Wow, 10 p.m. on a Sunday night of one of my marathon work weekends and I am DONE with everything (I'm never done until way after midnight)...
So, rather than being on the treadmill since son has commandered the TV for a Wii basketball game (I was going to catch up with Grey's Anatomy episodes I recorded), I'm enjoying some relatively quiet time next to the TV and engrossed silent son to write to all of you. :-)
First of all, a long-overdue thank you for all of your kind words when I was stressing over the lab tests and my doctor's reaction to them. I did sneak a peek at the results online (I do love having everything so accessible!) a couple of days before my appointment and will admit it sent me into a funk for a day or two. While values did drop slightly in various tests, I was most disappointed with the blood sugar and hemaglobin A1c values -- 3 months of eating so much better and even starting to walk for exercise (3.5-4 miles at a time) and my A1c only dropped from 6.9 to 6.5, and my fasting glucose from 117 to 114......soooooo depressing! My total cholesterol dropped from 205 to 184, HDL statyed at 64, triglycerides were down to 88, and LDL dropped from 123 to 105, so that was awesome, but overshadowed by the others I mentioned. And Rie, thank you for kind advice of being kind to myself. I did keep that in mind as I came out of feeling down and know I need to keep it all in perspective -- I just haven't quite gotten that through my head for good! Obviously it's something I will keep telling myself though, as I'm in it for the long haul. :-)
To those of you who commented on my doctor, my "fears" were based on past doctor (who for that reason isn't my doctor any longer LOL) who had an agenda and an attitude that weren't helpful to me at the time. Sorry -- this is going to get long! I went to see him back in 2005 because of severe body pain everywhere, fatigue, swelling of the lower legs and feet, inability to sleep due to pain, total body stiffness...I was scared, didn't know what was happening to me, and really needed some relief. All he cared about was my blood pressure and blood sugar being elevated (ummm....yeah, because I was in pain and stressed!) and as an aside told me to take Motrin twice a day with an offhand remark that he would refer me to a rheumatologist....with a nearly 8-week appointment backlogm but didn't want to put me on anything that would elevate my blood sugar (i.e., steroids). He flat out told me at that appt to "lose weight and get your blood sugar and blood pressure under control or you'll be on 5 medications for the rest of your life!" I'd ask about my symptoms, etc., and he brushed them off to focus on the other stuff. I was so frustrated and just DID NOT LIKE HIM. So, I set off to prove I could do it and stressed over not being able to exercise (due to the pain and stiffness) - I lost 6 pounds in the first 1-1/2 months and then saw the rheumatologist, who put me on prednisone while awaiting test results (amazing response within a few days) and lost another 10 lbs while on the prednisone. I was thrilled!! Able to walk, blood presure came down, glucose down but I can't remember how much -- and I went back to see him, happy with what I accomplished, and he walked in at first words out of his mouth were "you need to lose at least 10 lbs if you have any hope of controlling this with diet and exercise." I was stunned. I said "Did you need see that I lost 16 pounds, some of it while on steroids?" To which his patronizing response was "Oh, well yeah, obviously you've been working hard." OMG -- I was on the verge of tears in his office, left that appt with a prescription I never filled, cried my way home, and vowed to NEVER see him again. I self-destructed that very day with some cookie dough I bought, and gained back most of the weight I had lost over time. I did see him again when I went with my DH to review a CT scan result from a hospital stay he had (he was his doctor too) and my jaw hit the floor when the first words were "Hey! You've lost weight. You look great!" He was so friendly, took time to ask if he had questions (I had to chase him down the hall to ask anything)...just 180 degree difference from how I was treated. (By the way, I ended up being diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis which literally hit my entire body overnight and suffered through all those weeks of no treatment, not even steroids, because that doctor was so focused on blood pressure and blood sugar -- and a few days of steroids were all I took for me to start responding!).
