Working It Out

As I mentioned, I’ve been having back problems and was referred to a spinal neurosurgeon.

Last Friday I went to the doctor’s office… and saw the doctor’s assistant. In theory, I think physician assistants are great. Doctors are busy people and should have assistants. But somehow, I always feel gypped when the PA walks into the room and I realize I’m not going to see the actual doctor. Sure, he was competent but the experience was somehow less than.

Anyway, the result of the visit is that I need to complete a course of physical therapy. Of course, I knew this. If, by my return visit to the doctor’s office in January, the pt hasn’t helped then they’ll be wanting to do epidural steroidal injections. How fun.

Fortunately, because of the health related programs offered at my school, I have ready access to physical therapists and chiropractors at no cost. I’ve already lined up two of these guys to help get me back on track. Convenient, eh?

One thing I’ve noticed in my most recent round of doctor’s visits is that none of the doctors mentioned my weight. It was sort of surprising really. Clearly, there’s a direct correlation between my weight, activity level and condition. Whenever I’ve mentioned it, they’re in agreement that it would be helpful to take off some weight but they don’t ever bring it up themselves.

So, Mel and I both are back to the program and trying to make some changes that really need to be long term. A few years ago, I lost nearly 50 pounds. Since then, I’ve gained about half that back. 🙁 This time I have an added incentive – avoiding being crippled – and have to be more committed to some exercise in order to accomplish that. So far, about 7 pounds are gone. Wish me luck.