It’s that time when I take stock of the passing year. Kicking off this year’s list is health, both mine and others. I was fortunate again this year that all of my loved ones lived another year. I know I won’t always be able to say this and I know how fortunate I am that I still am graced by the presence of some truly wonderful people.
As for my own health, I began taking it more seriously this year. The new job I took in February and the schedule it required kept me from my daily early-morning dog walks I had enjoyed. I began to miss this simple daily exercise and it soon began to show in my elevated blood pressure. Last winter I had gotten fit enough that I had to take out a few links from my wristwatch to keep it from spinning around my wrist. I was thrilled when I realized that a belt I had last worn a decade ago now fits again.
This progress didn’t last long, though, as the stress of my job and easy access to breakroom snacks led me to mindless snacking at the office. I finally wised up, cut the snacking, cut way back on my beer intake (ooh, that was hard), and cut my weight from 182 pounds earlier this year to 169 pounds Friday morning. This is the first time my weight has dipped below 170 in at least a decade and I couldn’t be happier. I’m even wearing slacks again that last fit me over ten years ago!
After several years of feeling like a number to my doctor, I switched doctors and now see Dr. Kenneth Holt. I immediately liked him from my first appointment because, rather than throw a prescription at me and send me on my way, he prescribed a book on reducing stress. That’s my kind of doctor. Oh, and it doesn’t hurt that his staff mistook my naturally-low pulse rate for my being a runner. This was much to Kelly’s chagrin, as real runners don’t like non-runners like me to get this kind of credit!
This year I also subscribed to a Facebook group about Gulf War Illness (GWI) which got me thinking that the weird health problems I’ve had over the years might be attributable to my service in the Gulf. I had a few episodes this year which really knocked me over and I’m to the point now where I want some answers. I have not yet made an appointment with the local Veterans Administration Hospital, this is on my to-do list for 2014.
I also saw an eye doctor this summer for my recurring irritated eyes. He put me on steroid eye drops and kept me out of my contact lenses, which led me to wear my glasses in public far more often than I usually do. Some people build up an allergy to contact lenses and its possible that’s what has happened to me. It’s possible my eyes were irritated because I wasn’t sleeping well due to job stress, too. Regardless, I go in for my last checkup this week, when hopefully I’ll get the go-ahead to resume contacts lens wear. I miss them.
In the getting-old department, this has been the year I definitely lost my near-field vision. I noticed it fading over the last several months. I go in today for another eye exam where my optometrist will almost certainly prescribe bifocals. There’s nothing like needing bifocals to dissuade one’s illusions of still being twentysomething.
Overall, I maintained my health this year and so did those around me. That alone makes for a good year.