Decisions that should make themselves

When I walked out of the doctor's office a few years ago, I was in a funk. I was a little overweight (okay, about 25 pounds, which meant I was carrying the equivalent extra weight of a bag of cat litter around with me), had high cholesterol, high triglycerides, and high blood pressure. My doctor handed me a bag of statin samples, asked me get another blood test in 30 days, and we'd meet again to discuss if the dose needed to be adjusted. We'd also discuss other medications.

I walked out thinking "how can this be?" I was physically fit, and a great runner. My Army Physical Fitness test results proved it! I exercised, but like anyone, I was subject to time constraints that kept me from staying regular in my so-called exercise routine. I was careful about what I ate. Okay, so I have a weak spot for dark beer, sweet potato fries, chocolate, chips, cookies, pie, cake, all you can eat buffets, and any food left unattended at work (not the lunches in the work fridge), and did I mention beer? But I really was careful in what I ate.

I went home and took my first dose. It was tough to do, since I am not a big fan of swallowing pharmaceuticals to solve my issues. I tried to convince myself that the meds were a necessary thing, and felt like age was creeping up on my 40+ year old body. It was a depressing time.

A few days after starting the medication, my body was in pain. I had back cramps, my body ached, I was lethargic, and couldn't get myself to exercise. The "excusinator" (the inner voice that keeps me from doing fun stuff) was winning the fight, and the pain I was experiencing was not the good pain.

While attending a symposium in Denver a week after starting the medication, I found that my back pain was so bad that I had to stand with my back against a wall during sessions. Chairs hurt too much. I was taking ibuprofen to dull the pain, but it wasn't doing much. By the second day, I called my pharmacist, and he said I should continue the meds, and call my doctor. I put the meds in my bag, and decided to reassess my options after my return home.

After returning home, I didn't contact my doctor. It was an avoidance strategy. A year slipped by, and I finally  returned to my doctor, and found that I had the same issues. She asked where I was getting my prescription from, since I hadn't been back. I sheepishly told her I hadn't taken them. If you continue doing the same thing, you will continue to get the same results. It kind of goes without saying. I left the doctor with a new supply of statin samples, and even more morose than my first visit.

After much contemplation, I was able to boil down the issue I was facing into a simple thought. I was being advised to take a medication that makes me feel like crap, so I could ingest things that weren't good for me, and avoid exercise. I had become part of the problem we face as a nation. I wanted to live my life as I wanted to live it, and didn't want to be responsible for the consequences. I also realized I was physically fit, but unhealthy. Fitness is related to exercising the structure, but health is how the whole system worked together. My health issues were a result of my lifestyle, which I was choosing.

Admitting that my health situation was my own fault lifted much of the burden from me. Now I had to make decisions on how to take back control of my health. My honey recommended that I stop drinking alcohol for a month, watch my diet, and get my blood tested again. She thought that the alcohol was driving up my triglycerides, and this was impacting my cholesterol. I wasn't convinced, but decided I'd stop drinking for a month anyway. This wouldn't be the first time I disagreed with her to later find out she was right. I also started to exercise regularly.

A couple of weeks later we were at Lake Placid to go cross country skiing. As I was pulling my day pack from our rear seat, the driver of the Toyota Sequoia parked next to us backed his mechanical behemoth out, swung the turn wide, and bent our car door around my left leg. The car sustained $1,000 of damage. I ended up on crutches with a compression injury to my knee. My exercise stopped, my spirits fell, but I didn't drink. I resolved that as soon as I could, I'd get back to exercising, and get my blood checked. I recovered from the incident (or at least as far as I can recover), and got my fitness routine back on track. I hadn't had any alcohol in months, and didn't miss it. Alcohol was a thing of the past, and I counted the days without it. (Today is day 383, thank you for asking, and no, I am not in a 12 step program.)

I also made radical changes in my diet, dropping fat, reading restaurant menus online before going out to eat to avoid a rush decision, and packing a healthy lunch every day. A few months later, I had my blood work done. My doctor's first words were "Wow, this can't be right. You need to get another test, there must be a mistake". I disagreed, and told her of the changes I made in my life. She reiterated the need for another blood test. I pointed out my weight loss, new diet, alcohol-free lifestyle.

I am due to go back for my annual physical, and if my cholesterol is high, it will be my only risk factor for heart disease. My weight is down, and I check my blood pressure at every pharmacy I am near. My blood pressure is fine. I feel really good, and my enjoyment of life has increased exponentially. I have a new wardrobe.

In retrospect, the decision to live a healthy lifestyle should have been easy, and I should have been living that life on a daily basis. But when we are young, we don't know what we don't know. This decision should have made itself. Do you contribute to your health problems? Can you control the fork, or does the fork control you?

Why governments must lead the fight against obesity - McKinsey Quarterly - Health Care - Strategy & Analysis

Why governments must lead the fight against obesity - McKinsey Quarterly - Health Care - Strategy & Analysis

Why do we insure health care? Food has a much bigger impact on our health, yet we don't insure food. With health insurance, we purchase a policy at a rate that ensures that all of the collective health expenses of the group can be paid for, that administrative costs are covered, and that our collective premiums provides a profit to the insurance company shareholders. Anyone who consumes less than the average amount is paying too much for their services. Someone in Minneapolis determines how much a doctor can charge for a service, and the doctor must figure out how many people he can pump through his office, and what he can bill the insurance company for to make a living. The consumer has few choices, and has little say in what they can consume.

If we applied this model to food, we'd all pay our money to a food insurance company at a rate above the average per person grocery bill, with additional money to cover administrative costs and profit. Once we pay our premium, we'd have no incentive to only take food that we need. Instead our incentive would be to make sure we get more food than our premium cost us. And this would drive the food insurance premiums up.

This is what happens with health insurance. We all pay a premium, and try to consume all of the medical services we can in order to ensure the policy is a good value, while staying within the limits of the policy. Feeling sick? Call the doctor.

A better system would be to eliminate routine health care insurance, and only insure catastrophic events. If I get sick, I could decide if I want to pay the doctor to confirm I have a cold, prescribe bed rest and liguids, and maybe an unnecessary anti-biotic, or if I want to wait a few days to see if I feel better. The costs would decrease, since a doctor can charge you twenty five cents for a Band-Aid^(r), and still make a profit. This is far less than the $4 the insurance company pays. The doctors would also be able to reduce staff, since they generally have someone who spends their day submitting claims to the many insurance companies.

I remember growing up, if I was sick, my parents would wait to see if I got better. If I didn't get better, they'd take me to the doctor. We were tight on money growing up, so I know my parents would often work out payment plans with the doctor. It was a personal relationship, and he always got paid.

McKinsey thinks government should lead the fight against obesity? What a crock. The politicians are just as obese as the general population, and have no solutions other than bigger government and more taxes.