5 Stupid Reasons Why I've Been Putting Off Going to the Doctor

Things could be worse. I feel just fine and, chances are, I am fine. But wouldn't it feel good to hear a doctor tell me I'm fine? It's stupid and irresponsible of me to think I don't need any preventive health care, and I swear I'm a smart, responsible person. Like many otherwise smart people, I have all kinds of justifications for not going to the doctor. Here are my top five stupid reasons why I've been putting off going to the doctor, and responses from my pain-in-the-butt "higher self."

1) I don't feel sick.
Great! So schedule your annual physical exams now. If anything troubling comes up, you're in a strong position to do whatever you need to do to restore your health. You do want to be healthy, don't you? "Not feeling sick" isn't always the same as being healthy.

2) God won't let me get cancer while my daughter is in cancer treatment.
Maria, seriously, what kind of nonsense is that? You even know of a local woman who was diagnosed with breast cancer while her five-year-old son was battling relapsed stage-four neuroblastoma. It doesn't mean God isn't with you or her or your children. You know very well that detecting your daughter's cancer in its early stages probably saved her life (read more about her leukemia diagnosis here). Wouldn't you want to give yourself the same shot at survival? Don't you want to be alive to see your kids grow up, healthy, and have kids of their own? I think God, in His/Her infinite wisdom, would tell you to stop putting off annual checkups that could save your life.

3) I go to the dentist twice a year and see my gynecologist once a year. I'm not completely ignoring my health.
Yeah, that's good, Maria, but not good enough. When was the last time you had your cholesterol and triglycerides checked? And remember when that dermatologist told you she wanted you to come back in a year? Well, that was four years ago. It's not her fault that her office never sent you a reminder postcard and you forgot her name. The fact is, you found her name and phone number recently and then still made up excuses not to call and schedule an appointment.

(I called up the doctor's office today, and I'm having a full-body skin screening tomorrow morning. Yippee! Yeah, it's not fun, but I need to stop being a big scaredy-cat. My 5-year-old daughter has endured bone marrow biopsies, numerous spinal taps, shots, blood transfusions, radiation and all sorts of nasty chemo...and here I am, at 33, scared to let a doctor check me out just to make sure I don't have any skin cancer brewing. I ought to be ashamed of myself.)

4) I'm too busy taking my kids to their doctors.
Maybe, if you're lucky, your kids' doctors will notice when you have high blood pressure or cancer or need new glasses (ha!). It's a lot of driving around all over town for the kids' annual or bi-annual eye exams, monthly orthodontist appointments, checkups at the pediatrician's office, and dental appointments; and then there are all of your daughter's chemo treatments, checkups at clinic, and admissions to the hospital. Blah, blah, blah. Still not a good excuse! Besides, your daughter is doing great now and will finish treatment in one year.

You call your kids' doctors about every rash, fever and earache they have. But you wait until you're too sick to drive yourself to Urgent Care before you even think about going to see a doctor for yourself. If you want to take better care of your children, you need to take better care of yourself.

5) If I'm dying, I don't want to know about it.
This has to be one of the dumbest things you've ever told yourself and pretended to believe. Actually, you do want to know if you're dying because you have a crapload of stuff to get done before you leave this earth! A little advance notice would be helpful. Not everyone gets that advance notice, and maybe you won't, but given the choice, wouldn't you prefer it? Maybe you think it's less stressful to not know you're sick or dying?

(Okay, I'm tired of writing as my know-it-all "higher self.") I witnessed a family member-one who knew he was dying-heal a lot of emotional wounds, free himself and others with forgiveness, and find peace in his final months. All of us lucky healthy people can forgive and find freedom and peace, too; we don't have to wait for a health crisis to get the ball rolling.

No doctor can predict the exact day I'll die, but if I need heart surgery or need to change my diet or need a certain medication to live longer, I'd like to know about it before it's too late. And, in the meantime, I'll do my best to complain less and enjoy my life more-squeeze every last bit of joy out of it-before I go. If I live every day like it's my last, then there's nothing that illness or death can take away from me. But, again, that's no excuse to avoid getting annual physical exams!

I'm ready to take better care of myself.

Related Articles

"Men Likely to Put Off the Doctor" http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=116898&page=1

"Think You Can Put Off that Routine Annual Checkup? Think Again" http://blog.preventcancer.org/regular-screening/think-you-can-put-off-that-routine-annual-checkup-think-again/

Helpful Information

I know that lack of health insurance is the reason that many people in the U.S. don't see doctors regularly. Here are some helpful websites if you're looking for free or low-cost health care clinics in your area:

National Association of Free Clinics (NAFC): http://www.freeclinics.us/

Health Resources and Services Administration (find a federally-funded health center where you pay what you can afford, based on your income): http://findahealthcenter.hrsa.gov/GoogleSearch_HCC.aspx