Thursday, March 22, 2012

A little health update, and I'm getting some "free" money... sort of...

I'm not sick anymore... WEll of course I still have the cancer and the endocrine problems and the crazy hormones and the edema and... you get the picture; but at least I am finally over my creeping crud...

It's just 3 weeks later, and I'm better, yay!

I actually had a docs appointment today. My regular update for the doc, plus I had to get some bloodwork done. I got drawn for my monthly liver and kidney function (they just do a CMP) and and lipid panel.

I usually get the lipid panel twice a year, and had my last one in December so I wouldn't normally be due 'til June. However, our new health insurance plan gives us $250 (each) into our HSA for filling in a "health assessment", and another $350 (each) for getting an updated "biometric screening", which includes a CMP and lipid panel. Oh and $200 each for a couple of online self paced "health education" classes.

Basically, we get a total of $1600 into our HSA for the two of us having a doctors visit and a blood test each (well, actually it's like 19 blood tests, but it's only one blood draw) and a couple hours of filling out online forms.

Not bad. Better than the $700 total the company used to contribute annually to the HSA, and helping, a little bit anyway, to offset our increased cost of prescription medication.

In other good news, my fasting blood sugar is still normal (114), as is my a1c (5.4%), resting heart rate (72) and blood pressure (128/84 this morning).

We'll see how my cholesterol is in a couple days when the lipid panel gets back. I'm guessing a bit higher than last time just based on my diet and lack of exercise over the past few months, but last time I was around 160 so I'm not too worried.

I also talked to my Oncological surgeons assistant today, and she still wants me stabilized below 360 before she does the surgery.

The really irritating thing has been myweight continuing to yo-yo. Before I got sick I was fluctuating wildly in a range between 349 and 386. Since I've been sick I only took the diuretics a couple times (when my hands or feet or both swelled up enough to be painful) and over the course of three weeks, gained 50 lbs.

So yeah, that's irritating, but it's nothing new; and I'll be back down where I was within two weeks of being back on the diuretics consistently.

Basically, no real change since last time, which is, I suppose, a good thing; but still kinda frustrating.