... So as a stop gap I have been given Metfomin to take 3 times a day with food. Hopefully this would be the way I can control my blood sugars. I believe this is a little over optimistic since I'm a type 1 diabetes (ie. just look at me, I'm 1.65 m (5'4"-ish) and weigh about 53 kg (~120 lbs). That's underweight. Plus I'm only 29 and I'm reasonably active. The Metformin (from what I've read is only for people who are type-2). Who knows what the doctorb prescribed me.
So, I have reduced my carbohydrate intake by at least 50% (by doctorb's orders) and my blood sugar readings have stabilized from 5.5 to 9.0. This though may just be the *honeymoon phase* [definition: Its the period of time shortly after someone with is diagnosed with type-1 diabetes where there is some magical restoration of insulin production by the pancreas. However, this is only TEMPORARY and does not mean I'm magically curing or reversing my diabetes]. I'm not a doctorb or specialist or educator, so I don't really know. Its been tough and I've been eating a lot of salad ("You don't make friends with salad").
Its been a little overwhelming with all of the reading that I've done. I've looked at several websites and started to look at diabetes books. Here is a list of websites that I've been reading:
The Canadian Diabetes Association [http://www.diabetes.ca}
The American Diabetes Association [http://www.diabetes.com]
The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation [http://www.jdrf.org/]
The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (Canada) [http://www.jdrf.ca]
There are a few people that have been great to me over the past few weeks in helping handling this condition.
Crystal, my girlfriend. She has been a steady as a rock and source of alot of my strength through this. I don't know where I would be without her support. My boss at work. He has given me all of the leeway to ensure that I can get healthy again. He doesn't just see me as another employee but truly cares for my well-being. Colin, a co-worker who has always been there for me. Always has an ear for me to talk to him. Thanks all.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Follow up ...
I found myself back at the walk-in clinic. The doctorB armed with the results from my blood work. We looked through them together. Generally I was in good health. My *good* cholesterol was excellent and the rest of the blood looked good. He pointed out my A1C levels were pretty high (~11.0) and my blood sugar levels were pretty terrible (~16.0). He was impressed and surprised that I was feeling so well.
We discussed what the next step would be, which was to make an appointment with a diabetes educator and dietitian. Unfortunately, their 'scheduling' system was down and they could not make an appointment until the following business day. They will call me back to arrange an appointment. When I got the call from the diabetes centre, the earliest appointment would be February 5th - so I have to wait.
The doctorb in the meanwhile prescribed me Metformin and 200 test strips and lancets and gave me a few more tidbits of information and off I went. Without any in-depth knowledge on of what I needed to do or what was to come. I went off to Shoppers Drug Mart to fill the prescriptions and get a blood-glucose monitor.
We discussed what the next step would be, which was to make an appointment with a diabetes educator and dietitian. Unfortunately, their 'scheduling' system was down and they could not make an appointment until the following business day. They will call me back to arrange an appointment. When I got the call from the diabetes centre, the earliest appointment would be February 5th - so I have to wait.
The doctorb in the meanwhile prescribed me Metformin and 200 test strips and lancets and gave me a few more tidbits of information and off I went. Without any in-depth knowledge on of what I needed to do or what was to come. I went off to Shoppers Drug Mart to fill the prescriptions and get a blood-glucose monitor.
Monday, January 28, 2008
Life Changing ...
The next few posts are going to sound more like a little novel as I've needed time to reflect and look back on what has happened over the last few weeks ...
Earlier this year, I finally went to the doctorb [the B stands for bargain] to get my blood work done. I just went to the local walk-in clinic. There was nothing in particular wrong with me. I mysteriously lost 5 pounds. My resting heart rate is around 80 to 90 beats per minute (which wasn't really a cause for alarm, but I was a little concerned about it). Occasionally I would have to get up in the middle of the night to go to the washroom but I figure that would be because I kept on drinking so much juice (Lemonade, McCain's Orange Punch, etc ...). Also, I would usually take a daily 10 to 15 minute nap at my desk at work. I figure because I would be up late the previous night. I would find out the real answer to this conditions.
So, the doctorb went through a quick examination. Checked my heart rate, blood pressure and what not. He was a little concerned about diabetes with my family history. He agreed that I needed to get my blood work done, so filled out a form and then instructed me to go to a lab in the morning. I went to the blood analysis lab in the morning and they took several vials of blood and I got to pee in a cup.
A few days later while waiting for a table at Morty's the doctorb called me and said, "You better watch your carbohydrate intake. You've tested positive [for diabetes]."
Earlier this year, I finally went to the doctorb [the B stands for bargain] to get my blood work done. I just went to the local walk-in clinic. There was nothing in particular wrong with me. I mysteriously lost 5 pounds. My resting heart rate is around 80 to 90 beats per minute (which wasn't really a cause for alarm, but I was a little concerned about it). Occasionally I would have to get up in the middle of the night to go to the washroom but I figure that would be because I kept on drinking so much juice (Lemonade, McCain's Orange Punch, etc ...). Also, I would usually take a daily 10 to 15 minute nap at my desk at work. I figure because I would be up late the previous night. I would find out the real answer to this conditions.
So, the doctorb went through a quick examination. Checked my heart rate, blood pressure and what not. He was a little concerned about diabetes with my family history. He agreed that I needed to get my blood work done, so filled out a form and then instructed me to go to a lab in the morning. I went to the blood analysis lab in the morning and they took several vials of blood and I got to pee in a cup.
A few days later while waiting for a table at Morty's the doctorb called me and said, "You better watch your carbohydrate intake. You've tested positive [for diabetes]."
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