$100 Question

Back in April I asked What is a Cure? Today I'm going to ask you how you would spend money on finding a cure.

Let's pretend for a minute here that $100 will go a very long way. It is enough money to find a cure for diabetes. The question is how you split up the $100. You can spend it all on one area of research or choose to split it up in different areas of research. It is all up to you. There are no right answers.

How would I "spend" the $100? This is a hard question and my answer will probably change from time to time but I'm going to do my best to answer it now.

• $25 for research projects like  JDRF's Artificial Pancreas Project. 
• $30 on complications research. What good is a cure if I already have kidney damage, eye damage, ect?
• $30 on immunology research
• $15 on prevention research

How would you spend $100 to cure diabetes?

Trip to the Doctor (x2)

For a little over a week I've been pretty MIA and for good reason! My not-so-baby brother graduated from college a week ago this past Sunday. After the graduation my parents flew back down to DC to stay with me and Steve for the week and celebrate my 29th birthday. So much fun!

Since I was in Boston for my bro's graduation my parents and I stayed on an extra day so that I could go see the retina specialist at Joslin. I have to go every 4 months, which was easy when my bro was in school there but now that he's moving it won't be as easy.

My mom went with me to the appointment on Monday. I have moderate to severe retinopathy. Luckily it isn't bad enough to need surgery. The really great news is that the spot where I was bleeding in 4 months ago has moved further away from the center of the eye! *Happy Dance?*


On Friday I saw my endocrinologist. Based on my meter's 90 day average I had a pretty good idea what my A1C would be. When Dr. A walked in she was so excited to tell me my results: 7.2%! She was impressed. Of course, we both agreed that our goal is for it to be under 7% and  pre-pregnancy goal is 6.5% or under.

My cholesterol is still high but Dr. A doesn't want me on a statin because she is concerned that "they" still don't know the effect it has on fetuses even when stopped before conception. I have never heard of this before but for now I'm going to try to get it down using exercise and diet. That and I'm going to look into natural ways to get it down (eating more fiber, supplements ect.)

While I'm being a good PWD I'm not being good with remembering to take my synthroid (medication for my thyroid.) I know, I know. This teeny tiny little pill that I need to take that will help with my weight loss and exhaustion.


In a month I am seeing the PA/CDE to fine tune basal rates ect. My goals between now and then are to take my synthroid every single day and to loose 3 pounds. I know 3 pounds don't seem like a lot but Dr. A said that weight loss is going to be difficult with my current thyroid levels. I have an uphill battle on that front but if I can lower my A1C the way I have I can do anything! At least that is what I keep reminding myself.

Remember how 3 weeks ago I was sick with a sinus infection and bronchitis? Yeah, well I'm sick again. Exactly a week after I stopped my antibiotic I get congested all  over again and my cough is getting worse. Luckily I think it is just a cold. 3 weeks of sick day rules sure does get old after a while.

Aside from diet and exercise does anyone have any recommendations on how to lower my cholesterol?

Scaring Patients into Compliance

Has your doctor ever scared you into taking better care of yourself?

When diagnosed with diabetes patients are bombarded with all the complications that come with diabetes: heart disease, eye disease,  nerve damage, kidney disease, amputations ect. In the wake of diagnosis PWD can forget to listen when their doctor says that they can still live a long fulfilling life. After a while the scary complications can be forgotten or ignored since complications arise after long-term high blood glucose levels. At least, this is my experience/opinion.

When I was a teen and trying everything I could to gain my independence I just stopped taking care of myself. Of course, I did enough to keep me out of the hospital but testing was rare and I could careless about what I ate.

My parents tried everything: grounding me, showing up at a friend's house who was having a sleep-over when they saw I hadn't taken my tester (wow was that embarrassing!), yelling, trying to reason with me, everything. At one point the endocrinologist who diagnosed me talked to me about his cousin who had diabetes and lived in Columbia. He was on dialysis and begging me to take care of myself so I wouldn't end up like him. Finally at one point my parents took me to a psychologist who had experience with PWD.

I remember clearly the day the psychologist told me I was committing suicide because I was not taking care of myself. She threatened to commit me to a mental institution.

That did not go over well. To this day I wouldn't say I was trying to commit suicide but I do understand the frustration my parents and doctors felt with my non-compliance.

For a brief while the scare tactic worked but it did not last. Apparently, I am not alone in having scare tactics only work temporarily. Yesterday on MSNBC.com there was an article about health threats and how they only scare the patient into compliance for a short amount of time. You can read the article here.

Forty-seven percent of doctors surveyed by Truth On Call said that patients' good intentions only last a matter of weeks after a dangerously high blood pressure reading.  View related photos

47 percent! Truth-be-told this does not surprise me.  The thing about diabetes, at least for me, that can make the long list of devastating complication fade into the background is the fact that complications don't arise after one or two high blood sugars.

When I test and see a number in the upper 100s or 200s I don't think oh my eyes! my kidneys! but after days of highs I do think damn this isn't going to help stop the progression of my mild/moderate retinopathy.

This article was an interesting read and really made me think about how I approach diabetes complications. 

What about you? Did this article make you think? How do you think about complications in your diabetes care?