I am sometimes taken aback when I talk to friends about their relationship with their doctors. In many instances, they never have a real conversation with their doctors - they just do what the doctor tells them to do.

Last week I was talking to one friend who I noticed had gained quite a bit of weight. We will call him "Peter." Peter wanted to lose weight and be healthier but said when he tried to exercise or put his body under any type of stress, he would bleed through his eyes. As a result, he tries to avoid much physical activity and stress. So I inquired whether he was seeing a doctor and if he was taking medications. He said "yes" he has been seeing a doctor and taking blood thinning and other medications for many years. But he has never discussed these issues with his doctor.

My immediate response was that he should immediately discuss these issues with his doctor. He thought that was a good idea and promised he will do so. I will follow up with him next week.

We have to remember that it is up to us to be proactive about OUR health. If we have health concerns, we need to solicit good professional help. And we must educate ourselves about our health so that we can have an intelligent discussion with our doctors about our illnesses or diseases so we can enjoy our healthy lives. There is a big difference to merely living and enjoying a healthy life.

So I will be talking to Peter some more and doing some research regarding the medications he is taking as well as the issues with his bleeding eyes. I will report my findings in an upcoming blog at http://phlabs.com/health-info.

Stay tuned!

And don't forget to share your stories and experiences with us so we can learn from each other.