Scary health stuff

Let me just preface this post by saying that getting old sucks!  Remember when you could do anything, eat anything, drink anything, and burn the candle at both ends--and all it took to recover was a good night's sleep?  Maybe you're still there; if so, enjoy it while you can.  

 

Last week, I had my annual physical with my internist.  And, like anyone who doesn't like to go to the doctor, I feel as though I now have all kinds of things wrong that weren't there last week.  I know they were there, but I was perfectly happy not knowing about them!

 

According to my blood tests, my vitamin D level is so low it almost doesn't register!  This means that I'm at risk for all kinds of bad things:  heart disease, cancer, multiple sclerosis, and broken bones, to name a few.  I now have to take prescription strength vitamin D for a few months to see if it improves.

 

My thyroid function is also abnormal.  I have been on synthroid for ten years now, but it seems as though every time they check it, it's abnormal.  I now take more artificial thyroid than my friend Martha who doesn't even have a thyroid gland anymore!

 

My cholesterol is up, although not severely.  And my glucose level is also up. Since I was fasting when they took the blood test, this means that I am pre-diabetic. 

 

Scariest of all is that my kidney function test was also abnormal, indicating I might have the beginnings of kidney disease! 

 

Oh, yeah--there's also a lump of undetermined origins behind my ear (near lymph nodes).  This could be nothing, or it could be something severe like lymphoma.  I am at a higher risk for lymphoma due to my leukemia. 

 

And, to top it all off, I developed some kind of eye infection on Friday.  My eyelid is red and swollen, and my eye feels like someone poured the Sahara Desert in it. 

 

Now I'm depressed and scared!

 

Oh, 20s--how I miss you!

 

I feel like I'm two steps away from turning into this!