How Getting a Health Baseline Was So Effective for Me

When I graduated high school, it was up to me to make my own health appointments. It took me seven years to finally visit all of the standard practitioners a person should see on a yearly basis. I went to the dentist maybe once a year, but that was the only medical appointment I made until I stopped going to those as well. Whoops! 

I started the year off with some pretty hefty goals. One of them is to get my health in check. It took me until June, but by then I had seen every standard practice doctor. I visited a dentist, an optometrist, a gynecologist (if you want a laugh, I went and saw her on Galentine’s day, so that was fun) and a family practitioner. The amount of money on copays that I had to pay could probably fund a small village’s Thanksgiving. Nonetheless, that amount is still minuscule compared to my peace of mind.

I wouldn’t say I have ‘white-coat syndrome,’ which is anxiety experienced during a clinic visit, but I am a person who will assume the worst over the smallest things. That can be very stressful to put your body through.

For example, I had a lump on my upper thigh. For as long as I can remember, it had been there and there had been no problem. Until all of a sudden, it started hurting. Not incessantly, but enough to put me into worrywart mode. I festered for about two months and then finally made my doctor's appointment.

Anyway, I was pretty surprised at myself because I started off great. I scheduled most of my appointments before the end of March! Everything came back normal or as expected. I had a few follow-up dental appointments to make, but everything else was looking superb.

This did instill a little bit of hope for me when I went to make my family practitioner appointment. Like, hey, maybe I am in good health after all and have nothing to worry about. The only reason I stalled on that appointment was that it was SO important to me that I go off of a good recommendation. I finally ended up going to my dad’s doctor, which was ALL the way across town…allowing ample amounts of tormenting driving time!

Back to my leg lump story, the doctor told me it was a lipoma, which is fatty cell tissue bunched up into one area. Oh, and it’s harmless. Awesome. Two months of worrying for “harmless.” As soon as he said those words, that spot on my leg ceased to be a concern.

During all of these appointments, I collected baselines of my health. There was no blood drawn from the dentist, but he did a gum baseline and a full cranial x-ray. My optometrist took photos and scans of my eyes, and both my gynecologist and doctor drew blood and did standard blood work testing.

Honestly, the blood work was where the real anxiety set in for me. The waiting game of what could be. “Call me in a week and we’ll go over it.” They make it sound so nonchalant but this is my body we’re talking about here!

If there is anything I can tell you from this experience, it is that you need to schedule appointments with your standard practitioners regularly. Get your baseline going so when you go in the next time nothing is a major surprise. Very seldom do things pop up without warning so don’t let the unknown be your day-to-day dictator.

Whitecoat syndrome tips:

-If its needles that worry you, be sure to tell your doctor beforehand and don’t look! I played Bejeweled on my phone while my doctor took my blood. Distract yourself!

-If you’re scared to know what might be wrong, do this mindful thinking exercise. Imagine the worst-case scenario and how you would deal with it, then imagine the best-case scenario and how you would feel about that, and then imagine what is the likely outcome and how that will or will not affect you.

I did get all of my results back and here what my health check-up had to say.  Subscribe to have these posts sent directly to your inbox! In the meantime, I'd love to hear about your ‘white-coat syndrome’ tips or how you take hold of your health!

Let’s chat in the comments below.