Hello 2012... Bye bye 2011

Wow... just realised that I actually didn't blog at all in 2011... not that I blog a lot anyway... but goodness!! Time really flies!!

So how was 2011? One word... EVENTFUL! How? ... well...

1. Got confirmed as a permanent staff


2. Joined the gym


3. Busted my appendix (I'll do a delayed post on this later... when?... that's a good question :p )


4. Went on 2 island holidays in 2 weeks


5. Sweden trip and finally met Linda in person! (and all the other work colleagues in Sweden)


6. Decided to climb KK and started training for it (no haven't climbed yet... end April 2012 is the date =) )


7. D wise... I'm managing well with just diet and exercise... been getting consistent A1c in the low 5% ranges over the year... even scored a 4.6% after the appendix surgery! (big surprise!) ... and from the last full labs... all scores perfect! Woo Hoo!!

Hopefully 2012 will be as eventful... well it can minus the hospital stay part... I guess it can kickstart with a trip to Boracay next week during CNY!

OGTT...huh??? ... and a trip up to KL

Delayed post again...sorry... biasa la... hehehe

4th June 2010

Been quite exited over this day for a long time... and no its not because i'm going for a holiday or something... but more of I will be having my OGTT on that day...

what is OGTT?? stands for Oral Glucose Tolerance Test... where you drink a small glass /bottle of pure sugar water and see how your sugar levels fare at the 1st and 2nd hour mark...

So after arriving late at the hosp... 30 min late to be more exact because of STUPID FREAKING Klang jam... reach the main lab area still got to wait... but wasn't too bad la... they didn't tell me that the OGTT included urine test too... so obviously after being stuck in the jam for 1.5 hours... naturally you wanna go ......... right? yeah... the lady was like "Hannah!! Hannah!! you dah habis ke?? Ada urine test la... (have you finished?? there's urine test...)"... my expression was immediately... -_-

so for the next 5 min... i gulped down my whole bottle of water... full 500ml... and then wait somemore... and finally after I was done... my lab appointment has been delayed by 1.5 hours from the scheduled 8.30am... and the "good news" is... i'm not supposed to eat anything until the end of the 2nd hour blooddraw... so yes... i was super hungry that time!!

I was given a bottle of orange liquid... bottle writes 75g glucose (orange flavoured)... honestly? it tastes like Fanta Orange... or you know the orange miranda??... yeah kinda like that minus the gassy part... sweet like crazy... but i gulped it down quickly... faster get it over with... after that... i was taken to the waiting area (a big hall with some sofa chairs) and was told not to go anywhere and drink anything as it might affect the reading... so what can i do while waiting for the 2 hours? well... i can read newspaper or even sleep and then they'll come and call me at the 1 hour and 2 hour time to go get blood draw....ok....

Guess i was smarter... i brought my laptop =P ... and thank goodness there was a powerpoint there!!! (no... not that presentation slide pp... but the power plug point! =P ) ... and thank goodness too my phone can be used as my modem for 3G internet... luckily the signal was ok... not too bad... and i was able to surf the net and talk on msn / facebook during the whole wait... the rest of the people there that were doing OGTT too... the uncles and aunties... they were either just flipping the newspapers 10x or sleeping...snoring really loudly @_@

Thing was... i couldn't even take my file and line up at Dr. Thye's clinic first because the lab can't release the file... I can only go and line up after i've finished all the test... so a lot of waiting for me on this day...

I decided to do my own checking too using my bg meter and then compare it to the lab results... and then also do 3rd hour bg check to see whether i get reactive hypo... so means i still can't eat even after my OGTT ends... this is call itchy backside!! just like how i itchy backside go ask Dr. Thye to let me do the OGTT =P

During the 1 hour and 2 hour interval where i checked my own bg... the readings were kinda high... kinda something i expected since i could feel the headache come in... and then at the 3rd hour (after all the walking up and down to get food and then to the clinic to line up)... my bg dropped quite a lot... but i was already super hungry at that time... so ate something first since I have lunch appointment after that in KL with Jas (from DD... gonna be the DD Malaysian meet up! like... FINALLY!!)

Anyway... finally got to see Dr. Thye at like 1.15pm(??)... last patient from her morning round... and i saw the labs for the OGTT and A1c (which i actually saw it earlier since i asked the nurse for it first =P )... and whoa... big shock! the OGTT lab results and my meter results... BIG DIFFERENCE! not even 20% error of margin...

