Doctor Visits

If you’re a baby boomer, you probably already know that you’ll be seeing the doctor more often now than you did in your 20s and 30s. Ten years ago, I had one doctor and a dentist. Now, at a little past 60, I have at least six doctors and a dentist.

Sometimes I laugh internally as I enter the waiting room for some of my doctor visits because I am often the youngest one there. A little mental giggle almost surfaces as I observe a row or two of gray-haired patients with their canes. I say ‘almost’ because I also walk with cane, because of MS, and my hair would also be gray if I didn’t color it monthly.

I accept my evolving medical status but I still struggle to accept my senior status. Except for living with a relatively mild form of multiple sclerosis, I am in pretty good health. However that does not really reduce a nagging fear of what the future holds. Will my health deteriorate? Will the MS get worse? Can I ever retire? If I retire from full time work, what will I do for part time work?

This line of thought was triggered by a visit to my urologist recently. There were six gray-haired men in the waiting room, three accompanied by wives and two walking with canes. Key words in my doctor conversation were prostate, pee, bend over, viagra, come back in six months. Geez.

Two of my various doctors are around my age and they have empathy and humor. That’s the good part. The not-so-good part is that they’ll probably retire in the next few years and I’ll have to start over with other doctors, some of whom might not understand first hand the psychological aspects of accepting aging.

I whine about this stuff, but I am grateful that my health, social support network and insurance are all good. I live within a fifteen-minute drive of all but one of my doctors and the two health groups that my docs belong to are among the best on the east coast.

Optimism and balance are my main guides for the future. It would be great if aging was more simple but I know it isn’t. I’ll just deal with it. Life is good.