A couple of weeks ago I had to submit to a semi-physical for our health insurance company. They weighed me, took measurements, and a blood sample. I’m not sure about the accuracy of the bloodwork since I got the results within fifteen minutes or so. I’ll still have to go see my doctor sometimes this summer to see if I got my cholesterol numbers low enough to avoid medication. After all the herding and prodding one of the associates took me into a little room and told me I needed to improve my weight management methods. Well, isn’t that a nice way of calling someone “fat”! She then went over my “health report card”. I pulled up my numbers from December for a comparison and was happy to see some improvements. My weight may not be moving quickly but my biometrics are slowly improving…or maybe at a normal rate. I have no idea.
My cholesterol dropped from 216 to 205mg/dL. Good, but not good enough…still too high. My LDL dropped form 132 to 123. My HDL dropped one point from 55 to 54…this number is still way too high. Triglycerides went for 140 to 137. My blood pressure was taken twice because the technician thought the machine had messed up. She told me I had the blood pressure of a teenager at 103/75. I have no idea what those numbers mean or what it means to have the blood pressure of a teenager. They gave me a D- for my weight on the report card with a body mass index of 34.19 and waist circumference of 35”.
I walked out of the place with a health report card and total grade of B-. But I did not leave with any understanding of the meanings of these numbers or specific strategies for improvement. Seems a bit pointless to me…
in pursuit of wild things 
May 18, 2015 at 8:06 pm
Hmm, you’d think they would have given you more explanation of the numbers’ meanings and strategies to improve your “grades.” Hopefully your regular doctor will. 🙂
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May 19, 2015 at 7:40 am
So typical, isn’t it? It’s what I always call the “So what does this mean to me in dog years???” syndrome.
Listen, if you like I can easily let you know that each means if you want to email me but I won’t impose if you don’t. I am so proud of you my friend, keep striving for health, you are well on your way!
Oh and look for my post later on today. I nominated you for the “WordPress Family Award” because you are as close as family to me. It’s an easy award to pursue and if you are too busy to accept, I’ll understand. Blessings,
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May 19, 2015 at 7:55 am
Ellie that would be awesome and so helpful! Thank you also for the email on anti-inflammatory foods.
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May 19, 2015 at 9:27 am
Isn’t that the truth, they shame you by telling you you aren’t doing things right, but they don’t tell you what it all means!
Awesome that you are making headway, though, even if they don’t validate it for you.
God’s Blessings!
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May 21, 2015 at 11:01 pm
Thank you!
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May 20, 2015 at 5:29 pm
First, congratulations in recognizing the methods we doctors use today to determine the health of a patient are horrible. People and their health are more than the values of a lab panel. If you need help with a better explanation as well as understanding what steps are needed to create additional positive changes, let me know. FYI- HDL are the “good guys” and you want those numbers high!!
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May 21, 2015 at 11:00 pm
Right now I am choosing to concentrate on techniques to raise my HDL numbers. Hopefully I can get them high enough to keep from having to take medication.
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