How to get absolutely insane blood sugar readings on a blood stick

I was dreaming a vivid dream of a group of five waifs in a hospital with a traditional Celtic harp, something you might see on the Hallmark channel, and I came awake suddenly. It was after 1 pm, so I thought I should probably go ahead and eat something. I poured some soda into a glass and took the bag from Kroger with the bread, peanut butter, and no-sugar-added spreadable fruit inside and took it over to the computer, at which time I discovered the lid of the fruit had popped off and it had oozed into the bag and over the other things. I got a few sticky places on my hand, but didn't think much about it, made the sandwich, set everything else aside to deal with later, and went to take my blood sugar. It read 'HI'. It never reads 'HI'. I've been 460 before in real life, but this seemed very odd. Then I took it again and in a different finger and it it said '467'. But I didn't feel high. So I washed my hands, changed the lancet, and retook it. '177', a little high, but I hadn't taken any insulin yet today, either, and I'd had that one no-sugar-added Klondike bar. It sounded much more correct. So I'm getting ready to take all of my meds, and it doesn't look like I'm heading for a sugar coma. Lesson of the day: always wash your hands before taking a glucose reading. :)

Interesting thing....

So, I gave my old OneTouch Verio IQ to a friend, meaning that the cable that was with it had to go along, because not only is it used to connect to a computer, it's part of the charging assembly. Fine, my new one has Bluetooth, plus a standard USB cord will work, per the directions, right? And I have lots of USB cords hanging around the apartment. So I'm good to go, right?

Argh. I just got an education in USB and USB Micro and Mini connectors thanks to a guide by Cables to Go, which they very helpfully put up. Why, you ask?

The Bluetooth on the meter does work, but is apparently designed so you have to unpair and re-pair the meter with the phone each time you go to upload a test, which seems a little silly. Then I got one that refused to go...it just said there were no more new readings, but there was one, plain as day. So I thought, well, I'll just upload it with a cable.

Apparently, although the manual says a 'standard' USB cable will work, only Micro B cables will plug into the meter. Also apparently, all of my USB cables were either B (printer), Mini B (5-pin) [most everything else], or in the case of my camera, Mini B (4-pin). The only Micro B cables I have happen to be the charger for my Kindle Keyboard and the cable that goes to the portable charger that stores the charge and can then be used to charge the phone. (my phone, incidentally, uses a Micro-USB 3.0 charger, that has both the regular Micro B pins plus some others, so you can use a Micro B charger, it's just slower than the 3.0 one that comes with it. So, of course, that was definitely a no-go.)

I haven't tried the charger cable yet, but the Kindle cable worked fine. I was able to transfer the reading without any problem. But in the process I learned a lot about connectors. And now, maybe you have, too.

I've been working on my health today some

For one, I made an effort to walk around the hospital regularly, as I've had a lot of back pain lately, and while that hurts worse when I stand or walk, the only way to help it, really, is to build up my core, which walking will do. So while I didn't overdo it, I reached my activity goal for today (my phone keeps that as well as my steps) and then some, and I walked 6,865 steps, which is better than I've been doing with this flare-up.

I also was careful today with sweets and took all my medicine with me, in their bottles (I threw them all in the backpack) so I could fill my pill box properly. As a result, my blood sugar was very good today. I'm still having problems with my ankles swelling; when they get big on a day I don't take my diuretic, like they did yesterday, it takes a day or two to get the fluid off of them).

But primarily, there was the meter issue. I see the endocrinologist in a couple of weeks. My values have been good on my blood sugar, for the most part. I should have a lower hemoglobin A1c than last time, and last time was an improvement. I hadn't transferred my results to the computer in awhile, though, and I like to so that I can print a report for her. But I discovered when I tried to bring up the software that it 1) didn't work anymore, with a runtime error and 2) wasn't being distributed anymore. So I couldn't just uninstall and re-download. Instead, Lifescan has created a combination web/mobile application called OneTouch Reveal, which allows you to upload values and find patterns, create reports, all the stuff the old standalone software did and more, and presented graphically and in an easily understood format. My meter, a OneTouch Verio IQ, has a cable that came with it that plugs into the USB port of the computer, and I used a downloaded transfer utility that they have you get (it's free) to transfer several months of readings across to the new web interface. I also downloaded the mobile application. I was very happy with the results. There is also a provision that if you get a code from your doctor's office, they can share the information with them, which is presumably more secure than my e-mailing the logs to the doctor, which is what I had been doing. So I have a call into the doctor's office for that. But along the way, I discovered a new meter that connects and syncs with the mobile application (which in turn, syncs with the web interface), so you don't even need the cable. That way, you can update frequently. It is the OneTouch Verio Flex. I checked, and it was available at the pharmacy for $20, and it's a flexible spending item, so I was able to go ahead and get it after work. It uses the same strips and lancets as the IQ, so that doesn't change. I've set it up, taken my first test, and paired it with the phone so I've already sent that one to update the database. Here's how the two meters stack up:

