RetireReadyRx · Wellness · Ray & LoriAnn Garner
What Retirement Finally Taught Me About My Own Health
For 37 years I took care of everyone else. Here’s what happened when I stopped.
I spent 37 years as a dentist. Thirty-seven years of showing up for other people. For their pain, their anxiety, their health. I knew every patient’s chart, every concern, every milestone. And I was genuinely good at it.
But here’s what I didn’t fully realize until I retired: I was so focused on everyone else’s health that I had put my own on autopilot for decades.
April 30, 2024 — my last day in the office — LoriAnn and I climbed into the car and drove to Florida. I was 66 years old. I had just closed a 37-year chapter. And for the first time in my adult life, I had nowhere to be.
What followed surprised me.
The thing nobody warns you about
People warn you about the financial side of retirement. They warn you about staying busy. Nobody warned me that retirement would shine a spotlight on my own body in a way that my working years never had.
When you’re busy, you can ignore a lot. Fatigue becomes “just a long week.” You push through because the schedule demands it. When the schedule disappears, you actually feel things.
I noticed I wasn’t bouncing back the way I expected. I wanted to be that retired guy on the beach with energy to spare; and some days, I wasn’t.
A health chapter I rarely talk about
To understand why this landed the way it did, you’d need to know a little of my history.
While I was in dental school, I passed out during a routine physical and had a seizure-like episode. The initial suspicion was epilepsy, for which I was medicated for a time. The meds kept me in a fog all the time. I finally with my doctor’s help got off of the medication. Years later, a cardiologist gave me a more precise explanation: I do not have epilepsy and never did. I have an overactive vagus nerve, what doctors call an exaggerated vasovagal response. When triggered, my vagus nerve signals the heart to slow and blood vessels to widen too much, causing a sudden drop in blood pressure. He was careful to tell me it’s not a disease or a condition. It’s simply the way my body is wired.
What he also told me was this: it typically worsens through the late fifties and into the seventies.
I’m in my late sixties. And mine has improved.
I can’t prove cause and effect — I want to be clear about that. But I personally credit the redox signaling technology. I’ve been using it for 15 years. I noticed changes I didn’t expect. And when I compare where I am now to where my cardiologist said I’d likely be, I believe something is different. That belief is mine. Your experience would be your own.
My wife had already figured this out
Here’s where the story gets good.
LoriAnn has always been several steps ahead of me in the wellness space. About 15 years ago, she discovered these molecules; a company focused on redox signaling technology and cellular health. She became a believer. She built a business around it. She reached the Double Diamond rank.
I’ll be honest. I was the skeptical dentist husband for a long time. I have a trained critical eye for health products. I’ve seen a lot of things promise a lot.
But I watched LoriAnn. I watched what she experienced personally. And eventually I tried it myself. Then I kept going. And somewhere along the way during over 15 years of personal use, I stopped being skeptical and became a convert.
What I personally noticed over time: I felt more consistent energy day to day, and my body seemed to respond better after physical activity. I can’t speak to what it will do for anyone else. I’m not making medical claims, and that’s not what this is. What I can tell you is what I’ve lived.
Since retiring, I’ve officially joined LoriAnn in this business. It’s something we now do together, which feels like exactly the right way to step into this new chapter.
What I wish someone had told me
Retirement is not the finish line. It’s the starting gun for a whole new relationship with your body.
You finally have time to invest in your health, to sleep enough, to move consistently, to pay attention. The tragedy is that some people arrive at retirement having neglected the physical foundation for so long that they can’t fully enjoy what they’ve earned.
“The goal isn’t to survive retirement; it’s to thrive in it. That requires preparation, not just luck.”
I’m still building that foundation at 68. Some days are better than others. But I’m paying attention now in a way I never did before — and I think that’s one of retirement’s quiet gifts.
If you’re somewhere in this journey, approaching retirement or already in it, and you’re thinking seriously about your energy and vitality, I’d love to talk. Not a sales pitch. A real conversation, one on one. That’s always been my favorite kind. (Especially when my hands are in your mouth and you can’t answer back!)
Want to talk about what we do?
LoriAnn and I are happy to have a real conversation, no pressure, no runaround. If you’d rather start by exploring on your own, we’ve got a page for that too.
Individual experiences vary. These statements reflect our personal experience and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease or condition.
Disclosure: LoriAnn and Ray Garner are independent ASEA brand partners and may receive compensation when you purchase through their referral link. All views expressed here are personal experience, not medical advice.
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