memento

In the post about my recent hospital visit, I forgot one thing:

I forgot to compliment the young lady who drew my blood. The lady who did it in December was pretty good, but the lady who drew my blood this past Thursday, well... I'd say she was even better. No fumbling around trying to find the vein, nothing. Just in and out, quick as a flash, like lions having sex. And I love how they tell you to hold the bandage/alcohol swab pressed onto your little needlestick site for five whole minutes to make sure no blood comes gushing out. I usually stop worrying about the wound after 30 seconds. It closes up that quickly. Maybe things'll be different when I'm old and shambling around.

110 days from now, I go back to Samseong Hospital in July, and I've been told that they want two blood samples from me: the first will be my usual post-fasting blood sample; the second will be a postprandial sample done an hour after I eat something (I'll bring a cucumber so as not to spike my blood-sugar count overly). I think they want to track my diabetes by seeing how quickly I start returning to normal after eating. If my blood sugar is still way elevated after an hour, that's a bad sign. This is a clever way to make your blood-sugar numbers work for you: unlike with A1c, which gives you a three-month average, a single blood-glucose number doesn't tell you much because your blood-sugar level fluctuates from minute to minute. But take two readings an hour apart, and you've got something approaching a trendline. (At least, I'm assuming the second blood sample won't be a full draw like the first! If it is, well, that's fine. I've got blood to spare.) If your BS doesn't go down much within an hour, you're insulin-resistant, which is consistent with diabetes. If you return to the norm fairly quickly (or are at least on your way to returning), that's a good sign.

Samseong really wants my blood. I can understand the protestors.