oh, am I screwed???

When I was diagnosed on 7 May 2004, my
initial A1C was:


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#    #          #    #
    #           #    #
   #            #    #
  #       ###   #######
  #       ###        #
  #       ###        #


When I had my annual physical at the local
VA Clinic in November 2006, my score was:


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#     #         #     #
#               #     #
######           #####
#     #   ###   #     #
#     #   ###   #     #
 #####    ###    #####


When our family MD did my annual physical
in late May 2007, my score had gone up to:


#######           ###
#    #           #   #
    #           #     #
   #            #     #
  #       ###   #     #
  #       ###    #   #
  #       ###     ###


Then, after enduring a broken ankle, pain and
a lack of physical activity as well as not
trying very hard to eat right, I scored this:


#######         #######
#    #          #
    #           #
   #            ######
  #       ###         #
  #       ###   #     #
  #       ###    #####


  #
 # #    #    #
#   #   ##  ##
#     #  # ## #
#######  #    #
#     #  #    #
#     #  #    #

 ###
  #
  #
  #
  #
  #
 ###

                                               #####   #####   #####
######  #    #   ####   #    #  ######  #####  #     # #     # #     #
#       #    #  #    #  #   #   #       #    #       #       #       #
#####   #    #  #       ####    #####   #    #    ###     ###     ###
#       #    #  #       #  #    #       #    #    #       #       #
#       #    #  #    #  #   #   #       #    #
#        ####    ####   #    #  ######  #####     #       #       #




#    #                   ###     ###     ###
#   #   ######   ####    ###     ###     ###
 # #    #       #        ###     ###     ###
  #     #####    ####     #       #       #
  #     #            #
  #     #       #    #   ###     ###     ###
  #     ######   ####    ###     ###     ###


I remember bad mouthing my youngest brother for lacking blood sugar
control.  When he was in hospital in March 2005 (the diabetes ward
that is!), his A1C was 7.8.


                    #######          #####
                     #    #          #     #
                         #           #     #
                        #             #####
                       #       ###   #     #
                       #       ###   #     #
                       #       ###    #####
 

I thought about this late night and decided to have "once last
fling before I get serious again!  So, I had desert with dinner
and drank a gin-n-tonic once we got home. (The roads were ice covered
and I didn't dare risk an accident after a beer...)

Today, I did much better on eatting but a train wreck like my


#######        #######
#    #         #
   #           #
  #            ######
 #       ###         #
 #       ###   #     #
 #       ###    #####


doesn't "clear up" in one day of "eatting right". This is actually a
good thing or logically, we would all being going down the toilet
daily...

Brother of Jesus???

"Don't Mormons believe that Jesus and the devil are brothers?"

-- Mike Huckabee,
to the New York Times Magazine.
Huckabee later apologized to Romney

"What the fuck has he been smoking?"

-me

"When did you [Huckabee] have your lobotomy?"

- LCDR Jetro, USN

the "Met" is still the one!

I read a fascinating article that said Metformin is not only still the cheapest of the type 2 drugs but also the best!

Wow!

Instead of paying maybe $262/month for "Lizard Spit", I am paying about $8/month for my Metformin!

Metformin! Still just a pill, not an injectable!

surgery and fucked up blood sugar readings...

June 2007

Day Date  AM    PM   ≤2   >2  v  s
==================================

Fri   15  128   136   0   0   n  n
Sat   16  ---   ---   0   0   n  n
Sun   17  ---   ---   0   0   n  n
Mon   18  ---   ---   0   1   n  n
Tue   19  126   207   0   0   n  n  121 about noon at the hospital The 207
Wed   20  ---   ---   0   0   n  n  was 26 hours after surgery and I was on
Thu   21  ---   ---   0   1   n  n  Oxycondron. My brother Charlie is right:
Fri   22  115   198   0   0   n  n  surgery and drugs do fuck up diabetics!
Sat   23  ---   ---   0   0   n  n  I probably could have used an insulsin shot!
Sun   24  ---   ---   0   0   n  n
Mon   25  ---   ---   0   0   n  n
Tue   26  123   ---   0   0   n  n
Wed   27  ---   ---   0   0   n  n
Thu   28  ---   ---   0   0   n  n
Fri   29  ---   ---   0   0   n  n
Sat   30  ---   ---   0   0   n  n
Sun   31  ---   ---   0   0   n  n

I broke three bones in my left ankle and needed corrective
surgery. Afterwards, I was consuming pain killers (prescription
Oxycondron) and some over the counter drugs. I don't recommend
any of this because while it didn't seem to mees up my
morning blood sugar readings, it surely did mess up my
evening readings.

