Friday, March 16, 2012

A LOT of crap thrown out there at once.

So the other day, I bolused too much because I forgot what I ordered.

Today, I went to In-N-Out (do not judge my food choices) and realized I had forgotten my insulin altogether. My whole kit. No meter, no insulin, nothing. I couldn't test OR bolus.

Fabulous.

I called my husband to see if he could steal some insulin from his diabetic co-worker. No dice. They guy didn't have any extra needles for his pen.

I realized I was right by my endo's office, so I ran in and begged for a sample of Novolog. They gave me one, no problem-o. Whew.

Then I went to my Primary Care for a "physical" because I hadn't seen him in a while, and they were threatening to drop me as a patient. I complained about this. They blamed the insurance companies. They said "Oh yeah, you're here because insurance sent you a letter, right?" I said "No, I'm here because you said I couldn't come anymore unless I scheduled this."

So when my PCP walked in, he said "Hi, Heidi, I heard we strong-armed you into showing up." I laughed. And waited for the next question. Oh, yes, here it is:

"How's the diabetes?"

I always want to answer this question with "Killing me slowly, thanks, but I'm doing everything I can to make it SUPER slow." But I chicken out, and say "I'm controlling it as best I can."

And then the phsycial consisted of basically scrolling through the computer looking over all my labs from the past year or so. I wanted to be off the cholesterol meds.

"But they're working. And you need to lower it a little more. Your LDL is still high for a diabetic. As soon as Lipitor goes generic, you should switch to that."

"They have long term side effects. The cholesterol is genetic. (We won't discuss the In-N-Out). I have a family history of high cholesterol but no heart attacks. High cholesterol is a fake problem. Statins prevent second or third heart attacks, not first ones."

"The medical data would suggest otherwise. Although, yes, they are better at preventing subsequent heart attacks."

"They create long term memory issues."

"The benefits outweigh the risks. Especially for you. You're diabetic."

And that's always where the discussion ends. At "you're diabetic." Automatically high-risk for pretty much everything under the sun. At least he didn't try to throw BP meds or aspirin at me "just in case."

And he gave me a copy of my last labs that didn't get sent to me. I told him I always ask for a copy but sometimes they send one and sometimes they don't. He told me if the doctor doesn't make any notes like "discuss with patient" or "needs to change x" or even "looks good" than the lab work doesn't even go to the MA for her to send out. And thus the mystery of sporadic labwork was solved. And my last CRP (0.4 vs.1.1) was awesome, which boosted his "pro-statin" stance.

Whatever. I do take the meds, I just whine about it.

I showed him my Dexcom, which fascinated him to no end. He had never seen one. And whenever a doctor besides my endo sees it, they always say the same thing, and so I waited....waited...yep. Here it is:

"That's one step closer to an artificial pancreas. They've almost done it!"

Yes, yes they have. Next week I'll go pick it up. (Maybe if Phineas and Ferb worked on one...)

In other medical news, I did mention that I've been hoarse for about 6 weeks now. He gave me a nasal spray, told me to try that, if that doesn't work, try heart burn meds, and if that doesn't work, then I'll need to see an ENT.

In the meantime, the fact that I get paid to do voicing work is a problem. Especially since the voicing I do is for medical reminder calls. (If you get an automated medical reminder call, it might be me. It probably isn't, but the possibility is there. Just remember that.) Who wants a message that says "Your appointment is at 3 p.m." from somebody who sounds like they're horribly contagious? Nobody, that's who.

Well, if you made it to the end of this post, good for you. Truly.

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Today, I Was A Moron.

Today I went out to lunch at a place that serves yummy sandwiches and salads. I often order the same thing every time I go.

I ordered. I sat down. As I waited for my order, I bolused for the tasty sandwich with thick 12-grain bread coming my way.

About 5 minutes later the server shows up with my cobb salad. Which is what I had ordered. It's also something I would consider not bolusing for, or maybe doing a minimal bolus to cover the carrots and whatever they might put in the dressing. How hard is it to remember what you ordered? Apparently, that is a tricky situation.

Hmmm...okay then. Much insulin about to be coursing through the system. Lunch not offering the carbs to offset the insulin. Fortunately, they give you a cookie with every order, whether you want it or not. And so, I ate my cookie, stole my daughter's cookie, and half of my husband's.

They did not get dessert.

Because today, I was a moron.