For yearly physical what tests do you guys get done?

I think one of the most important tests is colonoscopy--not every year but every 5 to 10 years
 
I had a colonoscopy not too long ago. Did the prep and it was bad as advertised but no big deal. I went in to my appointment the next day. I got the date wrong. I was a day early. All I could think of is that surely they wouldn't let me prep for two days. That would suck. Never occurred to me that I could probably just go back the next week. Luckily, my doctor happened to be available and most importantly an anesthesiologist was too.
 
Being out for the procedure was probably a lot of why it did not seem bad.
I had a bit of a headache after.

1731982410114.png
 
Had my annual yesterday, talking with our doc she said colonoscopy may be replaced by thermal imaging in the near future. If and when insurance accepts it. She was big on it being better as a preventative than colonoscopy which is more diagnostic. We can only hope for those days soon.
BTW all my and DW's blood work and physical exam was great!
 
martyp said:
Here in Thailand the private hospitals offer annual checkup plans. My hospital offers the menu in the photo. The Prestige Plan for men is 19,900 baht ($572). You can add additional tests for additional costs which are very inexpensive compared to anything in US healthcare. The process takes about 4 hours and I have always gotten same day or next day appointments.

View attachment 53047
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A lot of things on this list are just silly for screening. Ankle brachial index and CA 19-9 can be useful in certain circumstances but are not useful for the average person. This is what you get with consumer driven testing. But it is cheap if you go overseas.

Believe it or not there is a higher standard than some doctors say this and some say that. The digital rectal exam isn't recommended by the USPSTF. I wonder if the doctor who did it until he retired just didn't want to explain that, :)
 
RetMD21 said:
A lot of things on this list are just silly for screening. Ankle brachial index and CA 19-9 can be useful in certain circumstances but are not useful for the average person. This is what you get with consumer driven testing. But it is cheap if you go overseas.

Believe it or not there is a higher standard than some doctors say this and some say that. The digital rectal exam isn't recommended by the USPSTF. I wonder if the doctor who did it until he retired just didn't want to explain that, :)
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A friend did one of those 4 hr tests in Thailand. Found out her Ca19-9 was positive. 43 where the cut off is 37. Scared the crap out of her as she was convinced that she had pancreatic cancer! Took a few days but they finally decided (I’m sure after some other costly imaging tests) that she was fine. I would avoid the cancer tests
 
bmcgonig said:
A friend did one of those 4 hr tests in Thailand. Found out her Ca19-9 was positive. 43 where the cut off is 37. Scared the crap out of her as she was convinced that she had pancreatic cancer! Took a few days but they finally decided (I’m sure after some other costly imaging tests) that she was fine. I would avoid the cancer tests
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Sadly it is better at diagnosing advanced incurable cancer than early potentially curable. In this case getting the Prestige level of testing might be worse than mere deluxe.
 
Back before I retired, I remember lots of hype about the full body scans for executive physicals. They were touted as the ultimate diagnostic tool. Unfortunately, they also seemed to produce a rather high level of false positives, leading to unnecessary biopsies and even more invasive surgeries. No idea if they are still routinely offered, but I never thought it was a good idea.
 
MC Rider said:
The prep was the worst part.
And I wish I had not brought the memory back up.
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My wife says she's as likely as not to find a pile of my clothes in front of the toilet after I go through the prep. I wonder what THAT means?
 
No idea of the total list. All the usual probably Physician orders the tests based on the exam. I go to the lab. Then go back to the physician.

The lab results are on line with descriptors about what is normal, etc. I review them prior to going to the physician so I know what to ask/what is important.

