Phew, I maintained this week!
I plunged in and bought a blood glucose kit with some strips and lancets. The strips and lancets were kind of expensive (as far as I know, I am not a diabetic, so I cannot use insurance to offset the cost), but the kit was free! I bought the FreeStyle Precision Neo from Abbott because it is the only one available in Canada that also measures blood ketones (unless that has changed).
Since I had a health scare last year (my HbA1c indicated that I was borderline prediabetic, but my anemia and iron supplements may make the result untrustworthy), I think it is a good idea to get an idea of what my blood glucose may be at, especially considering my high blood pressure. For the ketone measurement, it is mostly from curiosity because I eat more low-carb than keto. So I decided to try out the meter this morning before breakfast.
It was such a pain! This meter requests - no, demands - so much blood, and I kept getting error messages from it! I was able to get a fasting blood glucose reading, but was unsuccessful with the ketone measurement. I stopped before wasting any more strips.
The final verdict: I had a fasting blood glucose of 5.3 mmol/L (95.4 mg/dL for the American equivalent -- I just multiplied by 18). It seems to be a bit close to the 6 mmol/L (usually prediabetes) that I am dreading, but all websites I checked out say that it is OK below 7 mmol/L (diabetes if always 7 or over). 5.3 in the morning starts to be bad only if you are a pregnant woman with diabetes. This is considering that I tend to be a late snacker, especially on Friday nights!
I also thought about checking my blood pressure, but I am still afraid! I have a doctor's appointment coming up and I know my pressure is going to be worse there!
I recently learned some news that saddened me a bit: my younger sister has also been saddled with uterine fibroids for the last few years, just like me. She is supposed to undergo a myomectomy (just like I did) in a few months, but no specific date. She wishes to have a baby, so I hope the doctor will do a good job with the fibroid removal. I went through it (except that I did not wish for a baby), so I know it will go well for her. At least she has normal blood pressure, very important if you want a baby!
At least it is a sunny day today. Fall is definitely upon us, because it's kind of chilly. The normal cycle of seasons.
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154.6 lb
Lost so far: 19.4 lb.
Still to go: 0 lb.
Diet followed reasonably well.
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steady weight
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