I had my appointment at Tripler Army Hospital today. The admitting nurse asked me on a scale of Excellent, Very Good, Satisfactory, etc., how I was feeling. I was feeling pretty darn OK, but I decided to leave a margin of error and said, "Very Good."
My nurse practitioner, Kathy who is my Primary Care Manager went over the blood test I took last week and frowned.
Not good.
All those months of being good and then the trips to Yellowstone, Glacier, etc., the Alaskan Cruise and then Illinois took its toll on me. How much rich and decadent food could I have eaten? Was I not exercising all this time? (I did... sort of, maybe, occasionally, but not much. )
My A1c and glucose levels had jumped to the highest it's ever been. My cholesterol levels had also spiked! Good grief!
Kathy listened to my heart and heard that functional murmur I have. Art has one too and so do our children and now KC as well. Welllll... Kathy really didn't like the sound of it so...
I have to get an electrocardiogram. She also wanted a bone density, pap smear and COLONOSCOPY. She's giving me THREE months to fix myself with diet and exercise. You do realize these three months include Thanksgiving and Christmas?
As I was leaving the hospital Art asked me how it went.
"Not very good," I sighed.
My nurse practitioner, Kathy who is my Primary Care Manager went over the blood test I took last week and frowned.
Not good.
My A1c and glucose levels had jumped to the highest it's ever been. My cholesterol levels had also spiked! Good grief!
Kathy listened to my heart and heard that functional murmur I have. Art has one too and so do our children and now KC as well. Welllll... Kathy really didn't like the sound of it so...
I have to get an electrocardiogram. She also wanted a bone density, pap smear and COLONOSCOPY. She's giving me THREE months to fix myself with diet and exercise. You do realize these three months include Thanksgiving and Christmas?
As I was leaving the hospital Art asked me how it went.
"Not very good," I sighed.
Thanks for reminding me to set an appointment with my internist. I have my test results and they don't look bad, but I should review them with the doc.
ReplyDeleteGood luck and best wishes to you, Kay!
Love to read your thoughts! You can get those tests done and move on to other attention grabbing aspects of life! That being said, I have my fingers crossed that you pass all of those tests with flying colors!! And then celebrate with a Snickers Bar!
ReplyDeleteAw shucks, Kay -- Your body is sensitive to a little alleged vacation abuse. Sounds like you've got a plan to get that blood work back in line.
ReplyDeleteThe EKG will be good for a baseline: that's just 12 stickers stuck around your torso/body to get a printout.
The bone density test is something I get every 2 years: it's just a fully-dressed (no metal rivets)quick pic. Good for we "oldish" women.
Well, you're supposed to get a yearly pap anyway...
After you do the bowel prep to empty your innards, and have a nice IV-induced, very short nap for the colonoscopy, you'll be so empty, all the blood work will register back in line!
Gotta do mine this year too; suggested every 10 years. Your NP is taking dandy care of you. Hopefully you'll be able to condense the trips to Tripler.
DrumMajor
Sometimes I think we have to retire to have time to do all the medical stuff. I can so relate to that list of medical testing. I won't give you my "organ recital" but I will wish you luck with your tests.
ReplyDeleteWell, you know the same thing happened to me. I wonder if I can get them to give me that a1c test, I read about it and think it's pretty cool to find your glucose levels for the last three months.
ReplyDeleteThat's why I've given up wheat and all added sugars, hoping that in January when they do my blood everything will be fixed.
Kay, don't blame yourself too much, a lot of this is plain genetics because you eat a lot healthier than most of us. I have a friend with cholesterol and it's unbelievable because she's a role model for healthy eating.
ReplyDeletesounds like a wakeup call to eat better and exercise more-all good ideas. I've wondered about all your sugary food. There are alternatives-even pillsbury makes a sugar free (splenda) brownie mix. It takes discipline to reduce or cut out sugar in your life with just an occasional small slice or treat...good luck with it all. You can do it and be a good example to others...lol!
