OK, so time for another update! My follow-up with my primary care physician a few weeks back did not go as well as I’d hoped, but I was not completely surprised. With the holidays and everything going on, I’ve been stress-eating like crazy and have re-gained some of the weight I’d lost. Surprise surprise. BUT there was some good news: my numbers were still a lot better than they were this time last year; my doc said not to be too hard on myself. Honestly, there is no one harder on me than me. /shrug

So yeah, he prescribed a new fancy Blood glucose monitoring system and I’m shocked to say that my insurance actually covered it! It hurts like a motherfucker when I have to inject the sensor into my arm, but it’s been providing me with a wealth of knowledge as far as my Blood Sugar levels go, and it’s been interesting to see my daily patterns.

This beats pricking my finger 8 times a day ANY DAY! I hate pricks. :)

My blood sugar is always highest in the mornings, which I’ve known that for a while, but what I did not know was how badly my headaches, anxiety, and stress were affecting my levels too. I’ve noticed that these things raise my numbers exponentially. In fact, I had a panic attack early Monday morning and at the time of the attack, my blood sugar was nearly 300! (this was around 3am, when normally it’s under 100) So it’s confirmation that all of these other things are affecting my numbers, not just my diet. For the most part, with my normal diet and daily dosing of Metformin, my numbers are usually in a pretty good range. There’s always room for improvement there, but apparently it’s the stress, headaches, and anxiety fucking me up the most.

Shocker, I know …

I saw the new neurologist yesterday. I really like this one. I recounted all of the treatments tried over the years that I could remember, and filled him in on the cluster fuck that happened with the pain center. He recommended I be put back on Aimovig. Apparently insurance now requires that I stay on that, and if THAT doesn’t work, then I can be put on Botox. Fine by me. I had my first (technically second total) treatment in his office, plus a shot of Toradol for the headache I’d had all day (leftover from the day before).

And today I feel FUCKING FANTASTIC compared to how I have felt for the past WEEK!

I am not convinced that this stuff will hold off every headache, but it’s supposed to keep getting better, so I will give it an honest go. Plus I’ve been prescribed Imitrex nasal treatments for when I do get a headache. I get 8 of those per month, and if that doesn’t work, then I can get a Toradol. I previously had those after my hysterectomy — they didn’t do squat for the surgery pain, but worked GREAT on headaches! So it’s nice to have met with a doctor who does not want me to be in pain.

Let’s see … what else? The Lexapro seems to be helping with my depression. The holidays were really hard for me, but they didn’t seem as dark as they had in years previous. If anything, I’d say that the Lexapro makes it more manageable, not as heavy a burden. I still have moments when I’m down, but they are not near as frequent. I don’t feel like I’m drowning … just more like I’m floating and waiting for the energy to paddle to shore.

I tried online dating for about a minute, then remembered why I stopped trying. Ugh. I met a handful of seemingly decent guys, only a couple of whom actually asked me out. One of which, we’re just friends. He’s a really cool dude, but we’re looking for different things in a relationship. The other … well, either he was really shy or it wasn’t really a date, as he brought a friend. /sigh I still have that long-distance interest, but he’s had burdens of his own to shoulder, and it just hasn’t been a good time for either of us. We’ve talked several times about meeting up. I think if that ever happens, we’d be inseparable. But there’s that IF …

Story of my life.

There’s also the debacle with trying to get my roof fixed on my house. I can’t remember if I mentioned this or not? The gutters were ripped off during a storm, causing a bit of damage to the underside where they were attached to the roof and house. I’ve been in touch with several places, one of which was going to do the work then flaked out on me. Another is coming this weekend to take a look at it. I decided that if I’m going to be here for another year or so, I might as well make it comfortable and invest in what could increase the value when it comes time to sell. This gives me time to find what I want in a new place. I’ve yet to find anything that I’ve just fallen in love with … maybe I’m too picky?

And with all the crap going on at work, it’s not a good time to be selling right now anyways. The “raises” they gave us a few months ago were underwhelming at best, and insulting at worst. Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy to have something — it’s better than nothing. But when they’re cramming the “company cares!” bullshit down your throat all the time, but aren’t interested in actually investing in their employees, that just seems a tad disingenuous to me. Or maybe it’s just me? I had asked the CEO about the possibility of “catch-up raises” for those of us who’d gone without for years and who were far underpaid than our counterparts at other companies. I was told to talk to my boss (he had literally JUST started when this took place) and it was implied that I should be grateful for what I was given.

Bleh …

So what’s new with y’all?