One of the advantages of having a father who is a doctor is that it’s easy to get blood tests done periodically. I just came back from visiting him in Chicago, and so I was able to get my HbA1C levels tested. The results? 5.2%, which is well within the normal range (4.6-6.2%)!!! The America Diabetes Association recommends a goal of under 7% for diabetics under treatment, and 9 months ago, I had a reading of 6.3%, which met that goal. But now, I have a reading which indicates that my average blood sugar level over the past two months has been no different than someone who is not diabetic. Very cool!
Of course, that’s with me taking medication and dieting and watching what I eat — and diabetes is a chronic disease that will be with me for a lifetime. Even if I can someday manage to not require to take the medications and perhaps move to a less strict diet, I will probably have to watch my exercise levels and be careful what I eat for the rest of my life.
In other news, my triglyceride levels are now normal (they haven’t been for as long as I can remember, due to a genetic defect; however the Atkins diet is really good for lowering triglyceride levels, and so that risk factor for a heart attack has been alleviated). Also, my liver function has apparently been better than they have been in years (ALT reading in the 20’s; before they were abnormally high at 160). So much for rosiglitzone being bad for my liver; in fact, due to my recent lifestyle changes, my liver has apparently never been happier. (As it turns out, the risk of liver toxicity by glitazones was never very high, especially with Avandia, and it probably is an individual genetic/metabolic issue, much like being allergic to penicillin.)
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