Wellington · Living

I have actually met my primary care physician. In person, herself, no interns. In fact, I don't think you can even call just us acquaintances anymore, since she gave me a testicular exam.

But that's about all I can tell you. Apparently the super sekrit special blood tests they ordered up three weeks ago didn't send their results to her. She can see the order, and that they were supposed to go to her, but no. Oh, I can tell you this: I've lost five pounds in the past two weeks. I say five, even though the scale said I'd lost twelve, since this time they told me to take my shoes off. Maybe it's all the shoes, although I'm fairly sure whatever I was wearing at the last weight-in didn't weigh that much.

Yes, folks, it's the Graves Disease diet again. Lose all the weight you want, effortlessly, as long as you don't mind that it's all muscle mass, leaving behind the fat. Let me tell you, when she went to palpitate my stomach, the tire was quite an embarrassment. It's still only a bicycle tire, but it's moved to back-country mountain bike size. The embarrassment was a little balanced when she stated she was impressed by the lack of shot bruises (only six showing) after two weeks of self-injections. And I guess it's nice to have the low blood pressure again. But still, I'm looking forward to next week's appointment with Dr. Safer. Not only will I finally have proof I have the damn disease for Tufts, but we'll get to talk radioactive iodine, and killing the sucker off. That, and Dr. Murabito did promise that if I got back on thryoid medication, and my next blood clot factor test was in range, she didn't see a reason I couldn't start working out again. That should be about two weeks, assuming the super sekrit special blood tests don't come back with something.

I do like having a female doctor. One, they can't remind me of my father. Two, I get along better with women, I always have. Three, I'm happy to support women getting higher into the old boy professional. But really, it's more about number four: things like testicular exams are much more clinical, no worry, no embarrassment.