When you reach your 60s and beyond, if you’re like most people, you’ll need to be more proactive about maintaining your health. My wife and I are in our early 70s, and we’re at the age when potential serious and not-so-serious health conditions are more common than in our younger years. All of us at this stage of our lives will want to be alert to potential health conditions that might occur, so we can take early action to mitigate or even prevent these conditions.
A recent study from the Nationwide Retirement Institute reports that many people have postponed or cancelled preventative care such as dental cleanings, vision tests, seeing a specialist, or mental health care. Yet Medicare and supplemental insurance policies can help pay for preventative care. This post advocates that you, together with your health care professionals, develop an early warning system that you can afford and alerts you to potential debilitating and expensive medical conditions that might develop.
Let’s look at what an early warning system might include.
Annual Physical And Blood Tests
It’s a good idea to schedule an annual physical with your doctor at about the same time each year. During this appointment, you’ll want to discuss any changes in your feeling of wellbeing that you might have experienced, including general fatigue, digestive upsets, or memory issues. Typically, your doctor will run a series of basic assessments, such as measuring your blood pressure and weight to assess any negative changes.
It’s important that you have a comprehensive blood test done before your annual exam so you can discuss any adverse changes with your doctor. Such a test could help warn of potential conditions with your heart, kidney, liver, and lungs, and help determine whether you might be vulnerable to diabetes. In addition, your doctor might include tests for specific conditions they want to check on, such as thyroid, prostate (for men), or vitamin B12 deficiency.
Be sure to ask your doctor to describe the purpose of these tests, the potential impact of any adverse changes, and any lifestyle choices that might improve your measurements.
Remember to keep copies of your blood tests so you can compare them in the future.
Baseline Screenings
At the recommendation of your doctor, you might also schedule a few other screenings to form further baseline measurements. These tests can help assess your vulnerability for conditions you might be susceptible to based on your family history and/or current physical condition. Such conditions could include heart disease, some cancers, bone loss, and issues with your hearing, vision, or memory. Once you have a baseline, you can take periodic future tests to assess any possible adverse changes.
Be sure to keep records of all of these screenings so you can compare them in the future.
Measurements You Can Take
You might want to buy an inexpensive blood pressure monitor and periodically measure your blood pressure and heart rate. These measurements can be early warnings of heart issues.
You could also buy a smart watch or other device that can measure your heart rate, heart rate variability, and quality of sleep.
Consider self-measurements to be a warning that might tell you it’s time to see your doctor. It’s dangerous to self-diagnose based on any measurements you take on your own or from what you read on the Internet. If you note any adverse changes, it might be natural to worry about them. However, remember that “worry” is not a plan. Instead, your plan can be to take these measurements for a few weeks to see if changes persist, then go see your doctor if they do.
Information Is Power!
Collecting this personal information can represent a significant investment of time. However, it can be important to carefully monitor conditions that could become serious down the road. My wife and I do this and believe our investment in our early warning systems will save us time and money over our lifetime, and might also help extend our healthy lifespan. We want to be able to see, hear, walk, and think as well as possible for as long as possible, so we can enjoy our retirement.
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