Doctor Appointment

I had my yearly Dr appointment last week. This was the first time in a long time that I was looking forward to going.

Here is what my health was like a year ago at this time:

I was considered pre-diabetic as my fasting blood sugar was 101. ( In my defense it was right after Christmas and I had discovered this wonderful recipe for chocolate dipped peanut brittle so if the saying is true you are what you eat, then I was a full on piece of chocolate dipped karo syrup!)
My cholesterol was very high and she put me on Lipitor to try to get my numbers down.
She also prescribed a sleep study as she thought I may have obstructive sleep apnea.
Next was blood pressure. I cannot remember the numbers, but I was beginning to have ocular migraines, I had a good old fashioned headache more days than not from my blood pressure. This had gotten so bad that the year before she recommended I stop oral contraceptives and chose a non hormonal method of birth control as that can raise your blood pressure even more.

The thing I remember most about last year is that I was in tears for most of my visit. I knew that my health was bad. I was tired from never getting a good night sleep from the apnea; I was depressed about my life or lack thereof. I couldn’t do anything; I didn’t want to do anything. Basically I just felt awful in general.

Given all this you would think I would have walked out of her office with a resolve to get healthy. Nope, I just continued to eat and sit on the couch for a few more months. The thing is I didn’t even do the basic things she told me to do. I took the Lipitor occasionally, never got the sleep study done because I knew I didn’t want to wear one of those masks at night plus didn’t want to pay for the study itself. Most of all, I never changed my eating or exercise habits. Looking back, I am lucky my health didn’t crash from not listening to her.

Now, fast forward to this year’s appointment. I don’t have the results of my blood work yet but my blood pressure was a wonderful 120/74! My heart and lungs were great and I told her I am sleeping fitfully and not tired anymore so I didn’t think a sleep study would be necessary anymore. I think she was astonished at my turnaround and excitement about the changes I had made and that according to my chart had lost 59 pounds since that appointment in Jan 2006. I will post the results of my blood work when I get them.