OneTouch Verio IQ
• PROS:
  1. Colour display
  2. Test strip port light that shines on the strip when you're testing
  3. Rechargeable battery
  4. Tags (before/after meal) can be made when you take a test on the meter itself
  5. Can use an included standard USB cord to download results to a computer
  6. Can browse results in multiples by day
  7. Alerts when high or low patterns are indicated
  8. Case zips to contain lancets, solution, etc.
• CONS:
  1. Must be charged regularly, either by using the USB cable in a computer, or using the enclosed power adapter with the cable.
  2. No way to communicate directly to phone; must use cable.
  3. Small lettering on menus.

OneTouch Verio Flex
• PROS:
  1. Can use Bluetooth to pair/connect directly with mobile application
  2. Can use a standard USB cord to download results to a computer
  3. Large numbers, easy to read screen
  4. Indicator easily shows whether high, low, or normal in range
  5. Small, compact case, so whole thing lighter, and it fits in a purse flat and easily
  6. Doesn't have to be recharged regularly, so no need to carry cord in case
  7. Holster comes out of case and can be clipped on belt and still hold meter, lancet, and strips
  8. Lightweight
• CONS:
  1. Monochrome display (the colour used to indicate high, low, or normal is part of the meter, and then an arrow on the screen is the indicator)
  2. USB cable not included
  3. Battery is a standard watch battery. While it doesn't need to charge, it does need to be replaced--but on the othe rhand, most meter batteries last awhile
  4. Tags are assigned in mobile application, not on meter
  5. No menus, patterns, etc., although it does allow you to go up and down the results
  6. Pouch for lancets doesn't zip--I have mine in a Ziploc snack-sized bag tucked into the pouch.
  7. Not as hefty, but also seems more cheaply made

I hope the above might help if you're planning on getting a meter. Here's what I decided: I'm going to go from now on with the OneTouch Verio Flex, because I have a phone with the mobile application and can sync easily. I'm going to give the other meter, the OneTouch Verio IQ, to a friend who has asked me to check his sugar a few times, so he can have one of his own and I don't mess my results up with his. I went ahead and gave him the new lancing device from this kit and kept my own (both of these come with a OneTouch Delica lancing device, so they're the same). I put some lancets in his pouch, along with a bottle of strips, so he should be good to go, and if the doctor wants him to start testing regularly, the strips would be covered by his insurance. I'm going to give him the user manual as well (I have the original papers and box). So it won't go to waste. It would be helpful to him, I think, because of the colour display and the light on the strip port. He doesn't have (or want) a cell phone, much less a smart phone, so that should be fine for him. The bulkier case shouldn't be a problem for him, as he'd mostly be using it at home. So it's a win-win scenario.

Okay, on that note, time to unpack everything an get ready for tomorrow. Good night.

It's rumbling outside and very dark for a summer morning

as the rain comes down gently. We really needed the rain, and I wasn't really going anywhere, so I can't complain. The window boxes made it through the night without falling off the ledges (yes, if I were in a house, I'd have them on brackets, but I'm in an apartment, so it is what it is.) I slept over nine hours and it was lovely to sleep in on a Sunday for a change. I've taken all my medication (including the potassium, which dissolved in my mouth, but I drank so quickly it went down before I tasted it). I've had just a little hazelnut spread on bread and I'm full already. I'm switching to just plain acetaminophen today. I'm charging my glucometer. I've been up doing some things, but I'm already feeling sleepy again, which probably isn't surprising given how dark things are outside, even though I've been up for only about an hour. It looks like it's starting to lighten up out there, though. Maybe it's clearing off a bit. The birds are singing, anyway. Maybe I'll try some reading....

