drmargaret

I met a woman who postponed getting that lump in her breast examined for 3 years and watched as it got bigger. It was class 3 cancer when she got it removed. She was fortunate she survived her procrastination.

I get tested for cancer every year. The tests came back negative this year again. The testing allows me to make informed decisions. It’s part of a complete physical. People in psychology sometimes don’t take a full physical history when they do an intake on their new patients. That can be a mistake. A lot of physical conditions can contribute to emotional problems. Things like anemia and thyroid disorders are frequent causes of depression in women. Infection causes fatigue and can easily be mistaken for depression. If you don’t get a physical you miss the opportunity to get an early jump on treatment when it can be most effective, when the conditions are minor and easy to treat.

People who are living in poverty not only eat poorly, but have worse outcomes for physical health and mental health as well. Treatment is postponed until it is late. It takes longer to treat and longer to recover.

It’s not just diseases like cancer. It’s heart disease, thyroid disorders, gastrointestinal disorders, anemia, respiratory disorders, and orthopedic disorders. The longer you wait for diagnosis and treatment the worse they are.

The same is true with psychological disorders. It’s much easier to treat minor depression, anxiety, or thinking problems than to wait until they are serious. If you’ve had the same symptom for a couple of months it’s time to get a complete physical and then see someone for treatment of psychological symptoms.

A basic set of lab tests include a CBC or a complete blood count and a urinanalysis. These tests tell a physician basic information about how the internal workings of the body are in addition to some other measurements like height, weight, vision, blood pressure, pulse, respiration, and temperature.

Psychologists do testing as well. A basic set of testing will include a mental status examination. Some of us can do this subtly. I have family members complain that I want the person who is having the appointment completing the initial paperwork. Families want to help. But I get lots of information from the initial four pages of paperwork. I get vocabulary, spelling, reading level, punctuation, motor skills and motor speed. I get an understanding of what the person I’m seeing thinks is wrong with them. I review all the paperwork and I often have a lot of history anyway. I compare what is written to what is said. There shouldn’t be too much of a difference. If there’s a difference I have to explain the difference. It might be a learning disorder, or someone doing poorly. I saw someone who had very poor motor skills. He was intoxicated. He’d had 1/5 of a gallon of alcohol to drink the day before. It takes awhile for that amount of alcohol to get through the system.

All the information works together to provide a cohesive picture of how a person is functioning both physically and mentally. The paperwork, the physical history, the psychological history, the lab tests, the psychological tests, all work in concert to describe someone. It helps to provide the best picture to allow for the best decision making.

If you aren’t being seen regularly by your doctor and getting regular check-ups then you are doing yourself a disservice. You owe it to yourself and to the people who care about you to find out what’s going on. You can always choose not to treat your condition. If you choose not to know you loose the option to get early and efffective treatment for many disorders.