OGTT - Lab
Fasting = 4.8
1 hour = 7.8
2 hour = 5.9

OGTT - meter
Fasting = 4.6 -- about the same as lab...
1 hour = 11.5
2 hour = 9.5
3 hour = 4.2

The one possible reason for the big difference in the meter readings is perhaps cause i didn't clean my hands first since I thought it'll be ok as I didn't do anything except touch my keyboard! ... considering the fasting reading was quite consistent where i took my meter reading after washing my hands =S

Anyway... even Dr. Thye was surprised with the big difference... but we decided to just stick to the lab results... since they're after all... labs and should be accurate... A1c was 5.0% =D ... lower than my previous 5 a1cs of 5.2%! ... and after reviewing my bg log... we decided to try to go off medication and just try diet + exercise to manage my sugar levels for 3 months until the next visit... she asked me whether i want to do another OGTT on the next visit? I said... errr... one time headache enough... don't need to repeat the test so fast... maybe end of the year... LOL!!

Dr. Thye really very cute la... I gave her a copy of DD's 7 days simple meal plan and she happily accepted it and said she can pass this to her other patients... then since it was about lunch time... her phone started to ring and she said its her husband who's now working at Assunta too and is a colon-rectum surgeon... and asked me to recommend anyone i know that needs that specialist to him... well i said no problem (after all i really like Dr. Thye...)... but his kind of specialisation is one where people wanna avoid seeing that doctor! =P ... after that... she asked me whether i want some diabetic milk samples she got from the nestle folks... and then she took out ONE BIG plastic bag full of samples and started digging through and kept taking out all the diabetic milk... and i was like... errrrr... enough!! enough!!! i don't drink this and i'll prob give my auntie!! ... i told her that i gave away a tin of that milk to my aunt after my cousin (who decided I was the diabetic that needs it) gave me... she asked why... and my answer... uncle died... and she was like... WAHhhhh... d complications? (well... sort of... but not the main one)... i said... er... not this uncle... another uncle yes... d complications renal failure (and she's a nephrologist...)... her reaction... sigh... -_-

I was supposed to meet up with Waily initially for lunch at 1.30pm... in KL... thank goodness she couldn't make it... as my plans were all messed up now... i left the hospital at 1.30pm instead! and it takes another 45 min to get to KL - Pandan Indah... since the plan to meet waily is out now... my lunch would now be with Jas from DD! FINALLY meeting up with her and her fiance!!!

So... after getting lost due to Fairus thinking i was coming from the other direction when i specifically said i'm coming from Klang... (thank goodness i was familiar with that place since i worked near there for 3 months last time)... had our lunch at Secret Recipe and had a good time there...

After meeting up for about 1 hour + ... i left to meet waily at the BB office (ex office) which was just 5 minutes away... but because of the jam... the 5 min became 30 mins!!!!!! and it was only 4.30pm!!!!!!!!! CHIA LAT!!! (terrible...) ... after going through the massive jam and going through the back lane to get to BB... finally I arrived... good to see Waily again... although most of the colleagues have left... but still managed to see a few familiar faces...

I guess the meet ups with 2 different people really made the jam i went through for 3 hours (total) was worth it =) ... but one thing is for sure... my leg... esp the left leg... OUCH!!!!!! (from pressing the clutch... =P )

p.s) special thanks to Dane, Daena, Samantha (aka Ah lian =P ) and Jas for keeping me company on MSN while i was waiting during the 2 hours for the OGTT... and hearing me talk nonsense =P

Missing in action....

so.... i've not updated here very long d... didn't also update my usual super long post when i went for my last appointment at the hospital... too lazy la... no mood to update

anyway... my last appointment went well... My A1c remained at 5.2% (for the 5th time)... and Dr. Thye very happy that she when i went in that time she told me my sugar level too good... hahahah... so continue to be on met 250mg (with backup plan of the other 250mg if i eat more carbs, or if i think my bg too high if i eat those food)

towards the end of the appointment... i itchy backside go and tell dr. thye i want to do an OGTT test... stands for oral glucose tolerance test... where i basically will drink a cup of "sugar water" and then see how my bg go up and how high before coming down... so she told me to stop my medication one week before since i want to test myself... might as well have a true reflection... 1 week to get met out of my system... so hor now... 4th June got OGTT to do... and must go hospital super early somemore... walaueh...

Dr. Thye so cute... she ask me what other test I want to do? that time i don't know... then she say... whatever test you want just tell my nurse la... hahahaha... but can see she's very impressed with my online friends and the help i'm getting... so kudos to you DD folks! =)

ok so I'm going to be older in 5 days time... stop met in 6 days time... and if my bg go up i basically can't do anything but to let it come down by itself... then now do the OGTT on the 4th...

