Looking at the Numbers

I have three doctors that I see on the regular.

My primary care doctor, Dr. V, takes care of all of me and keeps track of all my ailments and makes sure I get all the stuff done that I need to get done, like vaccines (which work, by the way), mammograms, DEXA scans, and all that. I saw him in mid-August.

My endocrinologist, Dr. R, minds my diabetes. I've been seeing her by telemedicine for a little over a year; I actually get to meet her in person later this week!

My oncologist, Dr. S, keeps tabs on my lymphoma. I used to see her a lot, but now it's every six months. I see her next week.

All of these visits require bloodwork and lab tests. Occasionally the stars align and I see all three docs at about the same time, which means I can do all of bloodwork at the same time. I like this, because my veins are shot and the phlebotomists have to use a pediatric butterfly needle and stick it in the vein in the top of my hand. They're very good at it. They get everything they need with one stick and send off the results to the various docs.

So anyway, I got all my bloodwork done last Thursday, and yay! I'm apparently healthy for an old broad with lurking lymphoma! Here are a just a few of the numbers:

• Blood glucose: 106
• A1C: 5.8
• Total cholesterol: 119 (and all the related components are good)

All the weirdo things that Dr. S looks at are in range, although my A/G Ratio is slightly high and my platelets are on the low side. All the elements are good - calcium, potassium, sodium, and so on. All the three-letter acronyms are good too - you know, the BUN, WBC, RBC, MCV, MCH, RDW, and the like. Oh, and creatinine, well done!

It's very gratifying to know that at least my blood is in good shape.