I recently had an experience that inspired me to write this article.  A member of my family was ill and in the hospital.  Having a close family member in the hospital allowed me the opportunity to witness our healthcare system in action.  My family is no stranger to the topic of healthcare my mother is a Nurse and so is my sister and I am a Health Educator.  We feel competent on the subject of health or so I thought.  I was shocked to discover the wall of hoops and red tape that exists between the patient and the answer to or treatment of their condition.  I could not help but think of the thousands of people who do not have a health or medical background on their side.  If it was this hard for us to get answers or information what must it be like for a lay person in the hospital? 

I came to this conclusion no matter who you are you are your own best health advocate.  I do not say this in a negative connotation towards hospitals, doctors or nurses, they do all they can, however; often their hands are tied by our system.  There is no one place to lay blame, but; there is one place to start with a solution and that place is you.  You, as a healthcare consumer should vowel to be an advocate for yourself.  The question is what does that mean?  How do I become a health advocate for myself?  I have put crucial elements to help you on your journey to becoming an advocate for better health.

 

• Become knowledgeable of your own body. Learn what is normal for you and what is not. A good way to start is with blood work. Have a complete metabolic profile. Doing this while you are well and feel healthy is a great way to establish guidelines to determine what is normal for you. If you have a regular doctor they most likely have this information already, however; part of being an advocate for yourself is asking questions and making requests. Find out when your last blood work was done. The Health Department is a great place to get this done if your doctor does not order it for you. If you are unable to have complete blood work done take advantage of free screenings at health fairs or wherever they are offered. Screenings are not as accurate as fasting blood work, however; they are a good indicator to problems that may or may not exist.
• Listen to your body. Once you learn your body and know what is normal for you listen to what it is telling you. Your body speaks to you everyday in physiological language. The most common messages are "I am hungry" or "I have to go to the bathroom". Often these are the only messages we listen too from our body, but; if you start paying attention you will learn your body has a lot more to say. For example often certain cravings can mean our body is lacking in something. I notice that I crave orange juice before I get a cold. I take this to mean my body is in need of extra Vit. C. Listening to your body and its needs is the most important element of prevention or early detection of a problem.
• Don't be afraid of your Doctor. In this I mean do not be intimidated to ask questions, bring up concerns, question their perspective on a problem, or give suggestions or opinions on your treatment. Your Doctor is the expert on the human body but not necessarily an expert on your body and personality. They are trained on identifying a problem and offer a solution or treatment. They can not possibly be knowledgeable about every single option or problem that exists. Do not be afraid to offer input to what you think may be wrong with you. If you have to have some type of treatment whether it is an antibiotic or chemo-therapy talk to them about what you want or treatments you may have heard about. Your doctor needs your help and wants your help in making decisions that are in your best interest.
• Get Educated. Learn all that you can about nutrition, exercise, and other healthy habits. Make a commitment to prevention and be proactive instead of reactive. If you do have symptoms of some type do your own research on what may be the cause. Sometimes you can figure out your own problem without having to go to your doctor. The internet is a great tool for this, however; there is a lot of bogus information floating around the web. Make sure you use well known reliable sites to gather information. In any case if symptoms persist always call your doctor.

 

Once you have put these four suggestions in action you will be on your way to being your own best health advocate!