h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I've been battling poor diabetes care for the past two and a half years, during a...difficult...living situation, which has been improved for 10 months now. I had had really good diabetes stats for years, then my life fell apart and it's felt *so* daunting to get back to where I was.

My test results from April bore that out. My A1c was 10.1%!! This is just awful, since the highest it had been before my "downturn" was 7.1%! I was tested again last month, two months following that test -- and my A1c this time was 8.8% -- still horrendous, but a BIG improvement in just two months! I'm chuffed!

My cholesterol in that same period went from 242 Total, down to 185. My HDL cholesterol went from 28 (low) to 43 -- an increase of 15 points in two months (HDL is supposed to be over 30). My LDL cholesterol went from 142 (high) to 105! My triglycerides, which can indicate too many carbs, have dropped from...wait for it...358 (normal range is 30 to 180) down to 184!!

Soooo, all this time I was thinking progress was hopeless, I was kickin' it. WooHoo!!

Next step, being able to walk more than half a block without having to rest for 5 minutes. I think I can do it, now. Go me!

That's great news, SC

Bravo! What a relief that must be.

What I'm feeling most is relieved! When I first got my stats where they needed to be, 20+ years ago, it took me over 10 months. I was figuring that things were so out of whack now, that it wouldn't even be possible.

I still have to get my cholesterol down --184 is within 4 points of "normal," but since I've been diabetic for so long and had a heart attack/bypass, they want me to get below 100. THAT will be hard, but I now see that I can do it.