A Trip to the Doctor

The first thing I did when panic set in was go to my doctor. Very important. Practically useless in my case, but important. They haven't checked my glucose levels in the doctor's office for three years. A nurse used to check it every time I had an appointment. When I asked why they don't do it anymore, the doctor just shrugged. I think if they had continued to check it, I wouldn't have been able to hide my head in the sand for so long. I would have been forced to know what my blood sugar was and would have panicked way before now.

Anyway...

After blood tests (I wasn't told the results), my doctor changed my prescription. My original medication was Glipizide, one tablet 30 minutes before breakfast and dinner. Now it's two tablets before breakfast and dinner. He also added one Glucophage with breakfast and dinner. He didn't seem concerned about my prickly feet and the excruciating skin pain on my front thigh. He squeezed my feet and told me to come back in June (two months)!

Am I just crazy-insane? Isn't this serious? I feel like my legs are withering, dying.

I know, it's a little late for me to panic now. I've ignored symptoms for years, so who am I to be afraid now? But I am. I'm terrified.

At least my first step, medication, is under way.

According to my favorite little book, Control Diabetes in 6 Easy Steps, Glipizide can lower my blood sugar too far. My doctor told me that Glucophage won't. After doing some research on my own, I found that blood sugar can still drop too far if Glucophage is taken in conjuction with Glipizide. Shouldn't my doctor have known that?

Right now, I'm not worried about it being too low. Not when my waking reading is 309. So I've got a pill box to take with me during my 12-hour workdays. I also bought a single, screw-top vial that attaches to my keychain and filled it with both Glucophage and Glipizide. I decided to do this when I went out on a Saturday to just run to the store and got caught up in an unexpected brunch without having taken my meds.

Timing. That's another big problem for me. Remembering to take the Glipizide 30 minutes before meals is difficult when my meals are spur-of-the-moment. I can work for hours without realizing I've missed a meal. The books say I should eat at the same times every day. So maybe a timer/alarm is warranted, too.

What a pain in the ass.

But, I remind myself, at least I still have an ass to be pained. And I'm grateful. So, I'll do whatever I must.

Now for Step Two: Supplements.