My Type 2 Diabetic Life: A1C – So many things I never knew.

REPOST from former blog My Type 2 Diabetic Life ©

January 23, 2020

I’ve heard the term, but when diagnosed, had no earthly idea what A1C meant, nor how it affected your body, and no medical personnel had ever bothered to even give me a pamphlet explaining it.  I wish I had known, because maybe then it would have made the possibility of diabetes more realistic to me.  A simple blood test was all it took to change everything in my life.  

Along with my diagnosis came the knowledge that my A1C was 8.1.  This had no meaning 

whatsoever to me, so I had to start educating myself.  I starting reading, and found that as your blood circulates through your body, glucose sticks to the blood cells.  The higher the number, the more sugar that is stuck to your blood cells.  “Eating well” for one day or one week, or even one month, before going to have bloodwork is not going to change your A1C, because the glucose (aka sugar) doesn’t drop off of the blood cells for THREE MONTHS!  Holy cow!  So there’s no way of faking my way out of that one. My new endocrinologist doesn’t even want me to fast before my bloodwork. 😲 That way she gets the TRUE picture.  

Here’s a simple animation that I found when trying to find information.  It helped me to understand a little more about what exactly is A1C.

Video Credit:  Vanderbilt University Medical School student, Halleck C

Every cupcake, cookie, hamburger (bun), chicken sandwich, M&M, candy bar, soda, enchilada, tamale, baked potato, you name it – it was sticking with me. It was more than just a “stick to your ribs” kind of thing.  It was “stick to your blood cells I’m gonna tattle on you” thing.  

As I read, I began to understand that not just refined sugar, but anything that was high in carbohydrates was turning into sugar and sticking to my blood cells.  The more I thought about it, the more it actually became disgusting.  

I think I read every single page and link on the American Diabetes Association web page.  I got a much better understanding of A1C from reading their explanation.  The ADA defines A1C “as the estimated average glucose” level in your bloodstream over a three month period – which is called eAG.  It’s kind of scary to read that when we are testing our blood sugar in the morning, and right before meals, that those readings are actually likely lower than what my level really is – so my meter is really like a momentary snapshot, but the A1C is the bigger picture.  

You can learn more by clicking here:  American Diabetes Association 

If you know your A1C, here’s a calculator that will convert your A1C to eAG: American Diabetes Association A1C to eAG calculator

I’m still learning, and have found some confusing information on the ADA website – but it’s what most doctors go by right now.  One page of the ADA website says that the recommendation for A1C is 7% or below.  But another page says if your A1C is 6.5% or higher, you are diabetic.  I’m not sure which one it is, but my goal is to get to 5%, if I can get my body to cooperate.  

I did find some additional information on the National Institute of Health that said if diabetics can keep their A1C at 7% or below, there would be less complications.  You can read about that here:  National Institute of Health – National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases

I realize this post seems like a science class lecture, but this is exactly what I needed to learn, in order to understand why I need to cut out refined sugars, and scale way back on carbohydrates, which turn into sugar in the bloodstream. 

I hope some of this is helpful to someone.

Thanks for reading my story. If you’ve got a question or want to comment with additional helpful information, please use the comments section.

*Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links.

My Type 2 Diabetic Life: Now that I’m here, what’s my next move?

REPOST from former blog My Type 2 Diabetic Life ©

January 22, 2020

So after I got the email telling me I have Type 2 Diabetes, I got no instructions other than to make a follow up appointment.  For something so life altering, I was hoping for some type of instructions as to what I should do in the meantime.

It has been a long, long time since I have had a primary care physician that I really liked.  I was hoping that this doctor was going to be “the one.”  But even before I got her email, I already had that feeling of disconnection.  She just didn’t have that bedside manner that I was hoping to find – and it felt like she wasn’t really even listening to me during the visit.  

While waiting for my appointment with the endocrinologist, I continued to read the Mayo Clinic Diabetic Diet book, searching for what my next step should be.  As I read, I noticed that it advised me to keep a logbook of my blood sugar (glucose) levels and take them with me when I went to see the endocrinologist.  Well that meant I would need a glucose meter, which I knew nothing about.  

