Calling in Sick to a Doctor's Appointment

Does that sound absurd? It should, because it is. And I've done it. Multiple times.

Like today. I wrote about the Somogyi Effect and how I thought I had a handle on it. Yeah, not so much. The good fasting blood sugars are rarer than the ones that are utter garbage. This morning, I woke with a glucose of 403. FOUR HUNDRED AND THREE! You must be thinking, "What on Earth did you eat last night, Rob? An entire chocolate cake?!?" No, my evening snack was a couple of microwave chimichangas, a total of four carbs on a diabetic exchange diet. (Not to be confused with 4 grams of carbs.) My glucose at the time was 126, so I took only enough insulin to cover the meal. My thinking was that if I tried to add just a little more insulin to bring my glucose closer to an idyllic 100 that I'd be risking the slingshot effect of a Somogyi. For all of my careful thinking, I got a fasting glucose of 403.

I had - past tense - a podiatry appointment this morning. I'd just seen my podiatrist nearly two weeks ago, but was still experiencing a bit of pain. When you have advanced Diabetic Neuropathy, a "bit of pain" could be an indicator that something is very wrong. Mind you, the pain has diminished since I called to make the appointment, but I was still going to get it checked out. Better safer than sorrier.

The problem is that I can't go to a doctor's appointment when my blood sugar is so high. I need to monitor it. Take extra insulin if necessary. Be around food in case I overcompensate with my dosing. If I had a Continuous Glucose Monitor (or CGM), this would be less of a concern, as I'd know what my glucose was doing with the application of an app on my phone. But Medicare doesn't cover CGM's. As a result, I called in sick to a doctor's appointment.

The greatest culprit when it comes to missing medical appointments has been my Diabetic Neuropathy. The burning sensation in my skin would make it impossible to wear clothing, since contact with even the softest material would make me want to cry. This wouldn't be a problem if I could just go where I needed to go without a stitch of clothing on, but not only are there laws against that, but no one - and I mean NO ONE! - wants to see me naked.

I sincerely wish people would leave comments to let me know if these lessons and stories are getting through to them. I see some people are reading these meandering musings of mine, but I have no idea what effect I'm having. And no one who's read my last entry has donated to my GoFundMe. (Please, if you can't give, share the link. The sooner I meet that goal, the sooner I can stop worrying about this.)

Anyway, we're nearing the end of my post and I haven't posted a picture of my new wife.

Look at those dimples. LOOK AT THEM!

That, my friends, is English actress Jenna Coleman. As I did when "married" to Jane Douglas, I sent divorce papers to Jenna so that she might escape her relationship with me. It's only fair, right? Alas, an address of "Somewhere in England" probably won't reach her, so she and I will remain a wedded couple... until some other beauty catches my eye and I declare that one my bride. What can I say? I'm capricious.

Until my next post, whenever that may be.

Begging and Pleading Lines Are Now Open

"Woooow! Rob came back and wrote a post. We thought he died or something."

Not quite yet. I was recently talking with a friend about how it's miraculous that I'm still alive. I mean, around a decade ago, I was on the phone with an old friend, and after telling him all of the crap that had been going on in my life at the time, he said, and I quote, "It's amazing you haven't committed suicide already."

That's what I get for dialing in to a discount therapy session with Pep Talks-R-Us. 

This blog post is so I can share my GoFundMe page. This is, in a way, a continuation of my post about my dental issues, except that I'm now asking for financial aid to get dentures.

I'm sure I've discussed this before, but diabetes control is about balance. Diet, exercise, and medication need to be balanced carefully... except that exercise for me is next to impossible. The strength in my hands is negligible due to atrophying muscles. The bones in my remaining foot have fused, and continue to fuse, creating an appendage that's not terribly useful. Without exercise, I have to maintain control with insulin and diet, and diet is going to be EXTREMELY difficult to maintain without teeth.

By the way, my last post mentioned two teeth that don't move when nudged. I actually tried to convince the dentist that if I could keep those two teeth, my future dentures would TECHNICALLY be partials, which would be cheaper. However, the gums are receding around those teeth just as much as everywhere else, putting them at risk for serious gum infections.

Remember my post on 10 November 2022? No? Well, of the four teeth I had removed around that time, one had broken off, leaving fragments behind. Infection had set it. SERIOUS infection. It was so badly infected that the dentist couldn't numb the site. When he went to grab what was left of the tooth still embedded in my gums, A LOT of pus came bubbling out of the sides. It was a real mess.

So all of my teeth need to go. But because diet and medication are the only two things allowing me to maintain control of my diabetes, I NEED teeth.

For all of the times I've had to beg for financial aid, this is the first time that it's not an emergency. The extractions will begin on 9 May 2023, and that's just the beginning. There'll be another two or three extraction sessions after that. And that means there's plenty of time to reach my goal of... 

Yeah. Sure. That's a perfectly reasonable goal. All I need is one million people to donate $1.00 and I'll be all set.

Seriously, I set the goal at $1,600.00 because that's what it will actually cost. But if there's a millionaire out there willing to throw money at me, I won't complain.

Clicking on this sentence will bring up my GFM page. (Yeah, I linked it twice. Desperate times, desperate measures, etc.) What I'm actually asking for is maybe $5.00 a month for the next six months or so, which should help me meet my goal. If you can't afford to help, just share the page with friends and family. Every little bit helps. And although I'm not in a rush, the sooner I meet my goal, the sooner I can stop worrying about it.

That's it, folks. I came to my blog to plead for help. And if I manage to think of a diabetes topic I haven't already discussed, I'll come back to post about it.