Wahoo!!!!!!! I finally found a doctor who listens and he is actually happy that I want to avoid drugs and interventions.

Ever since my scary trip to the ER (see my last blog entry), I’ve been determined to practice what I preach about nutrition and exercise. So, I immediately got off all caffeine and stopped eating junk and fast foods. And my husband has joined me in walking every day for 30 to 40 minutes. We’re doing the “old people” thing and walking at the mall.

My daughter gave me a really nice heart monitor and so I’ve been keeping track of my heart rate on a consistent basis, especially when exercising. I also researched what I need in the way of supplements and herbs to help me with my heart palpitations. And while I was at it, I also started taking some herbal supplements for menopause since I had been dealing with hot flashes.

Each day, I have felt noticeably better. The very first day, my blood pressure dropped back down to normal and by the 5th day, I was no longer experiencing heart palpitations. I kept a log of my daily activities, along with my heart rate and blood pressure readings. So when I went to see my doctor I took him a 3-page printout of that log.

As I mentioned in my previous blog, I went to see an old friend whom I know as “Johnny.” Well, even though I was hopeful that Johnny would be more likely to listen to me, I still wasn’t sure how comfortable he would be with me being so against interventions and pharmaceuticals. So I was still pretty nervous about seeing him.

My time in his waiting room was comparatively brief, but waiting did add to my anxiety. So I kept doing slow deep chest breathing to try and keep my blood pressure low. The last thing I wanted was for him to get a high reading. Even with my efforts, my blood pressure was 124/84, a bit elevated compared to my recent readings.

I couldn’t have asked for a better visit. Not only did Johnny listen to me, but we talked for a good 40 minutes. To my surprise, he was even knowledgeable of herbs, and discussed with me intelligently some of the herbs I was taking. He said that it looked like I was doing exactly what I needed to do; he saw no need for a stress test (whether regular or “nuclear”) to be done at this time. He encouraged me to keep up with what I was doing, and even suggested that I step up my exercise program. He said he would like to see me raise my heart rate to a higher level (but still within my target range, of course). He told me that he “hates” prescribing drugs and was very pleased that I was willing to take this approach to improving my heart and my health.

Since my cholesterol was high, he also asked me to continue to work hard at what I was doing and then recheck my cholesterol in about two months and fax him the results. That’s right, he asked me to check my own cholesterol! He knew that I could do that since I am a midwife and have a lab I deal with. I was so pleased that he showed me that kind of professional respect.

Needless to say, I’m on cloud nine. Not only did I get a good report, but I found a doctor that I feel like will really care for me properly. What a blessing!