I'm in my early 30's and I have several health issues that I probably should do more about. I am pre-diabetic, have several allergies to foods and chemicals (like the bleach in flour and tanning chem in leather), PCOS, depression, PTSD, anxiety, my right hip slips out of alignment every couple weeks or so (from a car accident in my teens), I have a bad knee that hurts daily, I think I have a prolapsed uterus from tearing horribly when I had a baby, also from having a baby it's difficult to do physical things without peeing myself. And I could go on with smaller inconveniences.
I've lost my faith that the average doctor can help me and is probably why I don't see a general practitioner often (I've seen one once in 3 years). About 10 years ago I started to feel really different - I started getting horrible migraines, having reactions to foods I eat like passing out stone cold after eating pizza and feeling "drunk" after eating carbs/sugar, physically feeling exhausted and lethargic and just not good in general. I went to 6 different doctors and they all told me I was 100% healthy. One even told me I needed to "learn to live with my symptoms because the medical community can't help me". Then out of desperation I went to a hormone specialist (on my own accord so it wasn't covered by my insurance) and she gave me a diabetic test, which I tested positive, and diagnosed me with PCOS. None of the other doctors even thought of that. I was told I was too thin to have PCOS. Anyways, the specialist cost me about $8k and the whole thing made me realize medicine is a bunch of guess work. And I know I'm probably wrong but I'm bitter from the experience. So now I see a doctor only when I absolutely have to.
This year was a little different because I wanted to find out how to improve my quality of life so I went to a gen practitioner, endocrinologist, allergy specialist, and a psychiatrist (I see a Pschycologist regularly). And lo and behold I'm as fit as a fiddle - so no help yet again.
I workout/do physical activity pretty much on a daily basis. I ride horses a lot and I run on a treadmill I have at home. I also try to do yoga everyday and I have a gym membership and go when I can't ride. I eat pretty healthy due to the many bad reactions I get from eating certain things. Like I mainly eat vegetables, fruit, and meat. Those are the only things that don't make me sick. I can't even drink coffee. Although I do binge once a month b/c I'm a woman ;). This means having a pint of ice cream (Ben & Jerrys as it doesn't affect me as much as other ice cream does).
I've lived with my ailments for so long it's no longer top of mind. I've come to terms with the fact I'll never feel as "healthy" as I did when I was 20. Plus I'm a mom now so I don't have time to worry about myself. I made a big effort this year but it was a bust, so that's that.
Like I said before I eat a restricted diet, which really sucks. It's hard for me to eat out since even salad dressing will give me trouble. And I can't drink alcohol. I have trouble with my hip and knee and it restricts what I can do. Like I can't ski anymore. My mental issues also affect me. PTSD and anxiety really suck.
On a scale of 1-10 of how it affects me, sometimes it's a 3 when I'm in a good place and sometimes it's a 9 when I want to feel sorry for myself. Mostly I'm in a good place though.
I don't ever talk about this stuff and it felt good to get it out there, so thanks for the opportunity :)