The one thing that is more important than your family, your friends, your career, and your pets is your health. Although many of us don't give enough thought to our health, without good health, we risk suffering from various disabilities and even a shorter life. There are people who are afraid to see doctors and others who pride themselves on never seeing a doctor. These people are taking unnecessary risks as, frequently, what could become a very serious issue if left unchecked, can be, for all intents and purposes, a non-issue if found and treated early. If you are proactive about going to an internist and whatever specialists you need to go to and taking the recommended tests for someone your age and with your familial health risks, I assure you that, most of the time, you can avoid a serious illness and/or an untimely health-related death. There are many diseases that don't present with symptoms until they're at an advanced stage and that is why it's important to go to an internist, at least, once a year and to have blood and urine tests, at least, once a year. Just because you feel fine, you shouldn't assume that you are fine. Last year, I had a mild bout of vertigo. I didn't think much of it because I was only experiencing it once a day, for less than a minute, upon getting up from bed. I had the vertigo for a week before mentioning it to my internist. When I told her about it, she got me an appointment with a neurologist for that very afternoon! Although vertigo is, typically, caused by a minor ear issue, it can be a symptom of a stroke, a TIA, or a brain tumor. As it turned out, thankfully, my vertigo was from a minor ear issue. If I had had a TIA or a stroke, I would have had to take blood thinning medication, immediately, to prevent another stroke. I always prefer having an unusual symptom checked out, thoroughly, than to be dismissive of it and think that I'm probably fine. Being proactive about your health also includes eating healthily, getting enough sleep, exercising, and socializing. It doesn't include smoking, excessive drinking, taking illegal drugs, and/or not protecting yourself from sexually transmitted diseases. I'm not telling you anything, here, that you don't already know. I'm just trying to emphasize that, although you're not responsible for the genes that you inherited, you are responsible for taking good care of your health. |