Exciting news and quite a gripe session. . .

So first, the EXCITEMENT!
Many of you know I've been struggling with my BG being 2-300 for quite awhile.  If you're on twitter, you've also seen some of the wonderful help and advice I've been getting.  Truly, I don't know what I'd do without my tweeps. . I truly believe they've saved my life, more than once.
So, my dear friend, Scott, was on his way in to visit with his CDE (Certified Diabetes Educator) and he mentioned how I'd been struggling, that I hadn't been able to find an Endocrinologist to see, etc.  His CDE said to have me call her and she's see if there was anything she could do to help me.
I talked to her for a few minutes and was frankly, getting a little discouraged.  She would have to have a referral from my Dr. and then wouldn't be able to see me until February.  Then, she had a brilliant idea!  She told me about some studies that KU Med Center had ongoing and suggested I contact them to see if I would qualify.  At least, I'd be seen my a specialist soon, just to qualify me for the study.
Well, indeed, that's what happened.  I go in on Thursday morning to meet with them to qualify for a pharmaceutical study.  I'm taking the right meds, have been diagnosed the right length of time and am overall a perfect candidate.  Here's the best part: each visit is with an Endo and CDE, my meds will be monitored, my BG will be monitored MUCH closer than before.  I'll be seen every couple of weeks rather than every couple of months. She said that if they can help it, I won't be living in the 300's anymore.  WOOHOO!  And, on top of that, I'm helping other people just like me by testing the effectiveness of this medication plan.  I know there are so many others out there, like me, struggling every day to get their BG down to a tolerable level. This could change everything for them and I'm happy to have been part of that solution.


So, once again, a hefty THANK YOU goes out to @devilishly_diab (aka Scott "that Old, cranky and devilishly good looking friend of mine) for caring enough to talk to someone about my case and get me in with an Endo.  I can't wait to see the difference this makes!

I'm also VERY excited for a special day our family celebrates this month.  Our youngest (or as we call her, the baaaby) is turning 18 tomorrow.  Dear, dear B, we love you very much and are so happy to be celebrating this milestone in your life.  But, you'll always, still and forever more, be known as, the Baaaby.  Ha ha You are wonderful, talented, loving, kind, beautiful and brilliant and we're very proud of you and the young lady you've become.  Have a WONDERFUL birthday!

Now onto the gripe session. .
I put these complaints at the bottom so you could ignore them if you want.  If you'd like to chime in with, 'Yeah, why do they do that?'  Feel free, but it won't hurt my feelings if you head on over to one of my friend's blogs listed to the side over there.

I have a few things piling up that I need to get off my chest.
1.  What is it with all the tweets about drinking coffee/tea will keep me from getting diabetes?  Here's a sample: "Four Cups of Coffee or Tea Daily Lowers Risk of #Diabetes by 25% http://tinyurl.com/ybzlbe6"
Anyone that knows me, know that's a lie right off.  I drink enough coffee/tea to keep my entire neighborhood from being diagnosed with diabetes and yet. . here we are. I've been a coffee-holic for years and coffee bean, my dear old friend, you've let me down.  Not only did it NOT reduce my risk of diabetes, it apparently has been causing my BG levels to skyrocket.  This last weekend, I was wondering about my caffeine intake, felt a little dehydrated and started limiting my intake to one serving a day followed by LOTS of water with lemon (also said to help insulin resistance.)  I'm guessing that's what made the difference, it's the only change I made to my diet/exercise program and my BG started coming down . .a little at a time.  My buddy, Scott, then told me that indeed, being dehydrated affects your BG.  Thanks Doc, for letting me know that ahead of time.

2. I really, really think companies which list only the "net" carb on their nutritional labels without informing you that they're "netting the carbs" should be held accountable for this dangerous practice.  IE:  Cheesecake Factory has a "6 Carb Cheesecake."  That's what it's called.
The crust is made of nuts and it's sweetened with Splenda, etc . .it could be a 6 carb dessert, I've seen recipes that are close to this, so I wasn't crazy to think it could be real.  I normally order at the restaurant and they serve from a 10" cake.  The waitress was nice enough to inform me that the serving they deliver to the table is actually 12 carbs, an actual serving is 1/2 the size of that which is plunked down before the unsuspecting patron.
But, it gets worse.  I ordered a whole 7" cheesecake to take to a dinner party. Because the size was different, I asked for the nutritional label so I could measure out my portion accordingly.  I was HORRIFIED!  The "6 Carb" calculation is for people who deduct the ENTIRE fiber and sugar alcohol from the carbs. You know, people who are dieting for the sake of fitting into a smaller pair of pants, not people who could go into a coma.  MY carb count is 21!  That explains why when I ate 2 pieces a few weeks ago (hey, 12 carbs is allowable, if that's REALLY what you're eating) I felt like I was going to pass out.  I was actually eating 42 carbs, after a meal and I'm only allowed 30 carbs per meal and even 30 usually sends me into Jell-O head-land.  So, lesson learned. . .If it sounds too good to be true it probably is.

3. This just made me laugh so hard tonight.  I was checking out recipes on DiabeticLiving.com (I LOVE THIS SITE!)  and there was a cookie recipe stating that the entire recipe yielded 60 cookies and the nutritional information was listed below that.  Ok, really. . some guy wrote in and said, "I'm a little confused, are you saying that this is the nutritional information for 1 cookie as one serving? or is one serving 60 cookies?  REALLY?  You put this in writing for everyone to see?  Where would you get the idea that a PWD would be served 60 cookies at one sitting and only ingesting 5 carbs?  I just shook my head and made that funny, mechanical (ya-ee-aa-ya-ee-aa) sound you hear in cartoons.

Ok, that is all. . I hope you're having a great month thus far and you've got great plans for the holidays.  I'll write more positive posts in the coming days.  Hang in there with me, won't you. . .what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.  I just need to identify what those things are. . ha ha