Medical check-ups and testing

[zoomzoom]

This thread about colonoscopy
https://www.homesteadingforum.org/threads/my-6-sixth-time-going-to-the-colonoscope-rodeo.39089/

Got me thinking about discussing medical check-ups and tests in general.

I "KNOW" I was invincible (because when you're young you know everything) when I was in my 20's but as I age (now in my 60's), I know medical things can catch up with you and catching issues early is really important and possibly life saving.

For me:
Annual check-up with PCP.
Annual - Chest CT for cancer screening
Every 4 months to the dentist
Every 4 months - abdominal Ultrasound and/or CT scan.
Every 6 months or so - blood and urine tests
Every few years - Brain MRI
Annual eye exam & new glasses

 

[Supervisor42]

Annual check-up with PCP.
Annual - Chest CT for cancer screening
Every 4 months to the dentist
Every 4 months - abdominal Ultrasound and/or CT scan.
Every 6 months or so - blood and urine tests
Every few years - Brain MRI
Annual eye exam & new glasses

Yes. We live in the greatest country, with the greatest healthcare on the planet...
People that do not take advantage of that, have my permission to shake hands with Darwin.
Example: Cataracts had clouded my vision for years and were slowly getting worse...the Dr said I was an 'excellent candidate' for lens-replacement.
I opted for the 'good lenses' and happily paid the $4K difference.
I will now have the vision of an 18y/o until I die!
People in the USA no longer need to go blind when they get elderly.

 

[TexasCharm]

I work in healthcare and don't trust "health" care - for many reasons.
They don't see me unless there is a problem. A big problem.

I will never have chemo again so no onc for me.

I do have my eyes checked and prescripts updated once every year or two.

 

[Pearl]

NO DOCTORS!! You are only good to them if you are sick! They are selling a product!!

 

[Haertig]

Every 4 months - abdominal Ultrasound and/or CT scan.
Every few years - Brain MRI

I wouldn't expect these two to be routine, unless you have a previous diagnosis of something that needs to be monitored.

You mentioned colonoscopy as a trigger for starting this thread, but not as one of your personal tests/check-ups. You should add it to your personal list. Frequency will vary depending on what they find/don't find each time - probably between one year and five years.

 

[Haertig]

NO DOCTORS!! You are only good to them if you are sick! They are selling a product!!

My wife makes the same money whether you come in to see her because you imagined a problem, or because you mangled your leg in a wood chipper. Sure, wood-chipper-leg is the more mentally stimulating patient to deal with, but she'd still rather you not do that. It doesn't make her any more money in any case.

 

[TexasCharm]

NO DOCTORS!! You are only good to them if you are sick! They are selling a product!!

The whole system right now, really. I call it "sickcare"

 

[rice paddy daddy]

Annual physical at the VA because it's required to stay enrolled in the healthcare system (even though I don't use it as primary care).
Annual "wellness check" by my primary care doctor as suggested by Medicare. He also does another physical with major lab work 6 months after this check.

These lab tests are critically important because: I served in the most heavily sprayed by Agent Orange area in Vietnam. Many guys in my unit are already dead, most of the still living have suffered the effects. I'm one of the few who, so far, have not suffered one of the 15 diseases officially linked to exposure.
I keep my eye on my lab work like a hawk. I know what the numbers mean, especially for PSA and A1C.

Other than that, I get health care as needed. As a guy, "as needed" means if parts get accidently cut off, or if the EMT's from fire rescue have to come. Other than that, just wrap a rag around the bleeding and sit down for a few minutes.

 

[Mountain trapper]

Other than an annual checkup with blood work, I seldom go to a doctor. A few years ago I was having bad back pains. Went to a specialist, he took a bunch of x-rays and said he needed to operate. I said NO. I went to see a massage therapist and after 4 visits I have no more pain in my back, legs or shoulder. I'm not saying I'm miraculously cured, but I have no more pain. I plan on seeing the massage girl every 2 weeks or so. It's $100 per visit, and that's well worth it to me.

 

[zoomzoom]

Every 4 months - abdominal Ultrasound and/or CT scan.
Every few years - Brain MRI

I wouldn't expect these two to be routine, unless you have a previous diagnosis of something that needs to be monitored.

You mentioned colonoscopy as a trigger for starting this thread, but not as one of your personal tests/check-ups. You should add it to your personal list. Frequency will vary depending on what they find/don't find each time - probably between one year and five years.

The brain MRI is only as needed. I was having regular headaches which is not normal for me. The last one they took found I had mild bleeding in the brain and that I had a stroke.

The abdominal Ultrasound/CT scan is because I have chronic kidney stones (like over 4000 in my life). A 5mm stone (about the size of the letter O on a keyboard) is normally enough to put a person in the hospital. I currently have one in my kidney that's larger than a golf ball. That'll need surgical removal.

I didn't specifically note the colonoscopy. The doctor's office calls me when it's time for another. I think it's every 3 years.

