Our health insurance company makes us get a basic blood panel every year. Ok. they don’t “make” us, but we get incentivized…money put into a spending account that can be used for health related expenses.

Fine.

So I had made my appointment for my bloodwork- I was trying to get all this out of the way, so my scheduled slot was 1:10 pm. Which means, for an accurate reading, I need to have fasted for at least eight hours.

So I get to the test site, having fasted since maybe 8pm the night before, and the nurse does my workup. My blood pressure was so low she asked me three times what my normal blood pressure is. (for the record- my readings are to the low end of the normal scale). My blood sugar was also very low. (again- no diabetes or meds…just a blood sugar level that is normally in the low range of normal)

As I was gathering my paperwork to leave, the nurse said to me: “You should NEVER do one of those intermittent fasting diets, unless you are being strictly monitored. And maybe carry around a little snack with you if you ever feel lightheaded.”

So today’s PSA- don’t do any sort of diet which requires you to go without food for periods of time without talking to a health care provider. These diets, while fine for some, are not really good for everyone.

Also- know you basic numbers, so that you can be aware if anything seems “off”. By knowing my “normal” I was able to put the nurse at ease, even if she did want to go and get me a sugar cookie and a glass of ginger ale…

Knowing your blood pressure, your blood sugar…these are just forms of self care. There is nothing “indulgent” about this- it’s just common sense.

22 thoughts on “The Numbers”

  6. Yep. I know that I have “white coat syndrome” so my blood pressure is always high when they first take it. When I have them take it again at the end it is normal. It was also in the very normal range when I used to donate blood and I would bring that card with me to show the doctor. I’ve been able to avoid being put on blood pressure meds since I know that fact. Great reminders.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  7. I’m also always on the low side on the BP and the sugar. Both my daughter and I struggle if we don’t get protein first thing in the morning. Lots of lightheadedness at the very least if we skip it or wait too long. I could not do an appointment like that past maybe 10 in the morning or they may end up picking me up off the floor if they have to also draw blood. Well, they might just have to do that anyway, but it is so much worse if I can’t eat.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  10. It pissed me off the last time I had my BP checked, I always ask if the number they recite to me is normal..and I always get a yes, this last time right before the endocrinologist entered I heard the nurse tell him…his BP is a little high. How do take anyone seriously in the medical field if they can’t remotely be honest with the patient.😡

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

Gravatar
WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Cancel

Connecting to %s