Just a quick note before bed

I need to get up early tomorrow morning and go into work to make up some time for leaving a little early for my dental appointment today. I also need to drop something off at a friend's before work, so that means I need to get up even earlier than I'd originally planned. Of course, I tried to get up at 6 am and wound up getting up at 7:55 this morning. I've just been dragging out of bed the last few days, both work and weekend days, so I don't think it's just oh, I have so much to do and so little time and work has been somewhat more stressful than normal. And I'm getting a decent amount of sleep. I really think I need to recharge my batteries, have a bit of a real vacation, but I have very little personal time off (I tend to use that for things like today's appointment, rather than fun stuff, and when I was off with my ankle they used two weeks' worth of time that should have been extended illness, and I never got it corrected, so that was my fault, and it's been too long now). Even if I could have a week, I think I'd feel better. The next day off is July 4th, but I don't see taking any extra days with that long weekend.

Today they adjusted my upper partials (apparently it wasn't user error, but rather it was hanging up on a canine), and then a tooth came off of the lower partial, so I sat around for an hour at the dentist while they repaired that. But these are my temporary partials--I get impressions made at the beginning of August for the permanent ones. Unfortunately due to my appointment taking longer than I expected, I wasn't able to give A a ride home from his appointment, but I did feed him dinner when he got home. :) I visited over there for awhile and did some things to help out with something, and then I came on home. My knee is hurting (7 days till I hopefully find out why) and my ankles are swollen. I'm going to have to ditch my sandals despite the heat; the New Balance walking shoes do so much better for my ankles, as they have much more support and orthotics in them to boot. I'll save sandals for skirts and capris, and just keep to the others for my normal pants.

Okay, I've downloaded my readings from my glucose monitor and cleared the readings on the machine. I've charged it while I've typed, which should bring it back to full by now. I think I'll take my nightly meds and head on to bed, get this knee elevated, etc. I hope you had a good start to your week. Last night's news stories left me sort of down. I also found someone on Facebook with whom I've been estranged for years, my father, and that saddened me, too--not enough to contact him, as I think I gave as much into that relationship as I could have, and it's good to have an idea of where he is, because, well, I like to know where the people I've put into my past are, but it saddens me, too, because as a child I desperately wanted to be loved by him, and even after my parents divorced tried to keep things going, only to have him end things over petty greed and lies. I know now that I will never have the nurturing I wanted or deserved, and I tend to forge ahead as if I never really had a father, but of course, I did, and not the one I wanted in my head, but the one I actually had. But I do know as we both get older (he's a senior citizen now), I think of the whole situation with some amount of regret. I wonder if he does the same of me. I'll probably never know.

A little tired tonight

One of my co-workers mentioned today that sometimes it seems the 'short' weeks with holidays seem longer than others. This week has been very busy, plus for whatever reason I wound up with a cluster of doctor's appointments. Yesterday was my ophthalmologist, today the endocrinologist. I learned that I really should go to see the ophthalmologist in the later afternoon, as it takes several hours for eyes to recover from the dilation. My vision was blurry, and of course I was sensitive to the lights in my office. I had trouble reading things on the screen to the point where I had to put my head up and look through the bifocal part of my glasses to see. Right now I have a morning appointment in December, but I'm thinking that's going to have to change.

My endocrinologist gave me a new metre today that hooks up to a computer and downloads the data, syncing it into a tracking program. I tried it out today and I like it very much. My old one still works, but it's probably about thirteen or fourteen years old and had no way to do that. The new one is a One Touch Verio IQ. I thought she'd give me a prescription for one, but they had one on hand they could give me. Yay!

Both appointments went pretty well. I dreaded today's especially, because my blood sugar's been up. She put me back on Invokana, but at a lower dose to try to prevent the side effects I was having. I'm going to try to make some changes in my lifestyle, really work on them this time. She wants me to lose 30 lbs to help increase my sensitivity to insulin. I'd really like to start walking more but my knee is still giving me issues if I overuse it. However, my pool at the apartment complex is now open, so perhaps I can do a workout in it without the stress on my joints.

