Run Run Away

Question:

LOLOL  Enjoyed reading that lady of many colors.   Some very true stuff about people and the mindsets that we get into and out of.  Me thinks your man needs to tell you how special you are and that your still OK in his book and to hell with everyone else.  Hhhhm maybe a little exercise would help too.  LOL Harv – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – whether to scream or laff !!!! there will be a short pause while I do both Yikes, I can only afford to test a very few times  day ! My crappyass insurance will only pay for strips I can’t use, and I hate the only acceptable meter they provide, because it was TOTALLY a piece of junk !!! So I buy my own supplies …. They are expensive, folks. If I tested that much, like 8 times a day I be homeless. I make too much money to get medicaid, and I am too poor to buy better insurance. I love gadgets, though, fancy little toys, but I am just plain fed up with keeping track of this disease, when I have been stable for so so long. I only test if I have a good reason. Geez, I am so fed up with the details, record keeping etc. Some of it is necessary, but I would rather eat nails than to keep playing this diabetes head game. I used to, at first. I know what to eat, how to work out, and if my vision is blurry and I can guess within a couple of points what my bg is at a given time. And you know what ? One dr. had me keep track of every damned # and morsel of food & 6 meter readings a day for a week and then promptly threw the info in the trash and called me a liar.  And I am tired of talking about it, and having it tatooed, almost, on my forehead. I used to be so obsessed by all of it, I drove people away and more than on person has gotten that look in their eyes that said, "oh God, here comes little miss diabetes, let’s run away from her", And I am a walking encyclopedia of nutrition info. I mean, I don’t just know the basics, I know EVERYTHING, even obscure facts and pytochemicals …..I’m GOING oatbran …. I’m going oatbran … not the same is it …. I have a head full of info nobody else cares about. Not even other diabetics …. I’ve seen them…. "oh no, ya’ll, it’s Rainbow, everybody run, she’s coming" … I get that "shut up" look alot ! I’ve seen the looks when I fish my meter out of my purse …. you had to be there on the day when I got my high tech meter …. I had them yawning in the aisles. I am also tired of condescending fat and sugar free jokes and half snide, sarcasm. And patronizing folks. Now my question is … whatcha gonna do with all this saved up info …. ?                                      And what am i to do with  purse full of mini medical gadgets. Oh honey, I got ‘em all, even a bloodpressure cuff and thermometer, I got test kits, pills, and assorted miscellaneous gobbledegook and my day bag weighs about 15 lbs. Oh yeah, I got FOOD, you know I did ! You know ACCEPTABLE diabetes stuff. Gum , candy, cough syrup and add to that the stuff for my leaky bladder ( don’t even got THERE !) Oh yeah and my gym clothes, locker lock, and the carry bag for my scooter. I have other womany stuff like lipstick, shoved into a little space. Lemme tell yuh, I am like a mini paramedic. I have triple antibiotic cream and antiseptic wipes and painkillers …. and a sewing kit. If I had to I could do surgery and sew somebody up if I ran into an accident. Oh yeah, and I got a pocket sized nutritional guideline book, just in case for one minute , I forget myself.  Giggle ! I don’t want to keep records anymore, except as lttle as I dare. It’s making me NUTS ! I’d rather be obsessed with …. uh, radioactive Rainbow

Response:

Is 2 hours after a meal, 2 hours from start or 2 hours after end?

The timing starts at the end of a meal.

Response:

