Last week I had my annual checkup at the Diabetes Centre and I must admit that I felt a bit nervous because I knew that my HBA1C will have gone up. I’m a perfectionist and always get a bit anxious when I know I could’ve done a better job. I mean, I’m absolutely fine with the management of blood glucose during the day so I should give myself some credit, but those night time basal settings are difficult to figure out when I just switch my alarm off and go back to sleep. Must. Keep. Trying.
When I got to my appointment at 1:30pm I was called straight away by the nurse who took my weight, height and blood pressure. She also did a HBA1C test where I received the results straight away. Usually I have to wait a week or so. Anyway, my HBA1C was 7.1% (equivalent to an average blood glucose of around 9.1mmols) which isn’t a disaster, but it is higher than my previous ones which were around 5%. She also said my blood pressure was on the higher side, which has never happened before so I’m not sure why that was. Maybe it’s because I was stressing about not being perfect.
I went back to the waiting room where I would wait for the doctor to call me. During this very brief time, instead of playing on my phone which is what I usually do in waiting rooms, I was looking around at the people who were sitting in twos and wondering which one of them was diabetic. Do you ever do that?
My doctor called me, I said hello to him and the student who was there to observe and we went on to discuss my current HBA1C, weight gain and overall diabetes management with regards to my active lifestyle. I explained that for the past 9 months or so I have been consistently lifting heavy weights, so I was definitely expecting weight gain and I was right. He said its fine as long as I continue to increase my insulin. Whilst my weight has gone up, the good news is that my waist and hip measurements have stayed the same so this suggests that I am gaining in the right place; muscle. I’m definitely not denying that there is fat gain though, but I have a goal in mind and I will easily shred that off once I’m happier with my strength.
Next, we went on to look at options that would help with my unexplained highs in the night and I was given the opportunity to trial a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) that comes with 4 sensors and would therefore last for around 2 months. In order to use a CGM I will have to do a 2 hour course at the beginning of June. This is really good news as I will be able to gather more accurate information about how my training effects my BG. Also, I can finally adjust my basal rate needs during that time of the month and when I occasionally go high on my rest day. For now, though, he suggests a 30% increase of basal on my rest day and a 20% reduction on the time during my period.
Overall I think I need to relax a bit more and ask for help when I need it. I have a tendency to try to figure out everything for myself, but if I would just lift the phone up or write an email to reach out to a doctor when I am struggling I may be able to figure things out a bit easier. Do you ever get nervous before your 6 month, or annual appointment? Do you find it difficult to reach out for help when it comes to diabetes management?
Rowena x
p.s. I forgot to mention my new pink pump. My blue one had a crack in the battery compartment so Animas sent me a new one in case of water damage.
Are you following Type 1 Active on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Youtube?