HEALTH CARE CAN BE FUN!

4 January 2003

When I began my lifestyle change (nearly a year ago now!!), I did it for the obvious reasons--to lose weight and to learn healthy eating habits.

As the year has progressed, unexpected perks have popped up. When Joan suggested that I check out her health club, I had no idea how much I would enjoy not only the morning workout, but the camaraderie of the "pre-breakfast club." I've cut back on my club time lately and have discovered in the last couple of days how much I missed it. I've come to care about some of the people in that group and I'll probably return to daily attendance, even on the days when I bike.

Biking. There was a perk. Whoda thunk I'd enjoy it so much. Kicking and screaming, I bought and got back on a bike again and....well, over 1,000 miles later, I'm still enjoying it.

The first hint that it all was working was when the first lab tests came back, showing my blood sugar in great control and my cholesterol significantly lower.

But the real fun came about halfway through the year, when it was time for an annual exam. I have avoided doctors (well, except for the ones I work for) like the plague for years--not out of any fear of medicine, but out of embarrassment for my weight and my bad health habits. I had seen too many patients come through the office, looking sheepish and hearing the same things I knew I would hear, about diet and exercise.

So when I saw my new primary care physician I was happy to hop on the scale, which at that time recorded about a 40 lb weight loss. As he went through all of the "shoulds" I was able to say "doing that" and when he checked the labs, he could say "well, everything looks fine."  Words I'd never heard from a doctor--at least not in recent memory.

They got me set up in a diabetes program, so I've been going to periodic classes, each one preceded by the battery of lab tests.

When I met with the Pharmicological Doctor a month or so ago, he had nothing but good, assuring things to say.   "You're doing all the right things," he said.

Today I met with the Clinical Health Educator (hi, Tracy!) and, as with my appointment a month ago, everything was positive. I love going to all these medical appointments.

Today's focus was on foot care, an important part of the daily routine of a diabetic. Tracy kept looking at my numbers and telling me that I fell in the low, low, low risk category, but that she would go over everything with me anyway.

Each check of the lab numbers was positive. What's more, I had somewhat intelligent questions to ask...I cared about what was going on with my body and had become one of those pro-active patients, not the kind I used to be, who sat back, feeling guilty, wishing the whole thing would just end so I could rush off to McDonald's.

What's more I asked her to weigh me so I could get a feel for how bad my binging over the holiday was. This wasn't a WeightWatchers scale, so I won't count it here--but let's say there will be a lot of green in my next few days! I was not kind to my body over Christmas. But it really didn't matter, because I was there, not to shirk from anything, but to check it all out.

Tracy showed me their BMI scale, which records both weight and body mass index. We appear to have broken the printer, she and I, but we did get a reading for a baseline and she showed me how I could drop in to the clinic and continue to do weigh myself on the BMI scale at regular intervals.

I left armed with a book on foot care, a new bottle of medications for high blood pressure (since the original prescription was giving me a cough), and a pat on the back for all of the good work I've done this past year. At one point, we passed the Pharmacological Doctor in the hall, and he greeted me by name. That was nice.