Hey friend! Haven’t chatted with you in forever – glad to see you’re still out there and online! And I really do hope those tests of mine had false results. Looking forward to the next one here in the very near future for more info – wish me luck!

As a fellow blogger who seems to be competing with you for Highest Number of Panic-Inducing Chats with Physicians, let me suggest that you DON’T panic.

First, these tests can produce false results — this is much more common than most of us realize. Ask for a retest.

And second, always always always get a second opinion, even if you trust the doctor and her staff implicitly. As tests can be wrong, so doctors can be wrong.

One of your commenters remarked that doctors routinely assume you drink twice as much as you say. In connection with the diet plan, I keep a food diary, and in it I keep an accurate record of how much I drink on any given day. The doc may not believe me, but at least I know exactly how much I’m drinking.

Oh, and by the way: yes, I often do throw out a glassful of booze. Sometimes I’ll pour a second glass by way of “coming out even” with dinner and then not finish it. If it’s not consumed by the time the food is eaten, it doesn’t get consumed. So it would not be safe to base one’s professional opinion about my drinking habits on the amount of liquor I buy.

Haha… there would be a LOT of members in it, that’s for sure!

At least you were smart w/ the HSA – that counts for something? :)

Goals and projects that are “unsexy” like this are the hardest I think. It’s not something I actually want to do. It will probably suck the entire time it’s happening. No one will really care that I did or didn’t do it. So why am I doing this again? Oh yes, vague unsubstantial benefits I may never notice. Hmmph. Can we get an unsexy goal support group or something?

Good for you for taking action and overcoming your fear!!! That’s hard to do, no doubt about it. Thanks for sharing your story with us :)

Liz, I totally get where you’re coming from. I practically have a panic attack at the mere thought of scheduling a routine physical. I’ve never had a serious health condition (that I knew of) until my last physical when my pcp told me I absolutely had to get a colonoscopy! WHAT????? No way in hell that was ever going to happen (even tho colon cancer runs rampant in my family – dad, siblings) so I set up a consult with the GI ’cause I was going to tell her all the reasons why I was different from everyone else – ha! She didn’t buy one bit of my b.s. and scared me sufficiently that I agreed to do it BUT ONLY if they gave me something for anxiety before the procedure – which they did (ativan) and it worked like a charm. It seriously calmed me down and I never thought it would work. Turns out I ended up needing 3 EMR’s (i.e. where a regular colonoscopy literally takes about 10-15 minutes, mine all took over 2 hours) in a 7 week (yes week) period. I am allergic to the drug they usually use for this on an out patient basis (versed) so I had to go to an actual hospital (shudder) to have these done. If I hadn’t told my GI how freaked out I was, she would never have educated me on the options available and I would not have had 1, let alone 3 in 7 weeks done – and I’d more than likely have died from colon cancer in less than 3 years. Go into your dr and spill your guts. They’ve got tricks up their sleeves (i.e. drugs) that are unbelievable.

How is this related to personal finance? If I had lost my job, my family would have been seriously screwed. Health = Wealth.

No, no. You have this all wrong. I am 28!

Nerdy is the new cool, didn’t you know? ;)

Nice seeing ya on here bud. Good friends with your mom (that sounds bad, doesn’t it?) and she’s always talking about you… only good things, of course ;)

Good luck at the doctors! Keep hustlin’, brotha.

Will do. Definitely not happy about it. I’ll drop you an email once I know.