I have been thinking lately about how I can be more pro-active about my health. Now that I am �forty plus� I want to not take my health for granted. I plan to live a long, healthy, happy and vibrant life.
To address the �healthy� part of the equation I have always been interested in good nutrition, and including incidental exercise in your day etc. The other side of things though is medical check-ups, and catching something that might start out small but if not detected could be a big problem later on.
I had a mole on my leg removed privately a couple of years back because it bothered me. More than one medical professional, including a skin surgeon told me it was nothing to worry about. When the results came back it was a melanoma. I had one more surgery to take more surrounding tissue, and thankfully it had not spread.
This scary incident taught me to trust my own instincts, but also now I have a twice a year skin check. My skin Doctor sends me a letter every six months and when I see it in the mail I think �is it really six months already?� and then get around to ringing him for an appointment and then it�s another four weeks before I can see him.
The one car that my husband and I share, without fail has its service every July when its warrant of fitness is due. I actually make sure that happens but I let my own appointments slide, and a car is certainly more replaceable than a body!
Yes, health appointments can be quite bothersome and cost money too, but I have now made a decision to �just do it�. Book them in and go. Don�t think about if I �want to�, because who ever does?
To assist myself in this I have made up a schedule so that I know when I have to book myself in for.
September � full Doctor checkup
October and April � skin checks
March � full dental checkup
In New Zealand, it�s only recommended that a woman has a smear test every three years, but about ten years ago a Doctor I visited said he recommended annually to his patients, as sometimes the results weren�t that clear, and if you only went every three years, it could be six years between readings and he considered that too long.
My current Doctor also recommended I add an eye checkup to my list, not only for seeing, but also for eye health. I read in a magazine that every two years is recommended and that some optometrists have special machines that check the eye very thoroughly.
So apart from scheduling in my reminders to make appointments each year (and I have already bought my 2014 diary so I can do that right now), is to investigate an optometrist to go and see.
I feel really good about making a schedule and making the appointments myself to do something in a certain month. By not waiting for the reminder letters:
a) I am not relying on them to remember - sometimes reminder letters are lost or not sent out. b) I don�t begrudge the appointment because I am the one that has made it.
I think I have all things covered, is there anything else you can recommend I add to my schedule?