Friday, March 30, 2007

Kundang or Kemior, it is the cousin of renghas


If you are in Kelantan this week, watch out for the nice looking Kemior on sale in the market. This fruit otherwise known as kundang. But you should know that this Bouea oppositifolia is in the same genus and the family (Anacardiaceae) as the renghas!

This what has happen to little Kamal when he touch the fruit and scratch the nose. I should have known the warning.


He is much better now ;-)

I am now an official member of Diabetic International !

I have some discomfort on Monday and decided to visit my personal physician in Klinik Kesihatan UKM. Well, I was ordered to do a complete test the next day, because I have already gobble up alot of things for breakfast then. So the next day I surrendered myself for a bottle of urine sample and a few pints of blood for test. The same day I was told that well-callibrated Accu-chek (really?) reads my blood sugar level at 15.7 mmol/L. What ??? I can't believe it that it was that high. Mind you the max acceptable level is 10 mmol/L and the max ideal reading should be 7 mmol/L.
Well, I immediately hit the emergency break, went home to rest and sleep, but no mood to eat. I went on protesting (to my body) for two days with no tea or coffee with sugar, just plain and black; no heavy fats, no extra plates of rice.

The next day I returned to the KKUKM and the reading was 13.9 mmol/L. Encouraged I did the same extend my sick leave. By the third day, the reading was about 12 mmol/L. Trying to convince my physician that I do not need medication, I was prescribed half-dose of Melicron Gliclazide 80 mg and asked to take it for few days and see what will happen. Don't know how long I was high on sugar, and wonder if damage is already done. Hopefully not.

The result of the blood test was not too good. I have +4 glucose in urine and the following reading: (in mmol/L; figures in parenth. are normal level)
Total cholestrol: 5.6 (<5.2)>1.0)
LDL: 3.6 (optimal <2.6)>4.5)

By having the drug to reduce my sugar level, I am now officially a diabetic.
I hope not for too long. I am excercising now.

To help monitoring my sugar, I went out yesterday to buy my own personal blood glucose monitoring kit. I settled for the latest Accu-Chek Advantage III, and begining to use it this morning.

The very good news that the first reading on my fasting blood level this morning was 8.7 mmol/L, and I do hope it will further down to normal level by the weekend. I am targeting 6.0 and will be off the drug.

Here is the kit I have: