Matthias Gelinski

12.5? 10.0? 7.8? 8.2?

That is what my last four hemoglobin A1c tests have been. I just got the results for my latest blood work this week.

When my nurse gave me the results I was not surprised. My carb intake has been a lot more then usual and my blood sugars have been high often. Since I switched to the Weight Watchers Core Plan like so many of you suggested, my BG has been very good this week. I am hopeful that I can get that A1c down next time. But are those numbers bad? (READ MORE)

John's Images

I started the pump in October last year with an A1c of 7.3. At the time, that 7.3 was my lowest A1c since before being diagnosed. Growing up, my A1c levels were anywhere from the 8.0's to the 13.0's. Between "sugar free," a lack of diabetes knowledge in the world and being a kid, I never could get my averages right. The three years prior to going on the pump I decided to be an idiot and "take a break" from diabetes. I stopped checking my blood sugar and just blindly did my insulin. I had no idea that my blood sugars were getting into the 500's sometimes. I stopped going to the doctor. What was the point? They were going to tell me the same thing I already knew but just wasn't willing to do. (READ MORE)

djayo

At the end of every year I take some time to look back and kind of analyze the year’s past.

2008 was filled with lots of down times. Sure there were things to celebrate but big things, like losing my home, overshadowed my son’s high school band performance at Angel Stadium. I feel awful just thinking that something so material like a home could get in the way of such an exciting memory that my son will have forever.

It’s my fault.

Yes, losing my house was a major cause for my depression and with it, all of the things that went along with it. Having to find a place, move, and tell others the whole story. Trying to make a new place a new home after the one you had been in for over a decade was gone. All big stuff. (READ MORE)

nkzs

Three years ago today I started blogging.
 

It all started with a post about wanting to lose weight and how I wanted to write about my journey. Soon after that first post I started getting comments from a few people who had diabetes and who wanted to cheer me on.

I wrote more. I read more. I found a large network of people with and affected by diabetes and it made me feel so much less alone than I ever did. 
 

In that time I have met 3 of my fellow bloggers, talked on the phone with some, and I am even making plans to have one come over to our home and stay with us for a visit!
  (READ MORE)

For several months, a bunch of us have taken part in Wednesday night Diabetes Social Media Advocacy (#dsma) chats on Twitter. Run by Cherise Shockley, these sessions are about an hour long and cover a number of predesignated topics ranging from support groups to diabetes-related conferences to relationships to insurance issues. A week ago this past Wednesday, talk centered around the glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) test: how important it is (or should be) in determining our treatment, how accurate it is as a measure of our diabetes control, whether or not we consider current best-practice A1c goals to be realistic or not (and why), and what sort of self-treatment we use to achieve (or try to achieve) those goals.

  (READ MORE)