Wednesday, February 21, 2007

A DIABETIC DIARY, Part Ten


HELP!


Between my two blogs, I have software where I can cross reference information. This is not for stalking or spamming or for any other seedy reason. I do it because I can get a good grasp of questions posed on search engines and how people are directed to my site. This post is not just dedicated to diabetes because it may help with any sort of medical condition.

The following question really bothered me because I don't know if this person from Decatur, Alabama got an answer that helped and that is only what I want to do here. I wish I could have responded personally, but the information I get does not give me all of the particulars. In other words, I don't know who any of you are and I don't need to know.

I am a diabetic with no insurance where can I get medical help?

I have no health insurance. I did a search for "free Orlando clinics" and found Shepherd's Hope in this area. They got me on the proper path to deal with my disease and I chronicled it here and in ensuing posts. I'm sure there are clinics all around the country that help the poor and/or uninsured. On the federal level, the Hill-Burton Act was passed in 1946 to do just this. My advice would be to go to that site and explore clinics closest to where you live. I would further suggest you first do a search like I did, only replace "Orlando" with your town. If that doesn't work, try using alternative key words along with your search, such as medical or health, like "free health care decatur alabama" until something pops up. If your search yields nothing in your area, go to Hill-Burton and look through these locations.

Here's another popular search:

comprehensive metabolic panel w/EGFR glucose

I have a link on this post that directs you to an explanation of it. Basically, it shows your fasting blood glucose level and will more than likely determine whether you're diabetic or not. Creatinine goes along with that test and is useful in the evaluation of kidney function. This all goes along with

what is A1C test?

which is also linked from the same post. A1C gives a 2-3 month overview of blood glucose levels. Mine was 8.0, which meant I'm diabetic. 7 or below is what you're aiming for.

I get a lot of questions about interactions between drugs, such as

can I take aspirin with Glipizide?

No one on the Internet can make that determination for you. You must ask your primary care physician or specialist about any drug interactions and possible side effects. They alone know about your condition and whether allergies or other things play into the scheme. You might also try asking your pharmacist, since they know what prescriptions you're on. They may give you an answer. I'm of the school of thought that they keep up with drugs more than doctors do, but that's just my opinion. I get the same questions about Lisinopril and Lovastatin because those are the other two pills I take. Ibuprophen. Tylenol. All sorts of questions.

There are many other search questions, too numerous to list here. My advice would be to keep searching, but don't believe everything you read on the Internet. I've read about "Coconut Cures" for diabetes when doctors have told me to avoid all coconut. Before I was diagnosed and didn't know any better, I ate a Thai dish that had a coconut milk base. My sugar was sky high later that night. No way will I believe in any sort of miracle coconut cure or whatever else may be lurking out there. As is with any medical condition, all people react differently. There are no blanket cures to be found online, just like not all diets work for all people. Do you really buy into all those diet pill claims you see on TV?

Please, please, if you have a question about anything, e-mail me at marinadedave@yahoo.com or ask here. I might be able to help steer you in the right direction. I certainly would never, ever steer you wrong.


1 comment:

  1. Thank you, Sarah, and I'm so sorry I missed your comment from almost 2 months ago. I am more active on my other website and I don't come here as often as I should.

    ReplyDelete