After my most recent visit to the doctors', I was informed that one of the electrolyte values was 'a little high', and they wanted me to come back in a week to do it again. So, of course, I immediately looked up what the values normally are (which knowledge was useless without knowing what mine was, and what 'a little high' meant -- within the normal range, but higher than it had been in the past, or higher than the high end of normal?) as well as what could cause it.
I learned that one of the drugs I take could cause such a condition, as could a malfunctioning kidney, a problem with the adrenal glands (which could, in turn, suggest Addison's disease), being a diabetic without taking enough insulin, and damage to cells as a result of injury or tumors. So I could have a kidney problem, a glandular problem, or a tumor. Surgery, more meds, dialysis -- all are possible. I do so enjoy knowing all of this. Feeds quite nicely into my occasional bouts of medical fears.
Is it probably nothing? Yeah, probably. If it isn't, is it better to know now than later? Yeah. Still.... it scares me. Being old, feeble, dependent on an ever-increasing array of doctors -- that scares me a great deal. And I don't like anything that suggests it might be just a hair closer.
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