I suppose I could have done twice daily readings from the day I
trashed my ankle or at least from when I saw the 207 reading.

Surgery Day with pictures added...

Pictures of my left ankle the night before surgery.
The plate to secure my broken ankle and the screws holding it in.

My blood sugar was 126 right after I got up. I didn't take my Metformin (1000 mg) because I was planning on having surgery and could not eat within 8 hours of surgery. About noon, my blood sugar was checked and it had dipped to 121.

I had the surgery (a plate to stabilize a broken bone, removal of a bone chip on the other side and a staple to repair a torn ligament) and endured a number of drugs to knock me out and pain killers afterwards. I figured I'd have a low blood sugar when I finally ate.

I did not! I had a blood sugar of 207!

Here is what I had for dinner:

Dinner: A bowl of chicken soup from Quixos, two saltine crackers and several pieces of Dark Chocolate and several glasses of water. After having not eaten anything in roughly 24 hours, I was surprisingly not hungry until I ate the soup. Then, I asked Kathie for a slice of sour dough bread with peanut butter. Also, I had a can of D.P. with the soup. All tasted good and reminded me of the adage:

"Hunger is the best appetizer!"

Well, I wasn't all that hungry...

Could something that small have lead to such a big reading? By itself, no. With the addition of the various drugs (oxycodone w/apap) and acetaminophen I took when I got home, I suppose it would make sense.

My score was 198 after dinner on the 22^th and that was after the same drugs (oxycodone w/ apap and acetaminophren). For dinner, I'd had a Ruben and a large bowl of tomaote soup with crackers and a can of D.P.

a request of "The National Diabetes Information Clearninghourse"

I mailed this letter today and wonder what reply (if any) I get back.

28 April 2007

National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse
1 Information Way
Bethesda, Maryland 20892-3560

Dear Sir or Madam,

Over the past several years, it seems that Diabetes has become pandemic. The sheer number of "new" diabetics means that diabetes is now a statistical universe. I have a great deal of interest in the characteristics of this universe.

I asked the American Diabetic Association for this information and was given your address. I am interested in the statistical breakdown in terms of age, sex, fasting blood sugar level, type of
diabetes and perhaps family history and suspect this analysis is something you have already done I don’t believe that a such a summary would violate anyone’s privacy.

Respectfully,

When is 34 mg/dL bad?

When is 34 mg/dL bad?

It was late evening (around 9:38 pm) on 23 March 2007 when it was time to test my blood sugar. I punctured my left forearm but must have left the needle against my skin too long. I got a smear of blood instead of a little drop. I made a second puncture. In both cases, I wiped the "smear" of blood off my arm and tried squeezing out a drop. At the second "hole", I sampled my blood. It didn't take; that is, the meter didn't recognize the "blood offering". I tried again (on the other side of the test strip) and this time the meter gave me the "working" response.

The result was good.

Too damn good: 34!

At this level, I should have been unconscious and I obviously was not!

The test strip had to be bad, very bad. I made a third hole and used a second test strip and got the far more reasonable result of 116!

Now, I wonder if the recent reading of 77 was due largely in part to a bad test strip?

Must I wonder if "good news" is really just bad news and not my having "done well" on the food, etc?

“Byetta”

A friend of mine started takikng “Byetta” several months ago. She swears by this and thinks it's greast! I told hje5r thast I don't want to go "on the needle" and she said it isn't so b ad. She said the needled is (thumb and forefinger held about 1/2 inch apart) not too big and hardly hurts.

Well, I'm not bothered by the needle used to checking my blood.

I'm still tempted to try "Byetta" in spite of the timeing problems. I told Anna that I'd read you have to inject "Byetta an hour before eating breakfast or dinner. She said she injects within an hour of eating dinner. The two are very different and suggest that "cheating" is a viable option and that would lead me to using "Byetta".

