Told folks I'd be back with updates, and here I am, with news from fresh testing and appraisal.
The really significant number for diabetics is A1C, a measure of overall long-term level of blood glucose. The range for healthy adults is 3-6%. This last summer, mine was at 8.3%, which is the basis for a diagnosis of moderately severe diabetes. Our goal for treatment was to see if I could get down maybe half a percent or so—every half-percent reduction in excess blood glucose translates into a 20% reduction of the risk for kidney failure, liver failure, and circulatory and nervous damage of the sort that requires amputating extremities. So I set to with medication, diet, and exercise.
I went in for some blood draws before Thanksgiving, and in for the results this last week. They've been having trouble with automated delivery of results, so my doctor had to get them faxed over. He went out of the examination room, came back in with them, sat down, looked at the first page and nodded, turned to the next...and stopped. He put down the printout, looked over his glasses at me, and exclaimed, "Dude!" Then he showed me the line that made him do that.
My A1C is now 5.5%. That is, actually in the healthy range, and down nearly three percent. He tells me it's the greatest initial reduction he's ever seen in any patient. He is astounded and delighted. So am I.
The other data are good, too. I was hoping to get under 300 pounds by the end of the year. Still possible but a little unlikely; somewhere around 303-305 is looking more likely. But that's still nearly a 10% reduction from when I started Weight Watchers a bit over half a year ago. My lipids are also good. Most improvement in the HDL score, but everything's somewhat better. But the glucose...wow. And that makes the prospects for everything else better, too.
And now you know!
(PS. Yes, of course I asked whether a reduction of A1C by more than 2.5% meant some chance of sprouting extremities. He thought not.)
