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Health Blog
17-May-04 The doctor explained that there was only a few more escalations in the prescriptions before I would have to go onto insulin. With some diabetics the meds work for years, but with others, it works only a short time. Of course everyone's physiology is different. However, life is not so simple. When I went to the pharmacy to pick up the new prescription, it was declined by HIP, who said that I have to wait until the 29th of May to get my new prescription as I had only recently picked up a refill of my previous dosage (which is expensive). I called my doctor about the problem and he told me to go with my suggestion for the time being, which was to take twice as many of the other pills. He warned me that I would be overdosing because the Avandamet is two medications put together and that my new prescription was actually only going to double one of the medications. Accordingly, I will be overdosing, but I guess this is preferable to letting the diabetes get out of control. Of course I am going to keep hard candy on my person at all times, which is something I had never had to do before. I refreshed myself on some of the symptoms of hypoglycemia. My doctor said that it would probably be good for me to at least have one episode of hypoglycemia anyway, so that I can know what it is like.
14-May-04 I called my doctor who said my bsg was 239 and my hemoblogin was still like 9.5. The diabetes is still not controlled so he wanted me to go to his office Monday to get a new prescription.
11-May-04 Mom went to the pharmacist to pick up the diabetic supplies and was told they were not covered. I am going to call HIP and see if they have some kind of plan for supplying diabetics with resources so that I don't have to pay for what can become very expensive test strips.
10-May-04 Went to doctor and took another blood test. I have a wart that I picked at on the bottom of my foot, which was bothering me and my legs were swollen as I walked over to the doctor, but I did not mention it as this was just a quick visit to see how I was doing on my diabetes meds. My blood pressure is fine so my meds for that won't change. I have to call Thursday for the results of my diabetes. The doctor suggested I get a glucometer and strips and alcohol swabs as if I was going to test every day, but that I should only test once a week (4 times on that day) and keep a log for him to review at various points before and after meals.
10-Apr-04 The pharmacist advised me that the Avandamet alone actually costs $300/month. My co-payment is $20.
8-Apr-04 -- My blood sugar was still high (278?) with the amount I was taking of Avadamet (which has some glucophage in it) so my prescription was doubled. I also still have blood pressure at a level too high (140/90) for a diabetic so the larger blood pressure pill I take was doubled as well. So now I take:
SOME GOOD NEWS is that the doctor asked me if I had any side-effects from the medicine and I said not to my knowledge. He then asked me if I had any BLURRINESS in my vision, which I HAVE had but dismissed as psychosomatic symptoms from all the eye doctor appointments. I knew glaucoma did not cause blurriness and that it was highly unlikely with the medicine I was taking to FIGHT diabetes I would be having high blood sugar manifesting as the "sudden blurriness" which I have heard can happen. I remember the late Nell Carter in a commercial for diabetic supplies saying this happened to her when she was driving her kids somewhere. My doctor said it takes about six months to get acclimated to the diabetes medicine so to expect this blurriness. It's a good thing I don't drive! Usually my mother and I look up side effects for medicines online, but I didn't this time because my doctor joked "don't check for side effects or you will have them!" Well "hindsight is 20-20."
6-Apr-04 -- Did a more thorough glaucoma test (where I had to go back and forth to my eye doctor about every 2 hours) and he said my borderline eye pressure from a few weeks ago, which was 21, is now only 16-18, so that I do not have glaucoma at this time . He said sometimes people have thick cornea's like me so that the readings, especially with the old technology, were inaccurate. I will have my eyes checked for this again in six months. 18-Mar-04 -- Eye doctor says that I have no diabetes complications in my eyes, BUT I might have glaucoma. The state-of-the-art test showed that I have some nerve damage to the back of my eye, while the convention test, which is far less accurate, shows that it has not caused any damage to my peripheral vision. I do not yet know if it is hereditary, but the same grandfather from whom I apparently got diabetes may have bestowed me with this condition. I go back for a more thorough, all-day test on April 8. 10-Mar-04 -- I found out that I will be on medications for the rest of my life. I am taking two blood pressure medications:
When my blood tests came back from last week, my blood pressure was high still, so the Norvasc was not doing enough of a good job. I asked again about ACE-inhibitors but the doctor said it was not necessary to start me on that yet. My blood sugar shows that despite my diet, my sugars are out of control, so I started on this medicine. The doctor said I can anticipate taking medicines the rest of my life (probably 5). Two for blood pressure (like now), aspirin, one for diabetes and one for cholesterol IF and WHEN it does not come down as a result of the other medications. Today they took an echocardiogram AND an EKG (I guess they are different). The first is a sonogram of the heart to check for any damage caused by the high blood pressure I've had and the EKG is where they put monitors on your arms, legs and torso and a little printer prints out a squiggly line that means something. When they get back the results he will determine if I need to go to the cardiologist for more tests. I don't think I have any heart problems but it's better to check. Lastly, I made an appointment to check my eyes for glaucoma, diabetes-related problems like cataracts and retina-detachment like my grandfather