Today is the day, my return visit to the doctor to get the results of my blood work. I was very nervous going in for my first visit and way more nervous going in this time. Am I going to be showing signs of diabetes, is there anything else I don’t know? Plus, my appointment is right in the middle of the afternoon before my PMO team meeting, so I need to get there and back quickly.

First 2 things that weren’t good in the appointment were weight & blood pressure. When the nurse asked me to step on the scale, my impressive weight loss wasn’t as impressive. It was the afternoon, 2 meals consumed, lots of fluids and fully dressed unlike the morning. Still lost weight, but only 5 pounds and not as much as I saw in the morning. Oh well, I know I am doing well. Then, my blood pressure was pretty elevated when the nurse took it. I assumed this was just stress about my results so I didn’t think too much about it.

Then, the doctor came in and shared my results. So, the good news first, nothing is bad, nothing super-negative and nothing to be overly concerned about. However, there are some things that I need to work on. I had some elevated liver enzymes, nothing horrible, but need to work on through reduced alcohol consumption. Both sides of the cholesterol need some attention, exercise will help as will diet. I need to start taking a vitamin D supplement, but this is very normal in Ohio. Plus, I need to go get an x-ray on my knee to make sure everything is ok.

Then, after getting the results, my doctor asked me to take a couple of deep breaths and to relax. Then, he took another blood pressure reading and it was still very high – 158/110. This is way too high and needs attention. When I come back for the x-ray results, we will test again and I may need to go on blood pressure medication for a while. My doctor’s opinion is that the blood pressure is related to weight and stress with a heavy influence from the stress. He even asked whether my “measure everything” approach to getting healthy is helping or hurting on the stress level.

I scheduled my follow up appointment, left the office and immediately ordered a smart blood pressure cuff to start monitoring at home.