To See or Not To See

My eye is bleeding again.

I call Dr. L's office to let them know. Dr. L is a famous retina specialist that I've been seeing for two years now. Dr. L while being VERY good at his job, is slightly less than good at patient communication. Oh let's just come right out and say it ... frankly he sucks at it.

And after telling me that my eye is bleeding (ya think) and that I need have better A1cs (probably) he sends me off to get a carotid artery ultra-sound. His thinking, I CAN ONLY ASSUME HERE since he didn't actually share this with me, is that I have plaque inhibiting the flow of blood and increasing the blood pressure in the one eye that is bleeding.

Off I go to get the test. It's snowing and crappy outside but for the hour of this test I am kid-less and determined to enjoy it. The ultra-sound room is dark, and the gel is warmed. The tech gently presses on my neck and I find myself relaxing. I start to giggle because ... I'm actually enjoying this experience. What is WRONG with me?!! I'm viewing this life-saving test as a spa treatment! I have SO got to get out more!

Let's segue back to a week later when Dr. L is again examining my eye. My vision IS clearing. I've gone from 20/100 in the eye to 20/35 and the pressure is down in the normal range. So Dr. L. exams the eye and turns to go ....

Uh, what about the ultra-sound. Did you get the results? (can you believe that he wasn't even going to discuss them with me?)

Your arteries don't seem to be affecting your eye, he says, again turning to leave.

Are they normal?

No, not normal but in the range of normal.

And that is different, HOW? If only the other retina specialist wasn't 57 miles away.

Getting Rid of Ol' Red

For the first time in 11 years ... I have a new car. Although we had originally planned to"cash for clunker" my 1998 Isuzu Rodeo, we ended up trading him to the dealer. So instead of simply handing over the keys to Red and walking away with a new car ... we actually had to clean him. Bummer. Big bummer actually since most people who know me can attest, I'm perpetually late and well, a bit of a slob.

While cleaning the car, it struck me how even MY CAR has been affected by my diabetes. Using my husband's giant Shop-Vac I found all sorts of diabetic paraphernalia. I found needles, new and used. I found an old meter wedged under the seat, a spare sof-setter, and test strips ... did I ever find used test strips!

Just for fun I decided to count them: 37. Fewer than I anticipated but still more than anyone should have in a car. The problem is that when I test in the car I'm usually feeling bad. What I should do is pull over and test. What I end up doing is trying to balance the blood droplet and meter and perform the test at a red light. There is just enough time for me to prick, dab the strip, see the results, and hit the Act button on my meter before the light turns. In the rush, the used strip often flies into the nether regions of the car and is forgotten.

I remember a few years ago one of the meter companies had a meter where the test strips were in a drum. "Never touch another test strip again" was their triumphant cry. It was a dumb idea because you still had to pull the used strips from the end of the meter once the test was complete. And even though I DO actually throw my strips in the trash, I still seem to find them EVERYWHERE: my house, my car, my pockets and once I even found my cat batting one across the floor.

I've promised my new car, Otto, to be better at keeping him clean. I'll let you know how well I do at keeping this promise in 10 years or so.