Recently my energy’s been low, as has been my libido (although I suspect that’s got something to do with emotional issues – but more on that another time!), also aching joints and getting tired more easily. I’m seventy and I know it’s to be expected, but I always like to see if things can be improved. So I rather shyly called my doctor – feeling guilty that there wasn’t really anything ‘wrong’ with me (especially in this time of widespread illness), and rather afraid he’d be angry with me for wasting his time.
Maybe because he’s an older man himself, he was very genial and sympathetic; told me what a good idea he thought it was to have regular check-ups when we get older as a preventative measure, and booked me an appointment for some blood tests at the local hospital the next day.
I duly showed up there, where a kindly nurse proceeded to remove six tubes of my blood for the battery of tests that were going to be done, including one to check testosterone levels. A part of me didn’t want to know about this, in case it came out as ‘ insignificant’ and my dwindling male ego would take a death blow along with any hopes of getting active in the bedroom again; but it felt important to face facts and find out. The strange thing, I started to feel better as I walked out of the hospital!
A couple of days later I got the results. Everything was ‘fine’ (although I forgot to ask if that meant ‘fine’ related to average levels for an old bloke, or for an average male), but I had low levels of vitamin B12 and vitamin D. I looked up to see the effects of being short of those, and the list include tiredness, low energy, aching joints – a lot of the things I’d been experiencing. Result!
Two days later I was back at the surgery for a B12 injection and some vitamin tablets. That was a few days ago, and although there was no overnight transformation, today my knees are definitely working better and I’m feeling a nice uplift in energy. This could all be placebo effect of course – but if it works, who cares!
My point in sharing this, is that if you’re anything like me – and apparently most men – you’ve not seen a doctor in a pretty long time. But getting a get a check-up is a really smart idea – especially if you’re fit but getting older and want to keep it that way. It’s tempting to think you might feel better not to know if you DO have a problem, but that kind of denial is like walking blindfold; something bad will happen in the future that could have been prevented by getting it sorted now.
Part of being a Good Man means taking care of yourself; it might be the most important way you can be sure of giving your best to everyone else.
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The post Getting My Blood Tested Was an Easy Way for Me To Feel Better appeared first on The Good Men Project.
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