Jo’s Cafe

Wow — when I got up this morning, I did a ritual that millions of people around the country and world do upon rising. Without doing anything more than turn the lamp on beside the bed, I stumbled to the bathroom, flipped on the light for the shower and washed my hands. Then I charged my lancet, put a strip in my meter and woke up to a finger stick. As my meter was reading, I stepped back into the bedroom and grabbed my thyroid medication off the dresser and popped my first of two pills. My meter beeped to a nice 74, which I logged. The used stick went in the sharps container and I headed out to the day.

One year ago this month, I was diagnosed as a Type II Diabetic.

What have I accomplished this year? A lot.

I fought with my cheap ass meter, finally settling on the Freestyle Flash I use now.

I went from 4 mgs daily of Avandia to 15 mgs of Actos, 2000 mgs of glucophage XL, Starlix at meals and Lantus 10 units daily.

In May I had my best morning BG of 113 since I had been diagnosed.

In July I had my gall bladder removed. I had a morning BG of 124 and an after surgery BG of 169. From then on it was nothing but a battle to keep my sugar levels down.

I was maxing out on all my meds, working out for an hour a day 6 days a week, gaining weight like a sumo wrestler in training and feeling awful. I couldn’t take the battle anymore. Depression was hitting at every level. I finally told the doctor that I wanted to go on insulin – Lantus to be exact. At two weeks of use I was hitting normal readings in the morning and getting closer in the afternoons. BUT I was still gaining weight and doc and I figured it was the Actos. Actos forces your body to use the insulin in your system correctly – by opening up the cells and shoving the sugar in it for storage. Well I was “over storing” no matter how little I ate or how much I worked out. So we backed off 15 mg at a time. I now take 15 mgs a day and the weight gain has stopped.

How do I feel you ask?

Great.

Yeah – being a diabetic sucks the big one. I have to take medication twice a day and if not at home, tote my insulin with me to give myself a shot.

Am I going to live to be 100? Probably not — but then again, who knows what the good Lord above has in store for you?