Archive for the ‘Doctor Visits’ Category
17
Jan
Written by Mike on January 17th, 2011
So here we are, one week after my visit with my primary care doctor, and I’m just now getting around to writing about how it went. Better late than never, or some bovine fecal matter like that.
This was a follow up appointment, and I was to receive the results of my latest A1C. And I went into it expecting to hear bad news. And, as I expected, that’s what I got.
The result was 7.1 this time around. And despite how prepared I thought I was for hearing that my A1c was back above 7.0, it still came as a shock. Considering where I started out at two years ago though, at 9.6, that 7.1 is still looking pretty good. And that’s how I’m trying to look at it. POSITIVELY! I have my good friends in the D-OC to thank for helping me out with that.
Thankfully, my doctor was rather understanding about the situation, and I didn’t receive the posterior chewing that I was expecting. When she asked what had happened, my reply was simply “life with diabetes happened”. I explained the situations that I’ve been dealing with over the last few months, and left it at that.
We agreed that it would be best to switch my medications, and I’m now taking Janumet 50-500 twice a day to see if that will work better than metformin and januvia did separately. And thankfully, just in a weeks time, I’m seeing a big difference in my blood glucose readings.
We also discussed anti-depression and anti-anxiety medications as well. More on that later.
And finally, the sinus infection I’ve been battling was addressed. My prescription from the last SI I had was refilled, and fortunately, it’s finally working. Feeling much better today than I have the last week. Still a few sniffles though.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I must go catch my nose before it runs off.
5
Jan
Written by Mike on January 5th, 2011
Well, it’s almost time for another round of routine doctor visits. I see both my PCP and my cardiologist next week and, as usual, preparations for those appointments include a visit to the lab for blood work. I made that visit this morning.
Approximately 20 minutes of my times, one sharp needle, and a few vials of blood later, and the waiting game begins.
You know what I’m talking about. The little, not-so-fun game we play while waiting for the doctor visit to get the test results. The game where we sit around and dread what the results will be; where we kick ourselves for the bad numbers we’ve had. And where we fear the admonishment that may come from doctor.
I’ve been playing that game for a while now, simply because I know that my numbers haven’t been very good lately and that my A1C is not going to be as good as it has been. And, there’s a whole list of reasons why things have gotten out of hand. Which is bad because some days I just feel like it’s a list of excuses, but it’s also good because I know what’s causing the problems, and it gives me a list of things to work on.
And I’m trying to be positive about it. After all, one bad A1C in two years isn’t going to be the end of the world. And it’s just a number. And I am not my numbers. I’m a person. And a great person at that.
30
Jun
Written by Mike on June 30th, 2010
Well, this post is definitely more than a day late, but better late than never. Here goes.
I went to the doctor last Thursday to get the results of all the lab work that was done last month. You know, the lab work that I had a hell of a time fasting for. Anyway, the results of those tests were a mix of good and bad.
My A1C, which had been 6.0 the last couple of times it was check, was up to 6.4. Not a bad number in the grand scheme of things, but certainly not the third 6.0 in a row that I was going for. In reviewing blood glucose logs I gave her, the doctor noted the increasing number of highs in my logs. In light of those, and the A1C results, she concluded that the Metformin that I had been taking just wasn’t as effective as it had been.
And as if the Metformin not working anymore wasn’t enough, she also concluded that it was also the culprit behind all of the stomach cramps, nausea, and diarrhea that I’ve been dealing with for the last few months. All side effects that I had been warned about when I started taking the medication a year ago, but that never appeared. So, as a result, I’m no longer taking Metformin. I’m now taking Januvia, and the jury has just started deliberating on whether this will work or not. I’ll keep everyone posted.
The results of the microalbumin tests noted some abnormalities, too. There was apparently quite a bit of protein in the urine sample they took, which could mean any number of things. Not the least of which being possible kidney problems. More tests are being scheduled to determine the cause, but in the doctor went ahead and adjusted one of the medication I’m taking as a precaution. I’ll keep everyone posted on this as well.
