Annual physical yuch

[Breedlove]

I go in for my annual physical Monday , I was kind of blowing it off but . last week I went for my annual eye exam . My son works for a very good clinic South of Houston , one of his clinics do the eye exams for NASA astronauts .

I get my exam done eyes are just like last year. My doctor explains the view they do of your eyes . She shows me the blood vessels in my eyes go so far then stop ! I ask her what that means she tells me it could mean a blockage . To go to a doctor and get my Charotic Artery checked . It is incredible how an eye doctor can see this . Old eye doctors just put those big machines on your eyes till you could see and then assign lens . She said they find diabetes in people every day that people never knew. Technology marches on.

 

[COcheesehead]

I just had my annual physical last week. Dentist on Tuesday, meet with the doctor this afternoon to start the process for my second colonoscopy. All good stuff I guess, but it is a bit taxing to do it all in a week.

 

[Breedlove]

When I go to the doctor , I get in a baaad mood !

 

[Mdlerth]

Terror filled his eyes and he felt the urge to scream

When I go to the doctor , I get in a baaad mood !

I'm in a good mood... until The Glove appears.

Editorials & Opinion | Suddenly The Doctor Looks Like Vincent Price | Seattle Times Newspaper

 

[grasshopper]

Last Monday saw the surgeon about a small hernia repair, surgery next month. Tuesday went to the dentist and had a molar yanked and a bone graft to begin the implant process. I feel your pain of lack of pain.

 

[zinger1457]

Good luck but just be aware that since you're visiting your doctor for a condition your insurer may not consider the exam to be your annual no cost 'preventive exam' and might bill you for it.

 

[Breedlove]

I have been getting annual physicals for years , I have 3 insurances . Medicare , Supplement and UHC from DW . I might pay a deductible.

 

[MRG]

Eyes are a great indicator. DW just had a pressure test for ocular hypertension instead of a lumbar puncture.

I don't like going to the doctor, however it's somewhat better than the underlying issues. At least in my old age I don't pass out anymore. I've had some unusual experiences due passing out.

 

[W2R]

Dentist on Tuesday

I will be going to the dentist on Tuesday, too. I'll just be getting my teeth cleaned and examined. I keep putting it off because my teeth have been really bad in the past, I hate going to the dentist, and I don't want to pay for any more implants. But this time I am having zero problems so hopefully they won't find any more needed dental work. (sigh)

I thought that was interesting that Breedlove's eye doctor has discovered undiagnosed diabetes from patients' eyes. Personally I have Type 2 diabetes, which is more under control now than it once was. But anyway I have to get a diabetic eye exam from my ophthalmologist once a year to look for diabetic damage. So far, the ophthalmologist has found none, and I hope to keep it that way.

 

[sengsational]

I'm in a good mood... until The Glove appears.

You have to inspect a lot of normal walnuts to know when there's a problem one. So just think of it as taking one for science and the skill of your practitioner.

 

[John Galt III]

I'm in a good mood... until The Glove appears.

Editorials & Opinion | Suddenly The Doctor Looks Like Vincent Price | Seattle Times Newspaper

Went to my annual routine physical in December of 2018. I had finally relented to the DRE (digital r**tal exam) the year before since I had to get a new PCP, and thought it would be easier to start with a stranger. This year (2018) there was no DRE! I asked why not (slightly disappointed, since I would not be getting my money's worth, etc) and he said he is no longer performing them because they cause more problems than they solve. He also said a fellow PCP has stopped performing them also. I didn't ask what specific problems he thought the DRE might cause. I guess I could insist on one next year, lol.

 

[sengsational]

The DRE is not advisable if you're going to get a blood draw and PSA test right afterwards. The problem is that this, ehem, activity, can cause an elevated reading by stirring things up in the area; you really want to compare the current reading with earlier ones, consistent conditions are best.


There are a lot of new tests for diagnosis of prostate cancer. If you want to know more than your doctor about them listen to this podcast. You need to skip the first hour or whatever because these guys are old buddies shooting the sh*t for a long while before getting into the meat of the podcast.

 

[zinger1457]

This year (2018) there was no DRE! I asked why not (slightly disappointed, since I would not be getting my money's worth, etc) and he said he is no longer performing them because they cause more problems than they solve. He also said a fellow PCP has stopped performing them also. I didn't ask what specific problems he thought the DRE might cause. I guess I could insist on one next year, lol.

My PCP also stopped the DRE a couple years ago, stated it was no longer a recommended screening test because of too many false positives/negatives.

 

[sengsational]

If they don't do the DRE, you also don't get the hemoccult, or at least not right then and there. Do these non DRE docs send you home with a poop test kit to check for hidden blood?

 

[garyt]

Went to my annual routine physical in December of 2018. I had finally relented to the DRE (digital r**tal exam) the year before since I had to get a new PCP, and thought it would be easier to start with a stranger. This year (2018) there was no DRE! I asked why not (slightly disappointed, since I would not be getting my money's worth, etc) and he said he is no longer performing them because they cause more problems than they solve. He also said a fellow PCP has stopped performing them also. I didn't ask what specific problems he thought the DRE might cause. I guess I could insist on one next year, lol.