This week I've applied for a job, run a friend to appointments, gone to the pharmacy, did my own appointments, watched 'The 100' and 'The Big Bang Theory', and I've worked a lot on the revenue cycle issues at work. Tomorrow I really need to get a book order in to our vendor. Through July 15th there is a special being run that ups our discount on one order. I've had two people really wanting access to the current Publication Manual of the American Psychological Associatio, and it would be nice to get it soon so they can use it for school and research. So it's definitely on my to do list, as well as getting the referral queue down. But I'll get it done, I'm sure. At least it's a light clinic day, so I can concentrate on those things rather than a lot of data entry, hopefully.

Okay, I really think it would be best to go get some rest. I have something I need to do very early in the morning, and so I'm going to turn in early. But I'm very glad tomorrow is Friday!

I've been checking out what others think

about testing blood and using insulin in public. I'm still trying to get a good balance of discretion and health in terms of going out to eat or like today, when I was in a professional meeting that involved food.

I do not feel comfortable breaking the skin in a bathroom. So I've been discreetly doing the test/injecting once I have the food at the table. You can do a lot under the table itself, without spreading things all over. This seems to be the best way to do it, and others be damned in terms of any problems with it. Doing so before going to the restaurant is out--sometimes you wait a long time for food or to sit. A test involves very little blood and is not unsanitary. A pen needle is tiny and should not make people faint, and quite frankly if they do, they're weenies.

I have only had one incident, at work, and not in a public place, where I tested my blood sugar and got a deeper stick than normal, and someone I knew who was very sensitive to a lot of things got grossed out, although not upset or anything. But in retrospect, that had more to do with her being weird than what I was doing.

Sometimes, because I'm new to this, I actually forget to take it, and if I'm lucky I'll remember in time to take it after eating. But today I remembered, once I started, but was in a room full of other librarians, very close to one another, and should have just excused myself to another room, but I let it go instead. Later that day, when I tested my blood sugar, it was something like 357. Definitely the wrong call. Now that I am solely on insulin, I need to be vigilant about taking it. Hence the search to see what others think of the proper etiquette for this.

I found one very good blog post on testing that can also be adapted to insulin injection. The author had linked to it on a forum where a woman was very frustrated because her own family treated her like she was injecting heroin if she did it publicly. I think he is the voice of sanity, by an Australian named Alan Shanley, who has written a book called What on Earth Can I Eat: Food, Type II Diabetes, and YOU:

Testing Etiquette

Okay, heading to bed. Good night.

Well, I got the house looking much better

(although there's still a lot of clutter to go through, and I forgot to clean the shower, so now that the bath and kitchen are so nice and shiny clean, it looks like something out of a horror movie), but as a result I crashed sometime around 9:30 last night and woke up at 8 am. Well, I did get up from 12:30-2 and played Civilization IV.

I've spent the last 45 minutes searching for my glucometer, which somehow managed to escape my purse. I had started to switch purses and changed my mind on which one, and it was in the other one. So at least that's that. I do have a backup one, but it doesn't have the lancet that I can use on my hand rather than my fingers, and that's important in my book. (And if you're thinking, go get a backup lancet, let me just say that those lancets are about $5 cheaper than getting a whole new set of the Mini One Touch Ultra meter I use. So if I couldn't have found it, it would have been in my best interest to go get a new one. These are only $20, but $20 is $20, so I'm glad I found mine. I love my little meter. LifeScan is also really good about if there's ever a problem with the product, they'll replace it, and their customer service is wonderful (I had trouble one time and they were able to walk me through the problem over the phone. Fortunately it was just a matter of a battery having shifted or something like that.)

Since I did find it, I'll take the vitamins with me today. (I was afraid my sugar levels might go too low in the afternoon if I don't monitor.) The vitamins seem to be really helping with my blood sugar. Yesterday I didn't have the metre with me, so I don't know how it went, but I felt much better than normal. Now I did forget to enter my food yesterday, and I got some cranberry flax oat bread from Great Harvest yesterday and had several thin slices, but still, kind of pigged out on that. I discovered that cinnamon in strawberry yoghurt is quite good (the cinnamon capsules are over an inch long, so I open them up over food).

Well, I'm ready for work, but I think I'll check the news. Hope you have a good day.

