Medical update...

 

Few bits of news on the medical front.  Got back from the orthopedic surgeon.  No damage to the bones and he doesn't think there is any damage to my ACL or MCL in my knee, which is good.  He does however, feel there is a fairly significant tear in my medial meniscus due to decent amount of swelling I still have 5 days post injury. 

So, MRI is next on the docket... I wanted that to be first on the docket, but insurance being insurance I have to jump through hoops to get what I need.  Paperwork must be filed and fumbled over before I can get the MRI, then the follow-up appointment to find out what is wrong and figure out what to do about it.

bleh... I just want to start rehab now.  I miss being active and its only been 5 days.

On another note, about 10 minutes ago I connected my "Guardian Real-Time Continues Glucose Monitor".  As a number of you know, I'm a type 1 diabetic, which means my body can't produce insulin to turn food into glucose so my body can, well .. live.  I wear an insulin pump, which can often be witnessed when I'm on my bike. (It's the bulge on my lower back that people mistake for a radio.)

The insulin pump was the first major step for me in the control of my diabetes, as it allowed me to quickly and easily adjust my insulin intake based off of my activity load.  Before the pump, I'd almost always crash a few hours after a long ride.  Now, it can set back the background insulin levels during my ride and have no issues.

The best thing a diabetic can do is have control of their blood sugars.  For a normal person, their blood sugars run between 90 and 100.  A diabetics will range all over the place depending on their control what they've had to eat, how stressed they are, if they are sick, if they are being physically active... Hopefully you get the picture.  For the vast majority of diabetics, 4-6 times a day we stick our fingers and test our blood with these small devices.  We can't do anything without them... until recently.

The real time monitor I know wear tests my blood sugars every 5 minutes.  Two hundred and forty four times a day.  In addition, it wirelessly transmits the data to my insulin pump, tracks it, and alerts me if my blood sugar is below or above set thresholds or if its noticing a rapid upwards or downwards trend.

Bicycling Magazine last month had a great article on Team Type 1, which is a domestic cycling team.  Many of the guys on the team have Type 1 diabetes, and every member of the team rides with a CGM.  They've found that with the information on the body's blood sugar, they can accurate track and predict when riders need fuel and when they need to eat to maintain top performance.    The team doctor went on to say that he expects in the next 5-10 years a CGM will be the training tool for competitive cyclists.

I look forward to seeing the data, making adjustments to my training and diet, and flat out living better now that I have my CGM.