My Dr. quit doing them also. Seems there's problems with the PSA test also, so what do you do? I do know one person who was diagnosed with prostate cancer from a DRE when the PSA was fine, so would prefer to get one. But my Dr. is a female and it seems a little weird to insist on it.

 

[garyt]

If they don't do the DRE, you also don't get the hemoccult, or at least not right then and there. Do these non DRE docs send you home with a poop test kit to check for hidden blood?

Not mine

 

[Amethyst]

When it's a medical matter, the doctor goes to neutral mode ;-). Remember, there are male gynecologists!

My Dr. quit doing them also. Seems there's problems with the PSA test also, so what do you do? I do know one person who was diagnosed with prostate cancer from a DRE when the PSA was fine, so would prefer to get one. But my Dr. is a female and it seems a little weird to insist on it.

 

[braumeister]

Sometimes we tend to forget that a test is simply a test. What matters is which tests to get, when/why to get them, how to interpret them, and how much weight to put on them in any diagnosis.

One of my favorite examples is the study that was done a while back where they looked at a large number of people who had been admitted to a hospital for a cardiac event, and checked their blood cholesterol levels within a day of admission.

Half had cholesterol levels above the standard guidelines, which was expected, but half had levels below the "safe" guidelines, and somewhere between a quarter and a third had levels that were way below the "very good" guidelines. So it didn't seem to make any difference what the cholesterol reading was as a way of predicting their cardiac events. It's just a test, one among many.

A short history of medicine.

I have an earache:

2000 BC Here, eat this root.

1000 AD That root is heathen. Here, say this prayer.

1850 AD That prayer is superstition. Here, drink this potion.

1940 AD That potion is snake oil. Here, swallow this pill.

1985 AD That pill is ineffective. Here, take this antibiotic.

2000 AD That antibiotic is artificial. Here, eat this root.

 

[MRG]

My Dr. quit doing them also. Seems there's problems with the PSA test also, so what do you do? I do know one person who was diagnosed with prostate cancer from a DRE when the PSA was fine, so would prefer to get one. But my Dr. is a female and it seems a little weird to insist on it.

My female PCP doesn't do them; even when I had prostatitis. Instead a urine sample that may or may not detect an infection. My urologist insists on ever 6 months. I believe my urologist.

 

[Bamaman]

I cannot stress the importance of men and women getting first class yearly physicals, especially when approaching early retirement. You should receive complete lab blood workups and also a chest xray.

My wife was spotted to have uterine cancer on an exam 12 years ago and it was found to be an especially aggressive form of cancer. But it was so small since it was caught so quick. 6 months later, and she'd been fighting for her life. She's had no more problems.

We recently had a friend die that hadn't been getting yearly physicals. He was the last friend we had that smoked. He had a hacking cough and was then found to have Stage IV lung cancer. Many lung cancer patients are in stage IV before it's even found due to not having physicals and getting chest xrays.

I see so many people that are he-men and they just don't see the importance of periodic doctors' visits. It's a shame that physical problems can be solved or minimized, and especially bad when lifetimes are cut short by ignoring problems.

 

[REWahoo]

You have to inspect a lot of normal walnuts to know when there's a problem one. So just think of it as taking one for science and the skill of your practitioner.

Reminds me of the PCP I had years back who, as he was preparing to do a DRE asked if I wanted him to use two fingers. When I responded, "Heck no, why would you do that?", his deadpan response was, "In case you wanted a second opinion."

 

[garyt]

When it's a medical matter, the doctor goes to neutral mode ;-). Remember, there are male gynecologists!

No I mean she might think I'm insisting cause I get a thrill from it or something. I know Dr.s don't care about that stuff, but pretty much nobody really wants a DRE so when the Dr. says it's not necessary and you insist it might seem odd? Probably just my imagination.

 

[sengsational]

"In case you wanted a second opinion."

... pretty much nobody really wants a DRE so when the Dr. says it's not necessary and you insist it might seem odd?

I'd never ask for a DRE if the doctor was not in the habit of doing them routinely. Not for the reason you expressed. I feel that the test would be worthless...the practitioner that doesn't routinely do them won't be practiced / skilled / confident enough to determine if there's a problem.

 

[MRG]

[emoji23]

i'd never ask for a dre if the doctor was not in the habit of doing them routinely. Not for the reason you expressed. I feel that the test would be worthless...the practitioner that doesn't routinely do them won't be practiced / skilled / confident enough to determine if there's a problem.

+10000

 

[grasshopper]

I'd never ask for a DRE if the doctor was not in the habit of doing them routinely. Not for the reason you expressed. I feel that the test would be worthless...the practitioner that doesn't routinely do them won't be practiced / skilled / confident enough to determine if there's a problem.

My PCP handed that job over to my urologist a while back with that explanation.