While not the best number ever, and not even the goal, I'm proud to announce that my A1C last week was 7.7! This is 0.7 lower than it was at my last visit. In fact, lower than it has been since I started medical school! It's been a long time since I've had my A1C in the 7s...
Controlling my diabetes in medical school has been challenging at best. I don't test my blood sugar nearly enough. I keep myself slightly high on the wards out of fear for hypoglycemic episodes while dealing with patients or in surgery, or just fear of taking out my pump to bolus in front of residents and attendings. I don't change my pump often enough and therefore have a higher than average rate of kinked tubes, pulled out sites from tape giving up, and ketonic episodes. I use expired insulin because I don't have time or energy to refill my prescription. Stress alone bumps up my numbers because of excess cortisol release. Basically, I am so busy trying to learn to take care of others' health that I neglect my own.
But, oh, at last! The golden 7.0 A1C is in sight! The even more allusive 6.0 [in order to contemplate pregnancy] is right beyond it.* Between ordering a shinny new continuous glucose monitor (that I hopefully wont be allergic to), a new bicycle to exercise on, and adopting a low-er carb diet... I guess we'll just have to see what my next A1C has to say for itself.
*Not that I intend to get pregnant right now, or anytime in the near future. But it might be on my 5-10 year plan... It better be, after all, I'm already 28 and well aware of the risks involved with increasing egg age.
Controlling my diabetes in medical school has been challenging at best. I don't test my blood sugar nearly enough. I keep myself slightly high on the wards out of fear for hypoglycemic episodes while dealing with patients or in surgery, or just fear of taking out my pump to bolus in front of residents and attendings. I don't change my pump often enough and therefore have a higher than average rate of kinked tubes, pulled out sites from tape giving up, and ketonic episodes. I use expired insulin because I don't have time or energy to refill my prescription. Stress alone bumps up my numbers because of excess cortisol release. Basically, I am so busy trying to learn to take care of others' health that I neglect my own.
But, oh, at last! The golden 7.0 A1C is in sight! The even more allusive 6.0 [in order to contemplate pregnancy] is right beyond it.* Between ordering a shinny new continuous glucose monitor (that I hopefully wont be allergic to), a new bicycle to exercise on, and adopting a low-er carb diet... I guess we'll just have to see what my next A1C has to say for itself.
*Not that I intend to get pregnant right now, or anytime in the near future. But it might be on my 5-10 year plan... It better be, after all, I'm already 28 and well aware of the risks involved with increasing egg age.
1 comment:
Nice work!!
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