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I made a note on my calendar to call Dr. S today about the bloodwork I had done last week. His nurse told me it may be a week or two before I got results and that I could call any time to see if they were in.

I got impatient (go figure!) and called yesterday. After going through automated phone Hell, I got to the voice mail of the nurse. Her mailbox said feel free to leave a message, but be aware that it may take me 72 hours to get back to you. *sigh*

So I left a message fully expecting NOT to hear from her any time soon. I considered calling again today, but even though I'm impatient I'm not a pest. Well, maybe sometimes.

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Several people have told me lately how A1c results aren't all that important. I agree that A1c's aren't the ONLY lab test or number that diabetics need to be concerned over in their diabetes management. But it's also ingrained into me that A1c's are a very important number in diabetes control.

For about ten years, I went to a doctor who was directly involved in the DCCT trial. I researched the DCCT for a science fair project in 7th grade. I've seen the results. I've heard the stories. A1c results are valued by most endocrinologists in this field. Obviously, there is something to this.

For me, my A1c is one of the telling factors about my control. It's the guiding light at the end of the tunnel. There is an ultimate goal in my mind regarding my diabetes and regarding that number. It's important to me. I'd rather have a lower A1c than risk running at a higher result and increase my chances of diabetic complications.

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Last October, I totally ditched an appointment with my endo.

Why? I didn’t want to face the music. I didn’t want to hear about what I have not done right and I just did not want to see my A1C.

My last A1C was from last July and it was an 8.9%. Not good at all. I was upset about it but in the end I knew it made sense. I was not on top of things.

And this year was no different. I just kept gaining weight, snacking, and my BG was high a lot of the time. So when the time for the appointment came I wrote a post here about wanting to ditch and how I needed to face the music.

I still ditched it.

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Anxious. Pissed off. Relieved. Lots of things.

This writing subject was a challenge issued by Kerri. It's certainly better than her last challenge. None of us wanted to eat a goat's heart at last year's Blogabetes retreat in Jacksonville. Poor little guy was still alive! But, that's just the way Kerri rolls.

And then there was the trust-building exercise in which you must fall back and trust that your partner will catch you. I don't want to mention any names (Kim Doty), but some people just can't be trusted.

Charlie's next A1c result will bring mixed emotions. I expect it will be his lowest A1c ever. This should make me happy, right?

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So I got my A1c results yesterday. I'm neither happy nor sad. I suppose I'm content, but still slightly frustrated. It's a 7.4% this time around. In September it was 7.3% (my doctor apparently read me the wrong results at my office visit...yet another reason to switch!). So there's only a 0.1% increase over the holidays and break and some sticky moments.

A 7.4% A1c comes to a 166 mg/dl average, roughly. My thirty-one day average on my pump is at 160 right now. So I'm happy about the fact that my results are coinciding. It's one less thing to worry about (is my pump broken?, is my meter accurate?, are my post-prandials off the chart when I don't check?)...all those thoughts can now leave the building.

I am sad to see it go up from last time, but I was expecting much worse (at least a 7.6%) so that part is exciting. I never want to go up, even if it's by a small percentage. Down is so much better in this arena!

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I received my A1c results from my endo appointment today. They are not at all what I expected them to be. It was 9.3%, which is up from June's 9.1%. The frustrating part is that I expected it to be back in the 8s because the numbers and averages that I've seen are much lower than this summer. (Except for this week as I've been fighting with extreme spikes and random lows). I'm incredibly disappointed by 9.3, even though I realize that it could be much worse and it's a small change from June.

I'm just not the type of diabetic who handles 9% very well. As a child, I struggled with my numbers but rarely hit above 10%. I remember a 13% one time and nearly freaking out. At 23 (almost), I expect more even numbers and less variables. I expect to see some decline in my A1c, not spikes since I graduated college.

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I spent the Friday morning after I returned from my vacation at my primary care physician's office for a check up and some lab work. I've been having some concerning symptoms that I wanted to get checked and I also wanted an updated A1c since I'm switching endos next month. My PCP is competent albeit frustrating at times.

I went in with the following symptoms: occasional shortness of breath (like my breath is suddenly getting knocked out of me), tingling in my hands, shocking pains in my heels in the morning, and my ongoing fatigue that I've battled for several years now. My two main concerns were the tingling and the shortness of breath.

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I had my second appointment with my endo today. The first was back in late June when my A1c wasn't anywhere close to where I'd like it (clocking in at 9.1%). Today's appointment went well and I'll know my latest A1c in a few days. The doctor feels like it should be down and to keep trying to do what I'm doing with a little extra help.

She is the kind of doctor who offers advice if needed, but ultimately understands that diabetes is a very individual disease and my management may be different than others. She does not seem to be concerned with higher A1cs, which is a little troubling as I know the best A1c is certainly not in the 8 or 9% range for a 20-something year old.

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