If you’re trying to live your best life it’s important to factor in your overall health. During the past weeks we have focused on topics ranging from diet, exercise, stress and balance. All of which make positive contributions to living a more healthful life.
Last week was officially Week 7 of the 8 Weeks to Better Living Challenge. You may have noticed that I was absent. (I am slightly hurt if you didn’t). Well as the universe would have it, I had a bit of a health scare. I experienced some crushing chest pain and I was pretty sure I was having a heart attack. Fortunately, after several hours in the ER, I was relieved to find that was not the case. I’m sure I’m not alone in thinking that I couldn’t possibly have a heart attack. I exercise, eat healthfully, meditate and do all the things I have been talking to you about over the past weeks of the challenge. I really do walk the walk. This incident was eye opening and just the push I needed to take a hard look at my workload and stress factors as well making sure that I am keeping up with my preventative healthcare.
With the focus of Week 7 on my mind I went ahead and scheduled all my annual appointments and I hope you will too.
5 Annual Appointments you should have on your calendar.
Overall Physical – If you don’t have a primary care physician, it’s a good idea to find one ASAP. Your primary care Doc can monitor your overall health and make sure you have all the screenings appropriate for you according to your age and risk factors. It’s comforting to know that you can call your primary care physician in an emergency, armed with the knowledge of your health history, they can direct you accordingly. If you don’t have one, ask friends and family if they have a doctor they would recommend.
Mammogram – This one’s a no-brainer. If you’re a women over the age of 30 you need to get felt up and squeezed into the cold hard mammography machine once a year. It really only takes a few minutes and the lovely women who perform the exams couldn’t be nicer.
Ob/Gyn – Cervical Cancer is the top reason you need to see your Ob/Gyn physician once a year. A quick Pap test and pelvic exam will rule out any problems here. Cervical cancer can easily go undetected and may not show any symptoms until it’s too late.
Colonoscopy – If you’re over the age of 50 or have a family or personal history of colon cancer you’re going to have to drink the yucky drink and get this done. Following a nice long nap you’ll likely feel better with a clean bill of colorectal health. If you are experience any symptoms like bleeding, colitis or ongoing discomfort you should have this test sooner rather than later.
Blood Work – To insure that your cholesterol, blood sugar, triglycerides and all that good stuff is in check you’ll need to have a fasting blood test once a year. This will insure that all is well for the things that you can’t see or frequently don’t experience symptoms from.
I recently spoke with one of the participants in the 8 Weeks to Better Living Challenge. She mentioned her surprise at the negative results of a recent blood screening. With no visible risk factors, the screening prompted her to take look at the possible underlying causes of the results. The things you don’t know can hurt you, so If you haven’t scheduled your annual health appointments, why not do it now.
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