Mar 26 2009
Taking Care of My Health
For me, the one of the biggest areas I have neglected about myself is my own health. Lately, I have been very involved in taking my Mom to various doctors for all kinds of tests and treatments, but I haven’t taken myself in years.
Overall, I consider myself to be healthy. I don’t smoke and I’m while I’m bit heavier than I’d like to be, I don’t consider myself to be fat. I’m rarely sick and overall I feel fine. Where I lack is being proactive with health screenings and tests. The last time I had a physical was over eight years ago, and my last female exam with my gynecologist was about five years ago. I know that I need to go, but I always end up putting it off.
When I decided to start this blog about taking care of myself, I realized that this should be one of the very first things I do for myself. Even if I FEEL good, there could be an underlying problem that I need to deal with. There are many so-called silent killers that have been in my family medical history, such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol.
My mother is a good example to be of how NOT to take care of yourself. Her problems with high blood pressure and high cholesterol were not identified until she was in her early sixties and had a mini-stroke. Now, at age 72, she suffers from a combination of vascular dementia and dementia from Alzheimer’s disease. The vascular dementia is likely a direct result of her living with uncontrolled high blood pressure and high cholesterol which restricted the blood flow to her brain.
So, a few weeks ago, I decided enough was enough. I had a heart-to-heart discussion with my inner self who had been convincing me that it wasn’t that big of a deal for me to put off my own medical care. Our conversation went something like this:
Me: I really need to schedule a physical with my primary care doctor and gynecologist, and a get a mammogram.
My Inner Self: Yeah, you do. But that’s a lot to schedule at once, maybe you should wait awhile since you taken off work a lot recently for your mom’s appointments.
Me: Yeah, but I really need to. Plus, I can probably set the times early or late so I don’t miss much. I still have vacation time.
My Inner Self: But what about the cost? It could lead to more tests and more visits, and it could get expensive.
Me: We have really good insurance, so why shouldn’t I take advantage of it? Plus if there’s a problem it could cost a lot more if I let it go untreated.
My Inner Self: That true, but why don’t you do it in the summer when you have more time? You feel fine and you’re not having any problems. Just wait.
Me: That’s what you’ve told me before, but if I wait I end up forgetting about it. I am 40 now, so I really need to start taking better care of myself if I want to live a long, healthy life.
My Inner Self: Yeah, you may be 40, but you don’t feel like it. A lot of people think you’re younger.
Me: Well, 40 is the new 30, right???
My Inner Self: Yes, of COURSE it is. (Oh, and keep telling me that, it makes me feel good). So just wait awhile, what’s the big hurry?
Me: Yeah, you’re right. I’ll just wait until I’m not real busy, I have some extra money, and I have a reason to go.
Me: (Scratches head) Wait! No, this is what always happens. I’m going to do this, right now. I’m going to call and set up my appointments, and I’m not going to let you talk me out it!
Now, you may think I also need to schedule an appointment with a psychiatrist if I’m arguing with the voices in my head, LOL. But seriously, after I set myself straight, I called and made an appointment for a mammogram and exams with my doctor and gynecologist. And you know what? It felt really good to know I was taking steps to really start taking care of ME!
Ha! I am SO glad I’m not the only one documenting my conversations with myself on a Today blog!
oldwestmom - Good! Me, myself, and I are glad we’re not alone!
I laughed out loud! You sound just like me! Seriously, though, it’s great that you’ve now made the appointments, and, it’s funny, once that’s done, everything seems to fall into place!
I put off going to the dentist for a long time because I moved to Australia, was pregnant, was looking after a baby, etc, etc…I felt some twinges in my teeth but dismissed them as nothing after they went away. Now I have a nasty abcess and a wisdom tooth that needs to be removed! The longer you put off things, the worse they can get. Again, while we are thinking about everyone else’s needs, we are putting ourselves last and that’s not good.
Roz - Yes, I was the same way with my teeth. I had not been in so long I was too embarrassed to even make an appointment. Like you, I finally HAD to, and I had to have a crown put on. Now I’ve learned to set up my next 6-month appt before I leave the office!