annual checkup

you maintain your car better than your body

when was the last time you got a full physical with bloodwork? if you have to think about it, it's been too long. you wouldn't drive a car for years without an oil change and expect it to run well. your body is infinitely more complex, significantly more important, and you're straight up ignoring its maintenance schedule.

the "i feel fine" delusion

plenty of serious health issues have zero symptoms in their early stages. high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol, pre-diabetes, vitamin deficiencies, thyroid problems — these can quietly damage your body for years before you notice anything. by the time you "feel" sick, the problem has often been developing for a long time. a simple blood panel catches these issues early, when they're manageable or even reversible.

feeling healthy and being healthy are not the same thing. your subjective experience of your body is a terrible diagnostic tool. that's why we invented actual diagnostic tools.

what a good checkup includes

a comprehensive annual physical should include: complete blood count, metabolic panel, lipid panel, thyroid function, vitamin D and B12 levels, and whatever additional screening your doctor recommends for your age and risk factors. it takes one morning. the blood draw takes five minutes. the results can add years to your life.

the real reason people skip it

it's not cost — many insurance plans cover annual physicals fully. it's not time — it takes less time than binge-watching a show. it's fear. people are afraid of what the results might say. but here's the thing: the results are the same whether you look at them or not. the tumor doesn't disappear because you didn't get screened. the deficiency doesn't fix itself because you were too busy.

schedule a checkup this week. not next month. this week. future you will be grateful, possibly more than you can imagine.

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