Malachite Mirror

[EveKnight75]

This had happened about 1-2 weeks ago. I sent the staff a memo and have received many sympathies. Now that I'm back, I'll share this story with you. The following is a copy of the memo I had sent out:

I've just switched to a new combination for my diabetic pills and I suffered from an unforeseen side effect today.

Basically, my sugar levels were doing a roller coaster. In one metabolic session, I managed to fluctuate between a 2 and a 20 (maybe daz can explain that for me).

The result? I wake up feeling like I have a nasty hangover, eat, feel over-hyper for about 4 hours (as in I can't sit still), then feel woozy only to have another "hangover". A "hangover" means my throat is still parched after 3 bottles of water, I have a severe migraine and feel dizzy, and I can't seem to stay awake. When I manage to get to a safe sugar level, I end up starving and pigging out on everything in sight, making things worse.

Thankfully, I didn't have any work or volunteer sessions today. I've already called in to both and got the week off for sick leave after faxing them a medical note.

Earlier today, I went to the hospital, and am now under observation. I am allowed to go out, but I have to sleep at the hospital and report there every four hours (thank god it's downtown!). I'll try to check in, but my aunt and uncle are coming in from New York on Friday and they're leaving on Tuesday. The observation period will last for about a week.

If there's any issues in my forums, let me know. Meanwhile, wish me luck! Especially because this particular aunt is my paternal aunt and everyone on my dad's side of the family is a gourmet. Restaurant-hopping is a must during every visit.

Better log off and get to bed now. The nurse is approaching!

Good ol' daz explained that the average person has an average of 4-6. Mine is a 6-9. This is a copy of the memo I sent out after coming back from the hospital.

Well, I'm finally back from the hospital. Thanks for all your support! Now for my rant...

The problem turned out to be the new dietitian and endocrinology nurse. Between the two of them, they forgot to take notes on medication schedules and changes in diet and exercise.

My endocrinologist had to be called in. She was pissed off because she was about to go on vacation. She was even more pissed off when she found out what had happened.

The difference between the notes and the truth is that I eat less, am a near-vegetarian, the chocolate I ingest happens to be sugar-free and I exercise three times more than the notes indicate. That's why I was losing weight rapidly!

I became suspicious because they refused to let me see their notes on my chart. I asked for a new nurse and dietitian immediately but my request wasn't granted. Now my request has been expedited.

The thing about PCOS is that it affects insulin production in your body. A lot of my symptoms in that area had been clearing up, but the nurse forgot to note that too. When the estrogen regulates itself better, the insulin does too.

The impression the doctors had was that I wasn't taking care of my diabetes which is why I was losing weight rapidly, and my insulin production was getting worse instead of better. They forced me to take more pills. (God only knows what could have happened if I were taking insulin shots!)

The excuse those dimwits had? They've just graduated and they're still new at this. My endocrinologist had nearly lost her voice by then so she gestured to me and told me to take it away. Boy did I give them an earful! Did they honestly think that excuse would work, especially when the patient in question was a post-secondary student within their own age group who'd been undergoing these medical routines for years? One of the first things you learn in school is that the patient is allowed to view his/her own files/records upon request. You learn that diet and exercise have a correlation when you're still in grade school!

Before I left to go home, my endocrinologist took me aside, apologized, explained the hormonal changes that occur at this stage of life, then asked me if I would mind grinning and bearing it with those two a little while longer. Apparently, they need some training from me. Besides, she might enjoy watching them cringe every month.

I agreed to do it, if only to get a good laugh out of this whole thing. One of my fellow patients happens to be nearly done with his BSc. and is heading for medical school. He also has those two and had told me that he's filed a request for a transfer. Maybe I should tell him what happened. He can teach them a thing or two as well, especially in that booming voice that he has.

[EveKnight75]

Well, I'm finally getting back into the swing of things with work and volunteering. Tomorrow's the last day of school for my sister. I'm not sure how I feel about that - lately her mood swings and sheer hostility have been throwing me off. I remember what it was like being 13. Even then, I just can't seem to get used to it because she used to be so sweet and open. I was always a reticent child so it wasn't really a surprise that I was a reticent teen.

Y'know how a teenager will always yell at his/her parents that "You don't remember what it was like!"? I'm beginning to see where they're coming from. You remember in your head how you acted, you understand some of their actions, but you don't quite remember how the emotional rollercoaster actually felt so you don't really fully adjust to the fact that they've changed so much in such a short period of time.

I'll just hold on to my hopes that she'll change back into her nice self once the rollercoaster settles for a bit.

Meanwhile, my laptop had crashed so I had to reprogram everything. Fortunately, the only documents that I had really lost were my fanfics, beta work, fanfic ideas, and a copy of my forum rules.

I had already backed up the latest versions of the chapters in progress. The fanfic ideas were originally in my paper notebook. The latest beta work had already been backed up.

The last back-up had been done because of intuition. I had a feeling that something bad was going to happen to the files soon, but I had no idea what. The laptop hadn't even been acting up at the time. Still, if a nagging feeling at the back of my head tells me to do something that may actually be good for me, who am I to argue?

Speaking of WIPs, the concrit article I was working on with a partner was originally slated for posting in mid-July, but now I have to push it back even further. There's one more source that I need to survey. I had wanted to get opinions from GAFF, but the site had been taking forever so I had finally decided to screw it and go on with the article anyway. Now that the forums are back, they'd be a good source of finding out their opinions. A lot of them are concritters, and those who aren't know the difference between a negative concrit and an elaborate flame quite well. I might as well give it a shot and see if they can provide anything extra for the article. If not, it was worth a shot and we'll end up having pushed back the article by only two weeks, tops.

[Nanaea]

My oldest is nearly 13, and my sweet, quiet little boy has turned into a moody, stubborn, rebelliouis wreck. I am so not looking forward to the next 10-15 years of raising teenagers.

Oh, and my laptop is dying too, so I feel your pain.

[EveKnight75]

(Inspired by Ada's rant)

I'm glad I get to yell at and train my diabetic nurse and dietician.

Really, really, glad. I'm also happy that I get to switch off with another patient every 6 weeks. Just to keep them on their toes.

At least we get revenge on two medical assholes. I'm not saying that all medical practitioners are assholes. I'm just saying that those who

- think they have the right to withhold information

- are deliberately evasive when a patient asks a question

- choose to use complicated language precisely because they believe the patient won't understand it

are assholes. I may not be in any medical field, but I do understand the jargon. thank you very much. It's kinda inevitable when you research your own illnesses, and half of your relatives are in medical fields, your own parents included.

Seriously though, I demand to see all of my files and read them regularly. In fact, I have my own photocopies filed away at home. I also pester my doctors/nurses in the politest manner possible. I constantly remind them that my health stinks already, and it's best for both sides if I know everything because the biggest hurdles are mine to tackle. They can give me pills but it's up to me to control my diet and exercise. Usually, they see the reasoning and go along with it.