Good Enough for Government Work

I woke last night to the sound of thunder

How far off I sat and wondered

Started humming a song from 1962

Ain't it funny how the night moves

When you just don't seem to have as much to lose

Strange how the night moves

With autumn closing in

--Night Moves, Bob Seger, from the album Night Moves

This week is the first anniversary of my brush with the Hereafter.

After that week, and my subsequent trips to visit the Diabetes team, my Cardiologist, and my Primary Care Physician*, the past year has been... Rather boring.

Which is to say, that's a very very good thing.

I continued to lose weight --not a surprise given the diabetic and low sodium diet I'm under-- and my numbers continue to improve. To put this in perspective, let's talk about my A1C percentage. 

A1C is a measure of my blood glucose levels over a three month period. No, it's not a three months long test, but it measures the percentage of hemoglobin in my blood that has sugar attached. Everybody has some glucose attached to your hemoglobin, but diabetics have a greater percentage. And since it takes about 3 months for diet and other changes to affect those levels, that's why it's said that my A1C percentage measures the past three months' worth of blood glucose.

Here's a handy chart for what the percentages should be**:

Normal:            Below 5.7%

Prediabetes:       5.7% to 6.4%

Diabetes:          6.5% or above

Now that you know what the numbers ought to be, when I walked into the hospital a year ago, my A1C percentage was 12.6.

That might not sound all that large to you, but when I mention that to diabetics I've gotten to know, they all stop what they're doing and go "HOLY SHIT!" Typically followed by "I'M SHOCKED YOU'RE STILL ALIVE!"

So yeah, 12.6 is a lot.

Over the course of the past year, my primary care physician set a goal for me to get my A1C down to 7.0% and keep it there.

By June, I'd smashed through that goal and was down to 6.2%.

At my physical a couple of weeks ago, I tested at 5.8%, barely in the Prediabetic range.

My physician was pleased, and during the physical he began talking about dialing back some of my medications. (Within reason, of course.)

My cardiologist has also been upbeat, as since my tests back in April 2022 confirmed that my heart function was back to normal, she's been on the "keep doing what you're doing" path as well.

***

So where do I think things are?

Overall, a lot better than where I was a year ago, but anyone could say that.

I know I still don't hit my numbers all the time, and I've been repeatedly assured that I'm doing great by everybody, from my Cardiologist down to the Diabetes Team. Outside of persistent aches and pains that I've inflicted on myself by exercising too much at once, I feel pretty good. There have been a few notable side effects --one of which I have another prescription for that shows up on television commercials on a regular basis***-- but overall I guess I can't complain.

(About this, anyway. I mean, complaining is in my job description at PC here.)

I don't mean to disappoint people with more angst, but I'm doing well enough that it feels embarrassing to be talking about it. I mean, who wants to read a post saying "I'm still doing okay, thanks!" without much drama?

But I'm here, and that's good enough for government work.

*That is the current standard name for "my doctor" these days.

**Courtesy of cdc.gov.

***I swear, just about all commercials --outside of those for eczema or gout or HIV-- seem to cover drugs that I either currently take or had taken in the past. I suppose I should have more angst about this particular side effect than I do, and I'm sure that a lot of people in my position would do precisely that, but I'm happy that the drugs work. My having to plan my life around medications --and this is just one more on the pile-- is something I'm going to have to live with. My life is very much a planned set of activities, because I can't afford to let my guard down, and this is just another part of my life I have to regiment and plan for.