My blood pressure was on the high side as well, so that medication was adjusted, too.
Oh, and one other change made at this appointment came in the form of a prescription for Ambien. I’ve been having a terrible time sleeping with the BiPAP machine I use for treating sleep apnea, and asked the doctor about something that might help me get some sleep and be able to use the machine at the same time. So, we’re going to try the Ambien for a while, and hope to God it actually helps.
All for now. Keep hanging in there.
7
May
Written by Mike on May 7th, 2010
So I was on my way to my 10:45 a.m. appointment at the cardiologist’s office when I looked up and saw the one thing that everyone dreads the most: the flashing lights of a police car in the rear view mirror. When I looked at the speedometer, I knew why I was being stopped, but I pulled over, got my license, registration, and insurance stuff ready, and waited for the officer to come ask me if I knew why he was pulling me over.
As it turns out, they were stopping every car going 45 miles an hour through that particular 30 mile an hour speed limit zone. Sounds like profiling to me, but that’s just me. Apparently my lead foot got the best of me, and was pressing that gas pedal 15 miles an hour harder than it should have been. Oops!
And much to my surprise, the officer must have met his ticket quota early this morning, because he let me off with a warning to slow it down and be careful. I was kind of speechless, and that never happens. lol. How the hell did I get away with a warning for driving 15 to 20 miles an hour over the speed limit? I don’t know, but it saved me $800 to $1,000 in fines.
I ended up being about 15 minutes late to the cardiologist appointment, but they didn’t seem to have a problem with that. I just told them I ran into heavy traffic downtown, and that was that.
The appointment went pretty well. There were no real changes in my EKG, and my blood pressure, blood oxygen levels, etc… were relatively good. And there were no changes made to any of my medications either, so that made me and my wallet happy, too.
They also did an echocardiogram while I was in the office. The technician said nothing major caught her eye, but they wouldn’t know for sure until the report came back from processing. I figure I’ll hear from them fairly soon if they found something strange, and if not, I’ll get the results when I go back in 4 months.
Until then, I’ll be working to keep the gears and wheels in me turning. And trying to keep the tire rubber from burning.
25
Mar
Written by Mike on March 25th, 2010
Had a routine visit with Dr. Cabe (Primary Care Physician) this morning. Those of you who follow me on Twitter should already know this, considering that I relieved my boredom by tweeting and ranting about amount of time I spent waiting to see the doctor.
My appointment was at 11:00 a.m., and I didn’t see the doctor until about 12:30 p.m. Now, I generally try to exercise what little patience I have, but that waiting BS really drives me crazy. And then the doctors wonder why my blood pressure is elevated when I finally see them. I generally hit them with some perfectly flawless logic, like: “Well gee, Doc, my blood pressure was fine before I left home. Could it be that you ticked me off by making me wait so damn long?” That gets them every time. 
Actually, aside from the wait, and having to return to the office because the doctor forgot to sign one of my scripts, the appointment went rather well. Dr. Cabe was happy with my latest A1c results, and the blo0d glucose (BG) logs that I showed her. The results of my creatinine and bun tests were also good. And even my blood pressure was pretty good. 
We are going to work on tweaking my Crestor dosage, to see if we can find a level that won’t cause the muscle aches that I’ve been experiencing. If that doesn’t work, we will be looking for another cholesterol medication. And we’re going to tweak my Protonix dosage, as I probably don’t need to take as much as I have in the past. Other than that, there were no other changes to any of my medications. That’s definitely a good thing.
In early June, I’ll have another A1c test, as well as Lipid and Microalbumin checks. Then I’ll go back to see Dr. Cabe at the end of June. Good times.
For now, I’m going to focus on the countdown to my vacation, which will begin in exactly 5 hours & 48 minutes.
