Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Rude Awakening

Well I had another Dr's visit today. Not good. Actually terrible. I thought I was doing really good with my sugar (since the highest it had been since I was on the 2 meds was 131). Not so. The doctor wants it at 100 or below(but not lower than 80). The Dr says I'm severely diabetic. He was going to put me on insulin shots(something I REALLY want to avoid). He put me on a third oral med and said if there wasn't a significant difference next month, then I will have to start taking insulin shots. That also means I have to get off my fat butt and start exercising. I was doing fairly well with that and then the last 2 months I just haven't done anything and my weight has ballooned back up over 200 lbs(that's right, I'm not embarrassed to mention my weight or my age which is 47 by the way). I also have hypertension so I am now on blood pressure medication. Plus I'm extremely anemic and have a b-12 deficeincy. It would probably have been easier for me to tell you what I don't have wrong with me LOL. So now I am on a total of 6 meds. That's just too many. So I am trying to get the right mindset to help myself get off most if not all of them. And trust me, it ain't cheap for all these meds, either. I have really good insurance (thank you, Hut), but my meds still run over $200 a month. Made me think about all these older people who are on Social Security and fixed incomes. I don't know how they do it. Actually I do have kinda an idea. When my parents were alive, I found out my parents were only taking 1/2 of their doses or skipping months here and there because they couldn't afford their meds. When I found out, I got with my younger sister and one of my brothers and we all took turns getting their meds. My parents were too proud to ask for help. My younger sister got the needles for my dad's insulin every month. My brother Jimmy and I would pay for insulin and other prescriptions. It wasn't cheap because they didn't have insurance. Sometimes I thought if I could find a crooked Dr. I would have had the prescriptions put in my name so they'd be cheaper. And you wonder why people commit insurance fraud. People cannot afford meds even with insurance. This country really needs to wake up and take care of it's own citizens and to hell with the rest of the world. (Sorry, had to get that off my chest). Thanks for letting me rant and rave about my problems. I don't want any sympathy, I just needed to bend a few ears.

6 comments:

Gary ("Old Dude") said...

Bonnie, damn good rant---you kept it to the facts too---and YOU KNOW what YOU gotta do----not sure if this will help but---set yourself up as the "Poster child of Diabetes", picture yourself as attending public seminars and showing off just how good a life one can have and be diabetic---you already got the attitude, Make your blog reflect it----"Hi, my names Bonnie and I'm a Diebetic---!!" Guess what I am trying to tell ya is don't let it drag ya down, make it work for ya---get serious about it---stop trying to hide it, be the person you need to be, and watch how many people start raving over how BONNIE can do it, why the hell can't you---etc, etc, etc.

Gary (aka old dude)
http://threescoreplusten.blogspot.com/

Cecile said...

Hey Girl
I know what ya mean with no insurance.We don't have any and it's unreal what the md's and rx's cost each month:(
I know that you can get your sugar level straightened out I have faith in ya:))
I am anemic too but not as bad as you are I bet you are feeling pretty bad with that iron level.
I take ferrous sulfate and it's an EVIL drug it kills my tummy but it seems to work okay when I remember to take it.
I have got you beat on the weight:(
I really don't care what people think about my weight because it's us who struggle with it!!!
I am going to start exercising and cutting back on the diet now thst Cole is going back to school and try to get back on track.I have just let it go too:(
I will add you to my prayers every night and I hope that all is better soon!!!
Love Ya!
Cecile
(I got my package Thanks so much!! Cole loves the bracelet!!

Jill LaFaye said...

I just emailed some info to you. I hope this helps:)

Sue said...

Hey Bonnie...I've been through some of what you are talking about with my late husband. He was a diabetic and was on two oral meds for that, plus high blood pressure and also a heart med for congestive heart faliure. He was also very over weight, at 5'7" he was around 300lbs. I didn't care about the weight..just more of him to love! Anyway...I found out that he was doing what your parents did, skipping meds and only taking them everyother day.
Not sure what method you are using for weight reduction, but I can recommend Weight Watchers, it's worked for me in the past and I've just started back on it this week.
I was up to 262lbs a couple of years ago (I'm 5'3") and had high BP too. Once I lost the weight, I was able to go off the BP meds. So that's a good goal to reach for. I wish you the best of luck and will be dropping by to check your progress and cheer you on! You can do it.. you know you can..just set your mind to it.

About Me said...

AMEN sister. I have no med. insurance and it's really painfull sometimes. I try to take care of me at home with otc stuff, but when it comes to Katlyn I don't do that. We just have to pay and pay somemore. I will pray for God to give you the help you need with your diabetes and other medical conditions. I know that you are doing what you can but we can all use a little boost now and again.I thank God everyday that I don't have any serious medical conditions and am pretty healthy. I went to the doctor today for a yearly exam and of course I could stand to lose a few pounds. Gonna get to working on that. Keep you chin up and keep smiling:)

Missy Glave said...

Bonnie, you have so much love and support from your family and friends ... you are going to get through this with flying colors.