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Monday, March 29, 2004 ( 9:27 AM ) Pem technologyLord Finchley tried to mend the Electric Light Himself.Hilaire Belloc, 1911 PermaLink Thursday, March 25, 2004 ( 10:08 PM ) Pem balance I balanced this last week and it was still up today. C. has a policy of not having symbols visible in his office. He does have one large and three small wooden ducks as part of the decoration. I found a matching small wooden duck, and added it to his collection. When he noticed it he put it away in a drawer. I said what harm is there in another duck, and he said he would think about it. Today he said that he had decided he couldn't have the duck I had given him out. Only he had gotten mixed up and he gave me back the wrong one. When I said I thought it was the wrong one he was quite convinced that he was right and I was wrong, until I pointed out the feature that proved which one I had given him. So I could have not only had my duck in his collection, but had one of his ducks in return. But it didn't feel right to trick him. PermaLink Wednesday, March 24, 2004 ( 11:10 AM ) Pem The Roman Rule"The one who says it cannot be done should never interrupt the one who is doing it." That came up in a discussion of new drug trials in Australia on alt.support.diabetes as an attitude to take towards people like the diabetes educators. Today I did a home test of my Hemoglobin A1c, which measures how well I have controlled my blood sugar the last two or three months. I was thrilled to get a result of 5.5. In October my A1c was 6.5. One explanation of what the numbers mean says: A healthy person without diabetes will have an A1C between 4% and 6%. If you are diabetic, the closer your A1C is to 6%, the better your diabetes is in control.The average A1c of people with diabetes in the United States is 9. PermaLink Tuesday, March 23, 2004 ( 3:38 PM ) Pem diabetes educatorI've been in contact by email with a diabetes educator at one of the local hospitals. I wanted to check the person out before making an appointment, to make sure she wasn't hostile to the approach I am following. She replied that my approach was great if it worked for me, but then she said I should be aware that everyone eventually gets complications. I asked her if she had any evidence for that, as the approach I am following results in significantly lower average blood sugar than even the intensive therapy groups in the long-term studies that have been done (who had much lower rates of complications than people following the old recommendations). As the discussion continued, it became clear that she was dubious of the intensive approach I am taking. She doesn't want to promise anyone that if they work hard to keep their blood sugar in tight control they will be able to prevent complications, and I suspect she doesn't even suggest tight control as an option. She clearly feels caught between the endocrinologists, who are recommending tighter control of blood sugar, and local doctors who still tell their patients goals that are years out of date. It is a nasty position to be in--I'm sure the first thing diabetes educators get taught in their training is never to undercut the authority of the doctor. Update: I contacted a diabetes educator at a different nearby hospital and she said they are required to teach the Amercian Diabetes Association guidelines in order to be eligible for insurance reimbursement. She also gave me the "diabetes is progressive and incurable" message: "Diabetes IS a progressive illness, so don't deem yourself a failure if what you do this year doesn't work as well next year." The evidence is very clear that the progression can be slowed way down, but the standard advice ignores that completely. PermaLink Monday, March 22, 2004 ( 2:10 PM ) Pem back to workI had a most unproductive vacation, but I guess I needed that. I feel sharper in the classroom, despite having to reconnect to where I was more than a week ago. PermaLink Sunday, March 21, 2004 ( 2:09 PM ) Pem fake mashed potatoesI guess that keeping my carbohydrates low to control my blood sugar is getting to me more than I realized. I made fake mashed potatoes and I thought they were great. The recipe calls for steaming a large head of cauliflower until fairly soft and pureeing it in the food processor. I added a tablespoon or two of butter, a couple of tablespoons of plain yogurt, and some salt and pepper. Next time I might add some fancy mustard. It certainly looked like mashed potatoes, but my husband thought it just tasted like cauliflower. I like cauliflower, so that didn't bother me. PermaLink Tuesday, March 16, 2004 ( 11:44 AM ) Pem forgivenessI'm actually not uptight about where I am on the issue of forgiveness, but I got thinking about it after catching myself saying twice in the last few days that I don't want to forgive my abuser. I have trouble understanding that forgiveness doesn't have to mean saying "she did the best she could." But the more fundamental issue right now seems to be that I feel a need to see her as bad because then I am different from her. I don't feel very secure in saying I may have some of the same impulses inside me but I'm different because I don't act on them. The whole issue of the relationship between feelings and action is difficult. PermaLink |
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