What's Up, Doc?

I am considering switching general physicians. My family doc, who I've mentioned before, is a really nice lady, but at the same time I feel like whenever I'm sick, my diabetes gets in the way. For example, today I went in because I think I have a UTI brewing, and I wanted to get a jump on some antibiotics before I start work next week. Nothing worse than pelvic pain to start a new job!

I go in, do the usual pee-in-a-cup test. I hope that my blood sugar isn't too high, because I'm gonna get called out on it as if it's something I was clueless of.

It could also be those good ol' ovarian cysts acting up again, but the pain isn't nearly as sharp or unbearable. I'm thinking UTI. I'm thinking bladder infection. I'm thinking it's going to be obvious, in-out-done.

The nurse comes in with a dinosaur of a glucose meter. "There's, like, a TON of glucose in your urine," she informs me. She's a nice, friendly nurse around my own age. She looks baffled by her equipment, but asks me if I want to test my sugar myself. She then says I can use my own meter and also tells me she doesn't know why the office meter is so old--it's pretty unfamiliar to both of us. She said in nursing school, they'd used newer equipment, so she was glad I was willing to do things myself. 5 seconds count down. 235.

The nurse leaves to tell the doc and comes back again. She wants to take my blood. I just had an A1c...what? 2 weeks ago at most? They want to do a CBC and a Hemoglobin A1c, she says. She's not quite sure why, but since my blood sugar is so high, I guess it's some kind of office policy.

Here's a thought...if I actually have the beginnings of an infection, my blood glucose is gonna go through the roof whether I want it to or not! That's generally what infections do!

Apparently my quickie-UTI test only showed "a couple of white cells" (doc's quote), and she doesn't seem convinced yet that I actually have any kind of infection. She thinks maybe my problems are exclusively from the amount of glucose I'm peeing out.

I'm glad my doc seems conscientious enough to not hand out antibiotics like Tic-Tacs, but on the other hand, I'm hurting here. I don't want to get sicker. She did write me a script, but she seemed pretty reluctant to do so.

I don't want to have an A1c test every time my blood sugar is high at a doctor's office, and this is not the first time this has happened. On the other hand, my doctor is generally nice, has good hours, and the office location is really convenient. As long as I don't have to pee in a cup, I'm usually happy.

Maybe the next time I think I have a UTI, I'll call my endocrinologist.