Part of a community...

Part of a community...

______When I was first diagnosed (7 May 2004), I thought I was unusual but certainly not unique. I felt like part of a small culture, To paraphrase Stalin “one diabetic is a tragety but a million is a old monster was referring to murders.) I really didn’t have any right to feel unusual given the large number of “we provide supplies for diabetics” ads but I. Admittedly, these were for blood sugar meters but it brought the realization that diabetes was not a problem. I didn’t know very many people who were diabetic and didn’t realize how many were “type two”.
______I didn’t even know that “type two” even existed!
______Within a couple of months, I found out my Father-In-Law (a very slender man) was a type two and had been on Metformin for years. In September 2004, my brother Jim told me he was diagnosed as “pre-diabetic” and advised me to ask my MD if I was “pre-diabetic”. I asked him if he “was on metformin” and he promptly read between the lines and told me “I need to know if you’ve been diagnosed as diabetic” [or words to that effect]. I said “yes” and he strongly advised me to tell my Mother and my brothers. She was not thrilled and certainly did not seem surprised.
______I went to a meeting of the Dodge City Diabetic Support Group in fall of 2004 but haven’t been back since. They meet the Third Thursday of each month at the local hospital at 7:15 PM. I am either working at 7:15 PM (and no my boss won’t give me “sick leave” to attend!) or I’ve already gone to bed since I’m getting up at 3:15 am to leave for work...
______I went to a Diabetic Support Meeting in October and met a lot of folks whom I didn’t know were diabetic. It was quite revealing...
______This past weekend, (yesterday), we were at a Loins District Convention and we ate “breakfast” with some friends. She said “he” (her spouse) was using “something”. It was a diabetic treatment I’d never heard of; I asked and he said he’d been on Metformin for five months before he had to go to an injectable drug. “Oh, shit!” I thought, will I be going to the needle myself?
______Another person, Anna, said she had started treatment several months ago. She was using “Byetta” and spoke of it with a convert’s zeal. She urged me to ask my MD about Byetta. She didn’t use any pills but went straight on Byetta and said it really helped her control her blood sugar and lose weight (Anna can be subtle about getting a point across!)
______I started looking around the room and wondered how many diabetics were out there. From the talk I’d heard whilst getting my “good snack”, I got the feeling there were a lot. I am become a statistic! (This is a paraphrase of the last line of the brilliant “I Am Legend” hy Richard Methason or so I recall it....)

further reactions to "Byetta"

A nicely worded study of BYETTA^®exenatide injection by a group of unidentified writers who really sling the words!

---

My first reaction to reading of this was "Wow! I can control my blood sugar by injecting

myself with this and still use the metformin!" I won't have to use insulin.

Obviously, I'd misplaced my fear of "going on the needle"! After all, what is "Byetta" but another
substance that has to be injected? Somehow, this doesn't sound as scary as insulin. I was wrong.

"Byetta" is far more "scary" than insulin!

Why?

Too damn expensive! Without medical insurance, this drug costs (an estimated)
US$200/month!

It has to be taken an hour before eating a meal (breakfast or dinner) and an hour after taking
my metformin. Suppose that I get off work at 11 pm and rack out at midnight and plan on getting
up around 8:30 am. My drug regumant would be:

1. Get up at 6:30 to take the metformin with a small amount of food. Try to go back
to sleep.
2. Get up at 7:30 am, go to the kitchen, take the "pencil" out of the refer and inject.
Then, listen to my wife say you're not going back to bed, are you?"
3. Go back to bed, not get to sleep, get out of bed, wait till the hour is up and be grumpy for the
rest of the day from getting 6 hours of sleep vice 8!

I suppose I could get up at 8:30 and swallow the metformin, inject the "lizard
spit" at 9:30 am and eat breakfast at 10:30 am. I would lose weight as I'd not be inclined to get
lunch only two hours after breakfast!

If, on the other hand, I stuck with the dreaded insulin
injection, I wouldn't have to do any of this crap an hour and two hours prior. That sounds like a
good idea to me.

