[Diabetes-talk] Good News?

[Everett Gavel]

Hello All,

I just realized that, while I've recently begun 
sharing a little more about my personal situation 
with my diabetes publicly on some 'blind diabetic' 
lists, I've yet to share it here on my original 
and most favorite, most read, bestest list of them 
all for blind diabetics. Please forgive me for 
that.

I do have some good news to share. Good for me, at 
least. A week or two ago, my doc told me my a1c 
was 8.0. Now, that may not be all that great, but 
try to understand, I'm pretty sure it's not been 
that low, personally, since I was a young 
teenager, and possibly even before that.

I got diabetes when I was 10, and all through my 
teens and 20's, and I'll admit, even into my 30's 
truly, I was as stupid, er, stubborn as they come. 
At least in regards to my diabetes. I pretty much 
ignored it as much as I could without bringing on 
a quick death. About all I did for the first 
couple of decades (I'm 45 now) was to take my 
insulin once and for a while twice a day. That's 
it.

I never cared what my a1c was on those 3-month 
appointments I sometimes kept with my docs. But a 
few years ago I started smartening up a bit. 
Little by little I tried taking better care of my 
diabetes. I finally gave in and got a Medtronic 
pump about 1.5 years ago.

Today, I can say I finally made the mental switch 
and gave into the need, the smarter choice, to 
actually monitor my glucose levels regularly. 
Nowadays, if I don't test at least 4 times a day, 
I feel wierd. Maybe it's some kind of guilt or 
something, I don't know. But I *like* that it 
feels wrong to not test at least 4 times a day, 
these days.

So, all that being rambled on about, while I 
realize it may be along the lines of too little 
too late, I'm hoping for the other cliche to be 
more true, where it says, better late than never. 
;-)

So my BS levels are 8.0. Well, okay, my 'BS' (and 
sarcasm) levels are often far higher than that, 
but, my blood sugar levels are now most often 
under 200, and for me, that's great. For decades, 
my average has been between 300 & 400 when I'd 
test it. I've been clocked more times than I can 
count, back in the day when the Joslin Diabetes 
Center was where I went for my 3-month check ups 
as a teen, at over 700. These days, I can't seem 
to find a monitor that doesn't quit counting 
around 599 or 600, seems like. But I don't test em 
out like that too much anymore either, so who 
knows? I'm glad I can say I don't know that for 
sure, actually.

Anyway, I'm newly inspired by my 8.0 a1c. In 3 
months, my new goal is 7.0. I'm not just counting 
carbs and taking insulin to cover, now. It's a 
challenge, and I love a good challenge. So I'm 
actually (gasp) paying attention to what I'm 
eating, and not just counting carbs. I'm actually 
focusing on, go figure, EATING BETTER.

So, I just wanted to share my small bit of good 
news and new inspiration. You all, here, have been 
inspiring to me over the years, and I truly 
appreciate all that you share.


Strive On!
Everett
In Colorado Springs, USA