Stop Neglecting Your Health And Take Care Of Yourself

Stop neglecting your health and take care of yourself. That may be my message to you, but it’s also a note to self.

After going through so much hardship and scares during pregnancy, and unexpected, frightening and traumatic events during the delivery, I ended up needing medication for pain management at the hospital and after I came home.

I’ve been in constant pain and exhaustion – trying to ignore both.

When you have kids, especially when you have a baby, it’s our natural instinct as moms to focus on the child’s health. They cry or whine when they need attention, but we are adults: we are expected to keep up business as normal, and put on a big smile, along with our “big girl underpants.”

The actual reason moms don’t take care of themselves is not lack of time, or lack of money, and it’s definitely not lack of knowledge. 

I mean, think about it. When we’re pregnant, we suddenly have time to take care of ourselves during pregnancy, so that we can have a healthy baby. We get those resources wherever we can and we’re willing to ask for help, if needed.

I was told how to take care of myself after pregnancy – the do’s, the don’ts, and what to watch out for. I even had to add a curly signature, acknowledging that I got the 4-1-1. 

It’s like this: you leave the hospital with your baby, go back to the mandatory postpartum checkup, and then go back to neglecting your health, and caring for the well being of those around you.

Everyone gets a bath, everyone gets fed when they are hungry, everyone gets the recommended hours of sleep, and everyone goes to the bathroom when they have to go – except for you.

And it’s worse when it comes to check ups, prescriptions, and mental health care.

Of course, we are vulnerable to so many illnesses because we don’t get enough rest, we put too much on our plate, and we take on all the emotional stresses of mothering. 

We’re always last on our own list!

After my emergency cesarean section, I had lots of pain around the incision area and I was given a prescription pain medication I had to take for a few weeks. Being allergic to the adhesive didn’t help.

After having major surgery, it was interesting once again how I had to take care of myself if I wanted to be functional again and take care of my daughters – including my newborn baby. 

Soon after starting to get back to my new normal, I was admitted into the emergency room twice within two weeks.

The second time I found myself traveling in the back of an ambulance after being transported from my bed on a stretcher.

“You’ve been walking on a broken foot for almost 3 months,” the ER nurse announced, in disbelief.

“You mean to tell me you’ve never seen a doctor about your back pain?,” the EMT shook his head.

“The pain has been ‘on and off’” was not a convincing answer – and deep inside, I knew it wasn’t.

I eat a healthy plant-based diet and usually dance, do yoga, or hula hoop, but I haven’t really followed up on my wellness. 

My health has been suffering and because I haven’t been able to function, I’ve had to learn to prioritize my health and take care of myself.

This post is sponsored by Optum Perks, but the content and opinions expressed here are my own.

Pain is a teacher.

I’m being more intentional about making sure I’m taking the steps toward recovery:

I can go to my appointments.

I can fill my prescriptions.

I can take my medication, as prescribed.

I found a service that allows you to save up to 80% on almost every FDA-approved medication with no memberships, no fees, and no personal information required.

It’s called Optum Perks and it can be done in 3 steps: Search, Find, Save.

Search  ~ quickly search the database of discounted medication prices to find the one that you need. 

Find ~ locate your nearest pharmacy to get the best prescription prices in the most convenient place.

Save  ~ Bring your prescription coupon to the pharmacy and save on your RX costs.

It’s that simple!

Optum Perks is available in 64,000+ pharmacies nationwide, so I’m sure you can use your coupon at a pharmacy near you. I found 5 that are in a 5-mile-radius just by entering my zip code.

Optum Perks is really easy to use and saves a lot of money. I saved $63.30, which is meaningful to my daughters and I because we have been going through very difficult and uncertain times. I know you can relate to that right now. Prices are subject to change over time.

I love that anyone can use Optum Perks – regardless if you are insured, or not. I know first hand how painful it is to try and buy prescriptions without insurance.

If you have insurance, Optum Perks is perfect for prescriptions that are not covered by your insurance, or those medications in which using your deductible would be more expensive. 

Optum Perks prescription coupons can be redeemed at Drive-Through pharmacies or on Pick-Up orders, as well as used on 3-month-supply prescriptions if you are stocking currently.

Adopting a mindset that my health is essential to keep healthy and safe, and having the incentives that Optum Perks offers is a bonus!

The reason you don’t stop neglecting your health and take care of yourself as you do for others lies in your willingness to see yourself as valuable, important, and worthy.

I invite you to join me in my self-love, self-compassion, and self-care quest.

I also invite you to visit the Optum Perks website to search for your prescriptions and get your Optum Perks coupon.

I also would like you to join me in taking just a few minutes to schedule a yearly mammogram, physical, dental, and ob-gyn exam. If you make the call and put it on your planner or Google calendar, you’re more likely to not procrastinate it, because you won’t want to miss the appointment or reschedule. At least that’s how my mind works.

The fourth trimester is over and Elydia is sitting, crawling, standing, and saying “mama,” I am not being monitored anymore. It’s my job to be intentional in seeking medical attention when I have a problem, and ideally, before I have a problem.

I also need to remind myself that healing is not an event or a visit, it’s a process. I’m grateful to have Optum Perks on my side. Saving on prescriptions makes the journey to stop neglecting your health and take care of yourself much easier.

Do you neglect your own health because you’re a mom? Share with us in the comment section below.

[ela]