"...for the rest of your life."

I'm writing this on my phone, from the waiting room of my local Walgreens pharmacy. Any irregularities can therefore be attributed to this.

I just left my physical follow-up appointment at my doctor. Last week before I left town, I had blood specimens taken. Today I went back in to hear the analysis and professional opinions of my doctor.

He said the things I'm used to. I've lost some weight, but I should lose more and exercise. I'm making my progress on that, considering how much my belts complain that I'm using tighter notches.

Once again, I have a multi-page summary of what my blood and urine betray about my general health. Once again, almost everything is within the normal limits. My HDL cholesterol is very close to being in the normal range, so my sporadic use of fish oil tablets ("now with less fishy burp!") is fine.

The big concern is my levels of vitamin D. It was low last year, and it's lower this year, even after a mid-year course of supplements that raised the level. And as my doctor prescribed the tablets again, he said words that shocked me into nervousness. 

"You'll have to take vitamin D for the rest of your life."

Granted, the part that concerned me was the "rest of your life part." The circumstances that have him talking about vitamin D sort of... mitigate a lot of that anxiety. But a doctor saying that anything needs to be done forever (or as good as forever, from my perspective) is always a bit alarming. Probably because it reminds me that there will be an end to my life at some point. And that the end may very will be hastened if I don't take the little green pills.

So I pick up my super D pills. I take one every week, and it's good for 50,000 units of D-ness. Symptoms of low vitamin D include susceptibility to viral attacks and weakened bone structure, so it's not like I'm going to grow an inch or change color. The positive benefits of this will be that I continue on feeling like I do right now. That's always a bit of a hard sell for any kind of prescriptive drug, but I just need to let the logic and the numbers wash over me.

But it is the first one of a parade of things that I'll do until the day I die.

(Unless I forget. Because vitamin D isn't so dire that I need to take it every week. Yay!)