WISH ME LUCK!!!

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oh yeah... here's my blog post on DD forum on my Jordan trip Day 1 ... the rest of the days...errr... very big WIP!!!

http://www.diabetesdaily.com/forum/blogs/hannahtan/4497-jordan-trip-departure-day

http://www.diabetesdaily.com/forum/blogs/hannahtan/4659-jordan-trip-day-1-part-1-pella

http://www.diabetesdaily.com/forum/blogs/hannahtan/4664-jordan-trip-day-1-part-2-umm-qais

http://www.diabetesdaily.com/forum/blogs/hannahtan/4678-jordan-trip-day-1-part-3a-jerash

http://www.diabetesdaily.com/forum/blogs/hannahtan/4713-jordan-trip-day-1-part-3b-jerash

back from jordan

so i'm back from jordan... about 1 week d... trip was fun!!! did a heck lot of walking... walk until leg pain!!

never slept so early... everyday about 9pm 10pm sleep d... but also never wake up so early everyday!! like 5am 5.30am we're up d... and its bright by that time!! 6am... totally bright!!! but their 6pm is also pitch black d...

currently uploading pics on facebook... so if you wanna see pics... check out my profile... but will take some time as fb just loves messing up the sequence... and there's a lot of pics to post up!!!!!

Bored...

Bored... damn bored... nothing to do... and I wanna sleep...

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Jordan here I come!!

I'm going to Jordan on 15 Feb!!!

First time out of the country with my own passport!!! yes... ladies and gentlemen... I finally have my own passport with my pic on it =P

Although I would rather go to US to visit my friends... but since the group needs the number to make up the group... plus its half sponsored... cannot turn down la this one...

Going there for 9 days... and flying with Emirates... so i'll probably get a sneak peak at the new world's tallest building and the palm and world islands when we fly by Dubai! WOO HOO!!!

wah... how come i'm more excited about seeing Dubai from the air than going to Jordan one??? hmmmmmmmmmmmmm.......

Follow Up - Dec 18, 2009

First of all... a VERY VERY belated HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Hope everyone had a good time celebrating the christmas season (holiday... if you have) with the sale and snow (fake or real...) and also welcoming the year 2010!

well... this is a delayed post (again!!) on my follow up appointment at the hospital... my... (let me count...1...2...3...) 4th and final check up for 2009... and 6th since dx in 2008... however... this time i had double appoinments like 30 mins within each other... cause i had to see the dermatologist as well as my warts were popping up like mushrooms now!!! a total of 13 warts on my fingers and toes!!!


18 Dec 2009

Took the day off work to go for the 2 followups... and also lazy to go back to work in the afternoon although I'm pretty sure i'll be done by the morning... first appointment with the derm was at 9.30am... but i had to do the lab tests first... and i was running late due to unusual heavy traffic on the federal highway! (even the radio was announcing that and was asking folks to call up to tell what happened... well... NOTHING HAPPENED!!! no accident... no car breakdown... no nothing!!!)

So I actually arrived late... reach about 9.30am... late late late!!! somemore need to do bloodwork and gotta collect the urine sample bottle from Dr. Thye's nurse!! ... thank goodness in a way... Assunta don't care what time your appointment... as long as you go and line up... hehehehe...

When I was about to leave Dr. Thye's nurse counter after giving the nurse my file and collecting the bottle... Dr. Thye was walking to her room and I greeted her... she turned around and gave me a hard stare for a few seconds... then responded... "Oh Hannah!! Wah I can't recognize you for a moment there!!"

So blood work done... rushed to the dermatologist clinic... only to be asked by the doctor's assistant (who was super busy opening and closing the door and shouting names and instructions to the poor nurse) why i never respond when my name was called... i was like... HELLO!!! i already told the nurse i'm going to the lab for my blood test first!!! (*&&%^%$$%#$

Anyway... the dermatologist took a look at my warts... asked me what did i do to get so many warts? LIKE I KNOW??? no need to see doc d loh!!! ... so basically all he did was take a look... write a prescription for a stronger solution than duofilm, ask me to apply at night and scrape off the layer the next night with a toothpick so that the medicine can penetrate through...and told me to come back in 2 weeks time to see whether need to burn them off or not if it still doesn't come off... all within 5 min... and i have to pay RM120 for consultation! (RM80 for first time)... wah... i also want man... 130 bucks for 5 min's job... no wonder some docs so rich...

