My sugars are behaving beautifully again. I do not know what caused them to freak out for those couple of weeks -and I have discovered that nothing puts me in a worse mood than seeing 180 as a fasting - but they're all back to "normal" now. My theories:
1. I WAS mildly sick and didn't have other symptoms, but my body was fighting something, causing the sugars to rise.
2. The honeymoon was ending but putting me on onglyza DID cause a c-peptide response, causing better control.
3. The disease was just reminding me that often it doesn't make sense.
I'm going with #1, with a dash of #3, but you never know. I guess it's a good thing I didn't up my insulin after all.
In other news, Breyer's carb smart vanilla ice cream and diet root beer actually makes a pretty decent root beer float. That's exciting.
I still hate my One Touch monitor, but I've stopped throwing it across the room and swearing at it. Baby steps, people.
Showing posts with label monitors. Show all posts
Showing posts with label monitors. Show all posts
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
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.
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.
Thursday, October 7, 2010
More Monitor Musings
Ok, so I've been frustrated with my monitor at times. I asked my doctor about it, and well, got the same answer everyone elese gives me - they're all basically the same, and FreeStyle's data is pretty good, so...I stuck with it. I still had a bunch of test strips, after all.
Freestyle has these new test strips now, with a butterfly on them, and I like them. They take less blood, they register more quickly, etc. But I noticed since I switched, my sugars have been a little lower. Coincidence?
This morning, my fasting sugar was 73. Hmm...I felt a little low, I guess, but nothing major. (Not that 73 is super major, but eating is definitely warranted at that point.) I still had one pack of old test strips left, and I mean 'old' as in 'filled last month' not 'old' as in 'past expiration date'. So I tested with that, and it said 85.
So..maybe the old test strips really did run a little high. Who knows?
In other news, I will be headed to Utah in a couple of weeks for another Mixed Meal Tolerance Test to see if I'm still making insulin. My fasting sugar has to be above 80. Maybe I'll bring my old strips, just in case. :)
MORE: Pre lunch: OLD: 98. NEW:80. Ummm.....
Freestyle has these new test strips now, with a butterfly on them, and I like them. They take less blood, they register more quickly, etc. But I noticed since I switched, my sugars have been a little lower. Coincidence?
This morning, my fasting sugar was 73. Hmm...I felt a little low, I guess, but nothing major. (Not that 73 is super major, but eating is definitely warranted at that point.) I still had one pack of old test strips left, and I mean 'old' as in 'filled last month' not 'old' as in 'past expiration date'. So I tested with that, and it said 85.
So..maybe the old test strips really did run a little high. Who knows?
In other news, I will be headed to Utah in a couple of weeks for another Mixed Meal Tolerance Test to see if I'm still making insulin. My fasting sugar has to be above 80. Maybe I'll bring my old strips, just in case. :)
MORE: Pre lunch: OLD: 98. NEW:80. Ummm.....
Thursday, July 15, 2010
What the?
OK, so I got a new monitor "free" in the mail. I've only ever used the Freestyle and I wanted to try a different one out so I filled out the offer. It came today, and so I tested my sugars. Voila:
NEW MONITOR (One Touch): 77.
OLD MONITOR (Free Style): 92
Um. Yeah. I have no idea which one's right. So I tested again.
NEW: 76
OLD:88
At least the new one is more consistent. But still. I thought all monitors were supposed to be basically the same, and whichever one you like, that's the one you use. What do I do now? I know! I'll order a third one, and a fourth, and drive myself insane! Doesn't that sound fun?
I do remember joking that I wanted a new monitor that would show me lower numbers, though. I guess I got one.
And if my FreeStyle monitor really does run about 10 points high, then hey, my sugars have been better lately than I thought. Maybe OneTouch runs low. Maybe they're both about 5 points off. Maybe I should obsess about it some more.
Seriously, though, is there someone I can call to ask about this?
NEW MONITOR (One Touch): 77.
OLD MONITOR (Free Style): 92
Um. Yeah. I have no idea which one's right. So I tested again.
NEW: 76
OLD:88
At least the new one is more consistent. But still. I thought all monitors were supposed to be basically the same, and whichever one you like, that's the one you use. What do I do now? I know! I'll order a third one, and a fourth, and drive myself insane! Doesn't that sound fun?
I do remember joking that I wanted a new monitor that would show me lower numbers, though. I guess I got one.
And if my FreeStyle monitor really does run about 10 points high, then hey, my sugars have been better lately than I thought. Maybe OneTouch runs low. Maybe they're both about 5 points off. Maybe I should obsess about it some more.
Seriously, though, is there someone I can call to ask about this?
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