The Xiphoid Process and Me
So…on Monday while working at Jolly John Auto City, I noticed that the middle of my chest was aching. I started poking and prodding my chest(al) region like I was a woman in search of breast cancer when I started to notice a slight bump in the middle of my chest near my sternum. It felt like a golf ball sized lump in my chest and I found it pretty odd and it started concerning me. So I mentioned it to a few of my co-workers and of course they just had to feel this weirdness for themselves (above the shirt people, don’t get excited). So, I proceeded to call my doctor and make an appointment for Tuesday. Thinking about this weird protrusion, I started wondering if maybe this has always been hanging around and I just never noticed it before because my previous 33 pounds were blocking it from view.
So on Tuesday, I found out that is exactly what happened! It amazing what happens when you start losing weight…you start noticing body parts that you were unaware of! After sitting in the waiting area for a few minutes, a nurse called me and had me stand on the scale and took my blood pressure. At my doctor’s office, all records are digital so after entering my information into her laptop, she says “Wow, you lost some weight!” and I briefly explained the little competition that we are all involved in. The doctor came in a few minutes later, and after shaking my hand a sitting down he did a little double take between his laptop and me. He was very excited about my weight loss and started asking what I’d been doing and how, so I told him about our competition and he was very impressed about what I’ve been able to accomplish. So, he asked about the lump in my chest and I told him that I felt silly for coming in but it was just cautionary and was wondering if this was showing up because of my weight loss? He told me that it looks like I had played doctor and diagnosed myself and that everybody is born with this bone called the “Xiphoid Process” and that most likely I didn’t notice it before because of my lovely previous layers of fat in that area.
When I previously went for my last physical at 309 pounds, my Good Cholesterol number was 21 (which on my doctor’s laptop shows in RED, which is bad…it should be about double that)! I mentioned that I was just going to wait until my next physical in August to re-run blood work to see how my numbers had improved, but he was like “No, no. Let’s do it now!” He was very excited to see the results! It’s a blood test that requires a 12-hour fasting, so I’m planning on doing that tomorrow and will find out how my numbers have improved, if at all (he says that Good Cholesterol is largely genetic, but weight loss can help). I will update the blog when I find out how these numbers have changed.
I am so glad that I went to the doctor and it was such a positive experience because after talking with him he told me “You just made my day!” and “You have accomplished something extraordinary!” and “Keep it Up!” and “…just don’t gain it back” with many hand shakes and slaps on the back. It was just so great to hear so many positive words and to know that I am making such a positive change for the better and that it is worth all the hard work!