Friday 22 March 2013

Is It Good News, Really?

While it definitely doesn't feel like it's been a few months already, last Friday marked Dylan's latest quarterly endo appt. With mixed emotions, we headed into the clinic, me wondering whether today's meeting would bring news good enough to reassure my worried brain before Dylan heads off for a week in the Mexican Riviera with his dad and brother.

At our previous appt in early January, Dylan's A1c had been 8.8. Not good, but better than the 9.0 he had had two months prior, and his endo actually congratulated him for bringing it down 0.2 in two months, considering one quarter of that time was Christmas break. With puberty right around the corner, his A1c is expected to be a bit higher, but 8's are still out of my comfort zone. Something in the 6's would be ideal, but I'd be happy in the 7's.

This appointment was a quickie. No nurse or dietitian today, we were only meeting the endocrinologist. A quick evaluation of his pump data showed his testing is getting much more consistent, though he's STILL struggling to maintain the lunch time tests at school. There were more highs than I expected (though most are mid-afternoon reactions to his missed lunch tests), but overall it looked pretty good. We moved on to measurements (he had grown 0.5" and gained 2 lbs since Jan, bp was normal, as always), and then the dreaded A1c. After seeing the scattered highs in the pump data, I was starting to worry even more about the A1c. Yes, I know it's just a number, and one we shouldn't take personally, but damn it's hard not to. As independent as Dylan is for his diabetes care, at the end of day, I am responsible for his well being and when his A1c is high, I feel like I've failed to fulfill my responsibility to care for his and keep him safe. Dylan, on the other hand, wasn't worried at all. He was convinced it would be a much better number than last time.

So what was the outcome? Drumroll please..........8.1! Still a ways to go from where we'd like it to be, but down 0.7 in 2.5 months (and 0.9 in 5 months)? We are heading in the right direction, and quickly. I'll take it!!


1 comment:

  1. You guys are doing so great! Dealing with all of the growing and such, it's really impressive to me. Way to go!

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