For yearly physical what tests do you guys get done?

[braumeister]

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.

I had a cystoscopy earlier this year, but they had me breathing nitrous oxide during it. Even so, it was memorable to say the least, and not something I want to experience again.

 

[bmcgonig]

I had a cystoscopy earlier this year, but they had me breathing nitrous oxide during it. Even so, it was memorable to say the least, and not something I want to experience again.

There should be some way of numbing that whole area or just knock us out. A friend of mine had a kidney stone this year and he had a few of those pre and post surgery. Just misery. Its nuts that that torture is commonplace.

Does the nitrous numb the pain or just make you less anxious or what?

 

[braumeister]

There should be some way of numbing that whole area or just knock us out. A friend of mine had a kidney stone this year and he had a few of those pre and post surgery. Just misery. Its nuts that that torture is commonplace.

Does the nitrous numb the pain or just make you less anxious or what?

It was funny -- they offered to do it under anesthesia, but that would have meant getting my wife to accompany me and wait to drive me home. They will never let you go under without a helper, since you're not allowed to drive afterward. The NP said that lots of people do it, and using N2O would help a lot, and she was right. They give you the mask and tell you to breathe it in, letting them know when I started to feel anything. By the time they had cranked the N2O up to the maximum, I still hadn't felt anything, so they went ahead with the procedure. Lidocaine first, then ram that thing up there. Definitely painful, but only briefly. I would hate to have another one, but it was still worth it to simply be on my way back home in less than an hour.

 

[folivier]

Re: anesthesia, I had my nerve ablation last week. Normally done with a local in my doc's office. But in order to get it done sooner I opted for the surgery center. Was going to have it done with a local there but decided since I was there to do it under a general. After the procedure I was much more sore than normal. I guess it was because my doc had no feedback when he was hurting me as he does with a local. The anesthesia was easy and quick to recover from though. Not sure which way I'll choose for the next one in 6 months.

 

[mcbraemer]

In addition to all the normal blood tests and (cholesterol, liver function, A1C, prostate, etc) this time doc sent me to get an ultrasound of arteries.

Have a family history of heart disease so good for doc to check things out. Results were normal.

My Blood Pressure and Heart Rate spikes the moment I set foot in the exam room so I usually take my BP and HR every morning for a week or two before the appointment and share the data with my doctor.

My BP spikes in any medical setting and I also provide the baseline readings taken at home. Dr and staff call this phenomenon the “White Coat Syndrome” lol

 

[Nightcap]

At my last exam, my PCP (who could have stepped from a Norman Rockwell painting of a kindly older doctor) was teaching a young female doctor. After he did the standard digital exam, he asked if I had any objection to his associate doing one. I was already facing the other direction, so I got my prostate prodded twice. And a PSA blood test on top of that just because my Dad had prostate cancer.

 

[Gumby]

I'm having my yearly visit with my PCP next week. I had blood drawn yesterday in preparation for it. As with every prior year, they do a Lipid panel, Basic Metabolic panel, Hepatic Function panel, CBC panel (blood counts), TSH (thyroid function), PSA, Hemoglobin A1c and a urinalysis. Next week, the doctor will weigh me, measure my blood pressure, hook me up to the EKG, listen to my lungs, test my reflexes and look in my eyes, throat and ears. I'll also get the DRE. Then, he'll ask if I have any problems (nope) and tell me that if I lost some weight my numbers would be better. He'll remind me that I should get another colonoscopy.

 

[shafer9]

, doc just asks if I have to get up to pee a lot at night, I don't, and that seems good enough for the doctor.

That comes later.

 

[KarenF]

I would add ApoB, and Fasting insulin (should be 5 or less and is an early warning of insulin resistance), fasting glucose and A1C. Since Type 2 diabetes can be fairly easily be prevented/reversed with diet, it is a good idea to pay attention to insulin resistance and glucose levels.

 

[PointBreeze]

I'm 65 and I don't get yearly blood tests. Cholesterol every few years. Everything else only if something is up, which doesn't happen often

 

[Alchemist253]

I would ask for a fasting blood glucose and an A1C reading just to check for type 2 diabetes, especially if you have a family history of diabetes in the family.

 

[Gearhead Jim]

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

Isn't that what Carter's Little Liver Pills are for?

 

[Gearhead Jim]

At my last exam, my PCP (who could have stepped from a Norman Rockwell painting of a kindly older doctor) was teaching a young female doctor. After he did the standard digital exam, he asked if I had any objection to his associate doing one. I was already facing the other direction, so I got my prostate prodded twice. And a PSA blood test on top of that just because my Dad had prostate cancer.

There is good (but not conclusive) evidence that the digital exam or sex can increase your PSA reading for several days after, so I time my blood tests accordingly.

 

[ychuck46]

This was more than awkward when I had a male doctor. Now I have a female doctor, so I'm glad they just look st blood work now.

I don't know; I think I might like using a female doctor more, especially an attractive one (with my luck she would look like one of the Soviet "female" athletes from the 1960s and 70s). Whenever I had that particular "experience" in the past I always thought it felt like he was using something other than his finger. Fortunately for me they use the blood work only now, as well.

