31 May 2005

Medical news -- all good

Last week I had a routine medical checkup, including the usual blood tests, and I'd delighted to report that all the numbers were good. I got a printout that included the results of previous tests going back about 5 years, and could see that some numbers had improved, most had stayed about the same, and only 1 or 2 had worsened, but not enough to worry about. Yesterday I had an appointment with a periodontist to do some "scaling and root planing" on several teeth. On the basis of my x-rays, he'd scheduled two sessions, and the description I was given on the phone sounded ghastly. The reality turned out much better. First, my teeth and gums were in better shape than he'd thought from the x-rays, so a one-hour treatment sufficed; and second, the treatment wasn't nearly as bad as I'd been led to expect. It wasn't even painful without a local anaesthetic, just uncomfortable. Today I had a checkup on my eyes (routine follow up to cataract surgery several years ago) and the specialist said all was well, in fact better than she'd expected. She's been concerned that I might develop retinal problems, but there's no sign of anything wrong. That's a relief! So all of that, along with my chiropractor's enthusiasm about how well I'm doing, and the fact that I feel great, means that I'm a happy camper! Now to get my walking distance and speed up to that of some 80-year-olds I know, and I'll be bloody fantastic!