Bittersweet Victory

So this weekend, I did a set of blood tests. You see, my blood sugar readings have been on the high end (120 - 130) and I've been worried that they have been going up. AND I've just been gaining some weight. Nothing huge, but I'm about 10 pounds over my lowest weight last year. So I've been emailing my doctor to get me back on the metformin and he said I should get a batch of blood tests done to see if it's necessary.

And the blood tests showed - I'm perfectly fine.

My overall cholesterol went down a few points. And everything in the cholesterol panel was well below normal in the "kicking ass" range.

AAAANNND - The blood glucose are fine. They are slight higher than before (103 as opposed to 100 and 5.2 as opposed to 5.1) Both in the doing very well range.

So in the end, everything is fine and what I really need to do is get my glucose meter recalibrated.

Rocking the test results

Saturday, I got my blood drawn and my urine specimened to see what progress I've made dealing with diabetes. It was about 13 months since I was first diagnosed and five months since my last set of test results. In the intervening five months I went off all medication regulating my blood glucose so any result I had would be purely based on my diet and exercise. From the title of the post, you know how things turned out.

Here's the one year ago picture:

A1C level (measuring glucose) - 9.7 (standard is between 4.5 and 6.0)

ALBUMIN/CREATININE ratio (measuring how well my body able to retain protein in the bloodstream) - 122.5 (standard is below 29.9)

Overall cholestorol - 300 (standard is below 236)

HDL (the good cholesterol) - 40 (you should be above 40)

LDL (the bad cholestrol) - 137 (you should be less than 129)

Triglyceride (fat in your bloodstream) - 650 (should should be less than 199!)


So what are the numbers today?

A1C level (measuring glucose) - 5.1

ALBUMIN/CREATININE ratio (measuring how well my body able to retain protein in the bloodstream) - 14.5

Overall cholestorol - 151 (standard is below 236)

HDL (the good cholesterol) - 57 (you should be above 40)

LDL (the bad cholestrol) - 77 (you should be less than 129)

Triglyceride (fat in your bloodstream) - 83 (should should be less than 199!)


So there it is. I have to acknowledge that the Albumin/creatinine numbers and the cholesterol numbers are affected by the medication I'm taking but my doctor and nutritionist say those things don't mean bupkiss if I ain't living right. And the thing is, living right isn't a punishment. Last week I ate CHICKEN FRIED STEAK WITH BEER GRAVY! I made sure to forego the mashed potatoes and have a double order of roasted veggies but seriously folks - CHICKEN FRIED STEAK. What started out as one hellish month and a serious fear of Splenda has morphed into a lifestyle with a lot of Splenda desserts. Thanks y'all for giving me a space to think these things through. Let's keep on keeping on.

The new numbers

So I just my blood tests yesterday. I saw them go from amazing to merely great. For example, my fructosamine level (a measure of blood sugar) was 208, well under the 265 level where it would be beyond normal but slightly higher than the 195 it was in February. Another example is my LDL cholesterol level (the bad cholesterol) which went from 59 in February to 65 for the past test. Once again, well below the standard 129 but still higher than before.

This merits a discussion with my doctor about whether this is a trend I should be worried about or coming to terms with taking my foot off the pedal. My exercise has been constant and I've eaten less carbs as I've gotten used to being conscious of eating carbs. On the flip side, really don't do much around watching the cholesterol and fat and sodium. I've always assumed the exercise takes care of that. The other thing about the higher fructosamine levels is that I have halved my blood sugar medication so that's another part of taking the foot off the pedal. So the question I have for the doctor is should I put my foot back on the pedal and regulate the fat and cholesterol I eat as much as the carbs? Is this indicative of my body getting too used to the meds and me having to take more?

It's hard to keep perspective on this because I am only nine months into the diagnosis. What does this mean for the long term? Speaking of long term, I'd like to thank my lovely husband J for giving me an extra year. My birthday is tomorrow and I totally thought I was turning 38. J, being two weeks younger, pointed out I am turning 37. It came as a complete shock. Here's to another year at 37 because I spent all of this one assuming I was 37. And here's to a lifetime of kicking diabetes ass.

