Doctor Visit

I went to the doctor for a check-up today.

I know everyone hates (or at least somewhat dislikes) going to the doctor.  Sometimes being an adult and taking care of myself maturely is no fun at all.  I would much rather eat fried chicken and lay on the couch all day than go to a doctor's office.

The earliest appointment I could get was 11am, which was later than I'd have liked because I had to fast for the blood tests.  I took a granola bar with me to munch on the minute the terrible, terrible blood tests were over.

This was my first visit to this doctor, and I liked her.  She was very kind and easy to talk to, she didn't rush me and she seemed to take me seriously.  Being old middle-aged and broken down, I had a list of complaints, many of which seem so weird I had to resist a powerful urge to not mention them at all.

First on the list was my migraines and the shoulder/back pain that's been causing them.  She thinks that particular bit of self-diagnosis was wrong, and that I just have regular old menstrual migraines that may aggravate/be aggravated by my back/shoulder problems.  She gave me four samples of a new migraine medication to try (I love free samples, win!), and hopefully I won't need them for a very long time.

She felt around on my back and my shoulder and said that my vertebrae seemed out of line.  She laid me down and pushed around on my back and twisted my neck just like chiropractors do on tv (I've never been to one) and several very dramatic pops later my back actually did feel better.

That was like a miracle!  Man, I was not expecting that at all.

She gave me a prescription for a muscle relaxer and said I could come back for more popping if my muscles manage to pull my back out of line again.

Next on the list was my hair loss.  I haven't mentioned it here because, frankly, it scares the bloody hell out of me, but my hair has been falling out.  I used to have very thick hair and I swear at least half of it is gone. She said several things can cause that, we'll see what the results of my blood tests show, and until then I'm going to try not to think about it.

Next on my list was what I have assumed was adult onset acne, but after having it a year and not being able to find anything to clear it up, I thought I might as well mention it.  She thinks it might be rosacea!  She gave me a prescription for a cream to try, but it'll take six weeks before we know if it is helping.

Next on my list was sporadic joint pain, particularly in my thumb and elbow.  My mother has rheumatoid arthritis, and though my pain is only occasional and not bad at all really, I am afraid I might be heading down the same road.  The doctor said the blood test will show if I have it.

Then the blood test.  The little old man who draws blood was very nice and very apologetic, but nothing can help the fact that I am apparently a bloodless, veinless freak of nature.  After sticking me four times he finally managed to get a little blood.  I will have lovely inside-of-the-elbow bruises for a week now, but at least it's over.  I always fear one day, amidst the vials and the syringes and the biohazard containers, I will just faint dead away.  Having to go through all that while fasting certainly doesn't help, but today there was no fainting.

Blood taker guy did give me very helpful advice for next time: make the appointment very early in the morning because the longer I've been fasting the lower my blood pressure is and the harder it is to take blood, and also to drink an extra lot of water the day before.  I will totally remember that for next time.

My test results will be in in a week, hopefully everything will look okay.  I am relieved that it's over, that I didn't faint, and I'm proud of myself for going.

On the way home I drove through Chick Fil A and got a chicken sandwich, waffle fries and a peach milkshake.  I deserve a high calorie unhealthy treat, right?