Yearly Check Up

I’m perfectly healthy.  I never go to the doctor.

Ummmm.  No.  It doesn’t work that way.  The doctor tells you if you’re healthy.  If you don’t go get a check up, not just go when you’re sick, you’ll never know if you’re actually healthy.  Feeling fine and being fine are very different things.

For example, did you know they call high blood pressure The Silent Killer?  Do you know why?  Did you read my blurb about hypertension?  If not, I’m very disappointed in you.  The reason is because most people have no idea they have high blood pressure until it’s too late.  Maybe they’ve had high blood pressure for 20 years but didn’t know it.  Now they have a heart attack out of the blue!  Well, it wouldn’t be out of the blue if they had gone to the doctor for regular check ups.  That hypertension would have been caught a long time ago.  Same goes for high cholesterol.  Did you read that blurb?  No?!  I’m extra disappointed now.  Bad cholesterol numbers put you at risk for heart attack, stroke, clots, diabetes, and on and on and on.  But you had no idea because you didn’t feel bad so never saw the doc.

Here’s another one.  You’re feeling kinda weird then pass out.  You wake up in the hospital.  The doctor tells you that your kidneys are failing, you need to have emergency surgery, and you will be on dialysis.  But you felt totally normal!  You had no idea you had out of control diabetes!  Or you didn’t realize you couldn’t feel your feet because they always feel like that.  But you got a big wound on your heel you didn’t know was there that got really infected and spread to your blah, blah, blah.  You get the idea.

But Raven, that’s crazy.  I would know if all that was going on in me.  Like I said, I never go to the doctor.

What did I just tell you?!  You don’t get to decide if you’re healthy or not!  You get to decide if you want to do anything about it, but you don’t get to decide if you do or don’t have something wrong with you.  Do you think it’s important for your kids or grandkids to go to the doctor once a year?  Then why not you?

So let’s get this year turned around, try to put last year into the rear view, and take care of ourselves.  I don’t mean go to the gym everyday and eat bran flakes every morning (anyone who has talked to me knows my opinions on those subjects).  I mean do a few good things for yourself this year.  And for your friends and family.  Remember that they are the ones who are helped or harmed the most by your decisions.  Love yourself if you love them.

See your practitioner, see me, see someone!  But of course I would love to see your not-so-happy-to-see-me faces!  Give me a call to make an appointment today!  (and read my other blurbs)