Personal Journey Blog

Annual Checkups: My Journey From Reluctant Patient to Proponent

I've always thought of myself as a healthy person. No, I wasn't an athlete, but fitness mattered to me. Back in the early 2000s, I would religiously tune in to Jillian Michaels on The Biggest Loser, using her motivation to fuel my own. I ate well, exercised, and really took pride in taking care of myself.

But there was one area I wasn't so diligent in: going to the doctor. From my younger years to well into my 40s, I probably only got a checkup every five years or so. I felt good, so why go?

Then, COVID happened. I gained 10 pounds and, for the first time, my energy began to dip. It wasn't just physical. I started to feel off mentally too. Mornings were particularly tough until I could get a workout in, and that seemed to help. But still, something wasn't right. Despite this, I continued to dodge the annual checkups.

My husband kept nudging me, but I always found a reason to put it off. I felt mostly fine; sure, I was a bit more sluggish, but I figured that was a normal occurrence with age. Plus, going to the doctor felt like too much of a hassle. I tried to take control by diving into health podcasts—learning about nutrition, biohacking, and anything else that might explain the changes I was feeling. But deep down, I knew I wasn't getting the answers I needed. The biggest frustration was that I didn't believe a doctor could help. It wasn’t like I had a cold or anything obvious.

My doctor retired, so I needed to find a new one. I got the name of a highly recommended doctor. She wasn't covered by my insurance, but something told me she was worth it. From the moment I met her, I was blown away by her attention to detail and how thorough she was. She asked questions no other doctor had, and after a battery of tests—including a comprehensive blood workup and a hormone test—I started to get some real answers.

First, I found out I have mild Hashimoto's disease—an autoimmune disorder that affects thyroid function. Suddenly, the 10 pounds I gained (despite my efforts otherwise) made sense. My thyroid wasn't working properly, and that was affecting my whole body. No wonder I hadn't felt like myself.

Then came another shock—I was severely anemic. My doctor couldn't understand how I was even functioning. She likened it to the "boiling frog" analogy: The changes had been so gradual that I hadn't noticed how much energy I'd lost. She prescribed iron supplements and said if they didn't help, we'd have to look into infusions. Oh, and no more gluten. That was another unexpected twist.

Now, I’m about 2 months into my gluten-free, supplement-enhanced existence. I have more energy and have even a lost a few pounds. I’m still not finished with my health journey, but I’m optimistic that I can get my energy levels up.

I was mad at myself for not going to the doctor to get checked earlier, but I was happy that I found the right doctor—one who looked for the root cause of a disease and didn’t just push a pill at me.

So, here’s the advice I’d give my younger self or other women who are like me:

1. 1. Get your annual checkup with your primary care doctor.
2. 2. Trust your intuition and get smart about tests for women your age.
3. 3. Find a doctor you like who works to optimize your health.

Monisha Hatfield

Senior Vice President

Monisha has led multi-country and domestic consumer and business-to-business research spanning health care, retail, beauty, and consumer packaged goods. She has spearheaded research projects for various strategic areas such as new brand monitoring, advertising optimization, copy testing, and product testing. Monisha holds a Bachelor of Science in Finance from the University of Florida and a Master of Business Administration in Marketing Management from The University of Texas at Austin.

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