been thinking about this lately after finally dealing with something I put off for way too long
had this tooth sensitivity thing for like 3 years. not constant, just when I'd drink cold water or eat ice cream. kept telling myself "it's fine, just sensitive teeth, I'll get some special toothpaste." classic procrastination bullshit
finally went in last month because the pain got worse. dentist took one look – needed a root canal. $1,800. could've been a simple filling for maybe $200 if I'd gone 2 years ago when it started. and this got me though – they found two other teeth heading in the same direction. early stage cavities I didn't even know about. fixing them now before they turn into another expensive nightmare
this made me think about all the other small health stuff we ignore. my buddy ignored weird chest pains for 6 months because "probably just stress" – turned out to be heart issue that could've been way worse. another friend had a suspicious mole he kept meaning to get checked, finally did after his wife basically dragged him
seems like there's this mental thing where if it's not actively debilitating, we just… don't deal with it. then suddenly you're 35 dropping $2K on something that could've been $200
tbh I think part of it is we're used to pushing through discomfort from our 20s. but that math changes when small problems compound
anyone else have this experience? what's your "I should've handled this 2 years ago" story?