Finally, my blood sugar levels have been relatively "good" lately and
certainly not so high as to require another drug to regulate my blood sugar. So, I can be happy the
downsides of "Byetta" are so severe. This way, I don't have to experience the physical side effects
of this drug.

Exenatide ("Byetta":) or "Lizard Spit"

"Exenatide (also Exendin-4, marketed as Byetta) is the first of a new class of medications approved for the treatment of type 2 diabetes." (Reference wikipedia.com) This drug called
lizard spit is an injectable drug that works with metformin and may greately improve one's A1C.

More detail on this substance.

This stuff is very expensive; about ^$200⁰⁰/_month and this would be very damn expensive for something that just amounts to a supplementary substance for me. Then, too, there is the matter of it being injected twice a day. I would have to take my metformin two hours before eatting (with a snack) and inject one hour before eattting.

I was quite excited about the prospect of getting better blood sugar control by using this and then I read the bad news! I don't want to touch this stuff!

disbetes screening day

Here is a letter I wrote in an attempt to start a diabetes screening programme.

14 February 2007

Director, Nursing Program
Dodge City Community College
2501 North 14^th Avenue
Dodge City, Kansas 67801

Dear Ms. ,

This letter is to confirm what we discussed on Monday, 12 February 2007.

I propose that the Dodge City (noon) Lions Club and the Nursing Program of the Dodge

City Community College work together in producing a morning Diabetes Screening Day. We all
know that a morning fasting test is the best way to screen for diabetes. Producing this would
involve advertising the event, students to do the medical work and obtaining consumables.

The Lions would deal with advertising via the local newspapers (English and Spanish)and the local TV affiliate. Part of this would be obtaining permission of the American DiabetesAssociation (ADA) to publish their Diabetes Risk Test in both English⁽¹⁾ and Spanish⁽²⁾. We would also arrange for handing out pamphlets and contacting other civic organizations. There is aDiabetes Support Group which meets on Thursday evening once a month at the hospital; I willcontact them and ask for their help in this matter. I will also ask the ADA affiliate in Wichita forany advise or help that can provide. We can also talk with the School Superintendent and schoolnurses with respect to extending an invitation to students. We would have to get legal help increating parental permission forms and liability release forms⁽³⁾. Could the college legal staff arrange this?

The Lions could ask various pharmacists in town (i.e.Wal-mart, Dillons or Walgreens) to
supply blood test meters and test stripes for free or at cost. The Lions can arrange to buy any
consumables if necessary. You would have to advise us on the number of test meters we should
obtain and the number of test stripes we would need.

We would like your students to take blood samples for blood glucose readings and
probably blood pressure readings and heart rates. Taking the blood samples would give your
students working with random members of the public.

There are multiple reasons for this joint activity:

* Diabetes has become a growing concern and may be approaching epidemic status,

* Many people are ignorant of the various forms of diabetes,

* People are unaware of the warning signs of diabetes and who is at risk,

* The public is not always aware of the behavior that lead to diabetes (i.e. obesity)

* This action would bring favorable attention to your Nursing program and DCCC

* It would bring favorable publicity to the Lions

* It would benefit the public for years to come should this become a recurring event.

Depending on your class schedule and final exam schedules, a date in April 2007 might
meet the criteria of having enough time to make arrangement and yet not be "too far in the
future". Arrangements for supplies and obtaining volunteers could probably be done in February. The real problem would be in getting publicity, and that would take several articles and letters to various civic organizations. Thus, a target date in April would probably be appropriate.

Since Lions is an International Organization, a successful screening day could lead to
other communities emulating us and thus aiding our future. A successful screening day could
lead to other colleges taking this up as well. The complications of diabetes are expensive and
will only grow more expensive in the future. Unless and until a "cure is found", diabetes will be
a major world wide concern. A successful anti-diabetes campaign could be profoundly important in our future.

Very Respectfully,

Lion Michael

Enclosures: how you help save sight
what you should know about diab etic eye disease
what you should know about glauoma

Footnotes:
1. http://www.diabetes.org/risk-test/text-version.jsp (English version)

2. http://www.diabetes.org/espanol/recursos-examen.jsp (Spanish version)

3. The ADA may be able to help with legal issues.

"Chromium" as a diabetic support source,,,

Reference: diabetes treatment?

