Encouragement and Accountability

I willing to bet that not everyone’s doctor comes in the room with a smile on their face and gives them a giant hug.  Mine haven’t always either.  In the past, it’s always been along the lines of, “oh, you have a sore throat? Lose weight.” “You broke a bone? Lose weight.”  You get the idea…never much support.

Over the almost two and a half years, my primary doctor and a few medical pros I’ve enlisted have become my cheerleaders and a source of accountability for me.  I keep regular and consistent appointments with them, have regular lab work and other metrics that are measured and that we compare and discuss.  Keyword–discuss.  It’s not a one-sided deal.  They want to hear from me and I want to hear from them, this journey is a two-way street.  They don’t have all the answers and I don’t either, but together we can come up with a pretty decent game plan for my overall physical health.

They offer me perspective and bring me back to reality when I need it–I can be harder on myself than I need to be.  For example, you’ll hear in the video below that I speak of perfect blood work.  Doctor’s words–not mine.  I went in to today’s visit with my checklist if highlights on my results that I wasn’t satisfied with and had to be reminded of why those numbers are the way they are, that they are totally out of my control.  For example, there’s one panel of blood work that looks completely ridiculous when you look at heavy metals in my body.  My body doesn’t absorb or store them, it’s due to some some bunk body parts that work against me and won’t be solved until I (stop dragging my feet and quit firing specialists…) schedule a hysterectomy.  It’s not my fault–I beat myself up over this every time, but the doctor was able to give me the ah-ha moment today and break down the numbers to prove it’s not my fault.  She showed me I take in the proper nutrition that provides those nutrients to my body–the numbers show that, they just also show my body can’t do anything with them, and that’s where I pay the consequence.  And that’s just life.  If the professional is telling you you’re fine and totally healthy, at some point this has to sink in and become reality.

No, a doctor’s office is not a glamorous place–but it’s what you make of it in the relationship you establish with your provider.  I’m blessed with a D.O. that believes in my same perspective that health is a whole person issue, that it’s not just eating well and exercise, but that it is emotional and spiritual health too.  It’s important to me that we’re on the same page and have similar beliefs so that decisions are made within those values.

Not going to sugar-coat it, it’s been a rough couple of days with a few things that have popped up, and I needed something good today.  I miss my husband greatly and have felt very lonely–I can’t wait for him to come home tomorrow (I’m not sure who’s more excited, me or the dog!), life is being life, and I’m pretty weary…watermelon became an acceptable lunch over the weekend, and the other night popcorn was an acceptable dinner choice.  It happens.

Don’t discount the places where you find both encouragement and accountability—they aren’t going to stand on the corner with a neon arrow flagging you down, you have to seek them out.  But the effort pays for itself in dividends.