Health Update

This past Friday I had my regular quarterly doctor's appointment that is recommended for people with diabetes. This was my second session since my diagnosis. Last time, I dropped from a blood sugar level of 10.5 to 6.9.

Over 7 is considered diabetic, meaning I had dropped into pre-diabetic levels, which are between 6 and 6.9. So I was barely in that category and only managed to maintain it with the use of medication. Still, my doctor and dietician were very enthusiastic about my progress.

I was told that the first target was to get my blood sugar beneath 7, and the second target was to get it to 6.5. This time my blood sugar was 5.9.

This means that not only did I meet the new target, I'm beneath pre-diabetic levels. Again, only making it to the new category by a hair and only with the sustained use of medication, but happy that things are moving in this direction.

I got to see a copy of my results before going into the doctor's office, and the form said I was at risk for pre-diabetes. Kind of like saying I'm at risk to be at risk.

I'd brought in my home blood pressure monitor so that we could compare the results between it and there's. It worked the first time we tried, but then kept giving error messages which it sometimes does. At home, I just keep readjusting until it follows through with a reading. The nurse inspected it more closely and found a small break in the cord connecting the cuff to the machine. I think one of my cats chewed it and slightly punctured it. She recommended I get a new cuff so I'll have to get one and bring it in to the next session. Aggravation with medical tech remains a constant, but to be fair it's not the monitor's fault that my cat chewed it.

We did take my blood pressure with their monitor six times to get an average. It came out as 120 over 78. That's normal blood pressure. This was surprising for me, as I never thought I'd get to that level in the office, even if I got my resting BP there. This is because I usually get a case of White Coat Syndrome, confirmed by comparing my office results with my home results and the numbers from the 24 hour cuff. I guess I just got used to getting tested in the office. Taking my pressure six times probably helped.

My pulse was weirdly high and I couldn't get it down though. I don't know why it was like that but it was only during the check up.

I've also lost 15 pounds. If I can do that between each session I could lose another 45 pounds before my wedding. I think the initial weight loss is the most dramatic though, it should go a bit slower from here on out.

There's a bunch of other numbers they look at as well, but I can't remember all of them. They were all mostly good but one was a little high and another was a little low. They were both improved since my last session, though.

My doctor said she was really happy, she said that my improvement is "dramatic" and that what I've accomplished isn't easy.

The goal of all diabetics is to go "into remission", which would basically mean not having the condition anymore. I was told by my dietician to think of it more as "remission" and not "recovery" because my status would be based on whatever intervention was still being practiced, even if it's lifestyle. Basically, if I go back to how I was living before, I'd develop diabetes again. I think to be properly in remission, I'd have to be able to maintain non-diabetic levels without the help of medication.

Since it's usually considered a progressive condition, most people don't get to that remission status, but with the results of my previous two sessions, I'm beginning to feel cautiously optimistic.