Keep a close eye out for these pesky but potentially problematic symptoms, all of which can signal dangerous conditions, warns Holly Thacker, MD, director of the Women’s Health Center at the clinic in Ohio.
1. Bloating – Occasional bloating is normal. However if you experience two straight weeks of bloating, and feeling full, and not fitting into your pants, talk with your doctor about being screened for ovarian cancer.
2. Trouble Below – If you’re less sensitive during sex and more prone to vaginal infections than you once were, you may be suffering from diabetes, which can encourage the growth of yeast infections. Ask your physician for a two-hour glucose tolerance test, which is better able to detect the disease early on than a fasting blood sugar test.
3. A Little Of This, And A Little Of That – When combined, several elevated but not dangerous on their own markers like insulin resistance, blood pressure, and triglycerides can lead to metabolic syndrome, which greatly boosts your risk of heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes.
4. Shortness Of Breath- If you sweat when walking an extra mile on the treadmill at a 5% incline, you’re going to short of breath. That’s normal. However, if activities that once took no effort leave you wheezing, make an appointment with your doctor to check your heart. Heart disease is the number one killer of women. And unlike men, who tend to suffer “classic” heart symtoms like cheat pain, women often experience only subtle changes in aerobic tolerance.
5. Your Age - While technically not a symptom, your age, like a symptom, isn’t something you should ignore. Like I talked about in a previous blog, schedule a yearly mammogram starting at age 40. And a once over every 10 years colonoscopy at age of 50. And a bone density scan within two years of menopause. – Kate Dailey
I get as much out of writing this blog as you do. I actually called my doctor this evening and scheduled a physical and pap test, as well as a mammogram. My birthday is next week and I’ll be 41, so I thought it was time to take this seriously.
I hope you do as well…….Love your body, it’s the only one you have, so take care of it….
A Fab Woman
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Excellent post! Women forget how susceptible they are to heart disease and it’s true they often have a “heart attack” without realizing it.
And since the first symptom of heart disease for many people is a fatal heart attack, it is important to keep tabs on blood pressure, labs, etc.
Ovarian and breast cancer are important, but the media tends to overlook heart disease in women.