6 Month Check Up

Today was the day I was to find out if some or any of this stuff I have been doing has had any effect. I had been trying to get to see my PCP (Dr. P) for three days but was unsuccessful in getting an appointment. On the second attempt the receptionist told my why. Dr P is P - as in pregnant! Way to go Dr. P! Today I managed to get in to see her.

I arrived at the appointed time and was soon inside the exam room. The assistant took weight, blood pressure, pulse, temperature and went over my meds most efficiently. My B/P was ok but not as low as it has been, I was a little nervous about this visit. My resting pulse rate was 67, woa. Now that's good for me. 1 for 2 then in my eyes. Dr P entered the room. After exchanging pleasantries (and congratulations) we got down to business. did I get my last set of labs as they had no record of results? I had. I remembered the phlebotomist had dropped a glove when I entered the room and had put it on. I had asked her to change gloves, after she had rewashed her hands. That did not go down well. (I have never understood this. Where I work we ENCOURAGE patients to do this if they feel uncomfortable in any way.I have even stopped minor procedures and scrapped all of the equipment if I felt I had broken a sterile field. All this had been was a blood draw. People take patient safety issues WAY too personally) Any way, the practice has a rapid HbA1C (HgA1C) machine so a finger stick drop of blood was sent to be tested.

The results were a little disappointing. My initial had been 6.7, then 6.3 now 7.3. That equates to an average BGL of 163. Hippo now makes a sad face. At that point in the proceedings I felt I had not done very well at all. I did though wonder what I would have been like if I had NOT done any of the work I have accomplished. What would things have looked like then. Ok, so a small bright spot. Still, not a Happy Hippo.

Dr. P and I discussed the options. I chose to increase my medication regimen and I solemnly promised to be far better at what I was eating. I did venture that eating whatever was around at work on the basis of I am so damn busy running between patient rooms was probably not as valid as I was kidding myself it was. Dr. P agreed and suggested a tighter regimen. She did however volunteer that taking the med change was probably the best course. This is why I like this PCP, she gives you the info but lets you make the decision. Power to the Patients!

So, here I am. Somewhat unhappy yet resolved and determined to carry on. Dr. P was impressed at the progress. She does see some measurable changes such as the resting heart rate and the blood pressure. The message I left with was: keep up the good start. Thanks Dr. P. Good luck in the upcomming weeks.

Like many a race, this event is not a sprint. It's an endurance event. I'll go back in 3 months to see if I have made headway.

A Jog in the Sunshine

After the success and failures of Tuesday, the family spent Wednesday shopping.
Ah retail therapy.
We started by finding a replacement for Sam's towable trailer. After parting with a little over $135 we had a replacement for the old one with the disintegrating straps. All is not lost however. The old one is to be converted into a Scottie trailer for use later this year. Al has a cruising bike and this will go behind her. It will be for comfy trail use only!
Sam was very against going out today. I think he was needing a break after the previous two days.
I changed into my Hippo gear and after a reasonable amount of stretching while the Garmin figured out where it was, off I went.
I decided to be a little adventurous and take to the less prepared trails where I could. I set out along the earth dam again and then hit the hard trails.
I was again following the FatLoss4Life.com plan. Kind of. If I felt I could I went further jogging than the plan called for, if the legs were getting tired, then I went short. Let's just call it an adaptation.
What I realized as I went on was that I rely on the speed of the music to really pace me. Some tracks on the MP3 get skipped while others are sought out to help with a difficult stage. I think I need to start a "What got me home" music list.
I felt winded pretty early into the trip. after about a mile and a half I was hurting. I couldn't figure out why but felt a little congested in the upper airways. I though my allergies were done for the year. Maybe not.
I pressed on.
I went higher up the valley and found a gravel trail I had not used before. This is another treat of living here. Lots of places to explore.
I selected a Norman Cook remix of a Tim Deluxe track and went for it. About half way up I spooked a whitetail doe in the long grass and she bounded away. Rabbits were out and the sun was sitting just above the western hill. Magic.
I finally turned for home and was back in 1:06 after 4.38 miles.The pace was not stellar, 14.51. That winded section really did me in. The Garmin claimed 817 Kal so a lot of good hill work on this run/walk. BGL pre was 146 and post it was 100! Way to bring down the A1C.