The second word I learned in my The Learnables course was médico.
I thought that was a strange start to learning a new language. After all, whatever happened to "Good morning. How are you?"
It turns out to have been a linguistic omen.
I mentioned on Friday in filling the hole in whole that I had stopped to see a local doctor to establish a base line for my blood pressure and blood sugar. She was concerned that my blood pressure was high -- even with my medication.
Being a good doctor -- in any language -- she sent me off to the local lab to make a urine and blood deposit. For $200, I received a report of my basic health metrics.
I was pleased. My fasting glucose and cholesterol levels were all within normal. And my triglycerides had been cut by 50% -- even though they are still too high. All good news.
Losing those 30 pounds has helped my overall health.
My doctor asked to see me again this Saturday. I walked to her office in the morning. Not there. I walked to her office in the afternoon. Not there.
So, I will try next week. I guess I just need to get used to the fact that professionals are not tied to schedules as they are across the northern border.
But, I know the Spanish word for doctor -- even if I have trouble seeing one.
I thought that was a strange start to learning a new language. After all, whatever happened to "Good morning. How are you?"
It turns out to have been a linguistic omen.
I mentioned on Friday in filling the hole in whole that I had stopped to see a local doctor to establish a base line for my blood pressure and blood sugar. She was concerned that my blood pressure was high -- even with my medication.
Being a good doctor -- in any language -- she sent me off to the local lab to make a urine and blood deposit. For $200, I received a report of my basic health metrics.
I was pleased. My fasting glucose and cholesterol levels were all within normal. And my triglycerides had been cut by 50% -- even though they are still too high. All good news.
Losing those 30 pounds has helped my overall health.
My doctor asked to see me again this Saturday. I walked to her office in the morning. Not there. I walked to her office in the afternoon. Not there.
So, I will try next week. I guess I just need to get used to the fact that professionals are not tied to schedules as they are across the northern border.
But, I know the Spanish word for doctor -- even if I have trouble seeing one.
Hi Steve.
ReplyDeleteI see you came here from Powers, Or. I lived in Coquille for many years. I now live in Melaque.
See. You're not getting older, you're getting better! (told you I'd be nice!)
ReplyDeleteMango -- We will need to sit down and see where our lives may have crossed.
ReplyDeleteIslandgringo -- Nice, indeed.
Good to hear your results are what you wanted to hear!!
ReplyDeleteI have one question /comment on your blood pressure. I think I remember reading that you refilled your bp medicine at a local pharmacy and at a great reduction in price. My first thought (and I admit I am probably wrong) was to question the efficacy of the drug. I know some people question the quality of generic drugs up here. I take one and it works fine so I'm ok with it. I have no idea how one would go about checking the efficacy except by having the next refill come from the States and see how the readings go after using that batch.
I would think another option would be to try another medicine... but ah, that is for your medico!
Julian
glad to hear you got good news from the disappearing doctor. hopefully it won't be too hard to track her down.
ReplyDeleteand i agree with wayne, you're not getting older, you're getting better.
take care and have a great day!
teresa
p.s. put the bid in on friday but haven't heard back from the realtor. keeping my fingers crossed.
Wow!! Someone, “Mango”, who lives in Melaque, actually knows where Powers is. Our mother was just in Powers/Myrtle Point/Coquille for the Powers Alumni Pick nick and placing flower on the graves of relatives past for Memorial Day.
ReplyDelete$200 US????? Hopefully not. Hopefully you mean 200 pesos.
ReplyDeleteJulian -- I am still using the toprol I brought with me from the States. Otherwise, I would have thought the same thing.
ReplyDeleteTeresa -- Good luck on the house.
Darrel -- There are connections everywhere.
Babs -- You are correct. The cost was 200 pesos. See! I have been here long enough that $=pesos. I have stopped thinking in dollars. Don't see them; don't use them.
Just think all that toing and froing to the medico just adds to your good health
ReplyDeleteSteve I found this on Manzanillo blogger,maybe you will see this on your travels if you have sweet treats
One of the latest and greatest health foods on the market right now is Blue Agave nectar. This sweetener made from the juice of a blue agave plant and distilled down into a thick honey like syrup. It is very popular with those who suffer from diabetes as a replacement for sugar.
Agave has become synonymous with tequilla, but truly it has many more uses. Natives of old used the agave plant for years to produce things like rope, clothing, nails, and of course alcoholic spirits like mezcal, pulque, and tequilla. But the blue agave plant has yet another use: a sugar replacement.
When processed from the heart of a agave plant, the nectar of a blue agave plant becomes the consistency of honey, and is actually 25% sweeter than sugar. It is popular with diabetics because it has one of the lowest glycemic indexes of all the sugar replacement sweeteners available on the market.
Combine the low glycimic index with the fact that it has very little calories, and it becomes basically a guilt free food. Since the fructose in this syrup is different from from sugar and high fructose corn syrup, it is absorbed differently in your body. You don’t get the highs and lows that sugar gives you, and it is also less addicting than sugar, so it’s a great way to wean yourself away from your sweet tooth.
It is good for any time you would normally use sugar, just remember it is about 25% sweeter than sugar, so adjust your recipe accordingly. Many coffee shops have begun to carry it as a sugar alternative when sweetening your roasted beverage as the syrup does not distort the flavor like other alternatives.
have a good day with jiggs
take care
I had the same question as Babs! pesos is good
ReplyDeleteI had to have surgery last vacation to Mexico and I stayed in the doctor's clinic. When I had a problem I would talk to the nurse as if I expected her to solve it. Soon she was calling the doctor on his cell telephone and I then either discussed the problem with him on the phone OR he drove down the hill to see me. Maybe you could try the same trick...why should your doctor sit around the office when she has a cell telephone she is probably thinking...Christine
ReplyDeleteAhh Steve I took Toprol in the US - there is an exact equivalent in Mexico called Selopres ZOK. When the cardiologist in Mexico prescribed that I verified it with my cardiologist in Houston. Very inexpensive too. Just be sure it has the ZOK and not just plain Selopres.
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear the reults were okay. You need to be in the best of health. You sound very Mexicoish now.:D Have a great week. My hugs to Jiggs.
ReplyDeleteGood going on the test results. Losing that weight really helped. Keep it up.
ReplyDeleteHI Jiggs.
good to hear about your health. I take maxide for my bp and the pharmacist here in alamos told me it was outlawed in mexico. I have yet to research that as i still have a fairly good supply from my last refill. but one day i'll have to check into it.....
ReplyDeleteThis is odd. For the second time, I have "posted" responses to comments, and they have not shown up. I will try again.
ReplyDeletePeachland -- I do not have much of a sweet tooth. I almost never use sugar when cooking. That was one reason I was so concerned about the candy craving I developed at the end of last year. I will gladly skip dessert. But offer me salt and grease, and I will fill up my plate. It has been hard enough to deal with them in my weight loss program without adding sugar to the list.
AMM -- If the lab bill had been in dollars, I am certain my blood pressure would have soared.
Christine -- I have the doctor's cell number. Until now I have not used it because I find cell phones to be a right nuisance. But it just may be the way to do business here.
Babs -- Fortunately, I have a supply of toprol I purchased in the States. It will soon run out, though. I bought some toprol from the local pharmacist -- for 10% of what I paid in Oregon. I want to check with the doctor, though, before I use it.
Gloria -- The lab results are my interpretation. I would like to hear the same thing from a doctor -- and I eventually will, I am certain.
Brenda -- The weight loss worked -- as did changing my diet. Of course, they are linked.
Linda Lou -- The vet took Jiggs off all of his medication. I was rather hoping for the same result. Maybe -- one of these days.