Yearly physical

Ronni

Ronni

The motormouth ;)
Location
Nashville TN
I always feel like this when I go in for my well check every year 😂 Maybe not this extreme, but still I’m tense, because I’m never sure if the doctors findings are going to agree with my own Lol.

Do you get a yearly physical?
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My last physical was 40 years ago - & only because an employer requested it. Even then, I limited it to whatever was not invasive or I felt was unnecessary. The doctor wanted a full set of chest X-Rays. I said, "No." He said, "You won't get the job." I got the job, anyway.
I believe your health has more to do with your lifestyle than how often you see a doctor.
Reality: No doctor can fix anyone who doesn't do whatever they can to stay healthy. And No doctor can cure what's incurable.
 
Jules said:
Many men have ‘no need to see a doctor’ until it’s too late. The doctor might have caught something with their basic tests. High blood pressure or colonoscopies are two prime examples.
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My ex wife and her first husband both bought into the "Early Detection" belief & had frequent physicals - sometimes more than once/year.
When he was 31, his routine blood test showed Leukemia. His doctor said, (the usual) "You're very lucky we caught this early when we can treat it; otherwise it would be too late." He spent most of the next 5 months in the hospital being treated. He died a month later.
She also died while being treated for cancer. She was 64.

Some cancers are dormant or slow growing & people outlive them & die with them, rather than of them. In those cases, treatment causes more harm than good. Fortunately, my father's doctor explained that to us when he had prostate cancer & he asked for treatment, thinking it would help. His doctor said "The treatment would only make you sick & wouldn't prolong your life; it would shorten it."
He was right. My dad died 20 years later of a fall, at 88.

What matters most is how aggressive a cancer is; not how early it's detected or how good your doctor is.
Think about celebrities who have access to the best, most expensive medical treatment available; often times, affording travel to other countries for more "Highly-Skilled" specialists. They don't live any longer than anyone else.
https://dying.lovetoknow.com/Slideshow:Celebrity_Cancer_Deaths
 
My thought on this is the quality of the doctor ... I have seen some that look for repeat visits immediately and others that stick with the basics had a great doctor in my hometown that told me years ago that some tests should not be yearly but maybe every other one etc...

Far too many IMO just decide no matter how remote the possibility you should be tested for everything ....

I have friends who go in regularly and it is as if they HAVE to find something ....
The Patient gets all freaked out ....have followup specialist visits and test after test ... Never found an item wrong with them but the stress and worry and run around was taking its toll on them.

Finally I asked one "why are you jumping through these hoops The DOCTOR works for you not the other way around"....
She took a stance and started insisting on why this test or that test when she has no issue ..... they quit pushing tests and things on her from then on.
 
Jeni said:
My thought on this is the quality of the doctor ... I have seen some that look for repeat visits immediately and others that stick with the basics had a great doctor in my hometown that told me years ago that some tests should not be yearly but maybe every other one etc...

Far too many IMO just decide no matter how remote the possibility you should be tested for everything ....

I have friends who go in regularly and it is as if they HAVE to find something ....
The Patient gets all freaked out ....have followup specialist visits and test after test ... Never found an item wrong with them but the stress and worry and run around was taking its toll on them.

Finally I asked one "why are you jumping through these hoops The DOCTOR works for you not the other way around"....
She took a stance and started insisting on why this test or that test when she has no issue ..... they quit pushing tests and things on her from then on.
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The reason for all those tests: Payments from Medicare or whomever the patient's provider is. For each test/procedure. The more tests, the more payments.
Medicine is a business. A business needs income. Income comes from sales.
 
I get a complete medical every spring. My theory is that it's important to catch any problem before it gets too big and there is no hope of a resolution. A friend of mine told me, 10 years ago, that he never goes to see a doctor and he is totally healthy. He has been dead now for 9 years. He worked for hydro, had a great pension, used to go down to Texas in the winter but never lived to enjoy it. Now, his wife goes down to Port Isabel, Texas every winter by herself. I think he should have had a yearly checkup. Some men have this strange, macho, thing about not going to a doctor. I think they are rather silly and just gambling with their lives.
 
mrstime said:
We haven't laid eyes on our Doctor in over 2 years. At this point I think she is actually a phantom.
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For me, I think it's been over 3 years.
Last year I was assigned a new doctor by Blue Cross - and I haven't met her.
I did try to set up an appointment, as I thought maybe I should get a general exam ... but the appt. was scheduled for 3 months in the future.
By that time I changed my mind, and blew it off.
 
I don't get any annual Wellness physical exams, really it's not a thing most of us do here in the Uk because unless you have some serious health issues, you would expect to have to pay privately to a Doctor outside of the NHS for that..

