Glucose testing has made great strides over the last 40 years. At that time, a diabetic had to dip a strip, Testtape, into their urine, wait a few seconds for it to change color and then match it to a chart printed on the vial of strips which indicated a range of glucose in the urine. The problem is, that was an indication of the amount of sugar in your blood hours ago. Then the first blood monitors game out which were quite complicated to use. Over the years the monitoring process became more accurate, easier to apply blood to a strip inserted into the meter, etc. However, one had to prick their finger using a new lancet each time after cleansing the finger with an alcohol swab first. The strips were quite expensive.
When I was first diagnosed it was against the spectre of my father who died from complications from diabetes at age 58. He used the urine strips as you describe. I set out from the beginning to try to bring my condition under control. The personal lancets is how I started out. Because I was testing frequently I was alternatiiuniqueng left and right fingertips so I could do two on each finger so sixteen different targets. I was testing 4X a day so I was cycling through two fingers a day! I grew tired of it and my fingertips started to hurt. In my case with my compulsion to double test I decided to pay the difference and get the CGM. I am so grateful for it and it provides a lot of insight for me about where I'm at and even the subtle differences between one food and another, when I exercise, how much I sleep. It is a wonderful device and if you use it correctly you can learn a lot about the uniqueness of your own body.
On Tuesday, once again, I could tell by looking into your eyes that something was not right. Having stated this to you in the past, I was reluctant to comment on it. I heard a number of times during my career that everyone has a canary living with them, their moms and wives. They can tell something is not right with you. Of course, Ann tells me that all the time. I think she is referring to my brain.
You have mentioned twice the last couple of posts about taking Ibuprofen and Naprosyn for your aches and pains. I hope you are not taking them together because they are quite similar and can be harmful to your kidneys long term. As a diabetic, one must be over cautious. I have just been taken off an anti-inflammatory drug I had been taking at a low dose daily for the last 30 years because it was affecting my kidneys, not in a good way. Sorry, I can't stop being a pharmacist watching out for my patients. I became good at noticing little differences in people.
I so appreciate your comment. Guys like me are not educated about drugs. I always mix up IBUPROFEN & ACETAMINOPHEN. For that reason, based on some guidance I got long ago when the kids were young, we label all of our pain relievers with a big A or big I on the cap and explained to the kids never to take both at the same time. Since I am no pharmacist I had to settle for a SHARPIE. So interesting that you say that about the kidneys as that was one of the supplemental tests I was due for when I drove out to Andover so I left a urine sample. Already got the results back. It is so important to get to know what your friends do and take advantage by listening to them about stuff. I may even correct the post so that no one out there mistakes what I wrote as good guidance.
Just one more clarification to muddy the waters. Ibuprofen and acetaminophen are, in fact, safe to take together, even though it is recommended you separate them by two hours so that every two hours you can be taking an analgesic. They are in two different classifications of drugs and are metabolized differently, one by the kidneys and the other by the liver. The problem involves taking ibuprofen and Naprosyn together. They are both non-steroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAIDS) which increase the incidence of kidney problems and gastric bleeding. Acetaminophen was long thought to be one of the safest medications out there, which it is unless you take too much. 4000mg is the max. That is eight extra-strength, 500mg, tablets in 24 hours.
Alcohol is to be avoided with all pain medications....
Acetaminophen is found in many, many over-the-counter, OTC, and prescription drugs so you need to be careful. Many medical practitioners are unaware of this.
I wrote a clarification in my post from last night. Whenever I have needed them I am careful. I never bothered to know what NSAIDs were. If you could, read my post with the clarification. I will forward from website.
Did you also get a blood test done? Kidney problems show up on your blood test. You are still relatively young, that was my excuse for continually taking these and all of a sudden I was old. What the heck. Consider the blood tests as a canary. They show trends and if the trend is downward, chances are this is not good.
In reference to your topic of canaries. Too often if you pay attention to the news and science information you hear the phrase that such and such is indicative of bad news like the canary in a coal mine. Most of the time, they are reporting the canary is dead. I bought a button many years ago celebrating Earth Day. I still have the button. There is a photo of the earth taken from space. It looks beautiful. The phrasing on the front is simple, "Love it or lose it." We are losing the battle. This also reminds me of an old "pogo" cartoon. Pogo comes back from the "battlefront" and states something like this "I have met the enemy and it is us." So poignant. With that, I say good night.
