What The Doctor Recommended

While we were home both Mel and I went to our Primary Care Physician. Actually, I prefer to call him 'our doctor' because Primary Care Physician just sounds so ... so ... well, not the kind of person I would want to go see. I want to see 'my doctor'.

But that's beside the point.

The doctor basically gave us a clean bill of health, except for a little bit of this and a little bit of that. Both Mel and I have excellent cholesterol numbers, except both of us are a little low on the good cholesterol and need to get that number up so the ratio is better. It's kind of funny to me that they keep finding new things to be worried about. Used to be that you needed a cholesterol number lower than 200. Ours are both well below 200. Now you need to have specific numbers in your "good" cholesterol and your "bad" cholesterol. The ratio needs to be just right. Or you're going to die. Since I'm going to die some day anyway, I'm actually not too concerned about getting that ratio just right because it's very close anyway. However, I'm more concerned about Mel's because I don't want him to die. Is that weird thinking?

The doctor did tests on Mel's diabetes and the numbers came back. Mel is making adjustments to his overall treatment. We both have to kind of laugh, though, because his A1C came back too high and the doctor told him to increase his insulin such and such an amount. Worked great in the States - here in Ukraine he's had 3 sugar lows and had to go back to his old amounts instead. He exercises a lot more here by walking all over town trying to pay bills (see previous post). :)

The doctor also tested our c-reactive protein levels. Mel's came back wonderful. Mine came back too high. The doctor sent us a report with all the blood work stuff and recommendations, and beside my number there he wrote a big question mark, like he didn't think it was accurate. He also included a new prescription for me to go get my c-reactive protein tested again (our insurance won't cover it if it's done at his office, so we have to drive 40 miles away to have it done some place else, which is crazy in my opinion). I looked at the number and what the number was supposed to be to be healthy and thought to myself "Hmmm. I remember reading in the South Beach Diet that this number is very, very important for overall heart health. I'm going to look up what causes high c-reactive protein numbers and find out what I can do to make it better."

So I did.

And I found out that the number can be high after surgery or after an injury. It's normal to be high after surgery or after an injury, even. And a light bulb went on in my head - aha! I fell just a couple or three weeks ago and messed up my left arm! I bet that's what is causing the number to be too high! And I bet the doctor forgot that I'd fallen, even though he looked at the Spanish x-rays and agreed with me that it really wasn't broken.

The interesting thing to me is that the doctor also recommended right there in his own handwriting that I go on The South Beach Diet. :) :) My favorite diet. My favorite way of eating, actually.

So I did. As soon as we got back to Ukraine. It's almost impossible for me to eat that way when we are staying at my parents, but it's really easy here in Ukraine, at least in the summer. The only drawback - I don't like eggs and I'm not a huge meat eater and I really don't like taking all the time that's needed to prepare all the veggies. So, why is it my favorite way to eat? Hmmm - I don't know, but it is. Actually, if I'm not cooking for guests or a group, I really have to be in the mood to cook to want to cook at all. I'll just eat a peanut butter sandwich, or a cheese sandwich or something else that is made with lots of bread. Bread is my down fall. :( I love good bread. And potatoes made in any way, shape or form - I even like to crunch on them raw (altho some kid told me once when I was a kid that if you eat raw potatoes you'll get worms - I don't know if that's true or not, but I'd think it would have to do with how well you cleaned them. But I digress again.)

So, I didn't go get my c-reactive protein checked again. I should be back in his office in November and I'll do it then and hopefully I won't have had any recent injuries and definitely not any recent surgeries. But I have been eating South Beach. I've only lost a couple pounds, but I feel a lot better. I feel better because I'm not eating any sugar. When I eat sugar I hurt more from arthritis. There is a definite connection.

In fact, we'd been home ten days before I happened to notice that the only sugar we have in the house is about a cup worth in the sugar bowl. So, we bought a kilo weight plastic bag of sugar and I put it in it's big glass jar container with the blue plastic lid and stuck it back down on the bottom shelf where it belongs. I move it over now and again to get to something else, but I probably won't open the jar again until the next time I need to make cookies or a dessert for something - probably in September. Mel and I just don't normally eat any sugar at all.

I do, however, eat dark chocolate. I can't be left alone with a box of Roshen Assorti or I'll eat most of them. I do like those Roshen Assortis. So, Mel usually buys an 72% Nestle's Gold dark chocolate and we have a square or two every night. That's my sweet/dessert for the day. Chocolate is good for you, you know.

Why am I writing all this? Good question. I just ate my very late lunch of Egg Salad Burritos. I find that I like the eggs fixed this way. Two hard boiled eggs mashed and then whatever veggies you like to add, plus some mayo and pickle juice. I never fix them quite the same because I add different things depending on what I've got in the fridge. I use whatever kind of cabbage is available, too, because we don't get lettuce here (I don't like lettuce any more anyway - would rather use cabbage instead - wow! I've adapted to Ukraine in this instance :) :).)

This is what they look like:Just put the salad in a clean leaf, fold it in half, wrap the side down and around the salad and eat from the not-folded-down end so it doesn't spill out all over your shirt.

Good food!

I'll write more about the arm injury in another post - I promise!