Figuring It Out
Friday, August 12, 2011 at 7:57AM “So, how are you feeling Georgie?”
One question that almost brought me to tears. Not that being referred to with a childlike nickname by your doctor doesn’t sort of warm your heart but the fact that there always seems to be a genuine concern.
It’s one of the reasons I am so happy with my doctor now. I don’t feel like a patient. I feel like a person.
Let me step back a little. So when I got to the doctors for a regular check up I noticed that he had a new nurse that I have not seen before. His nurse was out on vacation.
She led me over to the scale that I was reluctant to step on, as usual. She looks at my chart and says, “Awesome you are down another pound!”
Wow, I did not see that coming.
I followed her into the exam room and sat down.
“Dr. [Awesome] said I should refer to you as ‘Georgie’ but I told him I think I will just stick to ‘George.’” The whole time she was looking at my face for a reaction.
“Georgie, George, whatever. I don’t mind at all.”
Just then Dr. Awesome walks by and says, “Hey, I can finish up with Georgie!” So he walks in, takes the clipboard and stuff, and checks all my vitals. There is something cool about a doctor taking the time out to take your temperature, check your blood pressure, and also chat with you about your life.
“So, how are you feeling Georgie?”
I explain that my daytime bg’s have been crap lately. If I look at a carb I skyrocket.
“Are you sleeping through the night?”
The answer was a big fat NO! I wake up all night long not able to shut off my brain or ever get a good night’s sleep.
“Have you been irritable?”
I felt tears forming in my eyes.
“Let me change the question. Would your wife say you have been irritable?” He said it with a smile.
I nodded. I couldn’t speak.
My story of snapping at my family just because my wife wanted to know how my day was got a response from Dr. Awesome of, “HOW DARE SHE ASK YOU THAT!?”
He could see I was upset and felt awful so he was trying to lighten the mood.
“Well Georgie, I think I know what we are going to try. I am not sure if I am right but we are going to try something to help you get a better sleep pattern down and I want to send you home with a device that will monitor your sleep to see if anything else is going on. How does that sound?”
He explained that a lack of sleep can cause insulin resistance and so we may see a change in bg’s but for now, he wants to address the rest and irritability. We will work on the bg numbers laters. It’s not all about diabetes.
He also gave me the sample of a drug to help me stay awake during the day. It is used for people who work weird shifts and need to reset their internal clock.
So I took the pills and I took the device home and followed his instructions.
At 3AM I hear my wife scream and hear a loud slam. I sat up and could feel my heart want to tear through my chest!
My wife fell out of bed. It scared the heck out of me and her as well. Luckily she was okay.
So I was laying there trying to slow down my heart rate and steady my breathing. I spent the next 2 hours trying to get situated and comfortable.
With a gauge on my finger, a long hose connected like oxygen across my face and in my nose, with the wires connecting to the device reading it, my insulin pump and tubing, and a blanket I thought I was going to strangle myself for sure.
I finally fell asleep and dropped off the unit to the doctor for him to download and see.
So is it sleep apnea? A messed up internal clock? Maybe stress? Diabetes?
I have no clue, but what I do know is that my doctor will go through the steps to figure it out.
Once again, knowing you are not alone is so comforting and empowering. Like this community, the support we get from anyone can make us feel like we are going to be okay.
Reader Comments (7)
I love your doctor. I'm so glad you're finally getting the help you deserve.
Your wife fell out of bed?! What the heck? I'd love to hear her explanation of what happened... I assume she's ok, right? And of COURSE some craziness would happen the night you're investigating sleep patterns. :-)
im glad your is one of the good ones. i hate to say so is mine,i wish every ones was.
i hope you and him can get to the bottom of whats going on.
your wife falling out of bed is not what i seen coming!!
Aw, your doctor sounds lovely! Sorry to hear that you're having a bit of a rough time of things at the moment. I hope you do manage to find out what it is that's causing the bother. In the meantime though, it's great to hear that you've got a supportive family and doctor :)
yuck, george! i hope the doctor can help you figure out what's going on so you can get some rest. big hugs, my friend. hang in there!
It sucks you're not sleeping! I hope Dr Awesome helps you figure it out/fix it soon!
BUT I love that he didn't just "blame D" for the issue. He sounds like he lives up this name!
My husband began using a cpap last summer. He feels better, he sleeps better (and so do I). It's made a HUGE difference. Hope you figure it out, George.
George,
I wondered if you had seen any other pieces like this.
People with type 2 diabetes who sleep poorly may have worse control over their blood sugar levels, which can lead to more diabetes-related complications. Researchers found that diabetes patients who don't get good sleep have a harder time controlling their disease.