Instead most people get the regular Mammograms , Cervical screening , and prostate checks, when they're due... which are of course free on the NHS....

In fact I've just had a letter to remind me my Mammogram is due now .. ( they're every 3 years for women who've never had a problem)..
 
At 56 I was diagnosed with Gleason 8 (aggressive) prostate cancer. It never would have been discovered had I not established a PSA baseline during a yearly physical years earlier. The sudden increase in my PSA noticed by my GP plus a family history of the disease prompted the ethical urologist that I went to see to do a biopsy.

Fortunately for me the PCa was detected early when it was still localized and treatable. It's true that some cancers, like Pca, are slow growing and men die with them instead of from them. It's also true that young men in their 40s and 50s can get significant and aggressive Pca, and if undetected and untreated not live to old age.

Men generally have a fear of the PSA test. It is simply a tool, a clue, to proceed to biopsy. The more important question men and doctors should be asking themselves is how best to treat it.

A doctor that recommends aggressive treatment for a low grade/score Pca that can be monitored and won't be the death of the patient is unethical. It's important for any diagnosed man to gain a basic understanding of the disease in general, the one they have in particular, and all the various treatment options. Get second opinions, send slides to a second pathologist, and consult with the individual treatment specialist to determine the risks and possible side effects.
 
oldpeculier said:
At 56 I was diagnosed with Gleason 8 (aggressive) prostate cancer. It never would have been discovered had I not established a PSA baseline during a yearly physical years earlier. The sudden increase in my PSA noticed by my GP plus a family history of the disease prompted the ethical urologist that I went to see to do a biopsy.

Fortunately for me the PCa was detected early when it was still localized and treatable. It's true that some cancers, like Pca, are slow growing and men die with them instead of from them. It's also true that young men in their 40s and 50s can get significant and aggressive Pca, and if undetected and untreated not live to old age.

Men generally have a fear of the PSA test. It is simply a tool, a clue, to proceed to biopsy. The more important question men and doctors should be asking themselves is how best to treat it.

A doctor that recommends aggressive treatment for a low grade/score Pca that can be monitored and won't be the death of the patient is unethical. It's important for any diagnosed man to gain a basic understanding of the disease in general, the one they have in particular, and all the various treatment options. Get second opinions, send slides to a second pathologist, and consult with the individual treatment specialist to determine the risks and possible side effects.
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Second opinions are worthless unless your second-opinion doctor does not know your first doctor's opinion. If he asks who your first opinion doctor was, you're wasting your time; he'll contact him & give you a tape recording of his opinion.
I took my dad for second opinions & the FIRST question they asked was "Who is your other doctor?" After they found out, they just gave him the same opinion as his first doctor - & billed him $900.00 for it.

When I suspected my dentist's diagnosis of "You have decay under ALL your crowns & you need full dental implants; it takes 12 months & will cost $40,000.00," I saw another dentist for a second opinion. I didn't tell her I was there for a second opinion.
After a complete exam, she said, "You have ONE tooth that needs a root canal & the one next to it needs to come out, & a bridge put in $4,700.00. (which I just had done.) I specifically asked her, "What about my other crowns; any decay?" She said, "All your other ones are fine."
 
We seem to have a different approach to health in the UK. Generally, we only go to the doctor if we're ill and wouldn't dream of having a colonoscopy unless it was absolutely necessary. Apart from the occasional check on BP and general health, we just get on with it.

Dental treatment is the one thing we have to pay towards here. It's not always you can find an NHS dentist, so many of us go privately, which isn't too expensive unless you have bad teeth. It cost me the equivalent of about $180 a year for all examinations, X rays and hygienist work.
Any remedial work has to be paid for, but that's only the occasional filling. Prescription medicines are free for everyone in Scotland and for seniors in other parts of the UK..

People in England who would have to pay can buy a pre-payment card for all prescription medication for equivalent of $140 per year.
 
Capt Lightning said:
We seem to have a different approach to health in the UK. Generally, we only go to the doctor if we're ill and wouldn't dream of having a colonoscopy unless it was absolutely necessary. Apart from the occasional check on BP and general health, we just get on with it.

Dental treatment is the one thing we have to pay towards here. It's not always you can find an NHS dentist, so many of us go privately, which isn't too expensive unless you have bad teeth. It cost me the equivalent of about $180 a year for all examinations, X rays and hygienist work.
Any remedial work has to be paid for, but that's only the occasional filling. Prescription medicines are free for everyone in Scotland and for seniors in other parts of the UK..

People in England who would have to pay can buy a pre-payment card for all prescription medication for equivalent of $140 per year.
Click to expand...
This is fascinating! Makes me wonder what the relative life expectancy is between the UK and the US. Gonna go look that up!
 

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