Medical Stuff Rant

I’d had this post bouncing around in my skull for a couple days now, time to get it down on paper.

You all know I’m a diabetic if you’ve been around here for any length of time. Some of you may also be aware of the fact I’m hypothyroid due to RAI for Graves Disease. Didn’t? I’m not hurt. I barely talk about that condition as it has been under control for going on 4 years now. Wow — 4 years, amazing.

Anyway, the last 3 days I have been told by 2 different people they have been placed on metiformin for blood glucose control. One is a blogging acquaintance and another a co-worker. The post is mainly because of what went on between the co-worker and I.

She has Graves Disease also, but unfortunately is being treated by a ego maniac who specializes more in the diabetes part of the endocrine system than the thyroid. He poo pooed me when I told him I was taking Armour Thyroid, telling me that he’d only prescribed it when people where having “emotional” problems. Gag.

One of the things I learned first when I was treated and went hypo was numbers, lab numbers to be exact, count. As do numbers as a diabetic. But the numbers for a thyroid patient can vary from one to another in how we feel. I “feel” good with a TSH level of .5 to 2 and have stayed within that range since stabilizing on Armour 4 years ago. As a diabetic, the numbers I take every day tell me what I can eat, how much, and if I should go run around the back yard with Bubba. I can tell you right now without looking my last BG reading in the doctor’s office in October ‘04 was 69, and I had to take a glucose tablet. My last TSH reading was 1.75 a year ago.

Here is what is sticking in my craw. When I asked the co-worker how her TSH levels where - she didn’t know. Then she told me she was placed on metiformin, so I asked her what her Fasting BG was and she didn’t know.

How in the HELL do you go around with a medical condition like we have and not know the most important aspects of what our lab results are?! When she said I don’t know, I almost lost my mind; but I smiled and told her she was eating a good diabetic meal and escaped out of the break room back to my desk — where I proceed to want to pound my head against it.

People, you may think I’m whacked, but if a doctor was prescribing medication based on lab results, you should know what they are, get a copy, and understand why he may be increasing or decreasing, or adding, medication.

Do I care more? Maybe. But then again, I was taught by the best bunch of thyroid patients on the planet at thyroid.about.com that lab results vary, doctors read them differently, and I need to refuse to be a lab rat and take control of my health.

Sure, I’m guilty of not listening to doctors. Maybe back in September ‘03 when my PA at the time told me my Fasting BG was 97 and I needed to loose weight I had listened, I wouldn’t have gotten diabetes. But that is here nor there. I screwed the pooch on that one. But I have also learned that a lot of people with thyroid or diabetes conditions get the other having one, I figured it was going to happen anyway.

But I sat there in the break room the next day listening to this same co-worker talking about how she had to loose weight, while at the same time she’s chugging down her second Dr. Pepper of the day. Now, I have drank diet sodas for as long as I can remember, so that wasn’t a problem once I was diagnosed a diabetic. But her doctor told her to loose weight and watch her sugar intake, and here she is dumping straight sugar into her system. And I won’t go into the fact she was stuffing her face with baked Cheetos.

People — when your doctor tells you to loose weight and back off the sugar, and then gives you medication the majority of diabetics in this country have to take, it should be a wake up call.

And know your medical history and labs. Get copies of everything, especially of your lab results, from the doctor. Mine always gives me a copy without asking.

Know where you are — be aware — listen. Do.