I had my doctor appointment today and established with a new doctor (since my old one left). He seemed ok. He was surprised I did not know that I was diabetic because apparently my chart said I was diabetic and it was diet controlled and that my last HbA1c was 6.1 (Feb, 2002). I told him no, that I was a gestational diabetic and that test was ordered by a nurse practioner and I thought 6.1 was normal. Apparently it’s not. They never followed up, I never followed up. So I don’t know if there was a breakdown in communication or what.

So I guess I’ve been diabetic all this time and didn’t know it. ??? I don’t know.

Anyway, he ordered me to see an eye doctor and a foot doctor, and put me on Metformin. He gave me a prescription for a new glucose monitor, test strips, and lancets.

The pharmacy told me the monitor, strips, and lancets weren’t covered by the insurance. So we got to choose my monitor and we chose what we thought was the cheapest one.

When I got home I called the insurance and the girl I talked to said those items would be covered if I bought them from a medical supply center instead of the pharmacy. So I called the pharmacy back and asked if I could return all of it (but I had already opened it all) and he said that didn’t sound right and to call the insurance back. So I did and the second person said that wasn’t right either and that they do pay for it but I have to submit my receipts.

The monitor instruction manual said I must do a control test on the machine before using it.. so I went through the box and found the control solution wasn’t in it. Then I found the fine print on the outside of the box that said it was sold separately. How nice. (Never seen that before…) So I called every pharmacy in town to see if they had the solution, none did. Then we went to Safeway to pick up milk and on a whim I stopped by their pharmacy and they had one box left of the control solutions. Yay. It was expensive…. so the monitor we bought ended up not being so “cheap” since most of the others COME with the solution. Oh well.

The monitor is ok. At least the drops of blood it requires is tiny and I can even stick my arm instead of my fingers if I want. So begins my life with Type 2 diabetes.

P.S. I have to wear socks all the time. Me. In socks. All the time. Riiiight.