I love my new doctor but still getting to know him (had only seen him for pneumonia a couple of years ago and after surgery a year ago until this spring and the start of regular 3-month visits), so I was worried about reactions based on past experience, although I felt I had a different mindset this time around and was doing it for ME in addition and wasn't going to let it derail me. So -- the appointment this past week -- He came in all smiles, looked at the chart, commented on the weight loss (yay!) and asked how I was feeling. I told him I felt great but was disappointed with the labs. His response was refreshing. He took the time to talk to me and said to think about it like school. He said "ok, so you're in college and facing a final exam. What is your ultimate goal?" I said "For me personally, an A" :-) He said, "Right, would be mine too. Now what would be your parents' goal and that of your teacher?" I said "To learn the material?" Correct again. He then pointed to the print out of the lab tests and said "consider this a report card." It's just one aspect of the bigger whole -- our ultimate goal is to get you healthier, your body healthier, all body systems working better, mentally in a better place, mind sharper, more spring in your step, etc. You're improving yourself all the way around and feeling better -- these labs are just numbers, but they don't tell the whole story. Insurance companies rely on numbers, but numbers aren't everything to me." Wow -- I love him!
I told him I still was fighting being labeled a diabetic, but he said with the triad they use for diabetics, my LDL at 105 was only 5 points over their goal, my A1c was under their goal of 7.0, and my blood pressure is perfectly normal. He said I would be considered "controlled" and he wouldn't put me on medication anyway (other than a statin, which he said was beneficial regardless). BTW -- he told me he had gotten e-mails this week about studies now showing that both Lipitor and Crestor have been proven to
reverse plaque buildup in arteries and not just preventing future buildup, which is pretty amazing! He said if I kept going with what I was doing, in 3 months he probably couldn't call me a diabetic (if numbers decreased again). He asked how I felt about the holidays and getting through them, and I told him I was ready to face them and felt good about it. All in all, a great appointment -- he put off talk of statins, etc. for 3 months to let me keep going on my own. I just hope I can bring down fasting blood sugar farther and get my A1c to drop farther. If not, guess genetics will be to blame (strong family history and 3 pregnancies with gestational diabetes, so the cards are stacked against me).
Will start a new post shortly for personals and comments, as this dragged on -- but hopefully it helped anyone suffering from insomnia and you're sleeping soundly now.
Hmmm....Wii basketball is over, regular TV is back on, son isn't in the room, and I have no idea when all of that happened while I was focused on writing. LOL Maybe I'll hop on the treadmill after all!
(she says on her way to the kitchen for a piece of banana bread) Just kidding
Riemontana , 11-20-2011 01:37 PM
After I was done, he begged his dad to let him play and ds set up his profile. He actually went for almost 20 mins - a long time for a 4yr old.
You are soooo funny! I haven't been around here long enough to 
. Your post kind of reminded me of my frustration with the folks who exclaim over my weight loss and then they insist on knowing the "secret". Of course, they don't like what I tell them - that I eat a lot of veggies and I excercise. My favorite {facepalm} response was the very large young woman who said, "well, I HATE veggies and I am NOT going to work out, so that won't ever work for me". I just smiled.... Each of us has our own path. It is hard to know when to move from 
to 
As usual, you know when to cut through the BS!
I graciously took the jewelry and skipped away from the clothing. She is excited that I am the same, or a little smaller than her for the first time in 20 years. But, please! Not her clothes.
). Ok, maybe not.... Does anyone help you with Thanksgiving food? It sounds wonderful. In our family, the hostess does the basic meat and potatoes and everyone else is assigned other foods...
Glad to have you.
Wannabehealthy , 11-20-2011 06:12 PM
redballoon , 11-20-2011 07:09 PM
to everyone else and strength and power to you!! 
Oh, yes, my weight equaled my lowest "after a night on the town dehydrated weight" yesterday even though this time I was NOT dehydrated!! 
Hard work pays off. Sure, in change only, but I'll take it. I am NOT giving up this time!!! 
at me (us) when we need it! Afterall, that is why we have all come to this forum in the first place, we need the support and encouragement. So Thanks!! 
I hope my doctor will be impressed with my weightloss and bs, however the a1c can be a little delayed but I still think it will show a change. 
Oh, no, when you decide it's a reward, when I decide it's a reward then it's a reward. What I'm saying is that no one else should tell me that something is a reward, unless they know what it is exactly I'm rewarding myself for! 
the slim me , 11-21-2011 08:21 AM
