Basal is Fine!

Maybe I'll post my doctor's comments on here at some point... maybe right now actually. Early this January I was concerned about my lack of control and wrote to my doc, Dr Saudek. During the winter months I tend to have difficulty keeping my sugars in control. Usually I had many others problems, including Holiday parties, depression, apathy, or poor medication. But this year, most all of that was eliminated and I STILL had great problems keeping my sugar levels controlled.

"Hello, I'm becoming more and more concerned about my insulin usage.
Briefly, my HA1C is ~8.9 and I have been having problems keeping my BG under control during winter months. When I met with Dr. Saudek onJan11th, he made a couple suggestions. First, I increased the correction ratio from 1:50 to 1:30. Second, I increased my carb ratio from 1:15 to 1:10.
Since then, I still see high BG levels, even when I have increased my carb ration to 1:8. For several mornings, I started at ~180 and without correcting; I am at ~160-170 by lunch time. This lets me know that my basal of 1U/hr is about right. After lunch of a very specific carb amt and a correction I still end the day at 5-6pm with a BG of180-190. This tells me that the correction or carb ratio is off. Other nights I start high at about 190 and take the correction at 1:30.After 2.5h without eating I am at 120. This tells me that my carb ratio is probably wrong. So I increased it to 1:8. I STILL have a BGof ~180 before dinner when I had a lunch BG of 100 at lunch.
Before I increase it further to 1:5.... I worry that this is getting crazy with the insulin dose. Is this normal? According to other people, this is the dose for a 250lbs inactive man. I am a 170lbs fit man. I don't exercise a lot, but I'm far from a vegetable. Aside from Max Bolusing when I eat more than 100g of carb at a meal, what should I be worrying about? Is this normal? I really need some help figuring this out.
Thank you for your time and help. If needed I can send a spreadsheet of BG readings on Monday from my work PC."


He actually got back to me quite fast and said that my spreadsheet would be quite helpful.
"Dennis I don't have chart but Sounds like basal is too low esp over night you should not have fbs [fasting blood sugar] over 120-130 Do send your spread sheet"


OK... so I send him the sheet with a message and he responds, again very quickly, with his response within the message to each question I pose.
"Dr Saudek, I attached the graph of the past couple weeks. NO PATTERNS EVIDENT IN THE GRAPH. MAINLY A LOT OF VARIABILITY. I wanted to assure you that the mornings I woke at 180 were due to me not checking before bed and waking high. THIS IS TOO HIGH A WAKE-UP FBS... SUGGESTS THAT YOU DO NEED A SIGNIFICANT "DAWN RATE" TO BEGIN WITH. NANCY CAN WORK ON THIS WITH YOU, AS MUCH AS 50% INCREASE IN BASAL RATE FROM 4 A.M. TO 8 A.M. Typically my post dinner readings are high, and if I correct, I wake at either normal (~100) or low BG (at ~4am). SO THE GOAL IS TO GIVE THE RIGHT AMOUNT BEFORE DINNER, SO YOU ARE NOT HIGH AT BEDTIME. Thank you for taking the time to look at my records. Several of my lows aren't recorded and I will try to take those measurements before eating.
PLEASE DO BE IN TOUCH WITH NANCYELLEN. CDS”





So its like he's not listening. Its like he doesn't understand what I'm saying. My basal is fine. Again, I went to bed at 166 and woke at 105! If I increased my basal by 50% in the 4-8am, that would be 60mg/dL drop. I'd be at 35mg/dL this morning. Greeeeaaaatttt advice doc. Hypoglycemic coma is a great way to stop BG irregularity.

Look, I'm a scientist with a PhD in biochemistry. I know what’s going on metabolically and I know how to set up an expt. But sometimes I need help with approaching the question or deciphering the data. And sometimes I'm just tired and frustrated and I've been a poor diabetic, so I don’t like the data, but at least I understand it. But in this case, I had been a very very good diabetic and I was suffering. I've had inconsistent results and repeatedly told Dr Saudek that my correction and basal seem just fine. But instead of offering help on how to adjust the basal or answer my primary question... IS THIS OK FOR MY HEALTH TO HAVE SO MUCH INSULIN?... he parroted back "To much variability and increase the basal."

