Waiting for A1C results often remind me of waiting for progress reports in high school. Today, I had my follow-up with Dr. Einhorn to find out the results of several of my blood tests and to perform a sonogram on a nodule in my thyroid....
A1C 6.6% - B
Exercise Habits - B
Carbohydrate Control - B-
Initiative and Self-Education - A
Diabetes Self-Care (following up with ophthalmologist, etc.) - A+
Yes, I need some work in some places...
On a good note, it's looking with more and more certainty that I am a Type II diabetic. My C-Peptide was elevated, so I am definitely, pumping insulin throughout my body. I really like that Dr. Einhorn is taking an aggressive approach with me. There are a lot of docs that look at me and think, "A1C below 7...you're good to go." I get really frustrated by this, "Diabetes has a progression and there's not too much you can do to truly normalize your blood sugars" attitude. For both Dr. Einhorn and I this is unacceptable. Good news to me, is that he's a leader in this area and was just lecturing to his students at UCSD about how to optimally control Type II diabetes and preserve beta cell function. Finally, the words I've been longing to hear, "Preserve beta cell function." Someone who actually believes it's possible! He looked me straight in the eye and said, "If I was your age and this was me, this is what I would do for myself."
Einhorn is putting me on a whole new medication regimen, which includes increasing my dosage of metformin and putting me on Janumet, a stiagliptin/metformin combo drug, and also adding pioglitazone to the regime. We're going to recheck it and if I still can't get my fasting blood glucose levels to close to 90 in two months, then I might start on a long acting insulin in the evening. In the meantime, I need to do my part and increase my workouts to 5-6 days a week, incorporate some serous weight training, and meet with a dietitian he recommended...
It's odd because when I have a doctor who really believes in the possibility to normalize my blood sugars, I am more inclined to work harder at it. It really is a team effort. Go team! 5.0% here I come!
