An open letter to our mothers...
To our dear Yodaai mothers,
E nle, e ku ijoko o. Se alafia ni?
It is precisely the topic of alafia that this letter is dwelling on. Your wellbeing. Or what I'd wish to be able to tell you if you were my patient and you were siting across from me, face to face. We do it for other patients so why not for you, our mothers and sisters?
Please allow me.
How are things going with that general practitioner of yours? Your family doctor? What? You dont have one? FIND ONE.
You do have one? Great! Can you truly tell him/her everything that ails you? Is he or she spending the time you need with you? No? It is time to reassess and maybe find another doctor. Don't be afraid of this. Finding a doctor that will listen to you could be the difference between life and death. And no, your gynecologist is not and should not be your family doctor.
"Ko si ohun ti o'n se mi". Yes, I know. Olorun o ni je. But you still need to see the family doctor at least yearly. Routinely they should be weighing you and giving you advice on the recommended healthy weight for your height, checking the basics like your blood pressure and doing simple basic blood work like your cholesterol and thyroid and maybe other things like your sugar depending on your family history.
That whole weight thing? Lets just say unlike we believe culturally, our increasing abdominal girth is not a sign of good healthy living. It is one of the more obvious predictors of heart disease. Enough said.
If you have a first degree relative with colon cancer, let your doctor know so they can set you up for screening earlier than most. At 50, regardless of family history, you should ask the doctor if you need one.
Same thing applies for breast cancer screaning. You need to be screened earlier than 50 if you have a family history of this. Get the mammogram. Its that simple. Ask for the results.And if you are not already doing your own breast exams, you should. Run the palms of your hands across to feel for lumps at least monthly or just feel for changes in the texture and feel of it. Check your armpit for lumps too. This simple gesture may end up saving your life.
There are newer recommendations for pap smears. Bottom line, if they've been negative mostly and you have no risk factors, you will need one every 2 to 3 years. Simply ask your gynecologist if you still really need one every year.
Menopausal type symptoms bothering you? Its just a fact of life, menopause. We can make it more tolerable-ask the doctor. If you don't ask, he'll never know.There are natural herbs that you can get at health food stores like GNC.
Alcohol? Every thing in moderation. No more that what counts as one drink a day. Less is better still.
Diet? Nothing fancy. Everything in moderation. Increase your fibre intake with more vegetables, reduce your fat intake - less frying of dodo and eja din din, etc and moderate your carbohydrate intake (smaller servings of iyan, amala, eba, bread, isu, pasta etc).
Exercise? At least 30 minutes daily of active exercise like a brisk walk to get your heart pumping faster. If you dont currently excercise, start with a 10 minute walk. Maybe pelu awon daddy....
Friends? Make time to socialize and de-stress with your friends. Laughter, afterall as they say, is the best medicine.
Sleep? At least 6-8hours a night. Tell your doctor if you are not getting that many hours.
Depressed? Very common around the change of life. Pull me aside confidentially on that one. Referrals can be made even when we can't help directly.
So there it is. The open letter to our mothers and sisters. It is all said in love. Feel free to email me with questions. I'm sure I'm missing a whole bunch of things and I ask other medical doctors in the association to jump in here and fill in the gap. Remember, if mama ain't well, nobody at home is well.
You all take care of yourselves now. No one else will...
The doctor will take your questions now.
Funke Abolade, M.D.
Social/publicity Secretary
Hello Dr, happy sunday to you and thank you very much for this open letter. Reading through the letter I found out that there are some things which I have not been doing but now I will make it a point of duty to start working on them.
ReplyDeleteThank you again and have a blessed week.
Adejoke Ayanwale
I am so glad someone has found it useful. If we can just raise awareness of what needs to be done to maintain wellness, my job here on this subject for women would be done.
ReplyDeleteDr Abolade thank you for keeping moms in mind. I believe we need to take good care of our health. I have been trying and will continue to work hard. Let's all join together and do the right thing.
ReplyDeleteDr Abolade thank you for keeping moms in mind. I believe we need to take good care of our health. I have been trying and will continue to work hard. Let's all join together and do the right thing.
ReplyDeleteApril 15, 2012 7:06 PM
Rakiya Adediji
Dr. Abolade, Thanks for this great article, I am sure all the YODAI ladies appreciate your efforts in keeping us informed about our health, and encouraging us to take good care of ourselves. We as women have an incredible responsibilities to our families and to be able to fulfill them, we have got to take care of us. Please if you can Dr. Abolade could you in the future share with us tips that can help to promote balanced Thyroid or should I say a healthy Thyroid. Once again thanks for caring...
ReplyDelete