Numbers

I'm lucky to have a good doctor who is helping to educate me in good health matters. I've got other doctors -- eyes, foot -- who are very attentive to diabetes.

I have friends and family who support my health efforts and are good role models.

I'm studying, including subscribing to some helpful websites. I'm working at it. Developing a plan, keeping track.

And I've got numbers.  They really help.

I was a big fan of NUMB3RS, the Ridley and Tony Scott CBS series in which the Eppes brothers, Don and Charlie, solve intricate FBI cases.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Numbers_(TV_series)

Numbers really help.

The scale tells the tale, of course.  Gaining 17 pounds last winter was ridiculous.

Every six month, Medicare requires that I send a month of three-times-daily glucose readings to my doctor.  Glucose test strips and lancets for finger sticks are covered by Medicare insurance.

I keep a daily record anyway, but I appreciate the requirement. Medicare has some procedures in place to root out fraud and mismanagement and this is one of them. (Yes, more are needed to get the big-number criminals who rip off the system. Medicare is working on that too.)

A few months ago, I got a diagnosis of diabetic neuropathy.  I have to say, I was upset. I've been trying to work against diabetes, and moving closer to its nasty
clutches was scary.

As the audiologist I consulted about hearing diminishment said: "Diabetes takes what it wants."

This new diagnosis has made me even more committed to oppose diabetes.

It's such a family propensity on my mother's side -- I can't mess around.

So these daily readings -- first thing in the morning and after 2 meals, or after 3 meals -- are telling a good tale.

I can see popcorn's carbohydrates a couple of hours after eating it. And I can see my new goals -- a modest-sized plate with 2/3 good fiber vegetables, 1/3 protein -- in a stable lunch and evening dinner glucose readings.

Daily blood pressure readings are pretty good too.

I'm taking a rather expensive medication, Benicar, for it. At my doctor's recommendation, I'm trying to limit sodium and caffeine.

Cutting sodium rules out a lot of highly salted foods and means developing a taste for spices rather than salt.

Cutting caffeine means switching from regular to decaff coffees and teas.

Upping my exercise from a couple of miles walked most days and a weekly tai chi class will help.

Get off your ass more, Connie.

I had an appointment with my eye doctor appointment today. The eye pressure numbers, a factor in glaucoma,  help tell the story.  I was one point up from what I measured in April, to 17 in each eye. I want to go in the other direction, down, see, but...the numbers help.