← Back to Story Index

Poor Health - Age or Attitude? by Carlotta Crouse and Kelsey Tideberg Before I began having problems with my health, maintaining my health was not an issue for me. I was not overweight, and though any weight gain was very gradual and was just part of life (for example, pregnancy), it was never out of control. Because weight wasn’t an issue, I felt no need to watch my health carefully. Approximately eight years ago, I went to the emergency room with problems resulting from high blood pressure. The following week I made an appointment with my primary care physician, who prescribed some blood pressure medications. I accepted this new problem as just another part of life.

However, as time passed, I continued to gain more weight. Again my attitude was that of “Who cares, this also comes with age.” After two years, I went to my doctor for a check-up, who told me I needed to watch my weight because my cholesterol levels were getting high. This also made me a prime candidate for diabetes. Another prescription followed—this time for my cholesterol.

During my next check-up, my doctor told me my blood sugar was high, that I needed to follow a diet, or rather, a new eating habit with some exercise. My thoughts on this were “Yeah right!” and I changed very little in my life.

In a couple of years, I wound up a “full-blown” diabetic. During this time, I noticed something else seemed to be amiss; I felt a pain on my right side whenever I bent down. I figured this pain was just a result of my weight. However, my doctor conducted some liver functions tests that showed my pain was the result of a fatty liver, which could very well develop into sclerosis. I also visited a gastroenterologist who performed one colonoscopy on me for an unrelated problem. A second colonoscopy showed this new problem had a connection with my liver problem. Despite these tests and my accumulating list of health problems, I still did not get the picture that I needed to make some serious changes to my life. However, I did start to wonder why I was spending all this time and money on my health, why I was taking so many medications.

One day while eating in a restaurant I noticed something that struck me. Of all the people there, the healthy (skinnier) people were eating salads, while the unhealthy people were standing at the buffet or eating a hamburger. A light went off—this makes sense!

I began to exercise much more and eat less. I have set goals to continue to exercise more frequently and to exercise longer each time. Throughout this experience, I’ve realized that hindsight truly is 20/20, and had I known what I know now, I would have had a different attitude about my health. I didn’t watch what I ate, and I saw how that caught up to me. But because of my efforts now, I’m no longer taking any blood pressure medicines and my blood sugars are at a good level. I’m spending less money on expensive medications and have more in my pocket. My life is back to normal.

Throughout it all, I’ve learned that making changes to your health really means making changes to your life. And only you can change your life. Of all the changes in mine, possibly the most important is the difference in my self self-esteem.

My health is my responsibility and no one else’s!

↑ Back to the top

← Back to story index