Annual Checkup

The medical system often seems to be full of extra steps. I had to change my primary care physician recently because the old one moved…so I chose one in the same system since I was overdue for an annual checkup. It turns out that the first visit is just a ‘getting to know you’ and the annual checkup will have to be a second visit. I’m glad I picked an office close to where I live! The earliest appointment I could make is a little over a month away now…but at least it is scheduled, and the doctor made a good first impression. She’s young enough that she could be my doctor for as long as I live in the area. I like that she specializes in 65+ patients.

There is nothing particularly pressing in my question list…at least I got through the list with the doctor even though we didn’t have time to discuss any of them in depth. It would be stressful to wait if I had health issues that I was anxious about.

I’m beginning to understand my grandmother’s aversion to going to the doctor unless she knew something was wrong. She didn’t have many ‘annual checkups’ and took no prescription medications. In her years after 65 she did get flu shots, a skin cancer removed on her face, and a check after she hit her head when she tripped over a shallow step. She lived to be 98 years old and died peacefully in her sleep at home. The only problem that was not detected until too late that impacted her quality of life was macular degeneration, but at the time there wasn’t much they could have done to help her even if it had been detected earlier.

My plan is to continue my annual checkups and the associated follow-up – at least for the near term. But I’ll re-evaluate as time goes on.