So, the endocrinologist agrees with me, I do not need to go on insulin. Hurray! This is a very good thing. Additionally, she agrees with me that, if I maintain my current trend of shifting eating habits and follow through on getting me arse back to the gym (now that I can!!), I may well be off Metformin in a year. Perhaps less. Much will depend upon seeing the A1C count get into the range of norms.
I cannot possibly tell you what grand news this is; mostly because it means things are not as serious as the GP seemed to think AND there is more than slight probability that if I’m smart and devoted to myself on this, I can get off the meds and have a NORMAL LIFE.
(Aside: I forgive the GP for scaring the ever-loving shit out of me because, upon talking with the specialist, I realize — she was scared shitless that she might not be giving me what I needed and wanted to be certain. Mind you, she might have spared me the deliberate scare tactics; I was going to the specialist! But I suspect many people say they are and never do, so I suppose I understand this, too. I told the Endocrinologist about the whole thing and that the GP, upon consulting with her partners, told me they decided to refer me out because they’d never had someone with an A1C so high (10) and the specialist laughed and said, “I get the 17’s and I even have a 20.”)
The Endocrinologist then said something to me that I think I may remember for a long while; after the back and forth conversation about things overall (dipping into details on changes I’ve made, my plans for the near future, and reviewing my chart), she looked at me and said,
“I just want you to know, we do not see many patients like you; most people just keep on as they are; as if avoiding it or not paying it attention will make it go away. They kill themselves out of fear of dealing with it at all. I have not seen someone make this kind of effort and find this kind of result in under two months in all the time I’ve been in specialized practice.”
I felt kind of embarrassed, really. So I covered with humor/sarcasm and just told her that I have this quirky delight in my eyesight, fingers, toes, and feet… and, of course, life; I do not intend to give the reaper an earlier invitation than I absolutely must. We laughed about that and then she proceeded to tell me all the above good news for the future if I keep with it.
One small surprise, though… in checking my vitals, she asked me, “And has the murmur been giving you any trouble?” When she saw my expression, she explained that I have a small heart murmur…. nothing to be concerned about for now, but if I find myself experiencing certain symptoms, to let her know and we’d get an echo-cardiogram done.
All in all, workable. I can deal with workable. I’ll be researching the murmur thing and maybe it won’t be more than a mild inconvenience (as she seems to think). If not, well, I reckon I’ll just have to deal with that, too.
In August, I’ll test out A1C and the range of lipids, liver, and kidney as well as D levels again as part of the annual physical. The Endocrinologist wants me on the A1C every three months to establish progress record or to pick up whether or not the expected progress continues…. I’m all for it because the sooner I can demonstrate a solid six months with A1c at or under 5.5-6.0 and tris in range of norms, the sooner I can start scaling down the meds and getting back to life without the dangers.
I must admit, I’m looking forward to it. 🙂
Edit to add: Oh, Hah! How did I forget to mention this?!? Another five pounds gone. I’m officially down a full size. I kid you not, in six months, no one who has only known me of late will even recognize me. Boy, do I look forward to THAT.