A Matter of Health
As I approach the big six-zero (I know!), my mind has become more conscious of my slowly deteriorating body. Every year I receive a diabetic health check which involves a full blood test, blood pressure check, foot nerve examination, deep retinal scan, and urine test. This latest one wasn’t as meritorious as I was anticipating due to the fact that I’m just not looking after myself as well as I should be at this age.
Several issues were flagged up from my blood samples - the NHS app on my phone pumps out pages of blood test results without any information about what they all mean. Firstly my diabetic control figures were appalling despite an increased level of medication. This is the big concern as it adversely affects the very real chance of heart attack and stroke in the short term. The blood glucose produced by consuming carbohydrate is circulated around the body night and day - blocking the small blood vessels in the brain, kidneys, eyes, and the nerves in the hands and feet. In the case of the kidneys, some elevated potassium was detected - a direct consequence of poor diabetic control and precursor to kidney disease and failure.
Cholesterol has always been an issue, and it was still elevated to dangerous levels. The presence of triglycerides in large amounts relates back to the kidneys as well. This is usually attributed to alcohol abuse, but as I rarely imbibe the devil’s brew nowadays, it probably harks back to my former self who never held back.
My retinal damage hasn’t increased significantly, but pervades nonetheless. My eyesight is generally unaffected, but needs to be checked on a six-monthly basis.
So…what to do?
I went for a run for the first time in months, (a very gentle 2 miles) and almost fainted. My legs were in pain for a week, and it was clear that my prior fitness is now a ship on the horizon. Instant dietary fixes include a self-imposed ban on bread, pasta, beer, fruit, potatoes,and anything sweet. I’m getting out of bed at 5.30am to get any business out of the way and maybe free up some time to get a quick 30 minute run in later in the day.
One of the decisions I need to make before the work peak season returns is whether to let some of my geographically-distant clients go in order to free up time for myself. It would be easy if it didn’t involve a 50% reduction in revenue during this period of the transfer of wealth from the likes of me to the very rich, so needs to be approached with consideration. In the meantime I’m going to motor on and attempt to maintain some degree of decent health.
