Time to Measure Your Baseline

Thank you for walking with me through the first year of Mindful Medicine Girl.  My best friend, Judy, died two years ago.  As life happens, a “Judyism” comes to mind.  She used to say, “You are talented and can do anything you want.  But true success is related to passion and dedication. Success will naturally happen in the exhaust.” For nine months, I have written a blog for my website every Friday and it has been an extremely enriching experience.  I have become more passionate, disciplined and educated through this process.  Perhaps the most rewarding part of this experience has been interacting and helping you.  That is a real success showing up in the exhaust.

So, I knew I would trial Transformation Tuesdays for the first quarter of the New Year.  But the tougher question became, what should I do with my Friday blogs? The natural solution topics are endless.  However, I have never written about an extremely important foundational step.  January is the perfect time to focus on you.  It’s time to measure a baseline and record that information for yourself.

What is a personal baseline? It’s preventative, proactive health.  From a practical standpoint, it will save you financially in the long run.  From a health standpoint, you are depositing in your body’s savings account.  Here are the components of a personal baseline:

• general practitioner’s physical:  this should include basic lab work, including a CBC and a complete chemistry – especially is you are forty or older
• dentist – at least twice a year:  believe it or not, the literature shows that clean teeth help prevent heart attacks
• gynecologist – women:  annually and mammogram (4D is better) annually if you are over 40
• dermatologist:  especially if you are 40 or over or live in a warmer environment.

In December, I completed my annual dermatology appointment.  In previous years, I have never had any positive findings, but I have many freckles and moles.  This year, she found a tiny one millimeter black spot on the back of my arm.  I would have never noticed it.  She immediately removed it because it was black and had it tested.  It was pre-cancerous.  If it was not checked, years from now, I would be struggling with skin cancer.  The removal took 30 seconds.  This is the benefit of maintaining, measuring, and recording your baseline annually.

Baseline appointments are NOT time consuming, but are really a priority because I am a priority.  They are actually an efficiency, because they detect possible disease early and prevent suffering.  These appointments, as a whole, account for one work day.  I have not taken a sick day from work in two years.  I want to keep my body running well.  And just like my blog posts review natural treatment options for wellness and minimal medication use, so are these visits. And here’s the important thing, all choices about my health are mine.  I trust my providers as advisors but I ultimately decide the right course of action for me.  And the sooner I catch something, the more choices I have. All decisions ultimately lie with YOU.  Welcome in the New Year by taking the time to establish your baseline.