i dare you. take the test.

i never knew drops of blood or a specimen could change a person's lifestyle. these drops of blood for lab tests can make or break and change your life forever. i took a blood sugar test last night and discovered i had a blood sugar level of 149. the normal being 80 to a hundred. i had elevated levels of sugar in my system bordering on diabetes. docs orders? cut down on everything i loved eating. pasta, cakes, rice, bread, candies, chocolates, juices and eat lots of veggies. like being splashed with icy cold water all i could do was stand there and look dumb. why not stab me now and get it over with? i don't even eat vegetables for petes sake!! why did i even take the dumb test to begin with.

i left the testing center with a heavy heart and even heavier feet.

when i was on a one-week vacation in davao city a few months ago i got to talk to my sister-in-law who works as an obstetrician/gynecologist at a large hospital there. we got to chatting about the very loose sexual lifestyle of teenagers nowadays and the alarming rate of unplanned pregnancies among college and even high school kids. at a local catholic school for instance, four (4) high school girls had to drop out for being on the family way. if that is not alarming enough then what is!? as a mother she too was bothered by these facts. who is to be blamed for the rampant commercialization of sex? television? the media? peer groups? are tales of teen sexual experiences greatly exxagerated? teens sleeping together on "The O.C." and "One Tree Hill." sex quizzes in fashion magazines. racy songs like "Candy Shop" on the radio. sex saturates the media and fascinates many teens. pretty scary huh?

anyway, aside from the teens she also pointed out that not only pheromone-filled, angst-ridden college kids are practicing unsafe sex but there also is the rich, married-with-kids type who engages in this scary trend. these married guys have unprotected sexual escapades with other partners and contract various diseases in the process. ergo, the downside of these are the men transfer these diseases to the innocent wife and BAM! the supposedly "innocent" playing around results in a big problem for the family. my OB/GYNE sis-in-law mentioned she had a handful of married, rich, innocent-looking patients who have serious sexually transmitted diseases (std's) due to wayward husbands. some have even contracted the the dreaded HIV virus. due to doctor-patient confidentiality i didn't push for their names but she assured me these are normal people like you and me. mothers who take their kids to school and join the sunday knitting class and yoga session. everyday women we come in contact with.

okey the blood sugar test robbed me not only of 3 drops of my blue-blooded specimen but it also stole away my perceived comfortable lifestyle. and now after a good nights sleep and after hours googleing about diabetes i have come to the realization (yet again) that i am indeed growing old and that i need to take better care of my health. period. eat better, exercise more and be responsible for whatever i stuff into my mouth.

blood sugar, HIV, pregnancy, pap smear... if you have apprehensions of even the slightest kind, take that test now my friends.

don't wait.