ReplyDeleteThe good news is that you and your caregiver are paying attention to all of these things. I would bet on you to have everything in line by the time you do your next testing.
ReplyDeleteAwe, I´m sorry you have to go through that. But I do hope you feel better after all is done. You can do it!
ReplyDeleteI have the same health stats...high cholesterol and borderline A1C...above 6, last was 6.3. I'm overdue for a test but want to take it after our trip. Probably not a good idea after reading your post.
ReplyDeleteI try to cut out as much sugars and starch from my diet, but I find it is usually an all or nothing deal. The best way I have found is to eat only toss salads for dinner, with some quinoa on top (it absorbs the flavor of the dressing, so I noticed I use less dressing). That way I can totally eliminate starches at one meal of each day.
I also find that exercise really helps, going on the treadmill at least 30 minutes. With a machine, I can control and regulate the amount of exercise I get. I think of it like an everday maintenance activity such as brushing teeth...although due to a hip problem, I can only go on every other day. But I immediately feel healthier after 30 minutes of aerobic and can jump in the shower right after. Very convenient, no excuses like the rain or it's too dark outside.
L.
L: Sigh... We DO have the same stats! I am 6.3 also. I was 5.7 and safe the last time I got tested earlier in the year. You're absolutely right, of course! I'll have to cut out the saimin. Sigh... And yes... the exercise...
ReplyDeletethere use to be a reminder to look after your health .... "they shoot horses" .... plain & simple.
ReplyDeleteWait! Wait! I thought they would shoot horses if they broke a leg. Kay didn't break a leg! Wait! Wait! It'll be okay soon! DrumMajor
ReplyDeletePhew!
ReplyDeleteJoin me at the gym, and it's better to be well and alive than eat everything you want at Thanksgiving. We care.
ReplyDeleteooops...quinoa is a starch...what am I saying, but I sprinkle just a small amount, less than a serving. It is still better than two scoops white rice lol
ReplyDeleteI am much worse than you Kay, my reading before 6.3 was 6.2.
L.
Anonymous said...
ReplyDelete"Wait! Wait! I thought they would shoot horses if they broke a leg. Kay didn't break a leg! Wait! Wait! It'll be okay soon! DrumMajor"
Not even. They just grind up the stragglers for pet food.
I am seriously thinking of getting an at home A1C monitor: Bayer A1CNow SelfCheck At-Home A1C System, 2 Test Kit, which sells online at Walmart.com for $22.48. I will do some comparison shopping around town before I order.
ReplyDeleteL.
I have had one colonoscopy and refuse to do it again. I don't mind the actual procedure--piece of cake--it's the day of prep before the procedure. That alone nearly killed me.
ReplyDeleteI was just my gyno for my yearly and she said by next year I would like you to lose weight, exercise more, fine tune your diet, etc., etc. and the last thing she said was get a colonoscopy!! I had the mammo, pap, blood work and everything but the colonoscopy. Don't really know if I'm going to get it either. Diet and exercise I'm working on! Good luck Kay.
ReplyDeleteThe bone density is nothing and the prep for the colonoscopy is nasty but doable...but getting the glucose and A1C down is harder as I now know....Michelle
ReplyDeleteOh, Kay, bad luck - austerity Thanksgiving and Christmas for you then;-)
ReplyDeleteI'm catching up on blog reading.
ReplyDeleteIt always surprises me that you have those kinds of test results. You look so slender, fit and healthy.
I have to get back to my normal eating and exercising this week too. We can do it. I'll be thinking of you.
Good luck Kay. All this sounds like a full time job.
ReplyDeleteBummer. You look so good and healthy, too. But you do take on a lot of work, and then you take on some more! Maybe you can relax. Go to the beach and hang out!
ReplyDeleteI have to go and have my bloodwork, etc. too. My doc is very conservative about meds. I hope my diet revisions have helped to stabilize my BP and blood sugar.