T SEND ME A COPY OF MY RESULTS, even though I ask every time.
I swear that nurse/tech/whatever her title is doesn't like me. I also left without a follow up appointment. It was weird.
"OK, I think I need to make an appointment for 3 or 6 months out."
"He didn't say. When you get your lab work then he'll tell you."
"It's never worked like that before. Can I just make an appointment now?"
"No."
OK, I'll leave now.
So, the real question I had for my doc was regarding my Dexcom. CGM. The Golden Ticket. WHY didn't I get one last time? Denied? What can I do now?
"Huh, I never heard back. Let me check on that."
Then he said he could trial me for a week, but they one they have cost him $800 out of his own pocket, and it wasn't charged, and I would have to BRING IT BACK because it cost him so much money, and I would have to be careful, and the nurse that usually educates on it isn't here, and it was pretty clear he didn't want to hand it over.
And...as it turns out, they never sent the request. That could be why I didn't get one. If my insurance or the Dexcom people don't know I want one, they don't magically send one out randomly. Funny how that works. So this time I stayed there until the request was faxed.
Then I went to lunch with my husband, after being scolded for wanting follow up care.
At lunch the Dexcom people called me. YES. They aren't in-network, but they know people who are, they will be calling me in the next couple of days.
Yada yada yada.....a bunch of phone calls and nagging of my doctor's office later.....IT'S HERE. TODAY. I AM JUMPING UP AND DOWN.
Did I mention that my deductible is met and it didn't cost me anything? 2 weeks later, that would have been quite the different story.
Did I also mention I don't have a clue as to what I'm doing? I guess I will be calling tomorrow to go meet with the nurse to have her show me what to do. While there, I'm going to schedule a follow up appt. You know, if they let me.
"Cause I've got a Golden Ticket...."
It's a nice rhyming number. (A1C! 6.3! There's a cheer in there somewhere.)
My LDL is also down to the 150's, so that's better, but we're still treating it. HDL still high, so that's good.
He also did some kind of sensitivity test, and my cardiac risk is low. I'm not sure what the test is called, because they DIDN'T SEND ME A COPY OF MY RESULTS, even though I ask every time.
I swear that nurse/tech/whatever her title is doesn't like me. I also left without a follow up appointment. It was weird.
"OK, I think I need to make an appointment for 3 or 6 months out."
"He didn't say. When you get your lab work then he'll tell you."
"It's never worked like that before. Can I just make an appointment now?"
"No."
OK, I'll leave now.
So, the real question I had for my doc was regarding my Dexcom. CGM. The Golden Ticket. WHY didn't I get one last time? Denied? What can I do now?
"Huh, I never heard back. Let me check on that."
Then he said he could trial me for a week, but they one they have cost him $800 out of his own pocket, and it wasn't charged, and I would have to BRING IT BACK because it cost him so much money, and I would have to be careful, and the nurse that usually educates on it isn't here, and it was pretty clear he didn't want to hand it over.
And...as it turns out, they never sent the request. That could be why I didn't get one. If my insurance or the Dexcom people don't know I want one, they don't magically send one out randomly. Funny how that works. So this time I stayed there until the request was faxed.
Then I went to lunch with my husband, after being scolded for wanting follow up care.
At lunch the Dexcom people called me. YES. They aren't in-network, but they know people who are, they will be calling me in the next couple of days.
Yada yada yada.....a bunch of phone calls and nagging of my doctor's office later.....IT'S HERE. TODAY. I AM JUMPING UP AND DOWN.
Did I mention that my deductible is met and it didn't cost me anything? 2 weeks later, that would have been quite the different story.
Did I also mention I don't have a clue as to what I'm doing? I guess I will be calling tomorrow to go meet with the nurse to have her show me what to do. While there, I'm going to schedule a follow up appt. You know, if they let me.
"Cause I've got a Golden Ticket...."
Saturday, December 3, 2011
How Was Your Thanksgiving?
Diabetes can make Thanksgiving challenging. Which is surprising, you know, because it makes everything else SO EASY.
Anyway, this year we went over to a friend's house, which was lovely, because then I didn't have to clean. I still had to cook some stuffing, but that's OK, because it's one thing I can cook, and it's divine. Really.
Well, I bolused and ate the main meal. (and by "bolused" I mean "guessed completely" because I wasn't about to ask people exactly how much sugar they put in their yams and apples. Turns out: a lot).
An hour later they brought out the pie. Often I skip the desserts completely, because the GUESSING! Oh, the GUESSING, which leads to the SWINGING, which leads to the MIGRAINES, and leads to ALL CAPS, and my husband has to put up with my WHINING. But this is Thanksgiving and pie is required. The end. Well, I checked my sugars and saw slightly over 200. Oy. I guess the mealtime bolus was what we call "not great."
A GOOD diabetic would have waited until her sugars came down, or politely declined. A BAD diabetic would have just bolused more and attacked the pumpkin chiffon pie.
And as I ate piles of sugar with a starting bg of 204, I thought "May God have mercy on my kidneys." And He did. Because an hour later, I was 103, and the sugars stayed stable the rest of the day. But for the record, I have never taken more insulin in one day than I did this year on turkey day for one meal.
Pie. It's what helps. Who knew? How was your day?
Anyway, this year we went over to a friend's house, which was lovely, because then I didn't have to clean. I still had to cook some stuffing, but that's OK, because it's one thing I can cook, and it's divine. Really.
Well, I bolused and ate the main meal. (and by "bolused" I mean "guessed completely" because I wasn't about to ask people exactly how much sugar they put in their yams and apples. Turns out: a lot).
An hour later they brought out the pie. Often I skip the desserts completely, because the GUESSING! Oh, the GUESSING, which leads to the SWINGING, which leads to the MIGRAINES, and leads to ALL CAPS, and my husband has to put up with my WHINING. But this is Thanksgiving and pie is required. The end. Well, I checked my sugars and saw slightly over 200. Oy. I guess the mealtime bolus was what we call "not great."
A GOOD diabetic would have waited until her sugars came down, or politely declined. A BAD diabetic would have just bolused more and attacked the pumpkin chiffon pie.
And as I ate piles of sugar with a starting bg of 204, I thought "May God have mercy on my kidneys." And He did. Because an hour later, I was 103, and the sugars stayed stable the rest of the day. But for the record, I have never taken more insulin in one day than I did this year on turkey day for one meal.
Pie. It's what helps. Who knew? How was your day?
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