So Much to Say

- Wow?!

- It's been how long?

- Really?

- Wow, that's hard to believe.

- Sorry 'bout that.

First and foremost, thanks to all of you who have sent your congratulations and well wishes our way. In addition, I have a few BIG THANK YOUs to shout about:

• Minnesota Nice, for the totally rocking, Bob Marleyesque hats (which have been universally complemented by all who have seen them). The little melon heads are almost big enough for them these days -- if only the 50^o and raining weather would hit the road! (and when that happens, fear not!, pictures will be taken and posted right here).
  
• Chrissie in Belgium for the awesome European rattles. The little ones have already confirmed that they taste as good as they look.
• And Art-Sweet for the bounty of sporty boys clothes that E will probably fit right into come Spring-time.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! Both Megan and I were thrilled with these thoughtful gifts.

Obviously, a lot has happened since my last blog post. Most tellingly, the help from my mother and mother-in-law has left and Megan and I have been left to parent on our own. I am happy to report that not only are we surviving, but the babies are too! In fact, they're great. They're sneaking up on 3 months now and they're smiling and cooing and becoming more and more interactive each day. AND, they've recently started to sleep about 6 hours in a row! (which means Megan and I have started to regain some semblance of being cognitive humans).


(NB: Awesome silly hats are not from MN, but from Mr. & Mrs. K (thanks again!!)).

Next, is a segment from a post I started to write a month (or more) ago:

Diabetes and Parenthood: Things I Have Learned So Far

I believe that having diabetes all these years has actually helped me develop skills that have been extremely useful in my new role as a Dad.

• Be prepared. Shit happens (literally). Always have the diaper bag stocked, keep the changing stations (we have two in our house) stocked, keep extra necessities nearby. Diabetes-wise, this is akin to my obsession with always having my pockets well-stocked, and always carrying my trusty backpack.
  

• Having a schedule helps. A game plan, a check-list, a routine. These are helpful in managing diabetes as well as new born infants.

  Managing Infants

  I'm not sure the analogy holds up here. The phrase smacks of vapid business-speak -- it sounds like the title of a book that could be marketed in either the business section or the child development/family section of your local mega-bookstore.
  
  It also reminds me of the somewhat sexist phrase: "Ahhh, I see, so she wears the pants in the family." In a similar vein, the babies are not shy about letting you know who wears the diapers in the family. No doubt about it, they're the ones in charge!
  
  close
  Who knew?

• Constant troubleshooting. As a parent, I am constantly trying to figure out how to comfort the kiddos and keep them happy and satisfied. This isn't too different really from constant monitoring of blood sugars, carbohydrate intake, exercise regime, etc.
  

• Be flexible. While this may seem to conflict with the whole routine bit, it doesn't really. It's important to have a structure, a framework, but it's also important to be prepared to improvise. Like some many other things in life and in diabetes care, it's all in the art of striking a balance.

I'm sure there was going to be more witty and insightful things, but I was operating on very few hours of sleep when I wrote these.

Anyway.

Diabetes-wise

Things slipped quite a bit there in the weeks right after the arrival of the twins. I found myself regularly standing in front of the vending machine at around 3pm looking for a sugar jolt to keep me awake through the rest of the afternoon. Not good. I think it must have been 10 or 15 years since I last ate a "Ho-Ho". Sadly, I can not say that is true any longer.

I had an appointment with my Endo, and have resolved never to go back there again. I waited a full hour and a half before being seen. Inconsiderate at best, but for a parent with 6 week old infants at home, completely unacceptable. I walked in, told my doc that I just wanted my A1c result

7.2

Not bad, considering my meter averages:


Especially relative to my May averages when my A1c came back (unceremoniously) at 6.9:



close

and to then go home. I was so angry I couldn't even hold a conversation with her. I have seriously considered not paying my bill for that appointment.

I actually made an appointment and met with another Endo a week or so later. He was OK, but I'm not sure I like him *enough*. I think I would like to meet with a few others to see if I find someone I click with better. If anyone has a recommendation for an endocrinologist in the DC area, please don't hesitate to share it with me.

While I'm not sure we clicked so well, he did give me a good recommendation for a podiatrists. I've had a chronic pain in my foot for about 2 years now that comes and goes. I saw another podiatrist, had a Quantitative Sensory Test

Quantitative my Ass

I actually went to a plastic surgeon to have this test performed. He apparently specializes in a cutting-edge (no pun intended) surgery to release the tarsal tunnel and restore sensation in the feet (similar to the surgery performed for carpel tunnel syndrome). Anyway, the test involves taking your shoes and socks off, a clinician opening up a suitcase like contraption with prongs attached to the end and giving you a button like you're on "Jeopardy" and asking you to press it when you feel the prongs touch your feet.

I'm sure that this may be useful in some way, but I felt like it was a totally subjective test, and more-over, when I got back the written letter with the test results, there wasn't a single number on it! I thought that was the whole point of the test -- to quantify the presence/extent of neuropathy.

close

(QST) performed (which told me I have minor symptoms of neuropathy in my feet (no duh). And the old doc just blamed my foot pain on my diabetes -- end of story. New foot doc, was much better: Take an x-ray to check if there's a stress fracture (no), wrap it to shift weight off the painful area (metatarsal web space number 3, left foot), explain mechanics of walking and foot pressures, and make a cast mold of my feet for orthopedic inserts. Much more "let's see what we can do to make this better for you" and a lot less "Sorry buddy, you've got diabetes."

So, that's about it.

I've got another post percolating, and hopefully I'll get around to posting that before the end of the year (no promises, though). A while back, I was thinking a renaming of this blog might be in order. Something along the lines of "parenthetic (diabetic (dad))". But I must give props to Art-Sweet for the much better (and far more clever) renaming suggestion: "parent(hectic) diabetic".

It's funny 'cause it's true.