 

[Haertig]

The brain MRI is only as needed...

Definitely keep up with that as your doctor orders. And the abdominal scans too. Those kidney stones can be very painful I've heard. I've never had one - and you've had 4000! I am sorry to hear that. I hope they can keep those under control for you. That has got to be a heckuva thing to have to deal with.

The colonoscopy timings depend on what they find, at least with my doctors. I had one, then didn't get around to having another for many years. That was very stupid of me. When I had the second one, they found a handful of polyps. They were all benign and harmless, they chopped them out, but because they found more than one or two of three they had me come back for my next colonoscopy in one year. They found one really small benign one that time, so my next colonoscopy was recommended for five years (maybe it was three years, I'd had to look at my calendar to be sure). But the better you do at today's colonoscopy the longer you get to wait for tomorrow's. But that's just a beneficial side effect. The main thing is you don't end up with colon cancer in most cases.

 

[zoomzoom]

Those kidney stones can be very painful I've heard. I've never had one - and you've had 4000! I am sorry to hear that. I hope they can keep those under control for you. That has got to be a heckuva thing to have to deal with.

For my type of stones, there's nothing they can do about it.

Here's a gross but fun chart of kidney stone sizes.
A kidney stone in the 3rd column is big enough to hospitalize someone due to pain.
The largest pictured is 14mm. I've passed that size NATURALLY (meaning I actually had to pee it out).
The stone in my kidney now is at least 45mm. That's bigger than a golf ball (43mm).

 

[sonya123]

I go once a year now to get my blood pressure meds refilled. I already told the doctor that is as far as I am willing to go with any medication and I will never have any cancer checks or treatments , seen what it does to people and refuse. I will go to the hospital if I pass out ( at least to check what is wrong, last time was dehydration from covid and flu) , or if I have an accident that requires stitches or a cast , or in a ton of pain for whatever reason
Did just go for physical therapy for my foot and I think it's helping. She showed me some very specific stretching to do that

 

[sonya123]

After seeing the dog die, I think I pretty much want to go the same way. He might have suffered for 2 days, but he went fairly fast. If that had been a human ( with potential kidney failure), the human would have been in the hospital hooked up to IV and what not and would have probably never been the same. I will refuse any sort of crap that involves being hooked up to machines, dialasis, blood transfusions, chemo, etc etc. If I need that sort of thing, I will just be done and go home, and die like the dog in a day or 2. That's all

 

[Haertig]

I will just be done and go home, and die like the dog in a day or 2

That is sad, but probably true. It is your choice however. I'm all for people making their own choices. No need to justify anything to anybody else. We all have our reasons and personal situations that guide us in making the best choice for ourselves.

 

[zoomzoom]

I already told the doctor that is as far as I am willing to go with any medication and I will never have any cancer checks or treatments

I could definitely understand not wanting to get treatments for advanced cancers where you may not make it anyway but not sure I'm understanding why not checks or possibly treatments for very curable cancers.

With checks, they can see it coming. At minimum, you now know it's there and know how long you have to live, with and without treatment. Without treatment, at least you know how long you have to get your affairs and such in order.

With treatment, especially since there's so many cancers that are easily treatable (especially when caught early), you may have decades left to live. Colon, breast, prostate (for the guys)... can all be treated if caught early.

 

[sonya123]

I could definitely understand not wanting to get treatments for advanced cancers where you may not make it anyway but not sure I'm understanding why not checks or possibly treatments for very curable cancers.

With checks, they can see it coming. At minimum, you now know it's there and know how long you have to live, with and without treatment. Without treatment, at least you know how long you have to get your affairs and such in order.

With treatment, especially since there's so many cancers that are easily treatable (especially when caught early), you may have decades left to live. Colon, breast, prostate (for the guys)... can all be treated if caught early.

I know quite a few people that had their cancers treated. It took many months or more, they were miserable and never the same again. I am not doing it. That's all.
Sometimes I even wonder if those people I know that had their breastcancers for example treated while it was tiny, no lump, no nothing even existed and would not have gone away on it's own. They make a ton of money from these things. I of course did not tell them that, but that is what I was thinking. YOu don;t know the alternate reality of what would have happened if they had done nothing. I have never in my life had a momogram , and have had sort of lumps since I was in my early 20s. Still here....
Ultimately, if it is your time to go it just is

Oh, I also know people that got all their check ups and went to the doctor constantly ( my former boss ) and died from cancer anyway. They just got one that wasn't treatable like pancreatic cancer. My aunt died from that too, she went to get a stomach pain checked, and was dead 3 days later

 

[Pearl]

I could definitely understand not wanting to get treatments for advanced cancers where you may not make it anyway but not sure I'm understanding why not checks or possibly treatments for very curable cancers.

With checks, they can see it coming. At minimum, you now know it's there and know how long you have to live, with and without treatment. Without treatment, at least you know how long you have to get your affairs and such in order.

