The bastard seems to be back : FSGS Sucks

Steroid-induced diabetes mellitus...otherwise known as type 2.

I've gotten this both times I was on prednisone, and it appears that the Acthar is producing a similar effect.  It took 5 phone calls yesterday to get it all straightened out, but I was finally able to get a new meter and correct test strips last night.  I started checking it today...I figure I'll do this for a week or so and see what's happening.

Here are my levels so far today:
before breakfast:  127
1 hour after chai:  218
2 hrs after lunch:  296
3 hrs after lunch:  282

And here's what they should be if I were any bit normal (According to the American Diabetes Association):
before breakfast: 70-130
2 hours after eating:  <180

Needless to say....I've got some work to do.  Luckily, I'm aware enough to start making changes now.  I've found a book that might be one of the first to help people that are diabetic also go gluten-free (The New Glucose Revolution Low GI Gluten-Free Eating Made Easy: The Essential Guide to the Glycemic Index and Gluten-Free Living, as several things are "out" now that I would've chosen.  Rice for example...I would've eaten it like crazy because it's gluten-free, but it's a high GI food, so I gotta be careful now.  So I guess I've got some reading to do.

Something is also happening to my voice.  Not sure what, but I've noticed a change lately in that it seems to be difficult for me to talk "loud".  Now, anyone that knows me can stop laughing.  Seriously...it's like I have laryngitis or something.  I've never had it before, and I can't clear my throat, but it's just so damn much more work to talk now.  Freaking annoying.

And I was able to give myself my injection last night....all 80 units of it.  Joacim's got a trip coming up, and I didn't want to wait until then to "try" it, so I did it last night.  Apparently he watched me from around the corner to make sure everything was ok.  It WAS a different experience giving it to myself than when he does it.  I did it in my left thigh again, and while I was actually injecting the medicine, I noticed that I seemed to enter some weird kind of "fog"....and I couldn't hear very well.  It's like I was wearing noise-cancelling headphones on, only I wasn't.  It reminded me a lot of the first time I took Humira...very similar response to that.  I'm guessing it's just the stress of doing it myself but I'll definitely be keeping an eye on it.  That's one of the reasons  I go into so much detail here sometimes.  I can't remember yesterday, let alone all of the gazillion other things I've got floating in my brain right now.

And I'm swollen.  A lot.  I sat with my feet propped up all day, and the only thing that ended up doing was making my knees hurt.  Awesome.