BIG Sigh of Relief

Okay, I've been freaking out for the last 12 hours or so. When I had my dr's appt on Wednesday, they did all the usual blood work, and my dr. said she would send a letter with all the results - which is the usual routine for this practice. So, I was very freaked out when I got out of meetings at work yesterday to have messages from my dr. on *both* my phones, saying she wanted to talk about my blood test results. I called back but had missed her for the day, so I needed to wait until this morning to learn what's up. PANIC ENSUES. (And a crazy email to my Dr. Friend at one point.)

Well, I just talked to her. And guess what? She called to tell me that my numbers were GREAT! That this blood test showed great improvements over my last round, which was about 18 months ago or so. My glucose was normal (a concern with Dad's diabetes) and all of the other usual stuff stayed normal. And here's all the really good news:

My cholesterol is good! I brought down my total cholesterol from 229 to 203, from high borderline to just above normal - and your good cholesterol (HDL) should be above 60, mine's 74, and the bad cholesterol (LDL) should be under 100, and I brought it down from 135 to 96! Holla! It wasn't very long ago that number was up in the 170's or more, back before I really started paying attention. (here's a handy link that lays out the optimal ranges)

My triglycerides - something to worry about with a family history of heart disease - are a little high - they should be 150 - but I brought them down from 171 to 163.

So -- I was very nervous about this call, but she actually just wanted to talk through these things before I get the letter so she could tell me I was doing a good job. She said "keep doing what you're doing." It's funny, I was thinking last night that if she called to say something was wrong with my numbers that it would almost feel like I'd failed a test, and I have always hated failing tests. Now, it feels like I got an A!

How 'bout that? Cooking works. Healthy ingredients work. Cutting out lots of snacking works. Ta dah! So, even though I'm still at my heaviest weight (blurgh) and need to drop those numbers in order to improve my blood pressure, overall I think this is the healthiest I've been as an adult. Proof that it is, indeed, a lifestyle, right?? :-)

Stef's Story

So.... here's my scenario.

I'm 33 and overweight, and I have been pretty much my whole life. I love food - I'm one of those people that can feel rapture from a good meal, and food is my comfort when I'm stressed, sad, happy, bored, or otherwise feeling *anything* - and I don't like exercising. I prefer napping. You can see wherein the problem lies.

Up until the last year or so, though, all my usual health stats were pretty good. But, in the summer of 2007, my Dad had a surprise health emergency as routine tests revealed that he'd had a silent heart attack and had almost complete blockage of his arteries. So he very quickly went in for a triple bypass - at age 59 - and came through with flying colors. He's now lost a lot of weight, is incredibly active, and just a few weeks ago climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro. Go Dad! So, he's become both an inspiration and a bit of a cautionary tale in my life.

Following his health scare last year, I went in for a complete physical and found out that I had officially reached the level of hypertension (aka high blood pressure) and my cholesterol was too high. My doctor put me on medication to control the hypertension, and it's been doing a good job. But -- I'm not all that comfortable mentally knowing that I'm relying on a drug to keep my health in check. I was able to lower my cholesterol significantly last year through diet, so I know that I *can* make positive changes when I really focus.

I know the things I need to do:

- Lose weight.

- Exercise more.

- Eat more nutritiously - with fruits, veggies, and lean proteins.

- Reduce sodium overall - which is hard, cuz my favorite snacks are salty, and I don't cook much so most of my meals are either purchased or come from a box.

- Cook more. (See the previous two.)

- Cut back on portion size. (I grew up in a house where dinner came on a platter, not a plate.)

- Reduce stress. (Any ideas????)

I have found that I'm much better at accomplishing a goal when I intellectualize it, so for me it's been helpful to learn more about the science behind health and nutrition. Understanding causes helps me produce the desired effect, or something like that. And that makes it easier to take a lot of the sometimes overwhelming emotion out of all of this.

I'm looking forward to having a buddy as I start this new adventure, so I'm really grateful to T for coming up with this idea!

My next goal: I have my annual physical and blood work ONE MONTH from today. I hope to lose a little weight and have my cholesterol at a healthy level by then.