Google is my friend.  I began to search out and read up on the plethora of different meters available.  Which one is best?  Which one is easiest?  Which one is the most accurate?  Which one has an app that will allow me to access my blood sugar log anywhere I go?  YouTube was also a great help, because as I began to see meters that had features that I liked, I looked for reviews and “box opening” videos on YouTube.  That let me see what real people had to say about the various meters out there.

There are so many meters to choose from:  Dexcom, FreeStyle Libra, Contour NEXT ONE, One Touch, CareTouch, ReliOn, Accu-Check, Easy Touch, iHealth, to name a few.  My head was spinning from trying to decipher the differences between all the meters.

Here’s the meter I chose – the Dario meter.
Image: by My Type 2 Diabetic Life ©

I finally found a meter that works for me.  It’s called Dario.  It has an app, and you plug the meterinto the charging port of your phone;  for me, that’s an iPhone.  It saves all of my blood sugar levels, so that I can print, email, or show them to my doctor.  It also gives me statistics like my highest blood sugar level, my lowest, how many days I’ve had a balanced day, how many days I am above or below. 

Four screenshots from my Dario app.
Image: by My Type 2 Diabetic Life ©

And the coolest part is that it gives me an estimate(emphasis on the word estimate) of what my A1C is, based on my cumulative blood sugar levels over the past three months.  I can enter exercise, as well as carbohydrates that I’ve eaten, if I choose.  I can also sync Dario to some fitness apps on my phone – I sync it to the steps in “My Health” on my iPhone.  For a fee, Dario also provides a coach to answer questions and give suggestions.  That part is optional.  

I’m not trying to sell anyone Dario, by any means. (I had to purchase my meter, and got nothing free.) Rather I am just explaining the options available on the meter that I chose.  There are many, many meters to choose from.  It’s ultimately an individual preference.  My insurance didn’t pay for the meter, but I was able to use our flex benefits card to pay for the meter, and for the test strips.  I did choose to pay the yearly fee with Dario, so I get unlimited strips mailed to me for one year.  Then if I choose to renew, it would continue. If you are interested you can click here to purchase the one that I got from Amazon.   

What helped me the most in finding a meter was to read, read, read as many reviews as I could find on glucose meters available to me here in the US.  That is what I would tell anyone – that, and talk with your doctor.  And who knows – down the road, I may decide to switch meters.  Many of the people on the videos that I watched said they had used multiple meters over the years since diagnosis.  

I’m including pictures of my Dario meter, as well as some of the features. (see pics above)  I found the meter easy to use, and it has given me 10 weeks of glucose levels now.  

When I first started – before I went to the endocrinologist – I wasn’t sure when or how often I should be checking my blood sugar levels.  And I wasn’t sure what range “normal” is.  So I tested often.  After going to the endocrinologist, she told me to definitely test first thing in the morning – before eating, drinking, or even taking any medication.  She said just to keep doing what I was doing. 

I usually test about 30 minutes before lunch and dinner, and then again at bedtime.  Other times, if I feel shaky/weak, I test.  My lowest was 72, which you can see in the picture above, actually. As for what is “normal” my endocrinologist didn’t give a definitive answer on that yet – and as I understood, it is because she wants to first see how well I can keep my levels down. She indicated that before a meal, 90s is good. Sometimes I’m there, and sometimes not. It’s been under 130 for some time now, usually between 88 and 118 – so for me, that’s progress. The A1c level at the next doctor visit will be crucial. 

I was afraid at first, because my blood sugar levels were very high – 140s – 150s, but as time has progressed, they seem to be coming down – I’ll spend time in a future post writing about what I’m doing to lower my blood sugar levels. 

The most important takeaway here is to find a meter that you are comfortable with, that fits your budget, and helps you begin to see where your levels are.  

Thanks for reading, and I hope you’ll continue to follow my journey. Feel free to ask questions in the comments below.  

*Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links.

My Journey: How did I get here?

 REPOST from former blog My Type 2 Diabetic Life ©

January 21, 2020

Welcome to my life… my new life – My Type 2 Diabetic.  This is a journey that my health has catapulted me into, but not without warnings.  Warnings that I, unfortunately, ignored. 

About 5 years ago, I had a checkup with my primary care doctor, who told me “Wow!  You really need to watch your triglycerides!  They’re very high.  Your cholesterol, too!”  I had no idea what this really meant, or how to watch these things that I had seen on advertisements with old people as the characters in the commercials.  

