When I blog, I usually write a post in a Word document the first thing in the morning, somewhere between 5:30 and 7:00am. Then, I get to work, do a spell check, copy and paste and then post.
Recently my mornings have been occupied with something else.
A month ago I went to the doctor for a physical. Everything checked out okay except for my blood work. It seems that my Cholesterol and glucose are a little high. Nothing too alarming and nothing that some quickly prescribed pills could not fix. The doctor told me there are two ways to fix the high scores on my blood work. Diet/exercise or medication. I refused the prescription. I decided to try the diet and exercise route first. The doctor did not really like my approach. He tried to convince me I needed meds.
During the consultation, besides the normal check-up he also covered my family history.
“Is there a history of Cancer?” he asked.
“Check.”
“Is there a family history of heart disease?”
“Check.”
“Is there a history of high blood pressure?”
“Check.”
“Does diabetes run in the family?”
“Well it does not really run, it more or less saunters.” I replied.
“What?”
“Well there is one case of adult onset diabetes in my family. That’s not really running. It's more like a liesurely stroll.”
The doctor gave me a puzzling look and the told me that with the family history I have I really should consider the meds. I told him I would give the diet and exercise a try for three months and then I would reconsider. He again talked about family history.
"With the history of heart disease and diabetes in your family, I really think that medication might..."
“Look Doc.” I said cutting him off. “All of my grandparents lived into their 80s.”
“Well, that really does not mean much when it comes to…”
I cut him off again. “If you are going to use family history against me, I am going to use it against you.”
I have to follow up with him at the end of October.
My blog posts have not been that great as of late because in an effort to prove the doctor wrong, I now use my prime blogging time for exercise. Every morning somewhere between 5:30 and 7:00 I go out for a run.
Okay it is not really a run it is more of a saunter.
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
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26 comments:
I've begun dragging my tired rear out of bed in the mornings for a brisk stroll. No running for me- see my latest post- those babies bounce.
I figure if I can drag myself out of bed that early I can finish before I'm actually awake.
Keep up the sauntering.
Jif's cholesterol was a little high and he ate oatmeal (the 5 minute kind, not the microwave kind) every morning for a month, and that got it back to where it belongs.
Be well, William. I've got the market cornered on the sick blogger gig; don't even think about trying to horn in on my action.
I think it's great you are trying to avoid a prescription. Happy sauntering!
I thought you were slowing a little on your blog posts... I guess we'll cut you some slack. Keep up the good work! Tell the fam we say hi and miss you all tremendously. The kids ask about you all frequently.
good for you. prove that doctor wrong. I know when I lose weight my cholesterol goes down, so why can't yours?
I try to walk every morning for 30 minutes on my treadmill, if I don't I feel guilty because the big hulking thing is in my livingroom, could explain why I spend most of my time now in the bedrooms. Love your blog!!
Hey William.
Good for you! Lifestyle change and preventative measures are always, ALWAYS best. Our bodies have much better tools to heal themselves than we have crafted with modern medicine.
Now, I have a prescription for you: One New Doctor. Yours sounds like kind of a tool.
your word verification is too long and i forgot what i was going to say
Sauntering is good! I knocked my cholesterol down from 238 to 155 in a little over a month with diet alone. You can do it!! Piece of advice -- Omega 3 fatty acids. Yum.
yeah William...my doctor was a bit more understanding than yours and is all for me bringing my cholesterol down without a 'script.
i've done well...slight change of diet...morning "saunters"...and fish oil pills...yeah Omega 3's...if you don't buy the deodorized kind...you can freeze them and then they won't repeat on you and get that nasty taste in your mouth.
PROVE THAT DOCTOR WRONG!
Good for you, William. I hope the exercise has the desired effect and your glucose levels came down. My father had a similar thing recently (although you're much younger than him!) and when he went back for the second set of tests there was a dramatic difference and he no longer needed meds. The cholesterol side he has to control with statins but I'm sure if you can minimise the number of drugs you take it's got to be better for you.
Try to get it down w/o statins if you can. They affect the liver and can cause any number of side effects.
I have known a couple of people who used what is known as the "Sugar Buster Diet" very successfully to lower cholesterol. They were both pretty strict on it, and the results were phenomenal!
Good luck to ya!!
I try to write at night - and swim in the morning. (Except for today... DENTIST!!)
I have never seen anyone running with a smile on their face.
Sauntering, maybe...but not running.
Good luck. I think doctors are much too quick to pigeonhole people into their idea of treatment as opposed to looking at the individual.
good for you. doctors should encourage patients who are willing to work to get healthy.
Anyone who can get themselves up that early to do any form of exercise gets a thumbs up in my book.
Very soon, we'll be getting a piece or two of exercise equipment from relatives. I plan on using that to lower own "numbers" a little.
just promise me its not in cut off jean shorts, black pulled up socks with white shoes, wearing sweat bands and while holding soup cans!!! there is already a brother known for that!
GOOD FOR YOU!!!
At one time I wanted to go back to school and go into nutrition. My main concern is too many people are too medicated. I always opt for the "natural" way...and by natural I mean hard work, sweat, and dirt. Kick that sauntering "family history" theory to the curb on your next run.
Yeah, what Ern said.
I've been running lately, too. It makes a huge difference in the way I feel, all around.
Susie will cut you if you try to take over her corner of the market. I'd stay well back.
The exercise thing is great. I also recommend the South Beach Diet in terms of reducing cholesterol levels and dropping the glycemic index.
And I have an innate suspicion of any doctor who actually chooses meds over exercise.
Nicely done with the doc. They are always trying to shove drugs down someone's throat.
Happy exercising!!
Whoa,whoa,whoa! Enough with the doctor bashing already! As an Internist in practice for nearly 20 years(who reads this blog and its' comments regularly - sorry, I'm a lurker!),I feel compelled to defend my distant bretheren. Not ALL of us rush to prescribe, and diet/exercise IS always the best way to treat diabetes and high cholesterol. William (rightly so) did not write what his numbers were, and a fasting blood sugar of 145 is WAY different from a FBS of 200, as is an LDL cholesterol of 150 versus 185, in terms of initial treatment. And how many people ACTUALLY diet and exercise regularly as prescribed?? Our nationwide epidemic of obesity is the answer there. Don't be so quick to judge someone as a "tool" when it is hard to believe that this physician woke up that morning without William's best interest and health at heart. So, for my 2 cents worth (or 50 cents, based on the length of this post!), keep up the diet/exercise, but if your numbers are on the higher end of the scale, consider meds while you get in the best shape you can-- they can ALWAYS be stopped. Good luck and keep blogging!!
Is your refrigerator sauntering?
You better go catch it
Well, you should prove him wrong. You are gone from 5:30-7! An hour and a half! Wow, I am impressed. I do about 45 min, that's my max.
Good for you ... for not only getting up to saunter, but also for standing up to your doctor!
I've got all that in my family history too - so I feel your pain!
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