Supposedly 200mb of "chromium" per day will help you metabolozie insulin. The following quote is taken verbatum (in the spirit of something called "fair usage") from the referenced article:

Chromium

What it is: Your body needs this mineral for the hormone insulin (which lets cells turn sugar into fuel) to work effectively. Insulin resistance, linked to diabetes, is thought to make you fat. The effective dosage seems to be 200 micrograms per day.

Why try it: Chromium seems to slightly limit weight gain in people with diabetes or pre-diabetes. And in one study, people who didn't have insulin trouble lost about three pounds more in 10 weeks using chromium than those who didn't. But experts say the mineral may be most useful for people with insulin resistance.

Why not: Years ago, there were health concerns about one form: chromium picolinate. Later studies found it to be safe, though, says Adriane Fugh-Berman, M.D., associate professor in the complementary and alternative medicine master's program at Georgetown. But case reports have linked chronic use of 600 micrograms or more per day to kidney and muscle damage. (Health.com: A guide to today's hot diets.external link

I don't know how effective this will be but I'll start taking it. After all, my A1C test is only 3 months or so away...

a death by neglect...

Mummified body found in front of blaring TV

It was bad enough that this 70 year man died alone in his house and that no one noticed he hadn't paid his

• electric bill
• gas bill
• water bill
• phone bill
• income tax
• property tax
• medical bills
• hadn't contacted his MDs
• hadn't paid is medical bills
• and had mail piling up

He was also a blind diabetic and his neighbors knew this!

At first, I was outraged and thought poorly of the neighbors. Then, I realized I don't know my neighbors. Oh, I know the neighbors to the west but not the other neighbors. If I were retired and a widower, I could easily die and not be missed for quite a while! Oh, I'd like to think my brothers would check up on me but this is via email (usually) and my email connection is automatically paid by credit card. I suppose the credit card company might notice non payment after a couple of months and cut off my card, thus leading to the internet provider calling me?

The real horror of this story is the isolation of this old man. He was blind; how could he go shopping and take care of his house? How could he buy new clothing and shoes? What happened to his "Medical Support Team" and why didn't they check up on him? Didn't the shopping clerks notice that the "old blind man" hasn't been coming around for a while?

Now, in Dodge City Kansas, the Dillion's clerks would notice! The WalMart clerks would probably be glad the old blind man had stopped bothering them! (I'm probably being unfair to the WalMart employees; I'm still pissed off that I got sick after eatting some Peter Pan Peanut butter, serial number starting with "2111", which I bought at the Wichita Kansas Sam's Club!)

How could so many groups interested in getting his money just ignore him?

How could he be so isolated as to die and his body be mummified? Well, this did happen in Hampton Bays, New York and those folks have probably got the East Coast fuck-um-he's-not-family-and-I-don't-have-to-care! attitude. (I've been told this is a healthy attitude for high density population areas and that I'm naive to think otherwise...)

foot problems...

I wore my 1986 Army jungle boots during the recent snow storm. Actually, I didn't wear them during the storm but afterwards. This was fine as I was lazy and didn't tie them up properly. I decided to be "proper military" about tieing them up (even if I've been out of the Navy since the day before Thanksgiving 1988!) and tied them up. This did something to my right foot and kind of deforemed or brused it. I spent the next several days having trouble walking until my foot adjusted to walking when I got up in the morning. That is several minutes when my foot was cramped. (Not very pleasant when I had to get up at 0315!)

I got over it.

Day before yesterday, I noticed red friction marks on the "index" toe and 'bird" toe of my right foot. I put band aids over these friction marks and they didn't seem any worst the next day. I didn't have any band aids available this morning so I didn't bother. (Doesn't that sound like the kind of bullshit that leads to infections that lead to losing one's foot???)

It was hard to tell but these toes didn't look much different tonight.

Anyway, if I'm going to start walking again and lose weight, I'll have to buy new walking shoes. I'm also going to have to get at least one pair of nice, comfortable dress shoes (is that any oxymoron?) and I suppose we'll go shopping when we "do a Sam's Run" to Wichita this coming Saturday.

I deserve good shoes!

I want to keep my feet!!

I don't want to end up like my late Father and youngest Brother!!!