Luck Be A Lady

I'm a lucky gal.  Am I lucky to have diabetes? No. But I'm lucky to have a great team to help me stay healthy.

I visited my Endocrinologist yesterday.  I really, really like her.  She's a great doctor but she's also a super friendly and sweet person.  Our first bit of conversation was about how hard it is to keep up with all our passwords.  She was logging into the hospital's computer to see my records and we started chatting about how and where to keep these things.

Once we moved on to discussion of my health and diabetes, she was all business. 

Angry and I joined a gym and started personal training a little over a year ago.  I've had several discussions with my CDE about adjustments in my basal rates (on my pump) to stop the highs and lows associated with that exercise.  We talked about that yesterday and I told her I found a "sweet spot."  She took notes and asked me if she could share my adjustments with some of her other patients.  A few are still struggling even with her and her team's help.  I felt like a diabetes champ when she told me, "I like your approach and your self-awareness."

We also discussed statins.  She explained to me that the ADA is now recommending that all people with diabetes over the age of 40 and a LDL of 70 mg/dl or above take a statin for "heart health."  Mine is well below the recommended 100 mg/dl "optimal" number so I told her, "I'm not taking a stain unless I will die without it."  She looked at me and said "OK."  What?  A doctor that listens to her patients?

I started my CGM (a Dexcom) about three months ago so we also discussed that.  We chatted about my feelings about it, how I was using it, and if I'd recommend it to others.  We didn't download any data.  She said that she felt she didn't need to babysit me because I was making great adjustments on my own.  I did give her the low-down on the trends I was seeing and she was glad I had that information at my fingertips now.  When I told her I didn't know how I had lived all these years without the CGM she told me that she was glad I finally decided to try it (I had been terrified of it before).  She also asked if it was helpful with my hypo unawareness.  "Holy crap, YES!" was my heartfelt response.  Her feelings were that this was the most important factor for me (and thank goodness that I was getting some help that I needed).  Her last questions was, "Do you or did you feel overwhelmed by it?"  I explained that I had been to the Diabetes UnConference in March and learned a lot about them there.  I had also joined Facebook groups to get info and support before I got mine.  In other words, no I was not overwhelmed.  "Awesome!" was her response.

I walked out, having spent almost an hour with her, feeling like a person that mattered, that was respected, and that had someone who actually listened and cared about me and what I was doing to stay healthy and happy. 

I certainly am lucky.