It is usually all good, keep doing what you are doing and remember to keep taking vitamin D.
 
badatmath said:
I've never had ferritin tested. . . do you know specifically why they do that particular one?
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Low iron anemia is why I get ferritin tests from my Hematologist. I also take iron supplement RX. I get constipated with the standard iron supplement, so my RX is for iron bisglycinate, which works for my iron level and is kind to my GI system.
I have had low iron anemia for over 10 years, so I forget what tests showed low iron anemia (I suspect it was low WBC and RBC ((CMP)) or low Hemoglobin and Hematocrit ((CBC))). However, I do remember all my doctors thinking I had a blood leak in my GI system. I had an upper GI Endoscopy, a colonoscopy, and a video capsule test, which inspected my GI system completely. No leaks were found, so I started with annual iron infusions in 2014 for 3 years until my iron/ferritin level was normal. The iron supplement RX has kept my ferritin level normal since 2019.
The anemia started in 2009 after my CABG then morphed into low iron anemia after 5 years.
 
Tom57 said:
Low iron anemia is why I get ferritin tests from my Hematologist. I also take iron supplement RX. I get constipated with the standard iron supplement, so my RX is for iron bisglycinate, which works for my iron level and is kind to my GI system.
I have had low iron anemia for over 10 years, so I forget what tests showed low iron anemia (I suspect it was low WBC and RBC ((CMP)) or low Hemoglobin and Hematocrit ((CBC))). However, I do remember all my doctors thinking I had a blood leak in my GI system. I had an upper GI Endoscopy, a colonoscopy, and a video capsule test, which inspected my GI system completely. No leaks were found, so I started with annual iron infusions in 2014 for 3 years until my iron/ferritin level was normal. The iron supplement RX has kept my ferritin level normal since 2019.
The anemia started in 2009 after my CABG then morphed into low iron anemia after 5 years
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Interesting thanks for replying. It didn't occur to me that I was being nosy even though I was!

Oddly enough I'd just been reading that people sometimes have low ferritin even if the standard iron tests are normal and I got to wondering what mine was. . .

I've had a ton of blood work in the past year or so and no one has ever checked that even though they came up with plenty of odd things to test I'd never heard of. . .
 
Depending on your lipid panel results, you may want to get a calcium CT scan. You know what the symptoms are of plague buildup in your arteries? There aren't any... until it gets bad enough for something to happen. If you're over 50 and you've been eating whatever all your life, you likely have plaque, and it will get worse. Get on top of it before that happens. Make the cardiologist an annual visit.
 
I have iron deficiency anemia too - I get get the serum iron, hemoglobin and ferritin tests and take iron supplements.

FYI, I suspect the cause is the omeprazole I take because of GERD. The PPI drug blocks uptake of iron from the gut and is known to be a problem.

Iron Deficiency Anemia Due to the Long-term Use of a Proton Pump Inhibitor - PMC

A 52-year-old man who had been taking omeprazole, a proton pump inhibitor (PPI), for 25 years developed iron deficiency anemia. An evaluation of the entire gastrointestinal tract did not reveal any possible causes of gastrointestinal blood loss. The ...
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
 
I do not have any issues which is why I probably do not pay much attention to the individividual blood tests that the physician orders. DW says it is attributable to good genes.

For the past 15 years it has been... You are fine. Keep taking the vitiamin D and come back in 12-18 months for another checkup.

I lapseded 13 years but the last two checks have been consecutive years because I am getting long in the tooth (and DW has been on my case).
 
Sunset said:
I seem to notice the female doctors are not as detailed when it comes to checking male 'down there, both areas'.
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I did not notice any difference in thoroughness when I was having serious testicular pain 12 or so years ago. All of the doctors I saw, male and female, were equally baffled as to the cause, until finally one urologist said "why don't we just open you up and take a look." So they did, found a weird tumor in there and fetched it right out. Been okay ever since.
 
Gumby said:
I did not notice any difference in thoroughness when I was having serious testicular pain 12 or so years ago. All of the doctors I saw, male and female, were equally baffled as to the cause, until finally one urologist said "why don't we just open you up and take a look." So they did, found a weird tumor in there and fetched it right out. Been okay ever since.
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I guess all's well that ends well. But I would have some uhh, trepidation.
About the opening me up part.
 
MC Rider said:
I guess all's well that ends well. But I would have some uhh, trepidation.
About the opening me up part.
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After you've survived a cystoscopy without anesthesia, nothing will faze you. And the pain was so bad at that point, I would gladly have let them cut it right off.
 
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