I had an appointment with my new endocrinologist last Tuesday and unlike so many other appointments I have had over the past two years, this one was quite pleasant. She didn’t argue over type or treatment, was happy with the results in my bg logs – and didn’t question their authenticity (really, I had one doctor who didn’t think the computer-generated print-out could be real because it wasn’t a traditional bg log!). Generally, I was fairly pleased with her.
She didn’t take the time to examine my feet, even though I’ve had some peripheral neuropathy. While I’m flexible enough to put my foot in my mouth (literally as well as figuratively!), there are changes that can happen that might be overlooked. I’ve also had some lows I didn’t feel until they were in the low-to-mid 40s and while I find that disconcerting, she was not concerned, nor did she give me any idea of what would be too low or how many lows would be too many before she would become conerned. That might have been nice to know, since that would let me know if we were thinking similarly about hypos. Even so, these differences are minor in comparison to other problems I’ve had with doctors.
She did surprise me when she said she would approve me for an insulin pump – when I get insurance! Because I use so little Lantus (only 5 units), she is thinking that an Animas pump would be the best pump for me. It was a surprise since I’m doing relatively well on a vial and syringe (for Humalog) and pen (for Lantus) – I might have 2 or 3 hypos a week, and so far, none below 44. I also rarely go over 220, except when I indulge my craving for pizza. Still, I do take very small amounts of insulin and most of my corrections are only 1/2-1 unit at a time. Having a pump might allow me to more precisely manage my dm, and after all this time, that would be a good thing.
She had me do all the standard lab tests for diabetics, plus a couple extra related to the osteoporosis I was diagnosed with in 2008. If the results are all where she expects them to be, I’ll simply get a letter from her. If not, then I’ll get a phone call from her to discuss my optons. By the end of today (Monday), it will have been 6 days since the appointment – and I haven’t heard anything yet. I’ll be looking for the letter and dreading the call until one or the other arrives! My hope for my A1c? I think a 5.8. Maybe a 5.9. I can live with that!
Now if I could just get that pesky insurance thing 