Ridiculous. The man might as well read from a cereal box because his advise is not sound or insightful. I'm at Johns Hopkins where they apparently keep the tenured doctors in clinics no matter how bad their advice can be. In a very roundabout way, Dr Saudek basically said the dreaded, "You need to check your blood sugar and take your insulin," which is insanely irritating, pointless, and futile. That statement never helps.

In short, my basal is fine. I have a BG and 5hours later, without food or a lot of exercise, it’s the same or close to it. If I go to bed at 120mg/dL and haven’t taken insulin within the past 4-5hrs, I wake up at ~120mg/dL. To me, that shows a good basal.

Always question your doctors suggestions. ALWAYS! You have the right to ask and remember, they are human and tend to make mistakes. Asking questions forces them to defend their response and possibly correct themselves before you leave the office. At worst, you leave with a better understanding of your problem and the purposed treatment.

Wed Jan 27, 2010 - New Spot

I was getting tired of a dozen dots on the front of stomach and last night I tried my back ride side.

Last night, 3hr post dinner, I was very high (288) and corrected before bed. This morning I was still high (235). My feeling is that there is less fat on the back side and for whatever else reason, adsorption is not the same. Unfortunately, I just filled it last night, so I don't want to throw out 3mL of insulin.

I'll ride this one out. and monitor throughout today.

By lunchtime (~1pm) it was 166. Not too bad! But I knew later I would be going to a JHPDA Happy Hour. The Happy Hour started around 5pm, and I tried to only drink Michalob Ultra and not eat chips (instead I ate cheese, veggies, and the toppings on the pizza). It was a very successful Happy Hour and lasted for a long while. I got home around 9pm.

BG 9pm... 331. Honestly, considering my day, that's not as ridiculous as I thought it would be. I corrected and ate some Ramyum for dinner. Going to bed soon. At ~11:45pm I'm at 166, so I guess today my bolus is working.

Planted PR in Town Hall

While going through all the phone calls and trying to find answers and numbers online, I've come across two video clips from news channels. Both point out that huge Republican Party, Oil-Conglomerates, and multi-millionaire far right conservatives are funding these "Town Hall Storms" that essentially shout out the competition on Healthcare Reform.



Some groups actually bus people around so they can barracade the Town Hall, chase the Congressmen from and to their cars and yell during the meeting. The GOP's stance... these are just run of the mill average Americans voicing their opinion.

Wisconsin Mom or GOP Plant


Plot to Kill Old People



EDITS:
Great new story. Old people don't want government run healthcare. Old people are on Medicare.... which is government run healthcare. However, they think Medicare is OK. They don't want to change it. They don't want government run healthcare like Obama is suggesting....

WAIT? WHAT? (Halfway down, Rep. Gene Green D-Tex)
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/07/opinion/07krugman.html?_r=2&ref=opinion

Finding Healthcare for a Diabetic

I'm a Type I Diabetic (insulin-dependent). For ~14yrs I have given myself insulin injections daily to meet my insulin needs. Throughout these years I have encountered some of the most inane physicians and incredibly few credible doctors. In Wisconsin I met with an great Endocrinologist (Dr. Paul Reber) that told me I was on an archaic regiment. Later - after Dr. Reber had left my clinic - I struggled and had to frequently change my Lantus dosage and timing. Now, after five years of trying to get insurance to help pay for an insulin pump AND to cover a percentage of supplies to USE the pump, I have succeeded. My control is AWESOME! The first 3 months and my HA1C dropped 3.5points.

In truth, the quality Healthcare is what I depend on to keep my quality of life high. I am also well educated in biology of life systems (a Biochemist PhD and now PostDoc at Johns Hopkins Radiation Oncology). I know exactly what is out there and what can really be fundamentally good for my health. Unfortunately, health is another one of the areas where the rich get better "things". Good health has a price and rarely does it depend on 'knowing' whats best. It depends on if you can AFFORD what's best.