whether to scream or laff !!!! there will be a short pause while I do both Yikes, I can only afford to test a very few times  day ! My crappyass insurance will only pay for strips I can’t use, and I hate the only acceptable meter they provide, because it was TOTALLY a piece of junk !!! So I buy my own supplies …. They are expensive, folks. If I tested that much, like 8 times a day I be homeless. I make too much money to get medicaid, and I am too poor to buy better insurance. I love gadgets, though, fancy little toys, but I am just plain fed up with keeping track of this disease, when I have been stable for so so long. I only test if I have a good reason. Geez, I am so fed up with the details, record keeping etc. Some of it is necessary, but I would rather eat nails than to keep playing this diabetes head game. I used to, at first. I know what to eat, how to work out, and if my vision is blurry and I can guess within a couple of points what my bg is at a given time. And you know what ? One dr. had me keep track of every damned # and morsel of food & 6 meter readings a day for a week and then promptly threw the info in the trash and called me a liar.  And I am tired of talking about it, and having it tatooed, almost, on my forehead. I used to be so obsessed by all of it, I drove people away and more than on person has gotten that look in their eyes that said, "oh God, here comes little miss diabetes, let’s run away from her", And I am a walking encyclopedia of nutrition info. I mean, I don’t just know the basics, I know EVERYTHING, even obscure facts and pytochemicals …..I’m GOING oatbran …. I’m going oatbran … not the same is it …. I have a head full of info nobody else cares about. Not even other diabetics …. I’ve seen them…. "oh no, ya’ll, it’s Rainbow, everybody run, she’s coming" … I get that "shut up" look alot ! I’ve seen the looks when I fish my meter out of my purse …. you had to be there on the day when I got my high tech meter …. I had them yawning in the aisles. I am also tired of condescending fat and sugar free jokes and half snide, sarcasm. And patronizing folks. Now my question is … whatcha gonna do with all this saved up info …. ?                                      And what am i to do with  purse full of mini medical gadgets. Oh honey, I got ‘em all, even a bloodpressure cuff and thermometer, I got test kits, pills, and assorted miscellaneous gobbledegook and my day bag weighs about 15 lbs. Oh yeah, I got FOOD, you know I did ! You know ACCEPTABLE diabetes stuff. Gum , candy, cough syrup and add to that the stuff for my leaky bladder ( don’t even got THERE !) Oh yeah and my gym clothes, locker lock, and the carry bag for my scooter. I have other womany stuff like lipstick, shoved into a little space. Lemme tell yuh, I am like a mini paramedic. I have triple antibiotic cream and antiseptic wipes and painkillers …. and a sewing kit. If I had to I could do surgery and sew somebody up if I ran into an accident. Oh yeah, and I got a pocket sized nutritional guideline book, just in case for one minute , I forget myself.  Giggle ! I don’t want to keep records anymore, except as lttle as I dare. It’s making me NUTS ! I’d rather be obsessed with …. uh, radioactive Rainbow  

Response:

Is 2 hours after a meal, 2 hours from start or 2 hours after end? The timing starts at the end of a meal.

But some say it starts at the beginning! bj

Response:

message

<snip  I keep track of it. I know the feeling. But I haven’t gone so far as to average out the readings. bj also t2/d&e Actually the program I use averages them out.  I am using WinGlucofacts. Keeping 3 seperate files now.  Morning, pre-brekfast, post-breakfast or pre-lunch.

The program I use is a notebook, a pen and my eyeballs! I never got around to doing anything about hooking up my computer, and as long as my eyeball check sees good #s I probably never will! I did put in a list of fbg #s once, but it all looked so dull (i.e. normal readings) that it didn’t seem worth the bother to set up a system to keep track. And I know when I’ve been out (which isn’t often), whether it’s Pizza SIG or a steak dinner with my folks, and can look those up easily enough if I want to. (Pizza SIG: oops! results; steak w/ folks: better than I ever think they’re going to be.) Maybe I’ll do something when I get a new computer and am fiddling around anyway. Diabetes is the way to go, diseasewise, if you like gadgets, isn’t it! bj

Response:

Yikes, I can only afford to test a very few times  day ! My crappyass insurance will only pay for strips I can’t use, and I hate the only acceptable meter they provide, because it was TOTALLY a piece of junk !!! So I buy my own supplies …. They are expensive, folks. If I tested that much, like 8 times a day I be homeless. I make too much money to get medicaid, and I am too poor to buy better insurance.

This seems to be a common problem – this isn’t the first time I’ve heard of someone having trouble with insurance not covering a decent glucometer and enough test strips. What I don’t understand is how any insurance company could be so short-sighted. Test strips are up there with a DCE and a doctor that specializes in diabetes for being ways of tremendously reducing the cost of care for a diabetic. Test strips are far cheaper than therapy to learn how to deal with blindness or recover from an amputation or a major MI. 1. Have you tried asking your insurance company to cover a different meter or at least cover the cost of their strips for the strips you are buying? 2. Have you asked if someone here likes that brand of meter and has your strips that they don’t like? Perhaps you could trade. 3. Write to the company of the meter you like. Tell them about your situation and ask if they could contact your insurance company and work something out. Maybe they won’t, but I bet you get a coupon for a price break on the strips or something like that. I’m not going to apologize for testing as often as I do, or for being a gadget guru or my mild case of OCD with regard to stats. I pay for my Dex test wheels out of pocket. I focus on the stats to help me deal with the anxiety of having a life-threatening illness. And yes, there are times when being a diabetic sucks. I’m not going to apologize, but I’m willing to help others fight to get decent insurance coverage for necessary diabetic supplies. That’s part of the reason I’m running for Team Diabetes. I’ve raised over $5,000 for the ADA, and hope to raise far more. One of the things the ADA does is act as an advocate for diabetics so that problems like this won’t happen. Rob

Response:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – This seems to be a common problem – this isn’t the first time I’ve heard of someone having trouble with insurance not covering a decent glucometer and enough test strips. What I don’t understand is how any insurance company could be so short-sighted. Test strips are up there with a DCE and a doctor that specializes in diabetes for being ways of tremendously reducing the cost of care for a diabetic. Test strips are far cheaper than therapy to learn how to deal with blindness or recover from an amputation or a major MI.

