From deep in the throes of pre-Passover cleaning and shopping, old questions are renewed and new ones added to the litany.

As part of the seder (ritual Passover dinner), a child makes four observations, called Ma Nishtanah, starting with the question, "Why is this night different from any other night of the year?" He goes on to ask about the foods and rituals of the seder, leading the group into the maggid, or story, of the Israelites' Exodus from Egypt.

My questions may be more secular in nature, and may change from year to year, but they are no less perplexing to someone who was not brought up in a Kosher home, and whose sympathies lie with those of us whose lifestyles are dictated -- at least to a certain degree -- by our personal health.

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If you expect to hear it, then should it really be that bad?

Yes and no. 

Today's endo appointment wasn't as bad as I thought it would be in terms of feeling like I was getting raked over the coals. First, the good news: the thyroid nodule hasn't grown and I don't need to follow up on it until March 2012. Like K said when they first discovered it, I've probably had it forever. And nodules are apparently pretty common.

So the bad news: cholesterol is up, thyroid out of whack for the first time in ages, A1C up. Everything is up except my mood.

I think I generally take this kind of news in stride during the appointment. It's typically hours later when I realize what I went through. And that's when I start kicking myself and hating diabetes and thinking about how nice it would be to not have to think about all this stuff all the time.

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On my drive home I heard my cell phone ring. My headset was not on so I grabbed it and turned it on. I missed the call and waited to here the notification of voice mail.

When I heard the familiar "beep" I called my voice mail only to hear my doctors nurse on the line.

"Mr. Simmons this is Dr. Mendez' nurse and I am calling with the results of your blood work. Please call me back here at the office."

I know the number to my doctors office by heart but for whatever reason it is not in my address book. This is sort of a side note but I used the voice dialing feature and it worked perfectly. I don't know why I was so surprised but my phone called the  number the first time I said it.

When the nurse finally got on the phone she said, "The results for your test came back elevated."

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I finally got the results from my bloodwork. My endo has you come in for the appointment, then go do bloodwork, then mails you the results with a note of any changes they want to implement on it. I'd prefer to have the numbers to discuss at the appointment, but I really like the other aspects of his practice, so I stay with him.

Without further ado - the number all persons with diabetes are most interested in - the A1C. (drumroll, please)

5.5%. Yes, five point five! I have seen 5.5 before but I was pregnant and on insulin. I am pretty thrilled. My last A1C in May was 5.8, so this is great. (READ MORE)