Doctor Day

Since my last visit to a family practice was in a small town in the hills, I noticed quite a few advancements in the world of doctor offices now three years later and in the big city. For example, I saw both doctors and at least one nurse toting their laptops from room to room. No paper charts at this office at all. She said she is the only one in town to be exclusively computerized.

As usual, I wrote "Unknown - Adopted" on the Medical History section. And then, lo and behold, the last question was "Would you like prayer today?" Well, who is going to say no to that?

Of course, you write this information just to keep their pens flowing, because both the nurse and the doctor asked me specific questions about my parents and siblings (neither of which have a genetic connection to me) later during my visit and I had to restate the "I don't know, I'm adopted" line.

ANYway... I was there for a check-up as well as to list a few bothersome issues and list I did. And I really like this doctor. She was very thorough and very UNrushed. We spent the most time discussing how I have been running and want to keep running, but I have back pain and breathing issues. Long story short, I have scoliosis. She was very surprised I didn't know that already because apparently it's fairly obvious. Come on, people, I read the Judy Blume book about the girl who had scoliosis - how could my own spine malformation escape my notice? Doc spent a good amount of time explaining what this means for my running career and for my disks and for my co-pay once she sends me to a specialist. She told me to keep running, which was music to my ears. "Keep your core strong," she said, "That's what will save you as you age." Alrighty then!

She is sending me to a holistic specialist - a guy who does sports medicine and chiropractic, and is perfectly comfortable in the traditional and alternative worlds of medicine. He has a staff of physical therapists and she guessed he would do at least one adjustment and then help me figure out how to keep my back from wigging out again in the future, especially as I try to increase my running distances. I'm pretty excited about seeing this guy.

My breathing issues remain a mystery. She asked me somewhat teasingly "You don't smoke pot?" and I grinned. It was humorous that she asked this soon after I told her I have four children. I took a breathing test with a little machine plugged into - you guessed it - the nurse's laptop. Then I had a breathing treatment and took the test again. No change. So I'm to continue my conditioning exercises during running and report back if it continues to be a problem. I liked that she suggested some other possibilities, but ruled out about four separate things and then admitted she just wasn't sure.

We ended our date with a cozy little discussion on antidepressants. No hormonal mother of young children living in America can escape this conversation. And I liked her response and explanation. I also LOVED that she said, "I'm not going to prescribe anything to you after just one visit." Bravo! Let me introduce you to a colleague of yours in Smalltown, California who wanted to drug me up quicker than you can say Prozac. I'm glad I found this new doctor, and I'm reasonably sure that I can continue to avoid medication as long as I keep exercising and stay off sugar. But I'll keep you posted, because the knowledge I gained today about my sketchy mental health is the best I've heard yet in YEARS of struggling.

I also need bloodwork later this week to determine any possible issues that we might not have touched on today. Issues like thyroid problems, blood sugar imbalances, cholesterol levels, and pregnancy. Woo-hoo! Read about it here first when I get the exciting results.