Doctoring

A couple weeks ago I decided it was time for my tri-annual general physical...especially since the volunteer nurse at the mission told me my blood pressure was 162/94. When I called to make an appointment with Dr. Greenwood, the receptionist told me he passed away over two months ago, then asked me if I would like to see another one of the clinic doctors. Of the six doctors, only one had an American-sounding name, so I asked if any of them were women (I had to somehow narrow my selection in short order). The receptionist told me that, yes, there is a woman doctor...Dr. Arekapudi (and I'm not even going to attempt her first name). Dr. Arekapudi has been in the United States for over 20 years, and I'm wondering if her English has improved during that time. She seems to be a very good doctor...as far as I can comprehend. Maybe a course in lip reading would be helpful. Anyway, she prescribed blood pressure medicine and ordered blood tests...three test tubes worth! I got the results today. The good news is that my cholesterol is really good, much improved over three years ago. The "bad" news is that I might have an over-active thyroid which would require medication. When I asked Dr. Arekapudi to explain the symptoms of that condition, she said that I would feel hungry all the time, want to eat a lot, but would lose weight. I'm still trying to figure out why this is NOT a good thing. Maybe it's the language barrier.