 

[RetMD21]

I would add ApoB, and Fasting insulin (should be 5 or less and is an early warning of insulin resistance), fasting glucose and A1C. Since Type 2 diabetes can be fairly easily be prevented/reversed with diet, it is a good idea to pay attention to insulin resistance and glucose levels.

except for the fasting glucose those aren't recognized as screening tests so insurance/Medicare may not cover

 

[KarenF]

except for the fasting glucose those aren't recognized as screening tests so insurance/Medicare may not cover

We pay for our own labs anyway through either UltaLabs or my Functional Medicine doctor has a contract with Labcorp. I am trying to stay well. I will use Medicare if I get sick, which will undoubtedly come some day.

 

[EastWest Gal]

I would ask for a fasting blood glucose and an A1C reading just to check for type 2 diabetes, especially if you have a family history of diabetes in the family.

Agree!!!

 

[simple girl]

I'm 56. My doc does a basic panel of bloodwork every year, plus he tests my Vit D per my request because I take supplements (per my oncologist). I need to be careful I don't go over the upper limit.

He also does an EKG every year and every 2 years he runs a bone density test. I'm already osteopenic and just a few points away from osteoporosis. I went through early menopause (age 43) so unfortunately it appears my bone loss has been accelerated by that.

 

[FIREd_2015]

I recently ordered an Amino Acid Analysis using Ultalabtests.com It turns out I was pretty low on one of the amino acids. I also ordered CBC, CMP, Apolipoprotein Eval (I have a history of high cholesterol), PSA total and free, CoQ10 since I'm taking CoQ10 pills. I used Jasonhealth.com for these tests.

 

[RetMD21]

We pay for our own labs anyway through either UltaLabs or my Functional Medicine doctor has a contract with Labcorp. I am trying to stay well. I will use Medicare if I get sick, which will undoubtedly come some day.

That makes sense. You are going beyond the typical so the usual insurance paradigm won't apply. IDK what people are doing with this information. Peter Attia uses Crestor to drive LDL cholesterol to extremely low levels. IDK if that's a good idea. In another thread people with concerning levels are arguing against following their cardiologists recommendations for LDL treatment.

 

[badatmath]

I messaged my doctor on this but I got a test result note that says "low iron no anemia". . . anyone know? I know it isn't colon related since I just had a colonoscopy due to family history.

It was the first time they've ever checked my ferritin so I have no idea if it changed or has always been low. I don't eat meat so it could be diet I guess?

My guess is staff will intercept the note so doctor will not see and tell me to make another appointment . . . which will take 2 months to get in. My doctor seems pretty good but is very popular and hard to schedule. Portal communication is frustrating. My guess is doctor is not concerned or they would have said to follow up but . . . I don't understand.

 

[simple girl]

My doc also runs an a1c test every year. Thank goodness he does, because both my a1c and my husband's a1c jumped 0.7% this year. That puts both of us firmly in the pre-diabetic range. We were both stunned it jumped that much in 1 year. We haven't changed much in our lifestyle over this past year (although a foot injury did decrease the intensity of my exercise).

We shall be counting carbs and plan to monitor our glucose, too. Will be trying to exercise more (we currently exercise 6 of 7 days, though, so hard to do much more!). So I think diet is going to be the biggest change we can make.

In short, we have a chance to try to prevent diabetes, since our doctor runs this test to screen us. Grateful for that! We are going to attack this with our full efforts!

 

[brett]

Whatever test my physician orders plus the home stool test kit.

She reviews the test results with me. End of. Some I recognize, most I do not until she explains them. Only directive was to keep on with the vitamin D that was recommended years ago.

I do not bother with any of the Google or facebook medical stuff.

Just started annual physicals two years ago when I hit 70. Last one prior to that was age 60 or so. I know...foolish.

 

[Zona]

I messaged my doctor on this but I got a test result note that says "low iron no anemia". . . anyone know? I know it isn't colon related since I just had a colonoscopy due to family history.

It was the first time they've ever checked my ferritin so I have no idea if it changed or has always been low. I don't eat meat so it could be diet I guess?

You can have a normal hemoglobin level and low ferritin. I was a very frequent blood donor for years (4x/year). At the donation center they measure hemoglobin but not ferritin and I was always in the acceptable range. But one year at my medical appointment my primary doctor measured my ferritin and it was very low. Per her recommendation, I supplemented with iron for a few months and give blood a little less frequently now.

If I were you, I would definitely get in touch with the doctor (via phone call or portal message), especially if you are feeling any symptoms like fatigue.

 

[badatmath]

I looked again at my iron tests and found ferritin isn't as bad as the "iron sat %" whatever that is but yeah I sent a message and will see if I hear back.

On the A1C which I've never been tested for but asked about since everyone else has . . . doctor said they don't normally order it unless there is a reason (bad fasting glucose, patient overweight, etc). IDK. My glucose was 75 so IDC really. Diabetes does not run in the family either.