So I continued my life with my wonderful and fun husband.  We enjoyed going out to eat – A LOT.  And we ate yummy things like Chick-fil-A and burgers, and Mexican food.  After all, we live in Houston.  The food capital of America, where there are more restaurants than you can throw a stick at.  We also like to cook, so we made things like steak and baked potatoes, and cakes and cookies.  All the things in life that are delicious.  

In the summer of 2015, I ended up in the hospital for 10 days with acute pancreatitis.  I had no idea how it happened, or what to do to stop it again. I didn’t realize that high triglycerides from eating poorly could cause pancreatitis.  But we became a little more careful about what we were eating.  Barely.  I lost a lot of weight in the hospital.  (The one “positive” side effect of pancreatitis… I guess.)  I vowed to never have pancreatitis again, because… well… PAIN!  More painful than childbirth!  And I prefer sleeping in my own bed, thank you.  Hospital beds are undoubtedly the most uncomfortable.  But even after leaving the hospital, I didn’t seem to recognize the foreshadowing that was pancreatitis – this warning sign that I needed to pay closer attention to my health.

We continued on with our lives – eating out, cooking, having fun with friends.  Occasionally walking the neighborhood greenbelt so that we could pat ourselves on the back and say we got in some exercise.

Fast forward to mid November of 2019.  I went to a new internal medicine physician, who took all the bloodwork, listened to my story about the high triglycerides and high cholesterol, and what I thought was “middle age weight gain.”  I went home to wait on the results of the bloodwork.  I figured she was going to call or email and tell me that I needed to lose some weight.  (Yeah, that weight I lost having pancreatitis?  I gained it back and a little more.)   The afternoon of the doctor visit, I got an email that was ugly and glaring.  The words screamed in my face:  “YOU HAVE DIABETES!  YOUR A1C is 8.1! YOUR TRIGLYCERIDES AND YOUR CHOLESTEROL ARE EXTREMELY HIGH!”  

What does this mean?? There are those words again.  “SIRI!  What does A1C mean?” And all those other medical terms?  I was frantically searching Google to find everything I could about triglycerides and cholesterol and Type 2 Diabetes.  

I asked myself how I had gotten to this point.  But in the back of my mind, I knew that it was because all along, I thought this wouldn’t happen to me.  But here I am now, and how am I going to deal with this?

I began educating myself on diabetes.  As I searched the internet, I found so many sources of information, but the dilemma was which ones were truly reliable.   I also decided to buy a book –The Mayo Clinic Diabetes Diet: 2nd Edition: Revised and Updated, so that I could start learning more about diabetes.

Image:  My Type 2 Diabetic Life

At the same time I began reading this book – which really reads like a college textbook, dry but chock full of information – I also began researching the very best endocrinologists in the Houston area.  (I used to go to one about 15 years ago, but stopped going because the office was so far from our home.) I asked friends, neighbors, and even people on the neighborhood social media app, who they recommended.  It finally came down to one name.  So I made the appointment and waited – they couldn’t get me in until January, 10 weeks down the road.    

In the meantime, as I was reading the Mayo Clinic book, I was also joining various Facebook groups for diabetics.  (That’s a story in and of itself, for another day.)   There were two things that stood out as I was reading – diet and exercise.  Well my diet was not that great, as I already said, and my exercise was lacking, too.  

So I made it my mission to clean up my diet and start working out.  Thankfully, my husband was on board as well, because I needed his support!  

It’s been a whirlwind 11 weeks since my diagnosis as a Type 2 Diabetic.  My life has changed and is continuing to evolve in so many ways.  I hope you’ll continue to follow me and encourage me as I navigate this journey of My (new) Life As a Type 2 Diabetic.

Feel free to ask any questions in the comments section. I hope you’ll continue to return and read about my journey. 

**Disclaimer:  I am not a medical professional, nor do I have any expertise in medicine, other than my own personal experiences.  This blog only documents my personal journey.  The information contained in this bag is not intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice.  Always seek the advice of your doctor or other qualified healthcare professional.  Nothing contained in this blog is intended to be used for medical diagnosis or treatment.