Neway... super hungry by this time d... wanted to go starbucks to eat breakfast since that's the only place with nice sofa to wait and read my book... was comtemplating bringing the laptop but in the end didn't as I want to go swimming after the appointment... to my disappointment... starbucks... became FARBUCKS!!!!! no more starbucks in assunta!!!! boh liow!!! close d!!! AIYO!!! lucky i didn't bring my computer since that's the only place with free wifi in the whole hospital!

No choice... gotta go eat at the cafeteria d... got my food... sat down and started eating... but in front of table was a small boy (hooked up with an IV dispensing machine) and his father... and they were having a conversation... it was quite a touching scene... you can read about it here

Back to waiting in front of the clinic and waiting for my blood test results... Dr. Thye ordered a full blood test again this time... routine A1c, FBG, liver, renal fuction, lipids, and a c-peptide test (to see my insulin production)... wait super long... finally the results arrived (except the c-pep cause need to send outside lab to test)... and can see doc d after waiting for like what... 2.5 hours??? somemore dr. thye clinic super a lot of people that day...

D: wah Hannah! I almost cannot recognise you just now la... you lost so must weight!

H: hehehe... can recognise la...

D: your sugar now so good la... A1c is 5.2 and your fasting is 5.0... like normal already!

H: that's weird... i checked this morning it was 5.8... but where got normal! I still get those high bg levels! *passes doc my bg log*

D: wah... you really free to do all this ah? do so nice somemore

H: no la... not really free... this one also yesterday only all key in excel file and then try to remember as much as possible what happened... hehehe

D: *looks at bg log* wah... you go swimming everyday ah??

H: no la... not everyday la... every week about 2x la...

D: *contirnues to look at log* haiyo Hannah! 7 is ok la!!

H: I know 7 is ok...but the 8, 9 and 10 not ok leh!!

D: you eat a lot is it?

H: where got a lot? maybe more than usual but still little bit only leh

D: what you eat?

H: like hokkien mee la... little bit only shoot me up d

D: hokkien mee of course go up la!!! ... sushi 9.6 ... how many sushi you ate?

H: probably about 6 or 7??

D: wah... 10.8 for pan mee! why so high???

H: don't know!! somemore its small bowl... not even a lot...

D: hmmm... maybe its because they add something else to the soup or the dough...

H: must be la... now i eat pan mee super careful d

D: overall your sugar level quite ok la... just that you have glucose intolerance...

H: ok la... sometimes still get over 6 in the morning lo...

D: aiyo Hannah!! relax la... once in a while 6 is ok la!!!

H: yala... i know ok... just boh song lo (not nice feeling) =P ... btw... i've been getting low BP la... like very low BP... 80s/50s... got 77/52 once somemore... *passes doc another set of papers... this time BP log*

D: *takes my log* normally its ok one la... i know a lot of people your age that has low bp and they're ok... *checks my BP* ... but now its 100/70 ... must be because you're seeing me

H: must be la... everytime i see you also 100/70... definitely got white coat when i see you... hehehe... but then hoh... i've been getting a lot of headaches and getting dizzy leh

D: *looks at my BP log and writes down the range of BP i've been getting in the medical file* ... i still think that because of your sugar level... you try this and see when you get back... if you get headaches / dizzy again... take some milo and see whether it goes away... if not we'll review again next time...

H: so how's my other lab results?

D: very good... all normal... *passes the results to me*

H: *looks at my labs* ... wah... HDL increase again... the * ok ah?

D: don't worry... i've seen people with HDL 2. something...

H: how come the urine FEME like got all the remarks one?

D: looks ok... but this is not so accurate... if you want more accurate... we'll do a microalbumin test the next time to see whether there's protein spillage... *checks my breathing... and i think she was listening to the kidneys there since it was lower back... and after all...she's a nephrologist...*

H: so nothing to worry about la?

D: relax la Hannah...don't worry so much!! you're doing so good! see you lost so much weight already... also feels good right??

H: *blush... yes i know how to blush =P* ... ok la... hehehe

D: The last time you stopped metformin didn't work right? Maybe try half this time? Are you on XR or regular metformin?

H: always been on regular met

D: ok then... try cutting it into half... so now its 250mg la... and then if you binge... just take the other half

H: so if i eat more... i just take the other half? will help?

D: yes it will help with the spikes...

H: okies!! and don't worry about me testing so many times... currently i'm getting some help from friends with strips... so its ok... (cause the last appointment doc told me not to test so much... give my fingers and pocket a break...a few days a week is ok cause my levels are stable... after all... the strips are bloody damn expensive...but i still prefer to test everyday)

D: your internet friends ah?

