Stats

Turns out I've been doing this blogging thing for a little over year now. Who knew? (answer: Blogger Dashboard, that's who). I believe this will be my 58th post, which (if I'm doing my math correctly) is a little over once a week (okay, I couldn't help myself: it's 1.115 times per week). This is about what I was expecting (hoping) when I started this little venture (despite the lengthy hiatus I've been on lately). So far so good, so I think I'm gonna try to keep it up!

Over the year, I've come to realize I use this blog for several reasons:

1. To connect with others who struggle with the day-to-day trials and tribulations of living with diabetes
2. To share some of my own trials and tribulations with folks (which hopefully contributes to an overall decrease in the sense of isolation "we" collectively might feel with this disease)
3. To vent some my frustrations (diabetic and otherwise)
4. To make stupid jokes, puns, and cultural (and statistical) references, and to let my inner geek run wild for a little while
5. But (it turns out) I also use this blog as a repository to keep stats about my blood sugars and A1c results

I keep this information in an Excel spreadsheet,

And you know

I love a good spreadsheet!

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too, mind you, but there's something about posting it here that I find necessary. I think it's about holding myself up for accountability -- public scrutiny. For a long while, whenever friends or family members inquired about my diabetes, my standard reply was: "Ehh, it's going alright." When, in fact, it was not (at least not to my standards and certainly not to the ADA's or the AACE's either). And that would be the end of it. Conversation over. And that was the extent of my sharing my diabetic life with others.

I find that I turn here when I've forgotten when my last A1c test was done or when my last eye doctor's appointment

Not yet

I have yet to make my opthalmologist appointment, but not for lack of trying, honest. I've been mentally telling myself to do this for the past couple of mornings on my way into work, but then I get to work and I get distracted by... well, by work. Next thing I know, I'm on my way home and I start cursing because I completely forgot to make my appointment. I'll get around to it before the week is out, I'm (almost) certain.

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was (February and December, respectively). After I posted last week, I got my butt in gear and went and had my blood drawn for my A1c the very next day (Thursday, May 31st). I was pretty vigilant about getting it pulled during the first week of every third month for a while, but that slipped, and now there's 4 months since my last test. Oh well.

Anyway, I've been posting my 7, 14, 30, 60, and 90 day averages and standard deviations from my glucometers (I use two) taken right before I go to have my blood work

Just curious

Is this a phrase that others use regularly?

"I have to go to the hospital and have some blood work done."

It always seemed a little strange to me. Sounds almost like taking your car in for a tune up or something. Or maybe the title of a bad B-movie. I dunno, maybe it's just me.

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done.

So without further ado:

May 2007: A1c = ?.?%

Meter Statistics
days	mg/dl	# tests	tests/day	S.D.
7	140	89	12.7	67
14	141	189	13.5	66
30	145	416	13.9	66
60	143	887	14.8	64
90	145	1,319	14.7	66

February 2007: A1c = 7.1%

Meter Statistics
days	mg/dl	# tests	tests/day	S.D.
7	136	88	12.6	57
14	132	202	14.4	56
30	130	436	14.5	51
60	139	859	14.3	61
90	137	1,335	14.8	60

November 2006: A1c = 7.1%

Meter Statistics
days	mg/dl	# tests	tests/day	S.D.
7	149	89	12.7	62
14	149	182	13.0	62
30	143	402	13.4	60
60	155	799	13.3	67
90	154	1,229	13.7	68

If I were a betting man (which I'm not much of, really), I'd put my money on another 7.1%. The November stats were generally higher than what I have right now, the February stats were generally lower than what I have right now, and they both yielded 7.1%, so there's no good reason to expect a change.

But I'd also be crazy to think that previous experience should be expected to inform future outcomes (I am so in the wrong line of business if this is something I actually believe, it's not even funny). Let's just say I've got a more than healthy level of skepticism about the validity of the A1c test.