Friday, December 16, 2022

Hunger and Health

 I have my annual physical this morning and am crabbily sitting around the house.

Crabby, because my appointment isn’t until 11 a.m. and I can’t eat breakfast. What was I thinking?

          It’s more about the activity of breakfast, rather than the food. A giant cup of tea, reading in my bathrobe, things that were unthinkable in my working years when I was in my classroom before 7 a.m. Still, that loaf of rhubarb nutbread I made early in the week just because I wanted something nummy to go with my tea is calling me. (I’m also at the ‘going to Florida for 4 months, emptying out the freezer’ mode now.)

          I should be grateful, though, that I have a doctor to see, and who actually wants to see me. I’ve written about this before, but lunch with friends yesterday underscored the fraught conditions around here of landing a primary care doctor.

Both of them had their HOA sold and replaced by some uncaring monolith. All the doctors within this group retired or left. Now they kinda, sorta have primary care doctors, but one has never actually seen hers, only having seen a physicians’ asst. once. The other hasn’t had a full physical in two years.

          Just as I did when I saw my dermatologist last month, I’m going to give my flesh-and-blood doctor (who I was lucky enough to acquire 10 years ago) my heartfelt thanks.

10 comments:

  1. that's an appalling situation, particularly among older people. I've never been in an hmo because of the network issues, but I have access to plenty of physicians. I think this area is a magnet.

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    1. I have a feeling our area in Western Massachusetts isn't exactly the first thought in the minds of doctors looking to set up a practice.

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  2. I am so very glad that you have retained your primary care doctor.

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  3. I used to get out of bed hungry for breakfast. I still get out of bed to eat breakfast, though it may take me two hours.
    I changed my geriatric primary to shorten the time to drive there. The first available is in March.

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    1. March. Good grief. Same here - when we were looking for a new doctor for My Guy, the wait was always at least six months.

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  4. I only see my doctor twice a year for prescription renewals and he usually wants to do a fasting blood test once a year to monitor cholesterol levels.

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  5. Long leisurely mornings are the best. It’s 5:30 and I am finishing my second cup and had had toast, which I don’t normally do until later.

    I keep hoping that my doc won’t retire and leave us stranded.

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  6. I always make my appointments early when I have to be fasting. I can't go too long before I begin to get very hangry!

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  7. I hate fasting for a medical test. Such a drag. It's hard to land an appointment with our GP as well. Further evidence that the world is falling apart! I mean, doctors used to make HOUSE CALLS!

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