back where i belong :)

today was my endo appointment (you know, the really awesome one that i talked about here, to replace that one). want me to tell you how awesome it was? OKAY.

first, it is nice to be greeted by people who remember your name and face, are friendly, remember things about you, make nice conversation, tell you they were wondering why you hadn't been in ...

it was comforting that my endo actually checked my feet, heart, breathing, etc (unlike some doctors that shall remain nameless) ... ya know, do the things doctors are supposed to do!

i got my prescriptions refilled - with the correct amounts - and we talked about the whole cholesterol thing. he decided, after discussion about me being nervous to take cholesterol medicine before i'm even 30, that it will be beneficial, it is preventative so i don't get to a point where it is too high. he said he has seen that it's hard to get the 'bad cholesterol' down to the level it needs to be with diet and exercise only, so i'm going to take a very low dose of an inexpensive prescription ... now i just have to remember to take it. i suck at remembering to take pills. i just now, typing this, remembered to take my vitamin. but i've been remembering that so maybe i'll do okay.

our discussion led to me talking about the DOC. oh yeah you guys, i told him about you. and he was interested, of course. i told him about dsma, and twitter, and ... my blog. oh yeah, he knows about it. and he had me write it down for some patients who are trying to connect with others (a d-meetup in my future?!?! be still my heart.). so you know what that means, right? he might be reading this. hey dr. awesome! :D  haha! he was happy that i found a community of people that relate to me, and he was interested in all the DOC things i take part in. yay! it's good to have a doc on your side. edit: dr. awesome is type 1 diabetic ... do we think that has something to do with his awesomeness?

we talked about my A1C (7.3, thankyouverymuch) and how i have it in my head that i really want that first number to be a 6. he pointed something out that makes sense. 7.3 is not a bad A1C, and he'd rather i be healthy and good where i am instead of having a 6.5 and many lows. good call. i'm not a fan of the lows.

we talked about CGMs, and where animas is headed with dexcom - i think he said it will be called the vibe (but don't hold me to that). we also talked about the diabetic assistance dogs, and how expensive it is to get one here ... boo. but one person that goes to their office has one! *holding onto hope*

i told him about the awards we won for fundraising at the JDRF walk, and he asked if i was involved with them, and suggested i contact someone who works in his office about getting on the board ... maybe i will do that!

BRAGGING ALERT: 

 bronze team achievement award for fundraising

my golden sneaker award for excellence in fundraising

the end of our appointment he summed it up quite nicely, "this was a really good appointment! we got a lot done!"

YAY for being back at the awesome office. where i belong.

i want a dog. not just ANY dog...

so a little over a year ago i glazed over the thought of a diabetes assistance dog. i stumbled upon the information somewhere; i had never heard of such a thing before. i, probably like most others, had heard of seeing eye dogs, or medical assistance dogs for people who had seizures, but not much else.

Diabetic assistance dogs have been specifically trained to identify, and more importantly, act upon the subtle scent changes that hypoglycemia (low blood glucose) creates in body chemistry—changes undetectable to their human companions.     www.dogs4diabetics.com

picture from www.pawsibilitiesunleashed.org

i kind of brushed the thought aside because i couldn't find much information about it at a local place. i recently stumbled upon the blog of molly, a DOC member. she has a service dog named dixie, and i loved reading all about their life together! you can read some good stuff here, here, here, here and here. (seriously, lots of 'real life' information!)

i've learned through her blog and other online research that the dogs can detect when your blood sugars are too low or high, they alert you by giving you a tap with their paw, they can get help if you need it, among other things that you may need.

one reason that i am really interested in this is because i don't 'feel' my highs the way i feel lows. i feel low -most of the time- i test and correct. sometimes i test and find that i'm WAY too high and it could have been a few hours since i last checked my blood sugar! this makes me nervous because i know in the back of my mind the complications that can result from uncontrolled blood sugars (i just don't think about them on a daily basis). also, i've thought about asking for a CGM (continuous glucose monitor) but i'm not sure about that expense - i know a dog is an expense - and as i've learned from some other PWD, they're not always accurate. not that a dog is perfect and is always right, but i'm just exploring options here.

my current problem is that the only place i can find close to where i live requires that you raise $10,000 before you can get a dog! granted, there are some programs to help raise money, but you have to do a lot of it on your own. can you imagine?? to me, that's a very tall order. i don't have that kind of cash laying around. don't they know how much we spend on diabetes on a daily basis (not to mention other unplanned medical events)? there are other organizations that i've found through researching that provide diabetics with service dogs for a very low fee, some even just $150. why can't i live down the street from that place?

i would really love to start the journey to finding a dog that could help me. of course, an assistance dog is by no means a cure (it is also a pet, a family member, it's own expense), but it would so great to have someone there to remind me to check my blood sugar during a busy work day, or on a long car trip, or after lots of activity when i don't feel a low coming on ... the list of opportunities are endless.

anyone know of a place 'round these parts? or have 10 grand layin' around?