Ya, if you haven’t been to doc in a while and tell him they probably do a bunch of useful screening stuff, like at home poop swab for colorectal cancer. May also give you the shingles vax, test your lipid levels, maybe prescribe a common statin, check blood pressure, and maybe do a basic kidney lab test. Make sure your ticker is good. Some medical shit is like a tornado without much warning, but a lot of stuff can be managed/cured of caught earlish.
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Rationally, I know that should be the plan. There’s some cultural baggage (fatalism) and mental hurdles (depression) to get over. It feels like a lot of work. You get 3 months after the month you become eligible for Medicare to get the supplemental stuff without penalty so there is a deadline but some procrastination before that is a safe bet.
When I see a doc I’ll have a laundry list. Hopefully I get someone who is good at prioritizing.
Regular exercise is the only cheap and easy thing I know that works for this. It did with me.
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Taking care of yourself with a Dr checkup helps with mental health too.
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Yes, I’m sure if I didn’t get in my 10k daily steps, I’d be a lot worse off. I need to do a bit of lifting too, even though I hate it. It’s pretty limiting to be ~1.5 handed.
Currently listening to Eric Topol’s book, Super Agers. He’s not telling me a lot I don’t already know. Much of the gee whiz stuff still seems like a ways off and the best advice we got is exercise. Then eat better, sleep, don’t drink/smoke. The rest (avoid air pollution, radiation, noise, chemical toxins) more or less amounts to “be rich.”
“avoid air pollution”
IIRC you’re in the wrong city for that. One of the reasons we moved away
Yeah. The winter inversions have always been bad. With the lake drying up, we have toxic dust to look forward to. I once took an online data science course led by Roger Peng. One of the projects was looking at PM 2.5. Nasty stuff.
When you do finally go make sure to get through your list. Doctors tend to rush patients past whatever primary issue they have as they want to get to the next patient. It can take some work with even really good doctors to be heard without having the visit ended after dealing with the first/primary complaint. I’m not saying they do this negligently either they are just busy and trying to move things along and undoubtedly some patients would ramble for an hour if allowed.
In my experience being upfront with having a list of concerns and then being concise while explaining them works the best.
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My biggest impediment to exercise is tendinitis in my right Achilles. It can be pretty painful and really slows me down. Best I can do is a relatively slow walk. Me and my doctors haven’t come up with anything to help it heal.
Yes, this is one of the reasons (well, maybe it’s more of an excuse) I have for not wanting to go. I plan to have an actual written list but even then I picture them barely glancing at it. If I get good guidance on my primary issue before getting shown the exit I’ll have to be satisfied with that.
a relatively slow walk
A moderate 3 mph is all I do. My resting heart rate is in the 50s. It would probably be ~70 if I didn’t walk. (Not that 70 bpm is bad.)
As long as it is elevating your heart rate, the speed you walk doesn’t matter so much, it is how long you go for. Slow walks are great for recorded books, and if you have a hill in your neighborhood you can substitute elevation gain for speed as well.
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Good grief. Get a good doctor and regular checkups. The blood work alone is a huge indicator of potential health issues. Things crop up as we get older and we need to deal with them in the early stages. Grin and bear it, but do it. Once a year at least. Once every six months, even better.
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It’s not just me! He’s probably fine. Didn’t land on his wrist.
Someone didn’t learn not to lock their knees when standing at attention…
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I don’t think this is my issue but I guess it happens a lot. A couple of friends tell stories of this happening to them during the vows at their weddings.
This deserves an explanation
If you stand with your knees locked, like at attention, you cut off the blood supply and can end up fainting.
I don’t think you need to be going to a gym or doing any powerlifting routines like that. What about something like Radio Taiso from home? It’s more of a starting point and gets your body moving in ways that probably haven’t happened in awhile.
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I can’t say this essay is all that helpful but I like the word akrasia (pronounced uh-crazy-uh).
cycle.
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Good article, and needed, as I am in my own opinion at least, a master procrastinator. There are times when I find it to be a really big problem. But it’s weird, because it’s there with some things and completely not there with others. I’m great with doctor’s and dentist’s appointments, but that light switch with the short in it??? I don’t really need to call the electrician today do I? If you turn it on and off real fast it still works. I need to buy some new exterior doors, but it’s quite a lot of money and how much fun am I going to have with new exterior doors? So yeah, I have a hard time getting certain things done, even though I know I need to. But I’m fine with telling you what to do. That’s easy.
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