Sal's

Running, Biking, Swimming, Triathlons, Snowshoeing: what's next? Sal's kicks butt.

Wednesday, August 3, 2016

Went to the Doctor and the Doctor Said....

I'm fat.
Not quite, but when I had my annual allergy doctor checkup the nurse took me in one of their examination rooms to take my vital measurements. She asked me to step on the scale and I asked if I could remove my shoes. She said it wasn't necessary. I assumed she would make some kind of adjustment for shoes and clothing.
Nope. And I had work shoes on, not lighter weight running shoes.

She marked my weight at 187 lbs! Around Christmas time I had "bulked" up a bit, to 189 actually (naked). Now I am down to the 176 range, about where I would like to be. It helps for running, I can feel the difference. But the allergist will have me at 187, totally inaccurate. Why bother taking my weight?

And have high BP. (no, I really don't).
Then she put the blood pressure cuff on me, the modern kind that the nurse doesn't have to pump by hand. These devices consistently say I have high blood pressure, though they have ranged from 118/80 to 160/90+. Ridiculous. Of course there can be a variation due to stress, but also due to incorrect settings on the machine. How often do they get checked for accuracy? This time my BP was 140/78. She asked if it was always that high? I told her only when someone uses that type of equipment. She didn't appreciate my comment and wrote down the 140/78 numbers. Great. Another mistake. Thanks for that.

Many times the doctor (never a nurse) will look at the BP number and ask me about it. Usually he will get out the "old" sleeve and take it manually and it always comes back normal. Then he adjusts my chart numbers. I appreciate doctors like that. My allergist, who is a nice guy, a runner/bicyclist, didn't even question my weight or BP.

Really, though, why bother with the measurements if you aren't going to attempt to have them be accurate?


1 comment:

Anonymous said...

come to my house. I can do your blood pressure and take your weight. I can also do your taxes. Just tell me how large a refund you want!