Thursday, February 9, 2012

Doctors and health

 As we age, Nature is not so interested in keeping us healthy once we pass childbearing age - after all, we have either served our purpose to procreate, or else we're not going to.

However, talking about your health almost automatically labels you as an "old person".  It's on a par with talking about your diet - of riveting interest to ourselves, but not to others.  So I don't intend to bore you with details.  I shall attempt to talk about this subject from a broad perspective.

There's no denying that GPs (doctors in general practice, aka family doctors) are excellent if you have measles, influenza, high blood pressure or any generally common or straightforward medical condition.  However, complicated or difficult to diagnose conditions are another matter.

I have self-diagnosed,  after 2 doctors were unable to find a disease that fitted my symptoms - the tests were done some years apart, as Doctor #2 attempted to find what Doctor#1 had been unable to.  Although excellent GPS, the lack of a diagnosis meant they shrugged their shoulders and gave up.  The condition did not go away, of course, and I have learnt to live with it and manage it.

My current doctor must be at least 70 so will have had a long career and a lot of experience.  He has sent me for various x-rays which showed nothing specific - although I had no expectation that they would.  However, this has stymied my desire to see a back specialist, as the doctor considers I just have "wear and tear".  I do not agree.  And although I have told him of the daily random pain I experience elsewhere (sorry!), he hasn't offered any kind of diagnosis. Perhaps he thinks I just like to complain, or that I imagine things.  Not so.

Once again, I have been forced to consult Doctor Google.  I believe I have found a common condition that fits the symptoms, along with a bunch of Pilates exercises and stretches that could help, so I'll do these and see if I get relief.

Have you had any similar experiences?

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Goals for 2012

Happy New Year to you all.  I have had a pretty slow start to the year as I've been feeling under the weather.  However, I've been giving some thought to goals for 2012.  Note that these aren't "New Year Resolutions".  I try to make my goals achievable, even though I'm aware that I only achieved 1 out of the 3 I set myself last year.  With my commitment to my degree and its associated low income, overseas travel is pretty much out of the question, so I've retired my goal to go to Australia for now.  Likewise, learning to rollerblade is still there but I have to practical about what I can and can't do.

So this is my list for 2012 - and hopefully, this time next year, I'll be able to say I've done them.

1. Use technology more to improve my health and fitness.  There are masses of podcasts and free apps out there that I could hook into, but I just haven't done so.  I have an iPod and an iPad, and I need to make better use of them.

2. Take up Pilates or yoga.  I have done these before, but not in this past year and I think my flexibility has suffered.  I have a chronic back problem so need all the help I can get.

3. Make an effort to complete some (at least some!) of the partly completed creative projects I have - there are several half-knitted sweaters and as many partly-made quilts.  Even though I am acquiring new interests through my studies and exposure to other arts and crafts (such as the paper clay class I'm going to do later this month), fabric and fibre remain my first loves.

What are your goals for 2012?