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10 Things Your Primary Care Doctor Does That Should Make You Run for the Hills
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Dr Orrange received her BA in Biology at the University of California San Diego and a Masters Degree in Health Sciences at the Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health She received her MD from the USC Keck School of…
FAST FACTS
New Year's Resolutions your Primary Care Doctor Wishes you had
1) Know your numbers: fasting blood sugar, weight (body mass index or BMI), blood pressure, and your cholesterol PANEL (LDL, HDL, triglycerides). These numbers help you assess your risk for stroke and heart disease and you can MODIFY these!
2) Get enough sleep. Yet another study recently published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) found that people who slept only 5-7 hours a night had more evidence of narrowing in the coronary arteries after 5 years than those who slept more. Need more convincing? Depression, weight gain, heart disease and anxiety disorders are all worse in the face of sleep deprivation. Eight, crazy eights, that is your resolution.
3) Pay attention to your mood. Depression and anxiety may creep up on you and win you over. Physical symptoms associated with mild depression and anxiety are impressive (nausea, weight gain, muscle and joint aches, shortness of breath) and will improve with management of your mood disorder.
4) Use it or lose it. Use your mind in a way you don't in your regular job. No question that studies show doing 15-30 minutes a day of mental stimulation (puzzles, memory games, Sudoku) helps prevent cognitive decline. Join in with your kids when they are doing complicated puzzles; help them do their homework even if you have to relearn basic algebra because it may help you down the line hold off dementia and mental decline.
5) Pick one of your vices to get rid of. I know this is cliché but as a primary care Doctor I don't care as much about nail biting or shopping but I do care about smoking, overeating, a sedentary lifestyle and staying up too late so I would love you to change that.
6) Worry less about which supplements to take and more about adding some organic vegetables and fruits to your diet. Sure, there are some very important supplements I would like you to take: folic acid for prevention of neural tube defects during pregnancy, omega 3 Fatty Acids for heart disease prevention, depression, asthma and dementia among other conditions and iron if you are anemic. Supplemental Vitamin C, Vitamin E, and the B vitamins just don't carry the impressive results for prevention of any medical conditions and I'd rather have you obtain them through your diet. I know, organic fruits and vegetables are expensive but if you have a local farmer's market you can get them cheaper so please try.
7) Lose Weight. You were hoping I wouldn't bring up the SAME old resolution but I am. How much weight? Rather than looking up your ideal body mass index (BMI) which may be too much to ask, just have your doctor go back to your documented weight in the last 5 years. Most of you put on 2-3 lbs a year and I'd like you to go back to what you were 5-10 years ago, that's a start.
8) Make sure you are up to date with your routine health screening: mammograms, pap smears, colonoscopy, PSA or rectal exam for men, bone density scan for osteoporosis, and vaccinations. There is so much we can't watch out for so let's work together to head off what we can.
9) Stretch! Flexibility is more important than strength as we get older no question. Stiff, sore muscles and joints limit my older patients more than anything from doing all the great things they want to do when they retire. Stretch people! Low back exercises, hip flexor stretches, hamstring and plantar fasciitis exercise can be found in good sites on the internet or ask your doctor for a handout. Stay loose and you will improve your hip, back and heel pain.
10) Exercise. Last but not least adding exercise will improve most of the things on this list. You will sleep better, you may lose weight, and your mood will improve. I have two kinds of patients: those who move around and those who don't and I guarantee to you you want to be part of the latter. Two to three times a week, 20-30 minutes each time and it can even be a brisk walk. Please start moving around and make it part of your life and you will be rewarded in spades, I promise.
Dr O.
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