Just What The Doctor Ordered

I think I wrote about seeing a new doctor in August.  I wasn't having anything seriously wrong, I just felt off somehow.  My regular GP/family practitioner had told me (annually, in fact, at my check up, any time I mentioned any of these concerns) that it was all part of aging and I had to face facts that I was getting older and so was my body.  I didn't like that answer.  So I went somewhere else to get a second opinion.

Dr. A is a specialist in women's health.  She runs a women's clinic in Orem and also works part time in a large general practice--where she is one of the partners with my regular GP.  At the women's clinic she focuses on hormones related issues and some reproductive issues.  My concerns were leaning toward the hormone side of this equation.  She spent almost an hour with me at the first appointment, then she took blood for a variety of tests.

I had another follow up appointment scheduled for Sept 2nd, while I was already off work to be with The Girl.  In between the first appointment and the follow up, I received the standard EOB from my insurance.  There were three pages of blood tests done.  That is more than I have ever had.  Usually it is just the standard cholesterol/liver function/lipid panel.  Already this made me anxious to see what these new and different tests showed.

At my follow up appointment she walked me through each of these tests.  What they were checking for and what my results showed.  Then she went back through each test and we talked about steps to try to fix the problems they showed.  It wasn't all about prescribing new drugs either.  She actually dropped my statin dosage to one fourth what I have been on for about a decade.  That was a good sign.

She also showed me my heart was in great shape and, with our family history of heart disease and stroke, I was thrilled to hear that.

Then she got to the hormone issues.  My levels are not as far off as I had feared.  But they were off.  So far the things she asked me to try are over the counter herbal things.  I would have never thought to try the things she mentioned.  I just didn't understand how my body used these hormones.  In fact, i learned there are more hormones at work here than just estrogen, progesterone and testosterone. I knew there was more to them but I am beginning to understand my own body for the first time--and even in its aging state, its pretty amazing.

This week I have finally gotten on board with all the things she asked me to try. Some of them I had to order--SO much cheaper than our local health food store.  So far, they are making a positive difference.  I'm feeling more energy throughout the day.  I'm clearing out the foggy-brained feeling I'd get each morning.  I feel like I can deal with the stresses of my day to day life better. I feel more alert and connected to myself--does that even make sense?  And I feel my body becoming more settled with less of the food I used to eat.

I'm not saying I am losing a ton of weight.  I haven't been on a real scale since my last GP checkup, really.  But I don't feel like cravings taking over my life in the afternoons.  My body is functioning the way it did ten or fifteen years ago. Yes, my knees still "click" going up the stairs.  Sure I could stand to loose weight still--but THAT was not the only answer.  Sorry, Dr. GP...you were wrong there. There ARE other things going on here. And who knows?  Maybe the weight will start to fall off as I reset my eat patterns and metabolism--not through drugs, but with some nutritional education and additional understanding.

That is the next step of this process.  I am looking forward to making the small changes I need to reset my body's metabolism by changing the food I am eating.  That takes some will power, but more knowledge and understanding will do wonders with this step.  I'll keep you posted on how that goes.  I begin next week--assuming my book gets here tomorrow like it is supposed to.  Comes on, Amazon!

I just feel so much better knowing there is hope for changes I can do myself, without all the drugs.  An easy weight loss miracle pill is a nice pie-in-the-sky idea, but not happening.  I am excited to learn and come to understand this amazing machine I have possession of for the next 30-40+ years.  And here's hope for keeping it in prime working order for decades to come.