Saturday, March 30, 2013

False Alarm

My nurse practitioner, Kathy called to tell me that the REtest that she ordered of my blood work had come in.  What a relief!  I'm not diabetic after all.

The hospital lab had been having trouble with some of their results.  Kathy decided to be cautious when she heard other health care providers telling her they were getting some strange readings for their patients.

Meanwhile, Art had been watching what I eat like a hawk and telling me I should start jogging.

Now I can relax a bit.  I'm back at the PRE (diabetic) stage again.

Woo hoo!  It's true I'm not overweight, but I am predisposed to getting Type 2 diabetes.  There is a family history.  My mother and brother are both pre-diabetic also.

No, I'm not jogging, but I'll walk.

No, I'm not going to eat only vegetables, but I will be more careful about my sweets because my triglycerides are still somewhat high.

I feel like a huge weight has been taken off my shoulders.

And speaking of my sore shoulders....  (that will be another post).

31 comments:

  1. what a scare , makes one nervous to know mistakes are made! So glad everything is OK,

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  2. Great!! But not so great that labs make mistakes in such important things. Good for Kathy for being alert and caring.

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  3. How can a lab make such a grievous error? Makes me wonder about your re-test.

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  4. Good news indeed! It was that A1C reading that troubled me the most, since it shows activity for the last three months. Glad to hear you are all right, Kay! :-)

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    1. It was enough of a scare that I'm once again being much more careful about what goes in my mouth. We also went for a long walk tonight.

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  5. what a relief! Still it's a wake-up call isn't it? Makes you more careful.

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    1. Oh yes! It was definitely a wake up call for me. Phew!

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  6. makes you feel suspicious about the medical system...

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    1. They are humans and humans make mistakes. The good thing is they do recheck their questionable numbers before prescribing unnecessary medication. Thank goodness. That's why I like Kathy so much.

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  7. Wonderful news. It does concern me how often doctors ask for re tests these days. What's up wit that?

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    1. I'd rather have the retest than taking medication when I don't need it yet. You're right that there seems to be more testing all the time though.

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  8. Good news yay. So cute how Art watches over you. My husband gets after my weight problem more than anything else. Yesterday I went on the exercise bike after a long break. I was thinking about your test result. It's a relief but also a scare that you won't forget I'm sure. Sometimes I wonder about A1C reliability. At least those home tests are a waste of money. I took two tests before the doctors lab test and both were solidly in the diabetes range but my lab result was 6.0

    L..w

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    1. I didn't know there were home A1C tests. Actually Art was asking me, "how do you know the second test was correct?" He's still watching what I do. We've had scares with three cousins dying in the last couple of months as well as two classmates. Sheesh! It's rather unnerving.

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    2. http://www.walmart.com/ip/Bayer-A1CNow-SelfCheck-At-Home-A1C-System-2-Test-Kit/11332213

      I think I bought my A1C at Longs because it was on sale there. I did the test 2x, I think a week apart. One came in at 7.0 and 6.7 if I recall correctly. Then I had my doctor's appointment that month and expected the worst. I expected a higher result because last year I stopped exercising religiously on treadmill due to my back problem. Art is right, I question the 6.0 lab result I had too. A1C is supposedly a more reliable test yet these wide range inconsistencies. The home test is fairly easy to do so I don't see how I could have done it wrong.

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    3. I'm tempted to test it again myself. It's hard to know what to believe now. I have to get it tested again in May anyway. Kathy is keeping close watch.

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    4. Sorry for taking up space here but I thought this comment on the Walmart site was interesting, although most comments were 5 stars saying the kit is reliable:

      "I purchased this product on 8/30/2011 and received a reading of 6.5 A1c. I took it an hour later to verify the reading because the reading indicated I had diabetes. The second reading was 6.4 A1c. I was panicking because of my family history with diabetes and the next day I went to see my doctor to have my A1c checked again. He gave me a glucose monitor to check my glucose daily. My daily results were normal Fasting(95 to 105) and 2 hours after meals (133-140). I received my A1c results from my doctor a week later and the results were 5.3 A1c which is normal. I called customer service to talk with them concerning the reading from their product and they said it was normal to have a variation in readings for different products. Next time I will not waste my money on this product and I will go straight to the doctor."

      So again I don't know if it is worth wasting almost $30 on a kit that gives this kind of variation from doctor's lab results.

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    5. Please don't ever worry about "taking up space". More information is always helpful and I really appreciate any input you have. This person had a 5.3? Wow! I guess I'll stick to the hospital lab results. What the heck.

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  9. Oh, Kay, I'm so happy to hear this. I thought you must have a family predisposition to blood sugar problems because you take such good care of yourself. And walking is easier on your legs and feet than jogging.
    K

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    1. There was a doctor who told me once that Japanese seem to get diabetes a lot. I wonder if that's true.

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  10. My grandfather has it, I'm hoping I never get it. Great news on your results, stay healthy

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  11. Good news! And a bit of a kick in the pants to keep you moving and working on your diet. It's all good.

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    1. You're absolutely right about the kick in the pants.

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  12. That's great news, Kay! Was good you got a warning to be careful in your food choices!

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  13. What a relief, but a bit worrying that mistakes like that are being made. I hope Art relaxes a little bit and stops trying to look after you quite so much!

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    1. I'm just so happy that they did the recheck although Art is still somewhat on my case as are my kids.

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    2. Christopher's much the same at the moment, trying to help out just that little bit too much sometimes after my broken wrist. It's great to be loved isn't it, but I could wish that he wouldn't try to wrap me in cotton wool quite so much.

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  14. Wonderful news. However it makes you wonder how many people are being treated for diseases they don't have.

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  15. Tests can be off for many reasons. Yes, you are wise to stay active and eat more REAL food instead of the packaged products. BUT I hate to see your sweetness disturbed by 1 test result.
    Do enjoy Easter and Spring, and the Passover from slavery to freedom! When in Rome :)

    All the best to you and yours, Dear


    ALOHA from Honolulu
    Comfort Spiral
    ~ > < } } ( ° > <3
    > < } } ( ° >

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  16. Oh thank goodness Kay that is good news. And how terrible that mistakes can be made like this. What if they are not picked up. Second opinions are always so important. You sound really sensible with your food and life choices and I am sure will contain it and not let it get out of hand. You can only do what you can sometimes it is all part of our makeup which clearly is the case for your family.

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