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Today, for the first time in several years, I had a full physical from my primary care doctor. This was made possible only because I fired the useless Dr. Son and signed up with Dr. K. Friends and stalkers, we all know that my medical history is long and exciting (or terrifying, depending on how you look at it) so to finally have a real doctor again is such a freaking relief.
Why did I stick with Dr. Son for so long? Good question. The simple fact is I don't like changes and love my ruts. So until it got thrown in my face that this doctor wasn't doing the job, I had no reason to change horses. However, when Son refused to even examine me for the Silver Sneakers clearance I needed and refused to schedule me for a sleep apnea study (Kirsten says my snoring has gotten epic, and the Fit Bit show that I have multiple periods of restlessness or being awake in the night) I knew I had to change.
Which led to today. Or, actually, about two weeks ago when I did my regular blood draw for the Coumadin levels. Dr. K ordered a ton of tests, which meant I filled several tubes with my precious bodily fluids before going my merry way. A week later, I get a letter from my new doctor. My test results, annotated. That never happened with the other guy. Notes on what his concerns were and what we would be discussing at my visit.
It's really funny how gobsmacked that letter left me. The idea that a physician would do such a thing was alien to me. It gave me hope for a good patient-doctor relationship. Which brings us to this morning's visit to the Big Building of Doctors.
Since it was a full physical exam, I had to fill out forms, with Kirsten providing data via text. I could not remember when my gallbladder surgery was and had forgotten to grab the bottle of Hong Jing Tian that my Psychiatric NP had recommended for me. I was still applying my crude version of cuneiform to the papers when I was called back.
Current weight, 155.6 lbs. I'd like to add about five pounds to that. Blood pressure, blood O2, all good. Then Dr. K came in. Folks, the last time I was so thoroughly inspected was at my pre-enlistment physical at Oakland MEPS. He listened to everything, took details about my diet, my bathroom habits, my exercise plan, worked every joint in my body, examined my eyes, ears, mouth, nostrils and he manipulated every pressure point on my torso. He even examined my genitals and I got a reminder about testicular self-examinations.
He wants some additional blood work, which I can do next Monday. Other than that, he pronounced me in pretty good shape and happily signed my workout clearance. Which leads to the second part of the day. Clearance in . . . well, clearance in the truck, I drove to Anytime Fitness over on Homestead. Right across the street from the library, which will be convenient. It's a nice, small place. And, as the name says, anytime. Do you want to get some weight training in at 2015? Go for it. Nothing on TV? Go hit the treadmills or bikes instead. Each member gets a fob that unlocks the door, so even during unstaffed hours, you can do your thing. As someone who does suffer from occasional bouts of insomnia, I can see this being helpful.
The plan is to go slow. Do time on the recumbent bike to build up those cycling muscles for the Playa. Set up a cycle on the strength machines for both core and upper body work, but also whole-body fitness. There are no plans to get ripped, or to enter any marathons, just improve what I have. Which is a reasonable goal. I may try to get over there tomorrow morning to start working out my working out.
But the fitness fun never ends! I get back home, and not ten minutes later my insurer calls with their semi-regular health survey call. I have no problem doing these, as they help my care team better plan my care. But seriously, this call lasted forever. After the survey, my case manager wanted to speak with me. Which took another fifteen minutes of repeating so many things I had said before. The good news is I'm being sent a plan for healthier eating. I'll do what I can. But no bananas. I hate bananas.
Why did I stick with Dr. Son for so long? Good question. The simple fact is I don't like changes and love my ruts. So until it got thrown in my face that this doctor wasn't doing the job, I had no reason to change horses. However, when Son refused to even examine me for the Silver Sneakers clearance I needed and refused to schedule me for a sleep apnea study (Kirsten says my snoring has gotten epic, and the Fit Bit show that I have multiple periods of restlessness or being awake in the night) I knew I had to change.
Which led to today. Or, actually, about two weeks ago when I did my regular blood draw for the Coumadin levels. Dr. K ordered a ton of tests, which meant I filled several tubes with my precious bodily fluids before going my merry way. A week later, I get a letter from my new doctor. My test results, annotated. That never happened with the other guy. Notes on what his concerns were and what we would be discussing at my visit.
It's really funny how gobsmacked that letter left me. The idea that a physician would do such a thing was alien to me. It gave me hope for a good patient-doctor relationship. Which brings us to this morning's visit to the Big Building of Doctors.
Since it was a full physical exam, I had to fill out forms, with Kirsten providing data via text. I could not remember when my gallbladder surgery was and had forgotten to grab the bottle of Hong Jing Tian that my Psychiatric NP had recommended for me. I was still applying my crude version of cuneiform to the papers when I was called back.
Current weight, 155.6 lbs. I'd like to add about five pounds to that. Blood pressure, blood O2, all good. Then Dr. K came in. Folks, the last time I was so thoroughly inspected was at my pre-enlistment physical at Oakland MEPS. He listened to everything, took details about my diet, my bathroom habits, my exercise plan, worked every joint in my body, examined my eyes, ears, mouth, nostrils and he manipulated every pressure point on my torso. He even examined my genitals and I got a reminder about testicular self-examinations.
He wants some additional blood work, which I can do next Monday. Other than that, he pronounced me in pretty good shape and happily signed my workout clearance. Which leads to the second part of the day. Clearance in . . . well, clearance in the truck, I drove to Anytime Fitness over on Homestead. Right across the street from the library, which will be convenient. It's a nice, small place. And, as the name says, anytime. Do you want to get some weight training in at 2015? Go for it. Nothing on TV? Go hit the treadmills or bikes instead. Each member gets a fob that unlocks the door, so even during unstaffed hours, you can do your thing. As someone who does suffer from occasional bouts of insomnia, I can see this being helpful.
The plan is to go slow. Do time on the recumbent bike to build up those cycling muscles for the Playa. Set up a cycle on the strength machines for both core and upper body work, but also whole-body fitness. There are no plans to get ripped, or to enter any marathons, just improve what I have. Which is a reasonable goal. I may try to get over there tomorrow morning to start working out my working out.
But the fitness fun never ends! I get back home, and not ten minutes later my insurer calls with their semi-regular health survey call. I have no problem doing these, as they help my care team better plan my care. But seriously, this call lasted forever. After the survey, my case manager wanted to speak with me. Which took another fifteen minutes of repeating so many things I had said before. The good news is I'm being sent a plan for healthier eating. I'll do what I can. But no bananas. I hate bananas.