with diabetes had. March 4, 2004 -- Took blood and urine tests. My blood pressure was high, but it may be because I am with a new doctor. My feet have good circulation. Doctor said that I do not need to start ACE-inhibitors yet (for blood pressure). February 2003 -- I went to my PCP who was listed on the HIP web site shortly after my insurance was activated. However he is leaving the plan so he checked my blood pressure, which he said was very good, and he referred me to a doctor who he recommended to his brother-in-law, who also has diabetes. November/December 2003 -- I ate a pizza roll and burned my tongue. The burn turned into an infection and I went to the emergency room SANS medical insurance and they gave me antibiotics. The pain in the throat when I swallowed did not completely go away, however. I soon thereafter caught the famous flu of the season from my daughter and survived that, kind of. Then I had laryngitis for TWO WEEKS and neglected to go to the doctor. Every time I thought I was doing okay, I still could not sleep with my apnea mask or talk regularly. Finally I made an appointment with my PCP on Christmas Eve and went in and got prescriptions at the 11th hour. They took a while to kick in, but they finally gave me my voice back in early January 2004. He also put me on Norvasc (5mg/day) because my blood pressure was through the roof. October 2002 -- Several months ago I had to renew my driver’s license so I was compelled to re-take my eye exam, inasmuch as I wore glasses. Although I had never had such poor vision that I was obligated to wear them while driving, I was requested by the Department of Motor Vehicles to have an eye exam. The woman at the eye doctor had me read the chart and I was able to read practically every line from the distance. She was impressed, but I was not wearing my glasses at the time. Thinking she was so smart, she said, "When did you get the surgery done?" I responded, "What do you mean surgery?" She said, "You have better than 20/20 vision. You don't need prescription glasses." I told her I never had eye corrective surgery and couldn't understand. She was floored and said she had never heard of anyone's vision improving without medical intervention. I couldn't explain it, but after I left the premises I felt this liberation in not having to wear glasses anymore. It had occurred to me that my glasses were usually not of much use to me, particularly since I do not drive often and even less frequently do I drive at night. Then it hit me. My diet before I was diagnosed with diabetes must have been affecting my vision in a subtle way. I had heard that people start to lose their vision from age FIVE very gradually, so I thought it would always get worse, although my prescription was described as low by many. When I first received a prescription for glasses I used them all the time because I was driving every day and I noticed a profound difference, but now I realize that my eyesight improved immediately after I stopped eating so much sugar! Apparently the prescription glasses were an indication that I was suffering from diabetes years ago! I'm just glad that I have my vision back in order now that I know what I'm doing with my diet! March 2001 -- My doctor said because I have been watching my diet, my diabetes is LATENT! I am not taking any medication but just eating a lower-carb diet. My blood sugar was 109 when I was in his office! In June, 2000, at the age of 31, I was diagnosed with diabetes Type 2 (the type diagnosed in adulthood). It is a genetic condition which my grandfather, Giuseppe Benenati, had, along with his brother, Giovanni Benenati. Both of them are deceased now, but before dying Giovanni lost both of his legs to amputation and my grandfather had to endure years of blindness (until a technology was able to restore his sight just in time for his 50th wedding anniversary). You see, my grandfather had a cavalier attitude about life because he almost died in WWII. He figured that life beyond the war was a "bonus". Unfortunately this perspective made the quality of life in his later years far worse than it needed to be. In deference to his diagnosis, he neglected his condition and did not watch his diet. The gluttony caught up to him as he was rendered blind for a long period of time. The blindness and amputations are obviously enough to scare me to do things correctly in my life, particularly since I was diagnosed at the age of 31 (relatively young). So far my treatment is limited to watching my diet without even having to prick my fingers and testing my blood with a glucometer, but if diabetes becomes bad, an oral medication which helps one use insulin better called glucophage might be necessary or even regular insulin shots. Diabetes is a chronic, but manageable disease. One has to take care of one's body parts and go out of their way to avoid injuries which could turn into more serious problems. Thank goodness I don't smoke or drink. These are terrible factors for diabetics. SOME GOOD NEWS: As I sat in the hospital room in early June 2000 due to an out-of-control abscess on my leg caused by my high blood sugar and hitherto undiagnosed diabetes, I heard that a Canadian team of doctors has come up with a possible CURE for diabetes (at least those with Type I) which involves taking insulin-creating cells from the pancreas of a cadaver or cells harvested in a petri dish and implanting them into the body of a diabetic so that insulin is never again needed. Resistance medication will need to be taken to fight rejection the rest of the transplant receiver's life, but they are speculating that the benefits outweigh the risks. Time will tell. 1993 -- I got glasses for the first time. They were a low prescription. I tried contact lenses for a while but I prefer to be low maintenance. Podiatry (1990's) -- I've had three toenails, including both sides of two big ones cauterized so as to avoid a lot of pain. I also had a bone removed from one little toe because of a hammertoe condition. Gout (1987) -- Although I was told I was way too young to have gout, I had similar symptoms and needed to walk with a cane for at least a few weeks. |