With treatment, especially since there's so many cancers that are easily treatable (especially when caught early), you may have decades left to live. Colon, breast, prostate (for the guys)... can all be treated if caught early.

Many are successful treating cancer themselves!!

 

[sonya123]

Many are successful treating cancer themselves!!

thats true too!! I know a vendor at the farmers market that had kidney cancer. He had no insurance ( before they started Medicaid here) and he went on a very extreme organic diet an d it stopped growing. He did eventually have that kidney removed and is fine now. I do wonder how long he would have lived without having the bad kidney removed. One of the things he did was drink goat milk ( he bought it from us) LOL

 

[montanabill]

Just chiming in with a good doctor report.
We have a excellent doctor that diagnosed my wife's condition (after collapsing and being in intensive care for four days). I also see him for so far just for well checks.
That being said there are some very bad doctors out there... locally we had a doc who hurt people doing exams and another who was making millions misdiagnosing cancer then treating it for multiple years.
I see urgent care for the normal dumb stuff like having a T post break and whack me in the head as I was trying to get the post out. While getting stapled up I found out my blood pressure was low and since it has been cold I hadn't been drinking enough water....so I upped my water intake and now that checks normal..
Since my wife is a retired RN we tend to be more proactive with our own O2 sat checker and blood pressure auto checker and such things. We also take supplements, get exercise even in the winter with our recumbent exercise bike (pedaling while watching two ten minute pod casts)......exercise equipment is super cheap at a good non profit thrift store...
We are both at a age where we have no code on our will, with a young person I would try almost anything that gave them a chance.

The children's hospital where the kid we have been raising had heart surgery was just in the news for not doing a sex change operations on a child.....they were worried the laws might be changing............

 

[Mountain trapper]

When it's my time to go, and if the wife goes first, I'd like to take the long walk out in the woods and just keep going. I've got a lot of places around here that are special to me and where I could just sit and wait for the end, probably on Gus's Hill. I'm not going to be a resource for some doctor that will keep me alive just until my money runs out.

 

[Snowman]

When it's my time to go, and if the wife goes first, I'd like to take the long walk out in the woods and just keep going. I've got a lot of places around here that are special to me and where I could just sit and wait for the end, probably on Gus's Hill. I'm not going to be a resource for some doctor that will keep me alive just until my money runs out.

When it comes for Me, I am Hoping I will bee able to sit by where me BushieBooBoo is waiting for Me in the BackYard...!!! She will walk with Me to the Rainbow Bridge...!!

 

[winds-of-change]

Other than an annual checkup with blood work, I seldom go to a doctor. A few years ago I was having bad back pains. Went to a specialist, he took a bunch of x-rays and said he needed to operate. I said NO. I went to see a massage therapist and after 4 visits I have no more pain in my back, legs or shoulder. I'm not saying I'm miraculously cured, but I have no more pain. I plan on seeing the massage girl every 2 weeks or so. It's $100 per visit, and that's well worth it to me.

The thing either doctors is they train in a specified area of medicine. Holistic doctors want to cure you either herbs. PCPs want to load you with meds. Surgeon think the way to cure you is through surgery. Chiropractors want to manipulate your body to health a massage therapists are trained to message you to health. It’s good to seek alternatives when it’s practical.

Every 4 months - abdominal Ultrasound and/or CT scan.
Every few years - Brain MRI


The brain MRI is only as needed. I was having regular headaches which is not normal for me. The last one they took found I had mild bleeding in the brain and that I had a stroke.

The abdominal Ultrasound/CT scan is because I have chronic kidney stones (like over 4000 in my life). A 5mm stone (about the size of the letter O on a keyboard) is normally enough to put a person in the hospital. I currently have one in my kidney that's larger than a golf ball. That'll need surgical removal.

I didn't specifically note the colonoscopy. The doctor's office calls me when it's time for another. I think it's every 3 years.

I just dealt with a very large kidney stone removable. It caused no pain because it was wedged in. It was 2.8 cm and totally filled my left kidney. It took 2 procedures to remove it. Lithotripsy then in throughout my back to get what they could teach that way then a second procedure to get the rest of it from up through my bladder and ureters. The stone was found totally by accident when they did a chest CT scan when I had pneumonia. They just saw it by chance on the scan. The kidney would have stopped functioning if left untreated.

 

[zoomzoom]

I just dealt with a very large kidney stone removable. It caused no pain because it was wedged in. It was 2.8 cm and totally filled my left kidney. It took 2 procedures to remove it. Lithotripsy then in throughout my back to get what they could teach that way then a second procedure to get the rest of it from up through my bladder and ureters. The stone was found totally by accident when they did a chest CT scan when I had pneumonia. They just saw it by chance on the scan. The kidney would have stopped functioning if left untreated.

Sorry you to have stone issues.
My procedure will be similar (up the ureter and in through the back). Unfortunately, my stones are cystine (very hard stone) so lithotripsy doesn't work. Doc has to manually crush it up.