Recently, Danielle Fishel, one of my teen idols (from Boy Meets World) announced on her podcast "Pod Meets World" that she has breast cancer. Danielle is 43, just 2 years and 2 months my senior. Danielle's announcement made me think about how open she is/ was with her friends, her family, and her community. As a teen star, she's using her voice now to be an advocate for women's healthcare and to remind us of what we should be doing. 

For whatever reason, we don't talk about our own healthcare enough. My good friend and I actually had this very discussion last night. She admitted she's been pushing off some of her own needs to take care of her children and restarting the school year as a teacher. I've put off some referrals because of finances, energy, and time. 

It can be hard to determine if that referral is another money grabber, especially when you really don't have symptoms, or if there is seriously something wrong. 

In the perfect world, we would take all the tests, imaging, and procedures that our doctors recommend to us, right? But that pesky health insurance and deductibles. I have pretty decent insurance compared to some of my friends, but at $660 so far this year, I'm still nowhere near my annual deductible!

When you think about all the doctors, it is overwhelming! Also, you have to be an advocate for yourself because not all doctors are in it for the right reasons. 

I do, at times, feel that extra exams and referrals get pushed on me just because I mentioned one tiny thing (like having trouble sleeping during one of the busiest seasons of the year, stomach cramps, heavy periods, acid reflux.) Each thing in itself does have a cause, but sometimes it's not enough to need a whole new procedure done, or can be managed by little steps.. like not eating stuff that makes me feel sick, and making sure I move away from computer screens for a bit. 

First, it's the Primary Care appointments for those regular aches and pains, plus referrals out to potentially needed specialists. It took me an entire YEAR to get in to see a specialist regarding a sleep study. Honestly, by the time the study rolled around, I wasn't having issues anymore! And of course, my home sleep study showed no signs of apnea, but they wanted me to do an in lab study "to be sure.", even though I was asked if my home sleep was a typical nights sleep. I decided to wait until issues worsened or relapsed, as I've not been having them lately, except related to hormonal changes on occasion.

Add lab work on to the PC appointment to make sure that sugars, cholesterol, and all the other functions are good too. At least in March, my sugars AND cholesterol had both lowered. After this summer, who knows what this is like though! Lots of good food in New Orleans during the Youth Gathering and Disney have my weight up a bit more than it was. A whole other topic, y'all.. is weight. whew. 

Then there is the OB/GYN scenarios. I do receive annual checkups from my gyn and discuss any issues related to that part of healthcare. As I head into my 40s more of my friends are discussing peri menopause and most docs say at 41, its too early, but I'm already seeing signs. Oh, y'all, just stay off the Reddit threads and google doc posts. Nothing good ever comes of that! Find actual research to learn about your health concerns, such as peri menopause, fibroids, etc. 

Of course, she's the one that refers me to the imaging lab for mammograms, ultrasounds, etc. and to other practices for special cases, like fibroids or polyps. Those are two words that seem to be taboo but that more often than not, women have.  

Many of us don't talk about mammogram or gyn experiences at all, for whatever reason that may be. I dare say that most of us have had to receive more than one imaging test post mammogram and more than one of us have been told we need further diagnostic imaging for things that may not seem right to our OBGYN docs too. 

Oh, then add in the dentist and eye care! Struggles with dental woes and gag reflexes don't make visiting the dentist fun for me. The last go around ended up with a crown, a separate cavity on top of the crown, and some extra cleaning to avoid gum disease. Whew. Trust me, I try to take care of my teeth!

The eye doc is coming up in October. I have to see an ophthalmologist because of eyesight issues stemming from childhood. I also wear contacts & in the state of NC, you have to have an updated annual prescription to purchase contacts. 

For a different part of healthcare, that seems like it's an nice thing, but sometimes necessity for me, I also see a massage therapist. Jess is a certified in healthy back and neck massage, has many years in PT and chronic pain management/ relief, and works with your body to help relieve pain . If I didn't see her, my already tight self wouldn't be able to function! She's given me major help in releasing my hip flexors, but we both struggle with my dang calves and feet. No matter how much I stretch, they are tight! For sure, seeing Jess isn't a fru fru frilly massage, but deep work, almost like seeing an OT or PT regularly. 

These are just some of the healthcare scenarios I've had in the past 6 months. I don't doubt that many of you, readers, have your own health scares and woes.  If you feel comfortable sharing, please do so! This community is here to support you!

Just don't let fear stop you from taking care of you! Be proactive, be preventive, and also.. drink your water!