Doc Appointments That Make You Go Hmmmm
Sorry for the lack of Monday post. I was running from appointment to appointment yesterday and then wrapped up my day by spending a couple of hours with my girls before shipping them off to karate and heading to a fall mini photo session and then to karate myself. WHEW!! Don't worry folks, the whole week looks much like that! Oh but I love it!!
Yesterday was a bit of an eye opening day. I had my gastroenterology appointment in the morning and learned that my side pain is not gastro related. I have ruled out a lot of things over the last 2 1/2 years of dealing with this pain. I just haven't been able to rule IN something in regards to this pain. It is beyond frustrating. I have to give this doc a lot of credit though. He didn't just shrug and tell me that he didn't know where to send me next, or dismiss me because I wasn't presenting with something related to his field. We talked a bit about my symptoms and he told me he strongly felt it was nerve related. He knew I had an appointment that afternoon with my regular doc, so he told me he would put in his notes right away and wanted me to talk to her about going that direction when I saw her that afternoon.
On my way home I stopped to get my labs drawn for my afternoon appt since they needed some fasting labs. They lost the order and my doc was not in for the day yet, so I hung out in the lab for over an hour. It was actually quite relaxing!
Then in the afternoon I met with my doc. Number one realization... I'm getting old! My questions and problems all really zeroed in on that fact! We talked about starting mammograms since I'm nearing 40 and have a history of breast cancer in the family. Fun start right? She determined that my knee pain that started after dancing like a mad woman at my sister-in-law's wedding is most likely tendonitis and arthritis acting up. At this point I was feeling older by the minute. She decided to send me to a pain specialist for a consult on nerve pain. Then she checked the new dark patch on my face. No worries, it's completely safe... it's a sun spot, or AGE SPOT! OY!!!! Craziness!!
The big part of the appointment was discussing my labs, which were a little more disconcerting than I would have liked. I'm down over 30 pounds since my physical last year. She gave me a huge pat on the back for that and was very impressed with our food plan. (The Hubby saw her last week, so she already knew what we were doing.) So, it was a tad frustrating to learn my lab results.
Yesterday was a bit of an eye opening day. I had my gastroenterology appointment in the morning and learned that my side pain is not gastro related. I have ruled out a lot of things over the last 2 1/2 years of dealing with this pain. I just haven't been able to rule IN something in regards to this pain. It is beyond frustrating. I have to give this doc a lot of credit though. He didn't just shrug and tell me that he didn't know where to send me next, or dismiss me because I wasn't presenting with something related to his field. We talked a bit about my symptoms and he told me he strongly felt it was nerve related. He knew I had an appointment that afternoon with my regular doc, so he told me he would put in his notes right away and wanted me to talk to her about going that direction when I saw her that afternoon.
On my way home I stopped to get my labs drawn for my afternoon appt since they needed some fasting labs. They lost the order and my doc was not in for the day yet, so I hung out in the lab for over an hour. It was actually quite relaxing!
Then in the afternoon I met with my doc. Number one realization... I'm getting old! My questions and problems all really zeroed in on that fact! We talked about starting mammograms since I'm nearing 40 and have a history of breast cancer in the family. Fun start right? She determined that my knee pain that started after dancing like a mad woman at my sister-in-law's wedding is most likely tendonitis and arthritis acting up. At this point I was feeling older by the minute. She decided to send me to a pain specialist for a consult on nerve pain. Then she checked the new dark patch on my face. No worries, it's completely safe... it's a sun spot, or AGE SPOT! OY!!!! Craziness!!
The big part of the appointment was discussing my labs, which were a little more disconcerting than I would have liked. I'm down over 30 pounds since my physical last year. She gave me a huge pat on the back for that and was very impressed with our food plan. (The Hubby saw her last week, so she already knew what we were doing.) So, it was a tad frustrating to learn my lab results.
|
|
9/2015
|
10/2014
|
8/2013
|
|
A1c (4-6)
|
5.5
|
5.2
|
5.7
|
|
Vitamin D (30-80)
|
52
|
28
|
|
|
Cholesterol (<200)
|
187
|
183
|
172
|
|
HDL (>=60)
|
52
|
51
|
53
|
|
Triglycerides (<150)
|
39
|
112
|
77
|
|
LDL (<100)
|
127
|
110
|
104
|
In layman's terms...
A1c is the level they test for Type II Diabetes. She said if mine continues to climb then we will have to look at injections (since my body and the pill format do not get along well). Obviously mine is driven more by my PCOS than can be corrected by diet. Gotta love the irony that I cut out sugar and carbs and my levels for Type II Diabetes goes UP!!!
