Sunday, August 08, 2010

The Number Stuck in Our Brain Today ....

A Blood Test Makes Us Wonder How We're Still Alive Right Now...

For those of you who keep up with my Facebook page, you know I finally got health insurance for the first time in 3 years this month. So, your first inclination - especially when you've been on meds for the previous 7 years - is to get checked out, and take care of all those little things you've been ignoring. For me, it's been constant sinus problems, which also trigger the anxiety attacks that have plagued me for about 15 years now....

The visit seemed good: I got some rsteroid spray for my sinuses (which hasn't really worked yet), and some Baby Xanax to trim the edge off the stress. That's worked pretty well... Since I've crossed 40, they requested a blood test to check on all those things that creep up when you get older. At first I was told I'd get the results in 2 weeks or so on my followup visit. Didn't quite go that way....

Yes, i got a call from a Dr's office ON A SATURDAY MORNING , to inform me that my triglicerides (bad cholesterol) is not 200 or below, which is normal, nor 225, 250, or even 300 ..... Nope, they're saying that I have a whopping 500 and fucking 46 !!!! Personally, I didn't think it went that high. Now, I didn't fast before I took the test, but if a statin drug for 2 months can only drop your score 75 points, what the f**k is skipping breakfast gonna do?

Naturally, I'm in a state of disbelief (or denial) right now. After all, I've lost about 40 pounds in the last 3 years, and my body's in as good a shape as it's been in a while. Granted, I can't breathe, and my neck feels like I swallowed a frog, but the rest is pretty good. It makes me wonder what it was when I weighed 210 pounds. My diet isn't the problem: I dropped sugared drinks, and sweet snacks for the most part. Breakfast is OJ and twig-like cereal, mid-morning is a granola bar. Lunch four times a week is a salad with turkey breast roll. I drink Diet Green Tea during work. For dinner, Carol makes chicken or sometimes we'll go bad with steak or sausage, but there's always veggies and salad with olive oil dressing.

Right now, I feel like I got a bum ticker, or the family thyroid issue has gotten me (Mom died from Hodgkin's Disease). Either way, my doctor (who is pretty cute) and I have our work cut out, because there is obviously something wrong. I always got complaints that I was a hypochondriac, but if you're feeling shitty just about every day, then there's fire.... We'll keep you posted on the followup visits, but today, we need to rest up for the next five days of work. It's gonna be a long one....

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1 comment:

Ron McGill said...

If you've got a thyroid issue that will explain a lot of the problems you're experiencing. There are about 60 different medical issues stemming from a problematic thyroid. None of them good and many of them deadly over time.

I know. I've had a under-performing one for the last 17 years. I've hypothyroidism. The good news is that it's very controllable with a simple daily med of levothroxin (sp)
Good luck with it.