(no subject)

[winterbadger]

Since my last "doctor" (actually a PA) left the practice I go to, I had to switch to a new quack. And the first thing he wanted to do was a complete physical, since I'd not had one for 18 months.

First off, we went over my outstanding medical issues, stuff like the sarkoid and seasonal allergies, checking basic stuff (my prostate is fine, apparently :-) and going over family health history. Lungs, heart, etc. all seemed to check out fine (good BP, pulse, EKG).

When we got to the diabetes, he got very exercised when he found out that the previous chap had diagnosed it but hadn't given me any information or literature on it, had told me that I could see a dietitian "if I wanted to", and didn't have me checking my blood sugar, just had me taking metformin. He was, basically, floored, and apologised to me several times that it hadn't been handled better. He assured me that a session with a dietitian is definitely mandatory, not optional, and he has me coming back later to have a proper visit with him to talk all about diabetes management.

We talked a little about my diet, and he assured me that my plan to drink more juice to try to meet the "five a day" fruit and veg requirement is not wise. He said fruit juice, especially popular brands of orange juice, are actually more harmful than helpful, because they're just massive doses of sugars with little or none of the benefits of the fruit itself (vitamins, minerals, fiber).

I got various jabs, and he wants me to come back and get a Hep B inoculation. I also had to put off some of my current issues (neck stiffness, lower back pain) because this was scheduled just to be a checkup, not a whatyoumacallit visit.

On the whole, a mostly clean bill of health.

Comments

[fionnabhar.livejournal.com]

Please let me be the first congratulate your prostate. Apparently. :-)

Good luck with the diabetes thing, though. Hope it's controllable by diet alone.

[winterbadger]

Please let me be the first congratulate your prostate. Apparently. :-)

Thank you. :-) It's one of those things that guys worry about (a little) as we get older. Because, as one of the characters in The Paper says, "...as it turns out, that's exactly the portion of my anatomy I'd like to see exposed to radiation."

Good luck with the diabetes thing, though. Hope it's controllable by diet alone.

He seemed to think that with the right diet and exercise, it could be cowed into submission so that, while it doesn't exactly go away, one doesn't need to take medication for it.

[ticktockmary.livejournal.com]

I had heard that about fruit juice, that it's better to eat the fruit or skip it altogether because your body can't process all that sugar without the accompanying fiber.

Good luck!

[winterbadger]

Thank you! It had seemed a bit odd to me that juice would be that great, for all the reasons that he and you cite, but I guess I just got brainwashed by the fruit juice industry. So, on the plus side, I can cut out the calories from drinking juice; on the minus side, that means I still need to eat more fruit and veg.

[schizokitty.livejournal.com]

I'm glad this guy seems to be working out -- the other guy seemed so useless. Glad (most of) the bloodwork was good!

[winterbadger]

The other guy seemed nice enough, and fully competent, but he seemed a bit too ready to hand off the responsibility of information to the patient. This guy seems more proactive about sharing information. Still not a patch on the great doctor I had ten years ago in DC who is my gold standard; this guy seems a bit inclined to focus on just one thing and not want to hear about other stuff. But at least he addresses that thing thoroughly.