An apple a day...

Well, I survived my date with the hygienist of doom yesterday.  In fact, it wasn't even a fraction as bad as I thought it would be.  There were a couple of spots she and the dentist thought I'd need to be numbed for, but I told her to just go ahead with it and I'd tell her if I needed her to stop.  It wasn't pleasant, but it was far from needing pain relief.  She kept telling me how brave I was.  "Wow, you're so brave!", "Way to be brave! That was a tough one!"  Then the dentist came by and she told him what a brave little patient I was and I swear someone was about to offer me a lollipop. 

They did refer me to an endodontist to take a look at a bad root canal done a decade ago that's caused one of my bottom front teeth to get infected.  I've seen several dentists in the last 10 years, all of whom looked at the tooth and told me "Well, if it doesn't bother you, let's just leave it alone".  I was relieved that this dentist agrees with me that no, teeth shouldn't do that or look like that and we really need to do something about it. 

I also had a physical with my regular doctor today that seemed to go fine.  Though I felt like I might have been on candid camera.  He kept coming in the room, asking me to do weird things, then hurrying out of the room again.  Like "Raise your eyebrows way up high.  Ok, now squeeze my fingers.  Ok, I'll be back".  He'd leave for a minute then come back and tell me to walk across the room on my heels, open my mouth real wide and roll my shoulders.  Leave again, come back, smile at him, pant like a dog....I began to suspect he was going out there to laugh at me and take bets with his nurses what silly things he could get me to do next.

The one thing I had a problem with was when he cleaned out my ears. I'm a wax producer, always have been, and to make things worse, I'm a q-tipper, which I know just packs it down there even more, but I can't seem to stop using q-tips.  Anyhow, he had to flush my ears with water which felt basically like he stuck a fire hose in my ears for 10 minutes.  My ears are sensitive anyway, but it was so uncomfortable I ended up spending the entire time crying like a baby.  I swear, I can push and 8.5 kid out of my nethers without pain medication, but squirt a little water in my ears and I dissolve into a puddle of tears.

I get the results of my blood tests the end of the week.  One of the big reasons I went in was to have my cholesterol checked and also discuss healthy weight loss options with him.  Surprisingly he recommended South Beach diet and Sugar busters, both diets I know well.  And the goal weight he suggested for me is very reasonable.  In fact, it's pretty much what I'd planned on, which was surprising.  My goal weight is still a lot of weight for some people.  But for me, the doctor agrees, it is healthy, realistic and sustainable.  This made me feel much better. 

So blood tests pending, I seem to be in very good health.  I hope to stay out of any doctor or dentist offices now for several months at least.