That insulin pump... that exact company and model... has been available for a little over 15yrs. I JUST GOT IT. My HA1C has always been high for the past 14yrs(Medtronic Paradigm). My sugars fluctuate daily and throughout the night. With mis-education and out-of-date therapy I was trapped in a circular decline in health and generally being treated as a problem and not a victim. Being able to precisely control injections and the frequency of injections would certainly have helped improve my health and in fact - IT DID IMPROVE MY HEALTH!!! I simply couldn't afford it until now. So my government and country let me rot in my own disease, which I did not cause, because I didn't have the money that others did. Money - unlike my mother's motto - really could buy happiness and it was exactly the kind of happiness I wanted.

So sitting here, I wondered what would happen to me without any insurance at all. Up to this point I complain like a war veteran. Speaking honestly, I have a very cushy stress-free life compared to most. I have job in a nice building, a beautiful wife, a clean and furnished apartment with food and water. And on top of it, I have Healthcare and Dentalcare. I am sitting on a gold toilet and pooping silver... what could I complain about?

Well.... what if I lost my job?
What if my next job didn't have Health Insurance?
What if I die and my job doesn't have Life Insurance?

So I went to find some answers. Just as a precaution. The story with Healthcare in the USA is stereotyped atrocities riddled with horror cases. Is it true or just hype? After watching "Sicko" and listening to the GOP rant about government control, who knew? I wanted to see what an educated, motivated, and technically savvy person could find online and on the phone. I went online first and then to the phones. What I found (our rather didn't find) was actually WORSE than I thought. The maze of confusion and ill-given direction was mystifying and boggling. What's worse was that everyone wanted to know my info (which I refused) and once I said diabetes, they really didn't care... "Oh........... you have diabetes.............. well then...... it really doesn't matter because you'll be declined."

I decided to write this down and to try and find some answers so that others might benefit. For myself, I hope to always have company provided Heath Insurance until I go on Medicare/Medicaide. But the future isn't destined. It just happens.

So follow as I post what I found and what you do if you find yourself without Healthcare. And while you read... consider how you could help relieve the stress by supporting the efforts to have a Public Option available to people who have a tough time finding Health Insurance. So many politicians are against that change because of the vast monies involved. And truly.... maybe we all would do the same! I mean really, the reason I'm pissed is because I can't afford what I need. If I could afford it, maybe I wouldn't care either?

I hope you do care. And I hope you follow, comment, and share your feelings.

Follow the French

Ok... this is just too good to be true. This is the reason God made the French. There is a simplicity to their mindset, but not their minds, that allows complicated infrastructures and bulking tax laws while at the same time having concise perfectly worded answers to oppositions and conflicts.

Enter Executives that treat their workers like crap.
In the USA, we've taken pain-staking measures to prevent mistreatment by forming Unions, laws prohibiting overworking, minimum wages, workers compensation and the such. Decades of political battles and lengthy discussion have coalesced into a representable image of fair and equal blue collar policy.

Now the French... ahhhh, the simple life. They strike, protest, and take the Exec hostage until they agree to listen. Done. The most recent case is the French 3M Executive whom is currently being held hostage to negotiate better serverance packages.

I'm writing because this is both a mild shock and fast acceptance. I had no idea the French have been doing this on several occasions in the past, and at the same time I could completely visualize the entire event carried out by the French. Car-parts company Exec last year, Sony Exec 2 weeks ago, the 3M Exec yesterday.... I think Americans should take notes and that AIG Execs should really watch their backs. I worry that the Americans though, would take it too far and people WOULD get hurt, like what happened in India.

Sony Exec Released
3M Exec Held Hostage


The best part is the Police have decided not to interfere. FANTASTIC! For me, I can understand the front that it is a dangerous situation with broad impacts that the police do not want to make worse by going into the buildings armed. But really what I think is going on is that the Execs are overpaid, are never injured, and the French working population doesn't put up with ANY shit whatsoever without a fight. And the Police agree! So, until someone gets hurt, they're staying the hell out of it.