I think they operate on the short-term assumption that by the time problems develop you’ll be on somebody else’s tab (different job/insurance, medicare, whatever), and spending money on you now comes off their right-now bottom line. bj

Response:

Jim, Do you also compute other statistics (i.e., median, std dev) and partial correlations. Ira Ira Cohen (DOD EE), Type 2, since 1994 Diet and exercise until Dec 2000 Humalog Mix 75/25, Last Hb1Ac:  5.7 Added Glucophage 3/6/01 Off Insulin 3/20/01

<snip I don’t have the program to do that.  Although WinGloufacts will do it for me. Jim

Response:

Geez, over 500 tests ! I’m jealous …LOL ! … I did 3 times + that much last year by command of the doc. Insurance would pay for 50. I gotta pay the rest, if i used those particular strips. And that meter does nothing but record a #. My one I have does everything but wag it’s finger in my face if I go over the average. May that’s why I don’t appreciate all this record keeping. Yeah, that and the fact the dr. only really cared about average. High and low don’t really matter. Which by the way I don’t agree with, given the fact I spike for no reason and she doesn’t know why.  But told me testing once or twice a day was enough …. this was my new dr. talking … the old one had me testing 4 times +. Very expensive, if the HMO says no ! It was a relief not to have to for a while. But you know … all kidding aside, it is way more important that you do keep some records and I do. Not that I am as obsessed as some of the stuff I have read here. I makes me nuts. I know my averages and I am just so tired of being able to know at a given moment what my actual numbers are. I don’t ever tell anyone anymore and I try not to stress over it unless it is very bad. Rainbow                

Response:

<snip  I keep track of it. I know the feeling. But I haven’t gone so far as to average out the readings. bj also t2/d&e

Actually the program I use averages them out.  I am using WinGlucofacts.   Keeping 3 seperate files now.  Morning, pre-brekfast, post-breakfast or pre-lunch. But I can tell you every reading my meter took.  All 538 of them.  I am somewhat poor but my insurance will pay for what I need.

Response:

Jennifer – If you are taking medication(s), where do they fit into the schedule for eating and testing: before, after, in-between meals.  Or any of the above? – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Jim… You’re missing some of the most important readings of the day.   The post meal readings. Recent studies have shown that the post prandial (or after meal) readings are the most indicative of possible future complications. You may want to try this test schedule for a few days: Upon waking (fasting) 1 hour after each meal 2 hours after each meal At bedtime That means 8 x for that day.  What you will discover by this is how long after a meal your highest reading comes… and how fast you return to "normal".  Also, you may see that a meal that included bread, fruit or other carbs gives you a higher reading. The closer we get to non-diabetic numbers, the greater chance we have of avoiding horrible complications.  The key here is AIM… I know that everyone is at a different point in their disease… and it is progressive. But, if we aim for the best numbers and do our best, that’s all we can do. Here’s my opinion on what numbers to aim for, they are non-diabetic numbers. FBG                    60 – 110 One hour after meals       under 140 Two hours after meals     under 120 Best of luck! Jennifer Having diabetes has seemed to turn me into a control freak.  If I can measure it, I keep track of it. Pre-breakfast readings – 16 readings – Average 100 mg/dL Breakfast – then exercise one to two hours later. Pre-exercise reading – 7 readings – Average 137 mg/dL One hour on an exercise bike, 11 to 12 mph Post-exercise – 7 readings – Average 96 mg/dL Jim, 53 year old, type 2, HbA1c 5.3, Diet & exercise only

Response:

Heck.  You didn’t even mention the BG watch. <grin

Eventually I’ll get one just to play with, but I figured that there might be enough of a supply problem that I should let all the folks on insulin get them. If I have to have a miserable disease like this, I fully intend to have as much fun with it as I possibly can. Rob

Response:

Where did you get it and how much did it cost?

