In Which I Use a LOT of CAPS

About a week ago, my sugars started going wack - a - doo. And by "wack - a - doo", I mean "high for no discernible reason." Middle of the night- 230? Wha? I thought maybe I was getting sick, but so far, no symptoms of sickness have manifest themselves.

So today at the endo I asked him if I should change insulin usage, and he said no, because I would go too low. He didn't run an a1c because I had one in January. Dude, I really think I need just a titch more, but apparently pre-meals in the 120's (and, um, 160s!!) don't bother him too much. I do like him a lot, but he is SO hypo-phobic, and I'm a little hyper-phobic. (post meals are too high!) He's seen too much, I think, and so he is very reluctant to up insulin levels. I think it might be the honeymoon ending, but that just makes me sad.

And then - let the experimenting begin! - he put me on a type 2 drug "onglyza" to see if that helps stimulate a c-peptide response. We shall see what we shall see.

He was FASCINATED by the fact that I went hypo on antibiotics. He had never heard of that before, although he said some RA patients respond to antibiotics for no reason that the medical community can think of - they just do, but he hadn't heard of any diabetics responding that way. He is pondering it, I guess.

In other news, my insurance company "forced" me to switch monitors, and I left my Freestyle (which I had grown to really like since they switched new test strips) to One Touch. I tried to test my blood when I got home. No dice. Error, error, error, error, ERROR!!!! The error message translated - the test strip didn't have enough blood. I thought it was possibly due to the fact that I couldn't feel the lancet poking me at all. So I called them, and they "walked me through testing my blood" because apparently I am a moron who doesn't know how to use a monitor, but in the end, they are sending me a new lancing device. The worst part is - they want me to CHANGE LANCETS EVERY TIME!!!!

Them: It cuts down on infection to use a sterile one every time.

Me (in my head) : It makes you more money for us to use one every time.

Me: (out loud): It's a pain in the butt, especially when you have to test 6-8 times a day. It's REALLY annoying.

Them: Well, you do what you want, but this is what we recommend.

Me (in my head): Well, duh, I will do what I want, but if they don't POKE ME, it doesn't really matter how many I go through, now does it?

Me (out loud): Are these cheaper or something, because these are not the same lancets that were sent to me when I got a free One Touch monitor a while back.

Them: We changed them so there is less discomfort.

Ah, less discomfort. What a noble goal. But seriously, poking yourself should hurt a little, I mean, we're trying to get BLOOD OUT, not get ERROR MESSAGES DUE TO LACK OF BLOOD. Of course, multiple error messages just means I have to use more test strips and lancets, which probably isn't their goal at all. I must have gone through 6 just trying to get one reading. That lew lancing device better be a LOT better. And since I haven't hit my deductible yet, that little blood sugar reading probably cost me roughly 10 dollars.

Seriously, my old monitor, I just changed the lancet when I felt it getting dull, every couple of days. I seriously filled the scrip twice or something absurdly small, because I got 100/box. *whine* I just want to keep using my old monitor - stupid insurance.

I think I have issues with change. POSSIBLY.

I also am forced to do mail order prescription if I want to stay on Novolog. Which isn't a big deal, but is a pain in the tuckus for everyone involved, except UHC, I guess.

Also, this week, I saw the gyn (Mon) and had a mammogram on Tuesday. It's been a medically intense week. Maybe I'll hit the chiro tomorrow just to round it out.

News Since Thanksgiving

For a couple of weeks, my ear and throat had been hurting. Ear infection. Oweeee. No wonder babies cry when they get these. I went to a Walgreens walk-in clinic and they prescribed a z-pack of antibiotics the day before Thanksgiving.

(For the record, I am now a fan of walk-in clinics at Walgreens for minor medical problems. SO much easier.)

Thanksgiving was easy, the sugars were really stable. And then, that night, the lows began. I was really surprised, because hypo events are fairly rare for me. And I kept going low for a few days for no inconceivable reason. I wasn't even exercising, because, hey...Thanksgiving. Family in town. It was very weird, and eerily similar to a few days after the first infusion.

I couldn't think of anything that was different, except for the antibiotics. I couldn't find anything online that said antibiotics lowered blood sugars, but maybe they do? I briefly started getting excited that I was getting a bit better. But you know, if a z-pack cured diabetes, I'm pretty sure people would know about that.

And so, I (shhhh!!) lowered my Lantus dose once again down to 8. It's been a few days, and the sugars have been fine so far, so that's good, I guess. I'm a little cautious, because last time I went to 8, I ended up going back to 10 pretty soon afterwards. The control was just SO much easier at 10 - premeals below 100, instead of btw 100-120. (Not to mention the a1c was better.)

I'm going to wait and see. Pretty much par for the course with this disease, I guess.