They want to talk to you about prevention, prevention, and more prevention. Between work, kids, kids’ extracurriculars, family obligations, and everything else, it’s easy, as moms, to let our own health fall by the wayside. If nothing’s bothering you, of course your annual physical is the first thing to get canceled in a week loaded with other appointments and to-dos.
But doctors agree that while moms are often the last people to complain about feeling tired, rundown, or off, they also tend to wait too long to bring their concerns to a medical provider, as Scary Mommy previously reported. So, this is your sign to keep that annual physical and use it to talk to your doctor about all the health concerns that come with aging. While you might be fine now, your doctor is eager to tell you how to keep it that way.
In order to live a long and happy life you need to understand your risk for developing cardiovascular disease and how to combat and lower your risk,” says Dr. Colleen Reidy, DO, is a family medicine physician at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. A CBC will look into your blood counts.
Ferritin level will screen for iron deficiency, which can be the first sign of colon cancer. Lipoprotein a and LDL/lipid panel can give us insight into your risk for high cholesterol and cardiovascular disease. If you are obese or have a family history of diabetes, you might want to consider getting your A1C checked to rule out pre-diabetes or diabetes.” Make sure you discuss any family history of cancer with your primary care provider while you’re at it.
Jacqueline Jepsen, family medicine physician at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. Your family history may influence when screening should begin and how frequently it should be performed, according to Dr. Harold Jaimes, board-certified internal medicine physician and owner of Jaimes Medical Group in Chicago.
This can significantly change screening recommendations,” he says. Be sure to tell your doctor if anyone in your family has had colon cancer, particularly at a younger age,” Jaimes says. You might be at higher risk of colon cancer — and therefore require screening at an earlier age — if you have a history of radiation to the abdomen, inflammatory bowel disease, or certain types of polyps, according to the American Cancer Society.
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