Doctor Visit

"You gotta be fucking with me!" my co-worker screamed at me over the cell phone as I pulled onto the highway. I had called her as I was leaving my last Doctor's appointment. "He told you that you need to lose weight and all he gave you was an ad from a magazine...?"

OK I have been taking a lot of heat about my choice in Doctors lately. I go to a guy in his 80s. He is a member of our church and he calls every one of his patients and discusses their lab work with them on a personal level. He will answer all questions and work with you on a health plan. Plus, he is not the kind of guy who thinks he knows everything. I have heard him on phone consultations, and I have discussed medically scoffed at theories and found he does not prejudge any topic.

So when I told my co-worker I was just leaving my appointment and I had a photo copy of an advertisement from Country Magazine, this product of a family of nurses went a bit ballistic. "It wasn't even a fucking medical magazine..? Not even about health?!"

With this kind of support for the medical decisions in my life I thought I would discuss the matter with my family. Turned out nobody in my house cared enough to listen. Luckily my Dad calls several times a week. So I told him the tale and how I was told I should try "Apple Cider Vinegar" pills.

Now Dad is an old farm and ranch guy. But he deals with a lot of vet medicines and without a formal education he has a much greater understanding of life sciences than I will ever possess. He has doctored thousands of sick cattle back to health, and the few hundred that didn't survive were just carted off to the nearest wash-out for the coyotes to eat. What I am saying here is, I think I was good hands when discussing my medical future with my Dad.

AT first he was not too thrilled about the old Doc's recommendation. And being a solid businessman I was shocked Dad never picked up on the fact that my Insurance will not cover vinegar. But then Dad surprised me!

"Whoa there... You know, now that I get to thinking about it, I think it might be a good idea. Folks have always known Vinegar helps you lose weight. Why even back when I was a little kid, I used to try to drink the pickle juice out of pickle jars, because I loved the taste. And my Grandmother would say, 'Don't drink that pickle juice, it makes you Poor!'"

Dad went on the explain that back then, before the advent of indoor plumbing and when you had to walk 12 miles a day to milk the cow 6 times a day before sunrise everyday of you life, even in snow and you don't know what it is like to suffer... Anyway, he went on the explain that being "poor" meant thin and frail. "And really pickle juice is about the same things as vinegar, so I think it is worth a shot. ...and if it doesn't work I can always hook you onto the tractor and haul your fat ass off to the wash-out."

And THAT'S why I am now trying this product. I might be crazy, but after a few days I really do have a lot less appetite.