A Word to the Wise--Don't Compromise (your health, that is)

For both men and women, it's extremely important to get regular check-ups, have the proper diet, and exercise, but I'd like to talk specifically to the women today.

Since birth, I've been what's considered a sickly baby. Had to stay in an oxygen bubble for a while, had a structural bone disorder that caused my legs and feet to be turned the wrong way and therefore, had to wear braces from the knee down and special shoes, couldn't tolerate milk, had a bad skin condition that required treatment, had terrible bowel habits, bad acne as a teen into adulthood, MVP and an arrhythmia, dry skin, Gestational Trophoblastic Disease (cancer), Ehlers-Danlos disease, arthritis, you name it. Woe is me, right?!  No!  God is good!  Among other positive things, having had all of these "problematic opportunities" has made me keenly aware of what's going on with my body, at early onset of symptoms.  These opportunities have made me realize too, that although I've experienced what seems to be a lot of problems, there is always somebody out there worse off than I am, so, my "problems" cease to be problems.  While that's noble thinking, there could be, if left unchecked, a "problem" with that kind of thinking too.  But back to my awareness--I now listen carefully and closely to my body.

Women tend to be too busy to pay attention. I'm guilty, or have been.  We ignore symptoms early on, chalking them up to be a fluke or assuming that in time, it'll go away.  It's no big deal.  Now I'm not saying that we should run to the doctor or stress out at the first nail split or headache.  There are those who assume that a headache must mean they're about to die.  Well, that could be the case, but not usually.  I'm talking about symptoms that may start, stop, perhaps not come back for a while, but then, they return, and the cycle continues.  It could also be symptoms that are just foreign to what you know is usual for your body, or symptoms that are persistent or chronic that you never had in years prior.  You may notice that out of nowhere, your activity level and focus level is different, and it's not just related to being legitimately tired or over-stressed from a busy schedule.  Something else that stands out would be symptoms of diseases or conditions that are not indicative of someone in your age group.  You may not know of family members with whom you share a hereditary or genetic disease or disorder.

Pay attention.  Listen to your body and the Lord's prompting.  Get regular check-ups. Eat right. Exercise according to your ability and doctor's orders, and again, pay attention.  If you start having issues, physical, mental, or emotional problems, pain, symptoms that your intuition tells you just aren't right and they've become persistent, let your doctor know immediately.  You'd rather get a clean bill of health and feel a little paranoid than ignore a problem that you could have caught and treated early and didn't, and suffer the consequences.  You'll get over your paranoia if you were unnecessarily worried about something, but you can't get over things that there could have been an early cure for, that suddenly, because your condition is so far gone, there is no longer a cure.

You know, because I'm not a complainer, have a high pain tolerance level, and always assume that my pain and conditions aren't really that big a deal or there is always someone worse off (so why should I complain--I don't like whining or whiners), I tend/ed to write things off, minimize them, not understand how much pain I was in or should have been in, take Advil or Tylenol for a quick pain relief (and I didn't even take these often enough), etc.  These thoughts and behaviors got me in trouble, although I would usually end up getting things in check fairly early.  I could have caught them earlier though and prevented damage I suffer with now, had I not written them off.  I knew quickly that something was wrong, my body was suddenly changing, I couldn't do things I used to for no apparent reason, I didn't feel good, I was suddenly in pain everyday, etc.  I knew these things and could detect eventually, that these things were not normal for me.  I knew that I had always been, as mentioned earlier, a sickly person, so why didn't I get a jump on my conditions and diseases early?  I think I answered this question above.

Don't be me.  Yes, now I pay more attention, I get my check-ups, I see my specialists, and I try really hard to take care of myself and do all that my body, at this point, will allow me to do, BUT, you can do better earlier, with the right thinking.  Taking care of yourself now is proper prevention, but if you should find yourself  "out of sorts", I can't stress to you enough to see your doctor.  Another thing you should do is insist, if you believe that something is really, really wrong, that your doctor look a little deeper.  I had a good doctor tell me one time, concerning insisting on looking deeper, "Unless you're a hyperchondriac, you're probably on to something.  We know a lot, but we don't have your body nor your intuition.  If you're wrong, so be it.  If you're right, we'll try and fix it quickly, if possible."  I love this doctor.  I feel comfortable with this doctor.  Find a doctor that listens to you and works with you.  I've had doctors who couldn't figure out what was wrong with me so they would discontinue my visits with them or pass me on to the next specialist, even specialist who didn't specialize in any symptom or problem I had.  But finally, God, with much pleading and begging from me, sent me to the right person, and now I'm getting proper treatments.

I needed to get as healthy as possible for me, but not just for me or even mainly for me, but to serve God and my family as best I could.  This was my reason and motivation to get help.  What will be your motivation?  Getting healthy says it's not just about you, but it's putting others before yourself who love you and need you.  It's telling God that you want to be all that He has designed you to be for His glory and your and someone else's good.  No matter what shape we're in, we can and should serve God.  He knows how He can and wants to use us.  It's our job to be prepared, useable, and available.  Ladies, take care of yourselves.  You know what that means.