Any Recommendations on a Houston Dr.?

[jgjgjg]

Folks, I need a recommendation for a Houston doctor. My current doctor has been on me for the last fifty pounds to get off my bottom and go to the gym.

I'm forty, with 3 small kids, and realized that if I didn't do so, I probably won't be around to spoil any of my grandkids. That would be a shame.

So I joined 24 hour fitness, got the package with the trainer, and then got speed bumped because I was stupid enough to check the "high blood pressure" box. Now they want a medical release. My doctor's practice doesn't allow him to sign the those releases. I'm sure you appreciate the irony of this.

He says I have to get a stress test. Which insurance does not pay for. He is also very clear that given my physical condition he thinks it's utterly assinine that I would get a stress test---but he's still not going to sign a medical release.

So here's the thing. If no doctor on the planet will sign the release without the stress test, fine. But I want to find a doctor that can take care not only of my occasional "medical" needs, but will also handle the "wellness" part without a lot of BS. Any recommendations for such a doctor in Houston?

The real irony of this, over and above the release signature piece, is that NOT having the release DOES NOT prevent me from using my gym membership. It only prevents a professional trainer from showing me how to lift correctly so as not to injure myself!!!

 

[deschain]

That is nuts. So, the doc says you should exercise and get in shape, but won't give you the release that you need in order to do so in a safe manner. Basically, he wants you to exercise, just not be safe about it. hmmmm......

If you are currently having high blood pressure, then you do have legitimate medical concerns, especially if you are medicated b/c of it.

Have you thought of looking into a cardiologist? They might release you without a full stress test.

As for exercise, be careful. I would say to maybe start walking on the treadmills, monitoring your heart rate carefully. Lifting weight can raise your bp, especially if you don't breathe properly (which a trainer can help with ) But, maybe you could do a bit of very low intensity stuff while finding a doctor (that is, of course, if you are not so bad off that you are at an immediate risk of heart attack/stroke). Also, yoga or something similar would probably be fine.

 

[jgjgjg]

Thanks. I am being medicated for high blood pressure, but I really don't consider it a problem when put into perspective. Look at this way. On a typical weekend, I'll get up at 6 am, hump 7 or 8 boards out of the woodshed that weigh 50-75 lbs each, put them on a bench and surface them by hand: that's a GRUELING workout that leaves me aching, exhausted, and pouring sweat. If the planing work is finished, them I'm sawing it all by hand, chiselling it all by hand. That's if I'm not digging in the garden in heavy clay soil or moving rocks in the back yard laying out a garden or building a shed.

Then, around 8 my kids get up and I spend 2 or 3 hours running, getting tackled, wrestling on the ground. If all that before noon + a pot of coffee hasn't caused me to drop dead, then some treadmill and weight time surely won't.

Right now, I'm doing 30 minutes a day on the treadmill keeping my heart rate between 128 and 134. Every other day I do a *very light* weight routine + exercise ball for abs and lower back.

I'm exercising not because I don't like my looks, but because I need to get exercise daily so my weekend routine doesn't make going to work feel like vacation.

I probably will call a cardiologist as soon as I cool off a bit. But I'd rather have a doctor that can handle it.