So I got to see my endocrinologist today. I usually stress those visits because I'm never sure how they are going to go. The past several times have gone really well and I've been very happy with my doctors (for the most part). I still get nervous though. No one likes to feel like a "bad diabetic" because of a doctors visit, and I get that a lot. Not recently though. I actually have a bunch of awesome things to say about today's visit!
A1C Report!!
6.9! :)
For those of you who don't know what an A1C is, it is basically an average of my blood sugars for the past three months. A 6.9 A1C is the equivalent of about a 150 average for my blood sugars. That is fantastic! I'm so excited about that! Especially with the struggles I've been having lately! I've been bouncing back and forth between a 6.9 and a 7.2 A1C for the past several visits. I'm pleased with that.
Report on the ongoing insurance battle (i.e., World War D).
So we had to change insurance companies this year, and Dad added me to his insurance. Now I am on the State Health insurance plan. That's a good thing, because it pays for a lot of my stuff. The bad part is, all of the arguing we had done with the previous insurance company to get enough of my supplies has been completely undone. We have had to go through everything again. To make it worse, my favorite nurse that always handled all of the paperwork no longer works at the office I go to and no one knows how to handle the insurance companies like she did. I'm forced to start all over, as if I'd never done any arguing to begin with. That is extremely stressful.
Well, they don't want to pay for all the insulin I need. I usually get three vials of it, but the new insurance company only pays for two (and a half, but the pharmacy isn't going to give me half a vial of insulin...). They do the same thing with my strips. They'll pay for them, they just won't pay for enough of them if the prescription isn't written properly. Both my "diabetes educator" and my pharmacist have been battling with me to get enough supplies since we switched insurances.
Today, we saw a different diabetes educator than we usually see, and she did something wonderful. She gave me 200 "sample" strips and two brand new meters, because they are supposed to be more accurate than the meter I have been using. The second meter is to leave in my bag, so if I ever forget my meter at work (guilty...) I have a spare until I can get it back. She also is fighting with the insurance company to get the new strips covered, and to get as many as I need. She figured out the insulin problem before we ever left the office, so I will have enough insulin now.
But do you want to know what the most amazing part of my visit today was? Neither my doctor nor the diabetes educator talked at me about my disease. They listened to me. They let me tell them what was going on, and they responded to my needs better than I've had anyone do in a long time. I'm so blessed by good doctors!
I got a little excited about all of the supplies....
so I took a picture.
This is only 1 month worth of supplies. Dexcom sets, pen needles, test strips, meter (plus my spare meter). This doesn't include my minimed pump supplies, and it doesn't include the insulin that I keep in the fridge. It also doesn't include the pens themselves. This is the spot I have reserved on my bookshelf for all the diabetes supplies I get, I just haven't put my minimed supplies on it yet. Actually, I didn't have the money to order it yet this month...
I could not be happier with my doctors today!!! I'm so blessed to be able to report my Endo visit like this! :)
