Monday, October 22, 2007

At the end of the day

There it is; up on my bulletin board and accusing me every time I look at it. It’s a physicians request for a ‘comprehensive metabolic panel’ and a ‘lipid panel’. Those are the blood tests for cholesterol screening and the request is dated 6 months from now. Darn!

OK, that means that I have 6 months to turn things around and get healthy. The doctor told me that the numbers weren’t terrible this time, but they certainly weren’t good enough to write home about. Blood pressure was elevated as well and that will have to be addressed as well. But… the great thing is the fact that walking will do both things well; cholesterol levels will drop and blood pressure will follow. When I’m racing and even in between events, my BP will stay around 124/64 with a pulse of 55. Today? 160/80 with a pulse of 70. Part of that is ‘white coat anxiety’ so I’m not worried about the blood pressure. Exercise works miracles in that department. But cholesterol? That means more of a lifestyle change. And it’s one that I have been waiting for; I just needed a push. I think I got one.

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