I got it from Road Runner Sports ( www.roadrunnersports.com ) for $235. It’s listed under the Men’s Store — Accessories — Electronics. I have a very understanding wife! Rob

Response:

Ahhh… that’s the eternal question. It’s really not that an exact science. If I’m having an average length meal, I’ll test two hours after the end.  If it’s a looooonng leisurely kind of affair I’ll test two hours after the start… or somewhere in between. The trick is, if you do this enough, you’ll begin to learn about where your BGs are at any given point in the process. Jennifer – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Jennifer, Is 2 hours after a meal, 2 hours from start or 2 hours after end? Ira Ira Cohen (DOD EE), Type 2, since 1994 Diet and exercise until Dec 2000 Humalog Mix 75/25, Last Hb1Ac:  5.7 Added Glucophage 3/6/01 Off Insulin 3/20/01

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Having diabetes has seemed to turn me into a control freak.  If I can measure it, I keep track of it. I saw this and had to laugh. I’m one of those people that has to measure and keep track of things, too. My doctor saw my glucometer and said "You know, you only have to check your BG twice a day." MY response: "Hey, this is cheap fun!" My running coach from Team Diabetes suggested I go for a 2 hour run and not worry about the distance or pace. It drove me crazy. I have a computerized log book that keeps track of all my runs, splits, interval workouts, etc. I print out hard copies and back up the data twice as often as I do Quicken or Act! Nike came out with a new watch that receives information from a sensor tied to the shoelaces of one shoe. The sensor is an accelerometer, and the whole gizmo can calculate distance traveled, pace, and keep track of 100 splits! You know I had to have one. I love the thing! I wonder if anyone will think I’m weird if I wear the Nike watch on one wrist and the Heart Rate Monitor watch on the other wrist? <g

Heck.  You didn’t even mention the BG watch. <grin

Response:

Having diabetes has seemed to turn me into a control freak.  If I can measure it, I keep track of it.   Pre-breakfast readings – 16 readings – Average 100 mg/dL Breakfast – then exercise one to two hours later. Pre-exercise reading – 7 readings – Average 137 mg/dL One hour on an exercise bike, 11 to 12 mph Post-exercise – 7 readings – Average 96 mg/dL Jim, 53 year old, type 2, HbA1c 5.3, Diet & exercise only

Response:

Having diabetes has seemed to turn me into a control freak.  If I can measure it, I keep track of it.  

I saw this and had to laugh. I’m one of those people that has to measure and keep track of things, too. My doctor saw my glucometer and said "You know, you only have to check your BG twice a day." MY response: "Hey, this is cheap fun!" My running coach from Team Diabetes suggested I go for a 2 hour run and not worry about the distance or pace. It drove me crazy. I have a computerized log book that keeps track of all my runs, splits, interval workouts, etc. I print out hard copies and back up the data twice as often as I do Quicken or Act! Nike came out with a new watch that receives information from a sensor tied to the shoelaces of one shoe. The sensor is an accelerometer, and the whole gizmo can calculate distance traveled, pace, and keep track of 100 splits! You know I had to have one. I love the thing! I wonder if anyone will think I’m weird if I wear the Nike watch on one wrist and the Heart Rate Monitor watch on the other wrist? <g Rob T2 1.2 years, diet and exercise only.

Response:

I wonder if anyone will think I’m weird if I wear the Nike watch on one wrist and the Heart Rate Monitor watch on the other wrist? <g

Not if you only pull your thermometer and glucometer out when there is no one around. It went "Zip" when it moved and "Pop" when it stopped, "Whirrr" when it stood still. I never knew just what it was and I guess I never will.

Response:

Jim… You’re missing some of the most important readings of the day.   The post meal readings. Recent studies have shown that the post prandial (or after meal) readings are the most indicative of possible future complications. You may want to try this test schedule for a few days: Upon waking (fasting) 1 hour after each meal 2 hours after each meal At bedtime That means 8 x for that day.  What you will discover by this is how long after a meal your highest reading comes… and how fast you return to "normal".  Also, you may see that a meal that included bread, fruit or other carbs gives you a higher reading. The closer we get to non-diabetic numbers, the greater chance we have of avoiding horrible complications.  The key here is AIM… I know that everyone is at a different point in their disease… and it is progressive. But, if we aim for the best numbers and do our best, that’s all we can do. Here’s my opinion on what numbers to aim for, they are non-diabetic numbers. FBG                    60 – 110 One hour after meals       under 140 Two hours after meals     under 120 Best of luck! Jennifer – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Having diabetes has seemed to turn me into a control freak.  If I can measure it, I keep track of it. Pre-breakfast readings – 16 readings – Average 100 mg/dL Breakfast – then exercise one to two hours later. Pre-exercise reading – 7 readings – Average 137 mg/dL One hour on an exercise bike, 11 to 12 mph Post-exercise – 7 readings – Average 96 mg/dL Jim, 53 year old, type 2, HbA1c 5.3, Diet & exercise only

Response:

I wonder if anyone will think I’m weird if I wear the Nike watch on one wrist and the Heart Rate Monitor watch on the other wrist? <g Not if you only pull your thermometer and glucometer out when there is no one around.

