More Currently: Where Am I?

So I've talked, probably at some length, about how I got to where I am and some of the changes that I have made. Where does that bring me to?

Part of the tale includes my blood pressure and cholesterol. When I went to my follow-up two weeks later (Dr. Robert Hughes, pretty much an awesome guy and I think he's a huge nerd), I found out some good news. My blood pressure had cleared up and was now normal. Maybe on the high end of normal, but normal (120 over 79, or something. Did I mention I'm not a doctor?). My cholesterol wasn't in the danger zone, but my LDL (bat cholesterol) was on the high end and my HDL (good cholesterol) was on the low end. This gave me a ratio of... 6.9, I think. Which is just under dangerous. This should inform some of what my diet post was talking about.

Dr. Hughes also related some of the dangers of my situation, but was also pleased with the changes I had made already and if I could stick to them. It was relieving to finally have someone actually offer guidance. I still had not heard from the diabetes specialists at this point and that was making me nervous and afraid. We talked about where I was going and what I wanted to stay away from.

I finally saw the diabetes specialists about a month ago. The training was... a trail in patience at times. I found that I am not well equipped to deal with "normal" people in classroom setting. This is an issue that I have been warned about previously, but it really hit home. What did come of this is that I finally got a glucometer and instructions to test my blood sugar when I wake up, before eating, and ~2 hours after eating dinner. My goals for those are <110 in the morning and <140 in the evening.

When I tested on the spot, I was 139. That was amazing. Particularly considering where I had started. I've been diligent about this and find that I'm doing reasonably well in the evening. Reasonably. Not perfectly, just reasonably. And I'm okay with that for right now. It's small victories that will win this war. My morning numbers are a different tale. They are often equal to, or higher than, my evening numbers. This isn't uncommon and relates to the fact that, basically, my body has broken. I'm trying to fix it, but right now things aren't working right and particularly when relating to the other bits. Type 2 Diabetes is sometimes called insulin resistance, it has other names, but what they all come down to is that my body no longer interacts with the insulin it produces appropriately. The difference between Type 1 and 2 is that 2 still produces insulin, whereas 1 doesn't. With Type 2 it may be that it is being utilized in appropriately, that I'm not making enough, that it isn't working like it should, etc. At night, when I'm alseep, my liver will try to regulate my glucose by releasing more into my blood since I'm not eating. Which my body doesn't cope with real well at this time.

To stymie this, the specialists upped my evening metformin dose, doubling it, and suggested that I investigate either exercising before bed or a snack. I'm not a fan of anything in that last sentence. The bonus metformin was a reminder that I had actually mostly gotten used to that stuff and what it was like when I first started taking it (exciting and explosive are words that come to mind). The snack is... well, still afraid of food. Still afraid of what it can do to me and afraid of gaining weight back. And I still don't like exercise. This is an issue that I'm grappling with and really haven't conducted enough tests to know what the best answer is. Other than it seems the metformin increase hasn't don't much thus far.

In the two months that I've been doing all of this, I have lost 25 pounds so far. Which is exciting. That puts me at 239 lbs (I rounded down so that I could feel better and get a nice round number). None of my clothes fit well anymore, except for the ones that didn't fit well previously and they're actually looking not bad. It's noticeable. I had to get a new belt and my pants are evidently moving into the clown/cartoonish realm. Shirts aren't as big of a deal yet. Next time I'm at the doctor (in April), I will be getting my official A1C with new labs for glucose and cholesterol. I'd really like to see marked improvement for both of those.

The bad news is that the neuropathy in my right foot hasn't gotten any better and it has spread to my left foot. I'm not absolutely certain it spread, it may just be that I am more aware of these things now. It's not as bad, but still... it is worrisome. I also found that my Vitamin D levels are terrifyingly low; I'm taking 6000 IU a day until they get to "normal". I will likely still have to supplement that as my lifestyle doesn't really involve lots of time in the sun. Oregon in the winter is a wonderful excuse, but that's what it is, an excuse. Maybe by the time outdoors is an option I will have changed my mind. I hope.