Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Setbacks

On Tuesday, August 4th, while on our camping trip, my endo called me with my blood results. "Mark, your A1c was a 6.8, up from a 6.4, but still in good range. I'm happy with all the results."

As much as I love my new endo, I was not a happy camper anymore.

6.8? Whaaaa? How? Why? Ack!

Suddenly, the eeeevil diabetic side of me chimed in. "Remember all the times you decided not correct when you were a 150? Yeah, those times 'cause you thought you were gonna do something that might cause your sugars to plummet? Do ya? What about the handful of potato chips I caught you with? What's your excuse this time?" I began to hang my head.

Then the more calming, angelic diabetic side chimed in, "Mark, snap back man! Okay get a grip and don't let this setback hurt you. You are better than this. Just think of all the great things that you are now doing like the OmniPod, the frequent exercise, volunteering with the JDRF, and losing 15 pounds. Your size 36 pants fit you again! You've had to purchase new undies! Yaaaaay you!"


I smiled. Okay so a 6.8 isn't all that bad, but it's a reminder for me to try my best every day. I'm gonna have bad days. Yet, it's how we handle these days that define us. (Wait! Haven't I said that before. Hmmm...) So today, laugh at your diabetes or tell the "evil" side to back off. You can do it. We, I mean, "I", believe in you.

10 comments:

Crystal said...

That cartoon. Ha ha.
Nice.

6.8?! Dude. I would love to see less than 8.
You are doing Great!!!

chris bishop said...

A1c's in the 6's are a success. Don't let anyone else tell you different. Keep up the good work and the 6's will be in your life for years to come.

Patrick Chapman said...

It is funny because I had the same conversation with myself the other day after my Endo appt. My a1c had gone up .2 and I was mad at myself. Then I realized I was being stupid and moved on. Glad to hear I'm not alone on this one.

Gail said...

keep up the awesome work, I would KILL for my little Lane to be anywhere near a 6 - somehow we are stuck in the 8's :( well at least we have something to inspire us now reading your post

Mark said...

Everyone, thank you for your comments! :-)

Gail, hang in there! We are all a "work in progress". Let our hearts not be troubled.

Unknown said...

I would hardly worry about a 6.8 Mark. Also given the error inherent in A1C test you're probably about the same as you were before - in fact you could be lower :-)

Scott K. Johnson said...

One of my favorite sayings - "focus on progress, not perfection".

I know A1C's are always relative, but like others, I too would LOVE to be down there.

The Mindful Diabetic said...

Love the cartoon! Nothing better than having to buy new undies because of weight loss, go you! You are doing great and feeling better than ever so don't let that number define you!

Bea said...

I'll mourn with you. It's not the number, per se, that matters, but for just once it would be nice to, hope against hope, be able to grab that gold ring. But the gold ring isn't easily obtained. And where are the Endo's that give a good ole halftime pep talk? I stayed the same(A1c) and was disapointed...where would I be without goals? My favorite goal/quote..."Aim small, miss small." First time reader!

Cecile Bosman said...

As long as you fit into a pair of penguin panties by 2020, your war is won!

What were your BG average and average daily standard deviation for the month(s) before your visit? (compared to how they were before the 6.4-visit?)