Actually…. At one time or another, I have gone running while carrying the following items (not all at once): heart rate monitor Palm computer cell phone amateur radio HT GPS unit glucometer Nike SDM (the thing that measures distance) stopwatch Lifepack 10 defibrillator (it was a bet) Rob

Response:

Rob Carr writes:   Rob Nike came out with a new watch that receives information from a sensor   Rob tied to the shoelaces of one shoe. The sensor is an accelerometer, and   Rob the whole gizmo can calculate distance traveled, pace, and keep track   Rob of 100 splits! I am a techno freak too.  What is the gizmo called (so I can search for it on the web).  Sounds cool.  Seems as if it would work for any activity, not just running.

Nike SDM Triax 100. Road Runner Sports has it. I’m not sure, but I think it’s an accelerometer-based device. I don’t think it will work with biking. Then again, I’ll probably try it to see what happens…. It really is cool. Ya gotta get one! Rob

Response:

Nike came out with a new watch that receives information from a sensor tied to the shoelaces of one shoe. The sensor is an accelerometer, and the whole gizmo can calculate distance traveled, pace, and keep track of 100 splits! You know I had to have one. I love the thing!

Where did you get it and how much did it cost? I wonder if anyone will think I’m weird if I wear the Nike watch on one wrist and the Heart Rate Monitor watch on the other

wrist? <g We’ll understand! – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Rob T2 1.2 years, diet and exercise only.

Response:

message Having diabetes has seemed to turn me into a control freak.  If I can measure it, I keep track of it.

I know the feeling. But I haven’t gone so far as to average out the readings. bj also t2/d&e

Response:

Jim, Do you also compute other statistics (i.e., median, std dev) and partial correlations. Ira Ira Cohen (DOD EE), Type 2, since 1994 Diet and exercise until Dec 2000 Humalog Mix 75/25, Last Hb1Ac:  5.7 Added Glucophage 3/6/01 Off Insulin 3/20/01 – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Having diabetes has seemed to turn me into a control freak.  If I can measure it, I keep track of it. Pre-breakfast readings – 16 readings – Average 100 mg/dL Breakfast – then exercise one to two hours later. Pre-exercise reading – 7 readings – Average 137 mg/dL One hour on an exercise bike, 11 to 12 mph Post-exercise – 7 readings – Average 96 mg/dL Jim, 53 year old, type 2, HbA1c 5.3, Diet & exercise only

Response:

Jennifer, Is 2 hours after a meal, 2 hours from start or 2 hours after end? Ira Ira Cohen (DOD EE), Type 2, since 1994 Diet and exercise until Dec 2000 Humalog Mix 75/25, Last Hb1Ac:  5.7 Added Glucophage 3/6/01 Off Insulin 3/20/01 – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Jim… You’re missing some of the most important readings of the day.   The post meal readings. Recent studies have shown that the post prandial (or after meal) readings are the most indicative of possible future complications. You may want to try this test schedule for a few days: Upon waking (fasting) 1 hour after each meal 2 hours after each meal At bedtime That means 8 x for that day.  What you will discover by this is how long after a meal your highest reading comes… and how fast you return to "normal".  Also, you may see that a meal that included bread, fruit or other carbs gives you a higher reading. The closer we get to non-diabetic numbers, the greater chance we have of avoiding horrible complications.  The key here is AIM… I know that everyone is at a different point in their disease… and it is progressive. But, if we aim for the best numbers and do our best, that’s all we can do. Here’s my opinion on what numbers to aim for, they are non-diabetic numbers. FBG                    60 – 110 One hour after meals       under 140 Two hours after meals     under 120 Best of luck! Jennifer Having diabetes has seemed to turn me into a control freak.  If I can measure it, I keep track of it. Pre-breakfast readings – 16 readings – Average 100 mg/dL Breakfast – then exercise one to two hours later. Pre-exercise reading – 7 readings – Average 137 mg/dL One hour on an exercise bike, 11 to 12 mph Post-exercise – 7 readings – Average 96 mg/dL Jim, 53 year old, type 2, HbA1c 5.3, Diet & exercise only

Response: