Hello everyone and welcome to my first blog.  Yes, my first blog.  My beautiful bride and best friend has been the author of many on this website; but, now she has turned it over to me.  I guess she thinks I need to work on my writing skills.  Or, she wants me to watch less television.  Or, it’s one of those wives “Jedi mind tricks” making me feel more in touch with our relationship by sharing experiences.  Who really knows?  After all, I am just a man that loves his wife and wants to make sure she is happy.  Because…. “A happy wife is a HAPPY Life!”

It all started in March of 2009 when I went for my follow up visit with the department doctor to go over my physical.  I was a mean lean fighting weight of 274 standing at 5’10”.  The doc looked at my lab results and stated I was obese. Yah, OBESE!!!  I thought I was a little chunky, but obese, no.  I felt good.  But according to this computer program printout he had in his hand, it showed I was diabetical, could fall down at any moment with a heart attack, stroke or just stop for a good Fat Burger and Guinness.  This was weird because I had been a cop for 14 years and never on my physical did it read that I was obese or out of shape.  I could still out run many people (only in the first 75 yards).  I could still climb fences (after the fourth fence I would have to look for lawn furniture to get back over the fence). I could still lift a lot of weight (with a little more rest between sets.) But what came next out of his mouth made me mad.  He told me that if I did not start to make an attempt to get into better shape, I would lose my retirement if one of those above mentioned sicknesses happened to me.  Did I say mad; I was pissed!  I thought you Mother F*&c%$#!!!!  I got hired at 260 pounds.  I passed the Cooper Physical Fitness Test for a 30 year old.   I haven’t changed much in 14 years. I could bench over 350 pounds and run 75 yards and climb four fences by myself with no help??????  Assh@l$!!!

I went home and thought about it and I took it as a challenge.  I started bringing my lunch to work and watching what I ate in restaurants. (I stopped eating those foods that I thought were healthy.  Like trail mix and yogurt dipped anything.)  After 10 months, I lost 35 lbs.  I lost 35 lbs. just changing my diet.  I could not wait for those results to comeback from my physical and show the doctor that I was no longer a risk for Diabetes, Heart Attack or Stroke.  So, March, 2010, I went back for my follow up and found out that I was worse.  My blood results were the worst I had ever had in 15 years of physicals.  Right away the doc prescribed me Lipitor stating it’s the greatest drug in the world and if I took it, I would live forever.  I was like, “Wait! What about exercise? Why did my results get worse when I ate better? What are the side effects of Lipitor? What happens if I do not take the Lipitor?”  The doc did not hear anything except if I did not take it.  He told me that if I suffered one of those three “EVENTS”, my retirement would not be there for me, my spouse or kids.  I think I said something like, “That is Fuc%*^ BullSh*@#!!!!!! Or something worse.  I did apologize later.

After leaving the office, I began checking with other health care professionals on the merits of taking Lipitor.  I got mixed messages.  I talked to my mom, a surgical nurse for 35 years and someone that was prescribed a Statin like Lipitor.  She told me that she had bad side effects and so did her sisters when they were prescribed to them.  I then made up my mind and called the head doctor in charge of the State’s Police and Fire Wellness Program.  I got him on the phone and before he could say hello, I unloaded on him like any other Irish cop would when we are trying to drive home a point.  After a few minutes of covering my well thought out, scientific points… “Listen here Doctor! This program is bullsh&t if you are calling it a “Wellness Program” when “Wellness” means you throw Fu@$ drugs at the problem and watch people get addicted to chemicals.  That is what is wrong with your fuc@*ng profession.  You (doctors) just throw f*^king drugs at everything instead of trying to fix the problem.  Whatever happened to diet and exercise?  I lost 35 pounds just dieting.  Maybe I need a little more exercise. Maybe, I need to fix my diet.  You ass bags don’t care!  All you guys care about is getting kickbacks from the pharmaceutical companies to pay for those vacations to Europe and the Bahamas!!! (That last part I did not say out loud but I wanted to. J)  The doctor (and lucky for me) a marathon runner and ex-Marine waited patiently for my rant to end and then told me he would remove the Lipitor from my records.  He told me he would give me one year to get into better shape and to improve my blood results.  At the end of that one year if there was no change, I would be visiting the pharmacy once a month to pick up my prescription of LIPITOR.  And that is when it began…..