Next up is total cholesterol which is a combo of good and bad for a total testing amount. LDL is the "bad" cholesterol or the kind that causes plaque build up that can clog your arteries. HDL is the "good" cholesterol that helps remove the LDL. And finally, the triglycerides are another type of fat that are used to store excess energy. Funny enough, here's where I'm odd. Most people with higher LDL and lower HDL have high triglycerides. I guess I'm special! That's the only area that went down! It doesn't really matter, with it creeping up, she said we may have to consider meds sooner than later. *sigh*
Now, before I lose some readers who throw up their hands and say, "What's the point?!?" or "This way of eating is a joke," let me explain. There are two good reasons for my numbers continuing to climb and it has nothing to do with my diet. My doc said my diet is PERFECT and when it comes to my PCOS I'm controlling my symptoms as well as getting my weight down in a healthy way. She's very impressed with my progress and with our expressed content with the program in making it a life change.
With that said, I have a very long family history of high cholesterol. Long and short... I can't beat the genetics on this one. My blood pressure was a whopping 116/62, so at least I missed the family trait of high blood pressure... for now! It was higher when I was heavier, so it was nice to see it come down. As for the A1c... my doc explained that in one simple sentence, "That's your PCOS." She followed it up by explaining that a lot of women with PCOS end up with Type II diabetes no matter how healthy or fit they are. I guess we can mark that one up to genetics as well.
Needless to say I'm a bit frustrated since I was excited to see a big drop in all of those numbers after three months of eating pretty clean and getting more active. Oh well! I'll keep plugging along in hopes that my efforts keep those numbers from tipping the scales in the near future!
After all of the fun I had with the doctors yesterday, it was a nice break to spend some time with my girls, get a good dose of hugs and then get out to enjoy the evening with my brother and his family for their fall pictures. It was EXACTLY what I needed. After the shoot I went to karate and felt incredible after! I made it through the entire warm up (we do a 15 minute warm up of different stances, punches and combinations that we've been learning on the side the last couple of weeks). Last night was my 5th class and I finally did it! It looked pretty ugly, but I knew all of the steps and punches. Then we spent the whole class kicking our partner who was holding a pad. Need a stress reliever?? This is the ticket!! Kick as hard as you like and then have someone kick you right back. So fun!!! You should have seen my smile when the black belt I was partnered with asked me if I had done karate before and I told her no. She didn't believe me and told me how impressed she was with my kicks. Not bad for my first class learning kicks!
After all of the fun I had with the doctors yesterday, it was a nice break to spend some time with my girls, get a good dose of hugs and then get out to enjoy the evening with my brother and his family for their fall pictures. It was EXACTLY what I needed. After the shoot I went to karate and felt incredible after! I made it through the entire warm up (we do a 15 minute warm up of different stances, punches and combinations that we've been learning on the side the last couple of weeks). Last night was my 5th class and I finally did it! It looked pretty ugly, but I knew all of the steps and punches. Then we spent the whole class kicking our partner who was holding a pad. Need a stress reliever?? This is the ticket!! Kick as hard as you like and then have someone kick you right back. So fun!!! You should have seen my smile when the black belt I was partnered with asked me if I had done karate before and I told her no. She didn't believe me and told me how impressed she was with my kicks. Not bad for my first class learning kicks!
We're still dealing with the whole basement headache and my house is a complete disaster. Six people and four pets on one level is NOT great. I can't find anything and we have baskets of clothes everywhere! Everyone has been displaced and it's going to take a couple of months to get everyone back on track once we do move back into our regular rooms. Oh the joys of small children! Abbycakes really struggles with changes in her environment and is not really a roll with the punches kind of kid, so the next few weeks could be far less than fun!
Okay... I've rambled enough. I wanted to quickly share our weekly menu!
Tuesday: Tacos
Wednesday: Lemon Chicken Pasta
Thursday: Bunless Burgers
Friday: Up In The Air (we've got tentative plans, so this one is unplanned)
Saturday: Pizza for the kids and egg sandwiches for The Hubby and I (It's skate night for Girl Scouts)
Sunday: Chicken of The Hubby's Choice - he wants to find a new recipe to try out
We also have karate every evening this week, Girl Scout parent meetings tonight and Thursday, Firday is the Open House/Rededication at the girls' school after the major renovations this summer and I have photo sessions on Saturday and Sunday. Planning and executing is the name of the game this week! Yawn with me moms and dads... I know I'm not alone. The school year is in full swing!
Comments
Post a Comment