Glucose testing has made great strides over the last 40 years. At that time, a diabetic had to dip a strip, Testtape, into their urine, wait a few seconds for it to change color and then match it to a chart printed on the vial of strips which indicated a range of glucose in the urine. The problem is, that was an indication of the amount of sugar in your blood hours ago. Then the first blood monitors game out which were quite complicated to use. Over the years the monitoring process became more accurate, easier to apply blood to a strip inserted into the meter, etc. However, one had to prick their finger using a new lancet each time after cleansing the finger with an alcohol swab first. The strips were quite expensive.
When I was first diagnosed it was against the spectre of my father who died from complications from diabetes at age 58. He used the urine strips as you describe. I set out from the beginning to try to bring my condition under control. The personal lancets is how I started out. Because I was testing frequently I was alternatiiuniqueng left and right fingertips so I could do two on each finger so sixteen different targets. I was testing 4X a day so I was cycling through two fingers a day! I grew tired of it and my fingertips started to hurt. In my case with my compulsion to double test I decided to pay the difference and get the CGM. I am so grateful for it and it provides a lot of insight for me about where I'm at and even the subtle differences between one food and another, when I exercise, how much I sleep. It is a wonderful device and if you use it correctly you can learn a lot about the uniqueness of your own body.
I made an ERROR in this post that was identified by a pharmacist friend. It is included in a CLARIFCATION made in the top of the post at https://markdolan.substack.com/p/peace-of-mind
On Tuesday, once again, I could tell by looking into your eyes that something was not right. Having stated this to you in the past, I was reluctant to comment on it. I heard a number of times during my career that everyone has a canary living with them, their moms and wives. They can tell something is not right with you. Of course, Ann tells me that all the time. I think she is referring to my brain.
You have mentioned twice the last couple of posts about taking Ibuprofen and Naprosyn for your aches and pains. I hope you are not taking them together because they are quite similar and can be harmful to your kidneys long term. As a diabetic, one must be over cautious. I have just been taken off an anti-inflammatory drug I had been taking at a low dose daily for the last 30 years because it was affecting my kidneys, not in a good way. Sorry, I can't stop being a pharmacist watching out for my patients. I became good at noticing little differences in people.
I so appreciate your comment. Guys like me are not educated about drugs. I always mix up IBUPROFEN & ACETAMINOPHEN. For that reason, based on some guidance I got long ago when the kids were young, we label all of our pain relievers with a big A or big I on the cap and explained to the kids never to take both at the same time. Since I am no pharmacist I had to settle for a SHARPIE. So interesting that you say that about the kidneys as that was one of the supplemental tests I was due for when I drove out to Andover so I left a urine sample. Already got the results back. It is so important to get to know what your friends do and take advantage by listening to them about stuff. I may even correct the post so that no one out there mistakes what I wrote as good guidance.
Just one more clarification to muddy the waters. Ibuprofen and acetaminophen are, in fact, safe to take together, even though it is recommended you separate them by two hours so that every two hours you can be taking an analgesic. They are in two different classifications of drugs and are metabolized differently, one by the kidneys and the other by the liver. The problem involves taking ibuprofen and Naprosyn together. They are both non-steroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAIDS) which increase the incidence of kidney problems and gastric bleeding. Acetaminophen was long thought to be one of the safest medications out there, which it is unless you take too much. 4000mg is the max. That is eight extra-strength, 500mg, tablets in 24 hours.
Alcohol is to be avoided with all pain medications....
Acetaminophen is found in many, many over-the-counter, OTC, and prescription drugs so you need to be careful. Many medical practitioners are unaware of this.
https://markdolan.substack.com/p/peace-of-mind is the clarification I added to the post yesterday
I wrote a clarification in my post from last night. Whenever I have needed them I am careful. I never bothered to know what NSAIDs were. If you could, read my post with the clarification. I will forward from website.
Did you also get a blood test done? Kidney problems show up on your blood test. You are still relatively young, that was my excuse for continually taking these and all of a sudden I was old. What the heck. Consider the blood tests as a canary. They show trends and if the trend is downward, chances are this is not good.
In reference to your topic of canaries. Too often if you pay attention to the news and science information you hear the phrase that such and such is indicative of bad news like the canary in a coal mine. Most of the time, they are reporting the canary is dead. I bought a button many years ago celebrating Earth Day. I still have the button. There is a photo of the earth taken from space. It looks beautiful. The phrasing on the front is simple, "Love it or lose it." We are losing the battle. This also reminds me of an old "pogo" cartoon. Pogo comes back from the "battlefront" and states something like this "I have met the enemy and it is us." So poignant. With that, I say good night.