n. prescription
I recently decided to go for a physical, something I try to avoid on a regular basis preferring the head in the sand approach of what I don’t know can’t hurt me. In the US, doctors suggest a yearly exam, but here they tend to be more laid back. One doctor told me I could go every five years, which I thought was a splendid idea, but another suggested that after a certain age (!), every two years was recommended.
The exam was relatively straightforward, blood pressure – good, weight – good, no EKG even though I had one the last time in New York, so all that was left was the “prise de sang” or blood test. The doctor actually doesn’t take the blood though, but instead writes a prescription to take to any lab that’s convenient for you.
There are labs all over the city and you don’t even need an appointment. You do need to be “a jeun,” however, meaning on an empty stomach, so the morning is a popular time slot. After I had my blood drawn, I was told I could either return the next day or they could mail me the results. Since I live a block away, I decided I could make it back over there and save them a stamp. The funny thing is that when you pick them up, the technician takes the sheet of paper with an envelope and sticks it in a machine that folds and seals it. I guess they want you to still have the fun of opening it up when you get home.
And so I did and there I was faced with the results – numbers I didn’t understand, many of them in bold with asterisks and next to all of them the “normal” ranges. Obviously the ones that were bolded were the ones where I was not in the range. Some were below, some were above. After googling, never a good idea, I concluded that I was anemic, had high cholesterol and may be close to dying from a severe Vitamin D deficiency.
It was Friday night, I wouldn’t be able to talk to the doctor until Monday and that was hoping she had received the results herself. It made me question the wisdom of allowing a patient to review results without the benefit of a medical degree.
Monday came and calmly I called the doctor only to find out to my relief that I was actually not that far from the normal range in any of the things I was concerned about and in fact, the cholesterol was the good kind so I was ahead of the game there, too.
The Vitamin D was still a problem though. Apparently so much so that I now have to take a dose every three months for the next year! Without adequate levels of Vitamin D, the body can’t absorb calcium, which is necessary to keep the bones strong, especially in women, especially after a certain age and especially with a history of osteoporosis in the family of which I fall into all three categories.
The sun provides Vitamin D, but there is none here in the winter. Sardines and mackerel have Vitamin D, but I don’t often eat those. I was eager to get started so I could get back on track, but now I had to wait for my prescription, which was being mailed to me. They can’t email it, which I understand and they won’t call the pharmacy, which I don’t understand. But knowing that I needed something and not being able to get it right away was mildly frustrating.
The prescription arrived two days later and I marched across the street to get it filled. The Vitamin D is administered in a little glass ampoule that is completely sealed. How on earth was I supposed to get the liquid out? The pharmacist told me just to break the ampoule, which made absolutely no sense to me whatsoever – why would you put medication in a container that’s glass and needs to be broken!
I gingerly snapped off one of the pointed ends, happy to not have injured myself, but the liquid wouldn’t come out. I realized I had to break the other end in order to remove the suction. I envisioned breaking the thing in two, spilling all the contents and cutting my hand in the process. But I succeeded and poured the little elixir into a glass mixed with water, which turned it a cloudy white. How much water is “un peu” (a little)? Apparently, I put enough since I didn’t suffer any dire consequences.
I thought taking some calcium supplements could jump start my road to recovery, but the instructions that came with them warned against taking them in conjunction with Vitamin D. I was confused – did that mean just not to take them at the same time as the Vitamin D or not to take them at all if you have Vitamin D in your system. I thought the Vitamin D was what helped the bones absorb the calcium so if you needed it, why couldn’t you take the calcium with it?
At the risk of over thinking and over worrying creating stress and possibly additional ill affects, I have decided to stick with yogurts and cheese as my natural sources of calcium – two things the French do exceptionally well and there’s no need for a prescription for either!