Big ball in sky go down, temperatures plummet

Okay, it's not as bad as yesterday when I went to the bus stop early in the morning with -2 windchill. But it is really cold outside, even when you're bundled up, and the wind just goes through you. Have I ever mentioned that I'm a springtime/autumn kind of girl? I don't like very cold or very hot temperatures. Snow is pretty, of course, but it has its own issues.

Today I had a very productive day at the hospital, working completely through my to-do list. My new planner is much like my old one but more compact, at it includes space at the bottom of every day for a to-do list.

On my personal to-do list I had to call LifeScan about my blood glucose meter, which was giving an error and staying on, and no button would help. Taking the battery out and re-seating it brought it back to life. The nice thing is that if we had not been able to troubleshoot it into working, they would have sent me another one for free, which really says something about how they stand behind their product. I have one of the original One Touch Ultra Minis, so I was impressed that they would replace it even though I've had it quite a while.

I also activated my new flexible spending account card. I still have $177 on the old one, and I have until March to spend it; I think I did pretty well with it, all things considered. I'll use that first, obviously, but that's about three medicines. I elected a slightly smaller amount with the new account; last year was $3,000 (yes, I have that much in medical expenses, isn't that scary, and that's with good insurance). This new one is a little less, since I don't think I'll need more crowns (I had three put on in 2009). But I do need orthotics for my feet, they're not covered by my insurance, and they are $360. So it's time to make a call to the podiatrist. I was waiting for the new account to kick in so that I could pay for them. Here's hoping they'll solve the foot issues.

I got my new pants from Land's End (via Amazon) that I had ordered, paying partly for it with money my grandmother gave me for the holiday. They meet all the criteria for work: twill, Dockers style, belted, and black (khaki is also allowed, but subject to coffee spills and other stains). I guessed on the inseam being 26 and apparently was right. They have elastic in the back which is covered by the belt. They fit fine, which is good, as they were about $50 with the tax and shipping! Considering that the belt was also $30, and I need more pants now that I know they fit, I really wish I could talk to the corporate person who decided on this uniform policy about how difficult it is for larger women to find such pants. Even one of my co-workers, about my size, who gleaned several pairs from consignment shops and Goodwill, had a pant accident the other day, as a seam ripped down her leg, even though they fit her waist.

Okay, I guess that's enough for now. I'm going to try to watch tonight's two-hour 'Heroes' episode, although I have it set on DVR just in case I get sleepy. I need to do laundry, but I'm thinking about getting up early tomorrow and doing that. Now that I've warmed up I don't want to go back out in the cold. Of course, it'll be colder tomorrow morning, and we have more snow.

So I was at Walgreens

getting almost all of my meds refilled, when I came across the LifeScan OneTouch UltraMini, a new glucometre that's about 1 inch by 4 inches, much slimmer than my OneTouch Ultra. Even with the carrying case and supplies, it's fully only 3/4 of the size of the Ultra, and lately I've had a very packed purse, so I was intrigued.

It's very basic compared to some of the others on the market, but it does everything mine does, including being compatible with the LifeScan software you can get for the computer. I just put mine into an Excel spreadsheet, but hey, you never know if I'd like to get the software and cable later.

The nicest thing is that it is only $19.99 and covered by my flexible spending account. It uses the same strips I'm using now--the only ones covered by my insurance.

Granted, there was nothing technically wrong with my metre, although it is several years old. However, my lancing device that allowed me to test on my forearm or palm died a long time ago, and I've been using a generic one that can only do fingers. A new lancer retails for about $24.99, although I've seen it as low as $12. A compact lancing device that allows for alternate test sites is included with this kit. My fingers have gotten pincushioned a lot now that I'm testing twice a day, so that's a concern.

So, anyway, as you've probably guessed, I got it. Mine is 'pink glow' in colour (they come in silver, black, and gold, too) but it's not a bright pink, more a subtle metallic one, as you can see in the picture. It looks for all the world like an .mp3 player or maybe something along the lines of a pen shaped flash drive, and fits in my purse nicely. If I didn't take all the stuff that I normally do (the logbook, the lancets, control solution, etc.) it would easily fit in a pocket. So I think it was a good deal. Granted, I know, I'm justifying. The fact that I didn't have to lay out money from my bank account was a plus, though. It's easy to use, too--I tried it out right off the bat.

As for the old one, I may keep it as a backup or more likely, give it away through the local Freecycle group, so someone else can benefit from it.