God how I miss France sometimes.

Bob Beck Protocol Scares Patients into Paying!

Another unknown member on the list of "Snake-oil" Salesmen. Dr. Bob Beck (Physics Doctorate from Univ Southern Cali).

His claim to fame is the "Bob Beck Protocol" which has four easy steps to curing one's body of most forms of Cancer, the HIV virus, and many other notable aliments. First and foremost, the major principle behind this famous protocol is that "electrifying the blood" neutralizes the the virus particles by preventing them from adhering to the T-cell surface. This allows the expulsion of virus particles through the normal course of bodily excrement. No details needed at this point.

The second stage involves magnets. Pulsed magnetic fields are applied to "draw out" pathogens tucked away in regions with less circulation that aren't affected by the blood electrification. This added stage ensure the patient will completely rid the body of pathogens.

Ionic/colloidal silver is the third branch in the protocol. Colloidal silver is made using 99.99% pure silver wires, distilled water and an electrical circuit. Its a very simple process that you can do at home with the right equipment. The Colloidal silver was supposedly a great replacement for antibiotics in the past and has been used anecdotally since the 1930's. This would maintain your general health and prevent future infections.

The last step is fairly critical... during the expulsion process, the body will become over-ridden with the dying and dead pathogenic material. The previous three steps are so efficient that your body may not be able to keep up with kill counts! To aid in the destruction, the Beck Protocol has "Freshly Ozonated Water" which, like the silver, is easy to make at home with the right equipment. The Ozone in the water will accelerate the destruction of foreign materials and clench a healthy finish to the Bob Beck Protocol.

With these four steps, most-if not all-aliments, including HIV and Cancer can be cured from the comfort of your home for a small investment in equipment. So simple, its amazing the entire medical field isn't taking the hint.... Hahahahahahah.....




Now some downfalls of Dr. Bob Beck. I read through a biography of Dr. Bob, which written by Jane Stilwell, and I couldn't help but notice how outrageous his claims are. I particularly liked his "boosting IQ" by taking Glutamine (a common amino acid, which btw has many benefits but it won't raise your IQ) and his invention of the first camera flash unit (actual inventor is Dr. H.E. Edgerton of MIT whom died in 1990).

I state strongly that all of Bob Beck's work involving the study of disease has been unfounded, undocumented, and unvalidated in every aspect. Documentation is anecdotal at best and false at its worse. He makes use of "wives tales" such as the silver suspension, which was used in the early 1900's, but was also followed by medical studies to show the effects. The results showed that silver suspension have no beneficial effects and cannot be used as an antibiotic. In actuality, high doses of silver can result in illness (Argyria). My next comment concerns ozone. Ozone is a free radical and assuming you can create "ozonated" water DO NOT DRINK IT! Ozone interacting with normal tissue is damaging and a great deal of work has shown that ground level ozone is an increasing danger in our cities. The effects of ozone on healthy individuals is well documented, reproducible, validated by a plethora of scientific fields. Its bad for you! ALWAYS!

The blood work... completely unfounded. There are no publications of this technique to work against any pathogen in any peer-review science journal. Check out this guys response (Dr. Frascino).

Please... don't be fooled. This is posted to counteract some of the misinformed people which have been tricked by the hundreds of sites claiming fame to the "Bob Beck Protocol".

Lisa Hannigan caught my attention

Thanks to an LA friend, I was introduced to a fabulous singer/song writer named Lisa Hannigan. She used to sing with Damien Rice, but has since started her solo career which seems to be doing very well. The video posted here is my favorite, but there are others. I listened to the album version of "I don't know" and then this one in the Live video.... the live version simply dwarfs the album version. I'm hoping she releases a "LIVE" collection at some point.





I think I would group Lisa Hannigan with Regina Spektor and Feist. I just find that the words and thoughts from these artists register to me. I'm trying to find the words to describe Lisa's album "Sea Sew", but I can't figure out how... I'VE GOT IT!

I don't need to define it... Sea Sew is available to listen to on her website. Available to buy on iTunes. Check out the videos and the music.