Things that have been going on

Hi there

Hope all is well with everyone.

February is just about over.  It's been a month filled with appointments for me.  5 to be exact!
They actually began at the end of last month.  January ended with an endo appointment. 

Now I know that some D-peeps get really nervous when it comes to going to see their endo.  I don't.  I actually really like mine.  He's got a very dry sense of humour and he is quick to congratulate me on my "hard work" keeping things "steady". 

This appointment, in my mind, was going to have little to do with diabetes, as i felt things were pretty standard.  Nothing too exciting.  No frightening lows, or drastic highs (at least not too many).  To my surprise, the whole appointment was about Diabetes (and things that seem to go with it!).

My main concern was discussing my thyroid.  I have been on medication for an under-active thyroid for quite a few years.  Lately I have been feeling more tired than usual.  I mean the I could have a nap at 10am, and another at 2pm and another at 7pm kind of tired.  Exhausted might be a good word for how I've been feeling.  I have zero energy.  I thought perhaps I needed an adjustment in the thyroid meds. 

I'd had my lab work done and so I asked about the results of the THS test.  The results were a little higher than they should be, but not as high as they were when I was started on Eltroxin.  So what does that mean?  It means that my meds have changed.  I am now on Synthroid and have to go back in 3 months for more bloodwork.  This time they will look at THS as well as Free T3 and Free T4. 

I've begun taking the pill as soon as my husbands alarm goes off (5am), so that I don't get tempted to eat breakfast or have a coffee right away (i get to go back to sleep for an hour).  You should wait at least 30min before consuming any food or calcium when taking thyroid medication.  I'm still a little tired but seem to have more energy, and that's a good thing. 

The other thing we talked about was how my guts were feeling.  Was I suffering from constipation, or feeling bloated?  Did I ever have diarrhea?   Where was this going I wondered.  Turns out it had to do with gluten sensitivity and celiac disease.  I had mentioned that it seemed my BG's were better when I ate low carb (no shit sherlock!), and that a lot of the bread recipes found in the Wheat Belly Cookbook were low carb.  I love bagels and english muffins but morning and carbs work against me!

Anyway, I am now having blood work done to check for Celiac.  Apparently not uncommon in Type 1 diabetics.  I was told the test costs $65.00 (not covered by OHIP) but the lab I called said $125.00.  I complained to the ladies at the DEC (see below), and they told me that the hospital lab does the test and they don't charge anything.  I just need a new req. form which they will get signed by me endo.

We also decided that I would try out a blind CGM trial.  What that means is that I wear the sensor but I cannot see the data.  It would be downloaded after a 7 day run.  So my first appointment in February was with my Diabetic Education Team.  Jenn (one of the awesome women on the team) inserted the sensor.  It didn't hurt at all!  Then I went home and did my thing for 7 days.  I thought it would be a nuisance wearing another robot part, but in truth I hardly noticed it. 

So after 7 days, I went back to the clinic to have the sensor removed and the information downloaded.
Here is what the seven day graph looked like.

Awesome right??!!!

NOT!!!

So after trying to decipher this ****load of information, we made a few changes to my basals, my ISF, and I:C ratios. 

I wish I had a Dexcom.  Unfortunately my insurance doesn't cover them, so I have a lot of advocating ahead of me!!

I also saw my Opthamologist this month.  Had my pupils dilated yet again.  Every 6 months.  Actually I had a laser treatment in October so this was a follow-up.  Things look great so I go back in August!

Today was the Dentist and the Foot Clinic.  No cavities, nice clean teeth, and super soft-as-a-babies-bum feet!

Thus ends my month of appointments.  

I'm sure March will have a couple depending on the results of the bloodwork for Celiac.  I'll keep you posted.

For the rest of the month I'll be praying for spring to arrive!!!