See Your Doctor

Page Updated on July 28, 2007

You should get your regular preventive / diagnostic exam (e.g. check up, physical, full work up, etc.) as soon as possible.

During a physical exam, your doctor will most likely ask you about your medical and family history, screen you for diseases and disorders, assess your potential to develop diseases or disorders in the future, and talk to you about your level of health. The information you get from your exam is important because you don't want to begin to develop any habits that could actually be harmful to you, such as having a medical condition that would prevent you from exercising or an obvious food allergy that could be potentially fatal.

You may also discover that "it's not all in your head." Even in our own family we've discovered that problems we thought were related to "lack of motivation" were actually caused by a medical condition (hypothyroidism to be specific).

Your exam is your overall benchmark of health. It will help you find out if your cholesterol, blood pressure, etc. is going up or coming down. It will help you learn about how the changes you make to your lifestyle change your level of health.

You should have an exam at least once every three years, but one every year is ideal. If you have any medical problems, you should see your doctor at least every year even if you have no symptoms. (Check out Physical Exam Frequency at http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002125.htm.)

Get a copy of your exam results for future reference and comparison (in the US, your doctor must give it to you if you ask for it).

What if you don't have insurance? What if your insurance won't pay for it? Then shop around for a doctor you like who performs the tests you want. Find out how much it will cost. Then figure out a way to pay for it. Put it on a credit card if you absolutely must or borrow it from a family member (and make sure you pay them back!), but don't let money keep you from having basic physical health. It's not a bill. It's an investment in your future and happiness.