Freestyle

Unfortunately, it wasn't all good news at the diabetes doctor today. Today was our first consultation - she's wonderful. Sweet, kind, smart, and clearly looking at all the factors - genetic, medication, and lifestyle. She acknowledged right away the issues at hand: being double-whammied genetically from both sides of the family is a huge thing to fight right out of the gate. The good news is that I've pretty much got the lifestyle piece down: I'm down another seven pounds since my last doctor's appointment, and once I really start exercising, I'll have made most of the changes I need to make. Losing sugar and switching to mostly whole grains has already made a big difference.

The bad news is that my RA medication is likely playing a major role in this whole nonsense: the steroids, apparently, do more than just lessen inflammation and make me feel better. They also send my sugar values through the roof. For example: I'm on a steroid pack at the moment, and my blood sugar was 253 fasting. Not a good number.

So I got a new toy as a result - the lovely Freestyle Lite test meter (pictured above), which I am supposed to use faithfully once a day (just once - thank heavens) to see where my blood sugar is at. I also got a new medicine which is not only supposed to help lower it, it also helps with weight loss. (Me: "Can I start it now? Do you have any here?") The nurse trained me on how to test, and it's not too bad - it doesn't hurt or anything, but I am really disappointed that I have to take all these steps to make sure it's under control. Apparently, with the three strikes of genetics, RA meds and not-quite-being-svelte yet, I've got some work to do. And it will be safer and healthier work if I am aware of what's going on sugar-wise.

I have to say I do like the name Freestyle. Kind of a Michael Phelps-ian, Californian eclectic sound to it. I figured I'd end up with the Aviva, given that it's my name, but maybe that's not such a bad thing. I mean, how closely does one need to identify with their testing supplies? Ah, marketing.