Yesterday I had my quarterly appointment with my endocrinologist.  (I’ve never referred to it as quarterly before but since it occurs every 3 months or 4 times a year, I guess it qualifies as a quarterly event!)  For some reason I was unusually calm beforehand.  Well maybe except for those very few minutes before she entered the exam room.  I went without any BG readings for her to review, thanks to my recent meter switch, and felt very guilty.  And still, my 128/75 blood pressure reading reflected my calmness.  (side note: my BP is always higher than that due to my nervousness)  We went over all things diabetes related and all seems well.  I have a Nerve Conduction Velocity test scheduled in 3 weeks but that’s another story. 

One of the reasons I dread my endo appointments each time is not due to the dr herself.  Or the office.  It’s simply the a1c.  Since I have been putting forth a much greater effort into my diabetes management, my a1c readings have weighed greatly on me.  My result yesterday was 7.0%.  Down from 7.2% three months ago.  Dr. K is pleased with that and considers it good control.  Since using the Dexcom CGMS continuously (no pun intended!) over the past two years, my a1c has remained pretty stable around the 7.0% mark.  It is the lowest level I have ever had in my 29+ years of living with diabetes.  And while I’m satisfied with this value, I need to work on it a little more to try and it get it a tad lower.  To a value that I’m actually happy with.  Satisfied is good.  Happy is even better.

(photo credit goes to Yoshikazu Nagai)