Doctor Doctor

I was up on time yet again. That makes three work days in a row, and perhaps the start of a long, healthy streak. To that end, I was engaged in my exercise regimen before 540am. I poured a cup of coffee then took Frankie out hoping to continue her on schedule too. That worked well. She took care of business in a relatively short time window – maybe 5-8 minutes. We were back inside before 6am. I checked the weather then started mediation and stretching. Before heading off on my run I lubed up my thighs with Vasoline to prevent any unnecessary chaffing/rubbing. I should’ve started doing it years ago. It makes a big difference. I was out the door at 630am on the nose, although still had to do my routine stretch from the front stoop. It was steamy and 72 degrees with the sun just starting its ascent upward over the horizon. It was trash day. They were coming towards our can as I passed by after my warm-up loop. I finished my run strong and was back before 715am. I wasn’t surprised to find no veggies packed for lunch. They were prepped, however, so all I had to do was throw them in a container. My lunch was packed in a jiffy and I quickly moved on to making breakfast – two fried eggs. I got out the fruit tray to complement my eggs. It contained only watermelon and pineapple. That worked. I was done eating by 730am. I took Frankie out for another romp after observing her down almost an entire bowl of water a bit earlier. She pee’d. Good move on my behalf! Off to the shower. Since Frankie was so fired up, I took her, along with a cup of coffee, up to see Mindy. Mindy woke as soon as we entered. I wasn’t sure about her schedule. Asked if this was retreat day. No. Doctor’s appointment, but not until later. I was ready to go before 8am. She, Frankie, and Bella remained in bed as I headed downstairs to make last minute preparations before departing. I’d be driving the BM’er. Supposed to be a hot steamy day. I planned to stop at Thornton’s for a fill-up on the way to work. Gas was $2.74 per gallon for 89 octane, the recommended fuel for the BM’er. Took 10.5 gallons. I called my doctor’s office mid morning to schedule an appointment in reference to my ongoing stomach issues. They offered a same day appointment for 315pm. I haven’t seen Dr. Broyles since summer 2008. I talked with Mindy mid-day after her cardio doctor’s appointment. Sounds like it went well. I didn’t have a lot of time to talk. Shared that I had an appt. for 315pm. I left for my own appointment around 250pm after receiving a broadcast email to the entire company about a black convertible in the parking lot with the top down and an approaching storm. Hey, that’s me! Turns out, it looked like a big storm but to that point it had only spit a drop or two. No harm. I drove to my doctor’s appointment with my top up (very rare). I weighed in at a whopping 180lbs fully clothed. Damn! My blood pressure reading was 140/100. I knew that had to be wrong. Never that high. Dr Broyles didn’t pop in until almost 330pm. We discussed my stomach issue and I shared that I was having the same symptoms I had maybe 20 years ago. Back then, and on separate occasions, we did an upper endoscopy & an upper GI. Both came back negative. He even tested my blood for H.Pylori bacteria. That was negative too. Not wanting to assume anything, he set me up for another upper endoscopy and drew blood to test for h.pylori once again. He also gave me a sample kit (25 pills) of Dexilant, a new proton pump inhibitor (PPI) that is supposed to work really well. Says these drugs have come a long way since my last episode. Should have my blood test results back Wednesday afternoon. I left the doctor’s office and headed back to work. I returned to work very hungry. I ate my packed lunch in a hurry. I took my first dose of Nexilant at 435pm. Dr Broyles suggested I take it an hour before dinner each day. I talked with Mindy around that same time. Among other things, we talked about our recent falling out and hopefully put all that tension to rest. Speaking of rest, the rest of the afternoon moved swiftly. I ended up at work until almost 6pm. I phoned Mindy before leaving. She had dinner almost on the table. I arrived home by 615pm. Everybody seemed to be in good spirits. Makayla was dining with us. Dinner looked good. Essentially baked chicken, rice and broccoli, although Mindy had some specific recipe name for it, but one I can’t readily recall. It was really good. While cleaning up, Mindy called the neighbors to see if they had eaten. Kenny was home from out of town. Figured he could go for a home cooked meal. I handled clean-up till the point of leaving all the main dishes out for out guests, who said they’d be down in about 15-20 minutes. Mindy ended up walking down to their house. I retreated to the livingroom where I read and napped albeit briefly. Mindy & the neighbors showed a little while later. I got up to join them in the kitchen. While they ate, we chatted about a number of things. Chrissy shared that she spent 90 minutes on the phone with her estranged poppa. Hadn’t talked with him at length in years. From the sounds of it, he’s way out of the loop. Wasn’t even sure how old she was, but shared he had heard that she’s rich. The neighbors bolted for home around 9pm. Mindy had the kids get ready for bed while I did more reading. After 20 minutes or so I took Frankie out. It was a successful trip. Mindy & I headed to bed just ahead of 10pm.