Week One - Day Three - Blood Tests and Saliva Test

Today was the end of week one.  It has been an interesting week.  I can hardly believe I pay to have this much fun.  Did more of the same today.  I got cold laser treatment on  my feet.  A spinal decompression treatment. I got to lay on the roller bed with four electrical disks attached to my lower back.  I have been having trouble with my lower back and the decompression and the roller bed have help it feel better.  I got to  soak my feet in Epsom's salts with an electrical current running through the water.  I exercise with a hand bike while I soak my feet.  I have to wear oxygen while I use the hand bike and lay on the decompression bed.

It has been an interesting couple of days as far as test go.  Yesterday I had to do a Saliva test.  For that test I had to put a small roll of cotton (about 1-11/2 inches long and about as big around as a BIC pen) under my tongue four times.  right after I got up, about noon, 5 PM and 10 PM.  One of the things this test was for is to check my cortisol levels through out the day.  Each time it took about twenty minutes.  Then I got stuck.  They drew 8 vials of blood.  The gal drawing blood forgot to warn me she was about to stick me and boy did I jump.  I was then told to fill the little cup and that presented a problem.  Kevin Henry has me on a water pill (to get the swelling in my legs down) and I had used the little cooks room about 10 minutes before I went to have my blood drawn.  Needless to say I could not do what they needed, so I went to my appointment with Dr. Scott and went back to the lab.  By the time I got back to the lab I had no problem filling the little cup.  I get to do it all over again tomorrow, that is have more blood drawn by another lab.  And again I ask, I pay to have this much fun?  I must be nuts.

When I was at Dr. Scott's office today I was taking with his office help about this program and one of his girls said that the staff was using his health program.  When I asked her a few more questions she admitted she was not really following it closely.  This little gal said she is of Italian descent and would be disowned by her family if she went gluten free.  I guess that is one thing that really worries me is the fact I may have to give up things like bread, cookies and such.  These blood tests will tell if I am gluten intolerant.  I am hoping they come back negative, but only time will tell.  From the reading I have done tonight, after going off glutem for 6 months or so, I may be able to introduce a little gluten back into my diet.  Time will tell. But if tht what I have to do to prolong my life then so be it.