The nurse stated that my doctor was not in the office but I could make an appointment for next Tuesday when he was back in the office. Well today was the day. I arrived a few minutes after nine, signed in and paid my insurance co-pay and took a seat in the waiting area for them to call my name.
The nurst poked her head out the door and called my name. I rose and met her and she greeted me with a "How are you today"? I responded "I'm Great!" I am sure that she wondered why I was there if I was so great but it only took me a minute to explain to her that I was there for a check-up and to have my blood drawn for my A1C. She then asked me a strange question, she said "Would you like for me to weigh you"? Before thinking about it I replied very excitedly, "Yes, Please Do!" You should have seen her face. She smiled and said "We now have to ask our patients if they would like to be weighed or not, and the choice is theirs." I said, "Well I would like to be weighed on your scale because I began My Journey To A New Me almost eleven months ago and according to my scale I have now lost 93 pounds and I want to see if the results are the same on your scale."
She was so excited for me. I then slid off my shoes, and stepped onto the scale. In years past, before I had begun my journey to a new me, the worst part about going to the doctors office was the scale, but now the scale had become my friend. I wanted so desperately to verify and confirm that the past ten and a half months was not a dream or something and that I had lost 93 pounds. BINGO! The scale reading was an exact match to my scale at home. The results were in and I had accomplished 93 pounds of weight loss in less than eleven months!!!
The nurse then took my temperature and my blood pressure. This was going to be a real test because as a diabetic type II there are other deseases and illnesses that can be attributed to it and high blood pressure was one of them. Over the past 5 - 7 years I had been taking a very low dose of blood pressure medication to help me fight off the complications associated with diabetes type II. The first thing that I noticed, but did not comment about, was that she used the "regular" arm cuff to take my blood pressure. This had not happened in more than fifteen years! I did not say anything but when she did it I wondered if it was going to blow off my arm when she began to pump it up. But to my amazement nothing happened. It stayed securely in place on my upper left arm. But the most amazing part was what she said afterward. I asked her what was my blood pressure reading? She responded rather normally, "122 over 58."
I just looked at her with my mouth wide open. "Did you just say, 122 over 58?" and she responded, Yes why? And I preceded to explain to her that I had lost 93 pounds in ten and a half months and this doctor was responsible for helping me to see that I could do it without surgery and by controlling how much I ate. She began asking me how I was losing the weight and I explained to her my visit to the doctor on December 11, 2010 and that he started me on a weight loss plan of 1400 calories per day. I told her about my blog and gave her the information to check it out for herself.
Next I was taken to the an examination room to wait for my doctor to see me. After a short wait he walked in and saw me sitting there. I can honestly say he was pleasantly surprised by what he saw. He smiled the entire time he was talking to me. I told him about my journey and that I was well on my way to reaching my 100 pound weight loss goal in one year. He shared with me that he had been reading my blog and had on many occasions printed out various post and had given them to his other patients who wanted to also lose weight and become healthy. This was the greatest compliment that he could have given me. To think that my doctor would think that something that I was doing or saying could help his other patients made me so happy.
He looked over my chart, and decided to do a complete annual physical on me. He said in the next couple of days my blood work would be back and they would call me and also mail me the results but he was only expecting a good report. I then told him that about two months earlier I had taken myself off of all of my medications! I no longer took my diabetes Metformin or my low dosage blood pressure pill. I explained that I was eating healthy and exercising and that I was still testing my blood sugar every day or every other day and the numbers had been average or low and that when I would take my medication it would drop me down too low. He was okay with this and this was the first time since becoming a diabetic type II that I went to the doctor and did not have to get a prescription for medication!
The doctor checked and said that according to his records I had lost over 50 pounds since my last visit this past March. I told him that I wanted to make my 100 pound goal by December 11th and then continue to lose another 50 pounds in 2012. He said he was confident that I could do it!
I took away so much from this doctors visit. No longer was I uptight, nervous or apprehensive about the outcome of having my blood pressure taken, my weight measured, or my blood drawn. Again my doctor has spoken words of encouragement to me that would enable me to continue my journey to a new me with confidence. And one of the best parts of my visit was the realization that I had verification that I no longer needed my diabetes or blood pressure medication to live a healthy life. Today, I left with such peace of mind knowing that I was well on my way to being the most healthy person that I can be. I can't wait to get the final results of all the test back to have something in writing that puts the final seal of approval on all the hard work that I have put into the last ten and a half months. Today I got a great report, and I am looking forward to many more in the future.
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