I had my yearly physical recently, and my results came back abnormal. It turns out, my AST (Aspartate transaminase) and ALT (Alanine transaminase) are elevated. Those are my liver enzymes. AST is an enzyme in your liver that helps metabolize amino acids. ALT helps convert proteins in the liver into energy. When your liver is damaged, more of these enzymes are released into the bloodstream. In my case, they aren't elevated to a worry-some degree. They are just slightly elevated. I have a follow-up blood test coming up at the end of the month. The doctor told me to avoid drinking alcohol (booo!!) and Tylenol.
You may not know this about me, but I LOVE beer. How can I explain to you my love for beer? I love trying new beers. I will go to new bars just to try new beer, or I'll look around in the grocery store for something I haven't tried before that sounds interesting. Every beer is different. I've learned that I like everything from dark beer to pilsners. Hell, I'll even try new IPA's (which I don't like). I'm by no means an alcoholic. I didn't/don't get drunk on a daily basis. I didn't get black-out drunk on the regular. But I'm also a fan of mixed drinks and whisky. Needless to say, this has been sad news for me because I love to try new drinks. I enjoy having a drink in the pool at my dad's house. I enjoy drinking.
I got this news at the end of June, so the 4th of July gathering at my parents' house was filled with non-alcoholic daiquiris and slushy lemonade. While I appreciated the accommodations, and admittedly enjoyed my alcohol-less drinks, I still missed beer. It just wasn't the same without it.
Getting older has been a complicated experience. I should say, going from my 20's to my 30's has been complicated. I went from being able to stay up all night dancing and getting up early the next morning to go to class to having so much difficulty getting out of bed. While some of that may be my depression peeking through, I also believe that some of that has had to do with getting a little older. I have a strict bedtime now, and I do not like to deviate from that if I can help it. I have to think more about what I put into my body. Can I drink this? Should I be drinking more water? Should I really eat that brownie? The answer is usually no. Sometimes I feel like I am the fun-police of my own body. I take a lot of the fun out of eating and drinking.
And don't even get me started on exercise. According to my doctor, I'm supposed to exercise for at least 30-minutes, 3 times a week. I definitely do not do that. My job has me very sedentary. I sit in a chair for 8 hours a day and stare into the abyss of my computer screen. My hands get more exercise than I do. I am hoping to work on that. I've been trying to go for more walks, but the motivation just isn't there for me. What can I say? Maybe I'm just lazy. Either way, I have to learn to live with what's going on with my body. Hopefully my next check-up will show some improvement in my liver enzymes and I'll be able to have a beer to celebrate.
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