| 10/1/96 | I was first diagnosed with Diabetes II when I went in for my 5 year checkup at age 41. I'd been having lots of questionable health problems but never put it together. The high level of sugar in my Urine lead the doctor to test for Diabetes. And there I was ... My wife feels I've been there for years as my weight dropped and my strength waned. Now it was off to taking drugs -- Glucotrol XL in the am (5 mg) |
| 10/1/97 | Been pretty steady for a year now but have had to up my dosage to 5mg of Glucotrol XL in both am and pm. My weight is back up to what it was before diabetes struck. Life is pretty normal and I'm beginning to delude myself into thinking that my life is normal (eating wise anyway) |
| 10/1/98 | I really am eating way too much dessert but my exercise is helping me keep the weight down. BG is floating around 150 now. |
| 12/1/98 | I've increased my Gulucotrol to 10mg in the am and pm. It has not help much though. BG is running around 200 and often higher. I can rarely get it down. Still continue to eat as if nothing is wrong. |
| 12/7/98 | Got a letter from my doctor on my last checkup. My A1C is 9.7 and the current BG was 268. He wants me to take my readings for a solid week and come see him about adjusting my meds. This is going to be hard at Christmas time. |
| 1/10/99 | I'm beginning to get real frustrated with my BG. Got to schedule an appointment with the Doctor. |
| 2/8/99 | Saw the doctor today and he want me to switch to 500 mg of Glucophage in the am and pm. Although he tells me that its not my fault, I can't help but be depressed. Big surprise is that when I get home in the evening and take my readings, they are 127 and I haven't changed my meds. So I hold on switching the meds (for now) |
| 2/10/99 | Taking my BG now in the am and pm and they sit just below 150 on the average. My reading this afternoon were 124. I'm still reluctant to switch meds. The one thing that I have been doing is eat better and stay away from the dessert/snacks. This has been a big habit of my over the last few months and maybe that has been the cause of my highs lately. |
| 2/12/99 | My BG has been staying 150 - 200 range now for the last few days so I switched to the 500mg of Glucophage and dropped the Glucotorl this morning. That was after a 196 reading in the am. The pm reading was high (210). |
| 2/17/99 | The Glucophage hasn't help my BG that I can tell. My readings are all near or above 200 now. I'm staying on the Glucophage but adding 5mg of Glucotrol after my am reading of 220. The pm reading was 109! God, I hope I've found a combination that works. |
| 2/21/99 | Well it didn't turn out to be perfect by itself but there has been a definite improvement. Some readings are still high but I'm thinkin' that its the 'dawn effect'. Last night at 6pm I had a 98 reading -- been months since that low. I'm still experimenting and will see the Doc in 1.5 weeks. |
| 03/30/99 | Still running with 500 Glucophage in the am and pm along with 5mg of Glucutrol XL in am and 10mg of glucotrol in pm. The afternoon readings a pretty good (and low). The morning readings jump a lot depending on if I've given into dessert or not. Still, the am ones generally are above 130. I've got to get past this 'dawn effect' and don't want to give into insulin. |
| 06/14/99 | Went and saw my doctor last month to get an A1C. It turned out to be 8.3 (too high) so he told me to up my morning glucotrol from 5mg to 10mg. Now I'm taking 20mg a day. Blast! It is so hard to not eat snacks at home with the kids around. I'm really having a hard time controling myself. One of the things I really hate about this disease is that it takes so long for wounds to heal themselvs. I cut inbetween my little toe and the next this weekend and its really painful. This is wearing me down. |
| 07/1/99 | Called the Doctor about my foot not healing and they told me to go see a Podiatrist right away. Got my parinoia way up. Called the Podiatrist and saw him that afternoon. His son has diabetes so he was sympathic. After exam, he said it was Athletics food but ugly. I got a prescription from him and had it filled. The cut was fully gone within a week but I keep the meds rubbed on for an additional week. This slow healing is such a pain. The dog scratched me about 4 weeks ago on the leg and the mark is still there! |
| 03/28/00 | I went on a trip across country 3 weeks ago and got an ear infection without knowing it. While flying back, I couldn't get my right ear to pop -- created a pain that was almost enough to make me pass out. I made it home okay but was put on Ear Infection medicine for 10 days. The right ear also had a water on the ear and the docter (after 10 days) put me on a bunch on nose medicine to clear up my ear and help with drainage. This all seems to be going okay but I've got the ringing in my right ear that won't go away. Its a bear to sleep at night.. I've got a background nature sound machine going all night trying to drown it out. That works with limited success and now I'm on an anxiety med. to help me sleep. Its been 3 weeks now and I'm getting by okay but wish I could hear silence again. My blood sugars have been all over but mostly high and my doc is thinking of changing my meds again.... I'm trying to be good this week and take my readings 2 times a day but the numbers are still too high (249 this afternoon -- after playing racketball for 1 hour!). |
| 04/4/00 | I went and saw the doctor this morning and he was concerned enough about my repeated 300+ reading on this ear medication (steriods - pregnasone) that he put me on Insulin. I'm using Novalin 70/30 (25 mg in am / 15 mg in the evening). The moment that I dreaded the most about this disease -- having to inject myself. I did it okay in the office and now I've got to do it twice a day until I'm off the steriods (4/10). Oh joy! |
| 04/13/00 | Well I made it through the week injecting myself in the stomach twice a day. The new ultra fine needles make it a lot easier. I didn't really feel it at all and felt a lot better. My BS stayed in upper 100s but that was a lot better than the 300s. Now that I'm off the Insulin and steriods my BS have settled into normal range again. Now if I could just get this ringing in my ears to stop! |
| 10/24/00 | It has been a while since I added an entry and a lot has happened. The ringing in my ear appears to be permanent now so I guess I'm stuck with it. Sleep is the hardest part but taking some Melatonin at night makes it easier. My Blood Sugar numbers steadily worsened over the Summer and I had to change meds. I'm now taking Actos (as of August). It didn't make much difference at first and the Doc was talking about putting me on Insulin at night (Oh no!). But about the 1st week in October, the numbers suddenly dropped to great (90s and low 100s). After going on UseNet and looking at notes about Actos, I found that several people had not shown any change until months had gone by. I guess I fell in that catagory. For now, I am taking 5mg Actos and 500 mg Glucophage in the morning ... and 500 mg Glucophage in the evening. Hope this last for a while! |
| 11/25/00 | Thanksgiving came this year with some pain but a good bit of control. I stayed with the meats but still managed to sample some desserts. The Actos seems to be doing the trick when I control my snacking but I'm having a hard time doing it. I wish I could stay focused on diet but I give in too easy to the temptation. You would think that after 5 years I would be in less denial. Its there but I keep thinking that I can cheat too much. I've to to change my life to accept this and stop acting like I'm indestructable. | 01/19/01 | Its been quite a while since I wrote about my condition. Lots of stress happenings to drive my blood sugar crazy. My father passed away last October after a long bought with lung cancer. My sugars have been good when I control my diet. Thats harder and harder even though I should be used to this by now. I'm on 30mg of Actos in the morning with Glucotrol and Glucophage 2 times aday. Some loss of sensation in my big toes but that is getting better now. More later. . |