[Maddogg]

I know i don't post here very often, but when I do its usually because something bad or good is happening.
Had my regular 4 month check-up yesterday morning, right off the bat it was a bad experience because i went to the wrong hospital, had to pay 2$ for parking and i was only there for 10 minutes. Drove to the correct hospital which made me be 30 minutes late for my appointment.
Anyways, i'm an extremely busy person, have 2 jobs (around 50 hours/week), i'm in a long term relationship, when I do have time to myself i usually go to the gym or hang out with friends and play sports and what not...

So my doctor ask me all the regular questions, you know the drill... I haven't been keeping record of my bg readings and how much insulin i'm taking (Humalog and Humalin are the ones i take) for the past several months so she was a bit dissapointed when i had nothing to show her. To be honest my sugars have been ALL OVER the place for the last 6 months or so and its really starting to irritate me! I've been as high as 33 and as low as 1.0 and there are very few days where i don't get a high or a low . Got some bloodwork done yesterday and my HbA1c was over 9.5!! Thats fu**ing horrible! I generally watch what i eat, i stay away from fats and high carbs/sugars. I just have such a hectic schedule and I don't know how to approach this problem without making any sacrifices that will affect my jobs. (I have to keep my hours). My eyes also hurt, for the last month or 2 it feels like theres been extra pressure on them on some days (including today when i woke up with a reading of 15.2) and my vision is a little bit blurry, but just barely. I hate my life right now!
Please give me some words of advice and something to brighten my only day off a little bit.

[TAutry]

Hello Maddog,

Nice to see you return for a visit. While it isn't what you would like to have said, I believe you need to stop and make a serious plan to get your diabetes under control. Work is extremely important, but so is living. You can get other jobs, but if you develop complications from diabetes, they can kill you. If you don't look after yourself, no one will.

Trust me, I know about work and long hours. I also know that if I drop dead they will find someone else to do my job. None of us is indespensible to an employer.

Make some time. Make a plan and let us know how it goes for you.

Travis

[Maddogg]

Originally Posted by Mr Sugar

How did you manage to get yourself to the wrong hospital?

Ever live in a metropolitan area that has multiple hospitals and a diabetes specialist which frequents most if not all of these hospitals...!?

[mark-TN]

Maddogg-

Don't pay this guy any attention. He is stirring up trouble in several threads. They will get rid of him soon I'm sure.

Mark

[gaelicgrl]

Thats very supportive of you Mr. Sugar. Jeesh.
Start writing it down Maddog... you can do it! "exit cheerleader"

[Mario]

Maddogg, you seem to take all of your time for the others. My only advice is to take time for YOU !!! Since you'll do that, I'm sure life, work and also diabetes will be better. I did this error many times in my life. When things don't work like you want, I start to think about it and make priority.

[CarlyesHope]

Maddog,

It only takes a few seconds to write down your numbers and activity. When you gather it, you will be suprised and how much info is really there.

When I am really busy - I'm a mom and a full time student - i just time and date a scrap piece of paper, when I have time, I enter them into a spreadsheet I have created in excel - even if its at the end of the week at 2 am, I have them all there, crumpled, but present.

You can also use the origional palm pilot - you hand!

When you get the info straight, you can get your BG straight, and then you won't feel so bad.....

for today, Cheer up, there is always tomorrow!!

Kelly

[duck]

Maddog,

The only way I got my A1c's below 6 recently was to test them monthly using the readily-available home testing kits...I use the one by Choice, and I get it from the local pharmacy or Wal-Mart because this kit gives you results in less than ten minutes.

I have always felt it was weird to wait three-four months between A1c readings...Basically what that said to me was "you don't know where the **** you are for 90 days..." Once I started testing monthly I went from 7.7 to below 6, and honesly it hasn't been that tough after I got used to my strategies I employed to keep my average sugars lower. But the key to this is knowing where you are and where you want to go, which is why I think testing every three months is nutz.

[Funnygrl]

Ahhh...:hug: so sorry to hear about your day. I hope tomorrow goes better!

[liz32]

they're right, you've got to take care of you! Make a plan and try and stick to it...I know that's not always easy. I find that if I have to make a meal in a hurry they're not always that nuticious or tasty. If I can find the time to think ahead then they tend to be more where I want them to be and are usually yummier. Take care and remember..you've always got another chance to make better decisions...just make the most of it. I hope you have better days ahead!

[Eri's mom]

Sorry your day went so bad
I've been late to the endo a couple times b/c the hospital was SO confusing...so don't worry about it...sounds like you're extremely busy as it is!!! ...besides, at least you got there, right?

Don't worry, things will work out..Carlye's mom was right...just scribble down your numbers anywhere and transfer them as you can

Things will get better!!!

[Richard B]

Maddogg: sounds like your schedule is like mine....I travel (mostly airlines) and rep for 2 separate companies..

If you use a PC at work/home/etc, you might want to try a couple of decent recording programs. I use DiabetesPilot (www.diabetespilot.com) because it has an accompanying program for Pocket PC's or Palm Pilots. This makes it convenient for travel and places where you can't lug around a pc. Takes a few minutes of logging for each event: Glucose-Food-Med-Exercise and produces great reports for your Dr. visits. I usually take printed reports to my Doc and bring my Pocket PC.

There's another program I tried called Diabetes Diary which is pretty good but doesn't interface with PDA's.

Richard B

[Clint]

I agree with what has been posted already but I do have a comment.

I was like you, busy, not tracking my sugars or anything, just kinda going along doing what I wanted... it was a trainwreck just waiting to happen.. I was moody, my sugars were all over the place, my weight was up and down, but down mostly.. my eyes hurt like yours, my vision would get blurry... I got to a point where I had had enough and decided I had to do something...

I came to this point last winter and in about a month or month and a half, I brought my A1c down from almost 10 to 8... then I got on my pump and things have gotten even better...

Like others have said... if you dont stop and take this disease seriously, and do what you need to control it, it will kill you.

I am glad you are here and ask any question you want to... vent if needed, I sure have and the people here are very helpful and will listen... you are not alone in this.

[am1977]

Hang in there, Maddog. Yes, it can suck to have Diabetes, as we all know. But you do have control over it...don't let it control you. Take the best care of yourself as possible, eat healthfully, see your diabetes medical team, test and inject as you should, and seek support (us! ) . You can get back on track...I have every confidence in you .

[zookeeper671]

So sorry to hear about your clash of events, Maddog. Life can seem overwhelming at times. As others have said, your health is far more important than what may seem most important at the present. You only have one body, one pair of eyes... no warranty or refund policy. Please take care of yourself.