H: yup!

D: wah so nice one your friends... where you find them? facebook ah?

H: no la... forum friends...

D: they're also diabetics??

H: yup... diabetes forum ma...

D: good la you... go and join these forums... i'm very scared of joining this facebook la... is it true that anyone can find you in there?

H: well... people just type in your name or email and it'll come out la... but just set the privacy settings... they can't see anything one... probably just your name and pic... if you put your pic there la

D: so i see you in 3 months or 4?

H: up to you... 3 also can... 4 also can...

D: ok la... i see you in march... oh ya you're taking met from here right? I'll write the prescription...

H: so the c-peptide how ah?

D: *gives me a look* relax la Hannah!!! you're doing so much better than my other patients... will be ok one... I'll let you know when the results come

H: okok... relax relax... hehehehe =P

So i went out... arranging with the nurse when to set my next appointment and also to get copies of my labs... when i remembered that I want MC!!! since i already took leave that day... might as well just convert it to MC if I can... save my leave la!!! ... thank goodness ngam ngam Dr. Thye came out to ask the nurse to do something...

H: Dr. Thye... I want MC can ah?

D: Can can... wait I sign for you... Volvo right??

H: Swedish motors la... aka Volvo =)

D: eh what nice car to buy now ah?

H: buy the XC60 la... very nice car... but if you wait till later this year... they'll be building it here... probably cheaper since now its imported in

D: but the car so big la...

H: nvm nvm... got the smaller S40 what... nice car also... very safe somemore =P

See... I'm a good employee... go medical checkup also promote Volvo to my doctor... so loyal... =P ... so got my MC... collected my meds from the pharmacy... climbed 6 floors back up... went makan at peppercorn in SS15... then went swimming and did 30 laps in a freakingly crowded and dirty 3K...

After about a week... I called up to the nurse to check on my c-peptide results as i'm damn kan cheong over it... wanna know still how much insulin production i'm still making ma... big issue ni!!! So i called... and the nurse was like... oh yes yes got your results already... i wanted to call you but we've been so busy... hold on ya i pass you to doctor...

well... i know Dr. Thye's super busy cause she's taking over some patients for some doctors who went on christmas vacation... so all i wanted to hear from the nurse is the results and the reference range... but since she's transferring the call to the doc... i'm more the happy!!!

D: Hannah!! your results came back normal la!!

H: what's the value?

D: its 487 pmol/l

H: ok... so its normal as in how normal? high normal? low normal? normal normal?

D: low normal... buts its ok... so far how is your sugar level with the reduced met?

H: so far so good... but i'm already seeing higher bg levels... but still ok la...

D: ok... just take the other half if you know you're going to binge / eat more

And the DUH ME forgot to ask on the reference range!!!! so i had to call the nurse again... but told her this time that i just want the range and no need to pass to doc... so my c-pep was as follows:

487 pmol/l (ref range = 298 - 1324 pmol/l) ... in US terms... its 1.4 ng/ml (ref range = 0.89 - 3.972 ng/ml)

so.... i'm on the low normal range... but since my bg that time was good... this is considered good and normal... hmmmm... well i guess i did get this curiousity in my head out now... and hoping for the best it doesn't go lower soon...

31 Dec 2009

Went for my followup with the dermatologist for my warts... i'll say applying the solution for 2 weeks... my warts has now reduced to 6-7! the rest has come off... which includes the process of itchy hands peeling it off =P

So the doc said don't burn first... cause i still have so many left... and since its coming off... he'll prescribe another cream for me and i'm to alternate between the solution and the cream... gave me 5 packs of those super bloody expensive cream (5 packs = rm133!!!!!... and its SMALL pack!!) to apply and if in 2 weeks still doesn't go off... then back to him again to burn it off this time

So i was bored and read the leaflet that came with the cream... and i seriously had the @_@ look for a while... cause in the leaflet... the purpose of the cream is to treat warts on the penis / vaginal area......RIGHT..............................what the heck am I using this cream for?????? ... then there's a small note... your doctor may prescribe this cream for usage in other parts... WHATEVER!!!!!

Anyway... I'm officially wart free now... WAHOO!!!! but i only used 1 pack of that cream cause it was too strong and my poor toe was blistered badly from it... fingers too but not as bad as my pinky toe that kinda bengkak from it... walk also susah... so i just continued on with the solution only... and now its all OUT!!!

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p.s) i know the post said Jan 18... but in actual fact... i finished this post on Feb 4... i know i know... procrastinator!!!!! =P