I love my new 30-year old doctor!

I had my physical on Friday. I was apprehensive since I had to establish as a new patient with a new doctor. My last doctor, which I adored, moved to a clinic that's an hour and a half drive from my house. My regular clinic is about a 10-minute drive. I decided it just wasn't worth the drive to stick with my old doctor.

There's something to be said about a young doctor (she's 30). She graduated medical school in 2013 and finished her residency in 2014. At first she was a bit standoffish, but that was probably because of the email I had sent her when she canceled my first appointment five weeks ago and rescheduled for last Friday. I wasn't happy, and her response was rather curt. Not a good start for either of us.

Fortunately, after we started chatting, she warmed up to me and me to her. She's pretty cool. She had already read through my entire medical history and knew all about me, which was really nice. She pointed out that two medicines I take now can affect my liver and recommended we change one of them. She listened to my concerns, and answered my questions with very knowledgeable answers. She knows her stuff. She's obviously very smart and was very easy to talk to. In other words, I'm very happy with her. Moral of this story, give the young doctors a chance. They may surprise you.

My diet is going good. Since the pre-diabetic scare from my bloodwork (which my doctor discussed with me at length--and my weight), I'm seriously watching what I eat. I'm tracking my food, trying to stay away from added sugar, which is difficult but not impossible. I bought a blood glucose meter at Walmart. They have a cheap version, but the test sticks are a little pricey. Since I'm not actually diabetic, insurance won't cover any glucose testing supplies. I'm a little surprised how high my glucose is after fasting overnight. It was 117 (the goal is 110 - although the ADA recommends 70 - 130 mg/dl). Before bed it was 98 which is good. I'm not sure why it actually went up so high overnight. It's something I'm monitoring and have no intention of getting full-blown diabetes.

My doctor strongly recommended exercise to get keep the diabetes away (in addition to healthy eating, of course). I can't think of anything that would push me back to the gym on a regular basis more than the threat of diabetes. I wrote a post several months ago, I think it was called A cookie or my foot, or something like that referring to too many sweets and bad eating can lead to losing a body part because of diabetes. That's a reality now, and one I'm taking very seriously.

Today is supposed to be another gorgeous spring day here in the Pacific Northwest. Sunshine and 70 degrees. I love spring. It's my favorite season. It's like waking up from a long, dark, cold dream into bright sunshine and flowers. Happy days!