See Doctor now or wait?

[jaminhealth]

There is so much info here on the weight loss area and so much info in general on weight loss.

Brisk walking is always good, or a recumbent bike at a medium pace.

BP needs to be corrected. Sounds like you have an HMO. They are so limiting.

[Mikala43]

I'm sorry, but do you really need the health care industry to tell you to lose weight? What do you want them to do?

[Rabflmom]

Originally Posted by MaryleeII

I doubt they would do much for his knee at this point, other than diagnosis it. Anything they might recommend we could do on our own, and avoid having the knee problem on his medical records.


Meanwhile, I think its important for him to have a complete cardio workup to determine if there's any restrictions on exercise in general. Just tell the doc he wants to lose weight. And NO, our insurance does NOT pay for any type of weight loss program, even if prescribed by a doctor, even if the patient is morbidly obese, even if he's had 2 prior heart attacks. Whenever he asks his cardiologist, or primary care doctors for referrals to a weight-loss program, they just give him a blank look.


Prevention is NOT a part of medical care in today's healthcare. Oh, yes, he went for his Wellness Exam---like a good little boy! He tried to discuss weight loss, and they just brushed him off. The wellness exam is a complete waste of time. You can't discuss anything related to a particular problem, or it will not be coded as a wellness exam. Therefore, insurance will NOT pay for it, and insurance will NOT accept it as the yearly wellness exam required to keep rates at the lower price option. All we can do is show up, wear paper, then have them ask a bunch of ridiculous questions, like how often do you brush/floss your teeth?


DH needs his blood pressure monitored better. He currently runs about 160/100, with Metropolol, 25 mg/day. Look, I take 50 mg 2 x day, and I weight about 100 pounds less than he does! But when he went for his Wellness Exam, they wouldn't/couldn't discuss BP, because then it wouldn't be a Wellness Exam Ok, so now he has to schedule another doctor appointment to discuss his problems. Oh, but, the Wellness Esam was "free" Yippee!!!! But he now needs to find another day off work for yet another appointment. That isn't always that easy to take time off work.


Ok, regardless, he has an appointment with his primary care physician this coming Wednesday. I will suggest he discuss all his concerns except the knee......while we wait to get on Medicare, which is in about 5 months for him.

Prevention is actually part of most insurances-anyway for the policies I have had in the last 20 years. Even my Medicare Advantage insurance gives me free access to a health club, has people that will come ut to the house to help decide what tests I need to have and how to prevent some ailments from occurring if possible. I guess it probably depends on your group insurance your company chooses. The company my husband worked for tried to keep the insurance cost to everyone down with prevention instead of waiting till you were sick as a dog and causing the insurance to cost everyone more. .

[Jellybean50]

Originally Posted by City__Datarer

I'm not eligible for Medicare yet so don't have knowledge of how it works (so have nothing to add on that topic), but I'm wondering whether possibly a couple of subsequent posters missed the double "not" ("not NOT") in the post quoted above. (I missed it too the first time I read it.)

I'm only guessing that the poster intended this as a double negative. If I'm guessing wrong and the repetition was for emphasis (rather than a double negative), then never mind. (Maybe the poster will be back to clarify.)

Medicare does not REFUSE you coverage if you have medical problems.

I thought everyone sort of knew this. When you retire on disability, or get SSD disability, you GET Medicare. They obviously know you have pre-existing conditions lol. Sorry i may have said it in a strange way. I'm strange

I do not know every procedure that is covered and is not covered, however. I have it, and BCBS as my back up plan, and have had great success being covered.

I will also state again that i lost weight and it did nothing for my knee pain. (Type of shoes/sneakers HAVE helped a bit, and walking, not sitting or standing for long periods of time at onece.) Don't let every doctor weight-shame you, either. Read "Health At Every Size," by Linda Bacon, PhD.

[jaminhealth]

I've seen very thin people with knee issues and heavy people with no knee issues, BUT hip and back issues. Getting a good pair of orthotics can help too. And NOT sitting all day is important. Walk as much as one can...cycle in moderation. Keep the knee moving. After in bed all night, my knee is SO STIFF. I'm not tossing my leg around during the night. When I do get for bathroom I do some knee moving.

[daliowa]

Originally Posted by MaryleeII

Thanks for pointing this out. He will be eligible for Medicare next year, but it will be secondary to his current employer-based policy until he retires. Once retired, Medicare will become primary, and he can continue on his employer-policy as secondary. I suppose in either case, the pre-existing condition concern would not apply, as long as he remains with the current employer until retirement then keeps them as a secondary provider.


He does have a cardiac condition, so I suppose we should get approval from his cardiologist before undertaking any type of exercise program.

Than he already has a pre-existing condition.


See a doctor & get a proper diagnosis.

[City__Datarer]

Originally Posted by Jellybean50

...Sorry i may have said it in a strange way... [excerpt, not full post]

Not at all. It's just an interesting thing about perception that sometimes people, when reading, will perceive a more familiar phrase (or a more common syntax) instead of what's actually on the page. Like automatically correcting a typo when you read--only in some cases it isn't a typo. (An online search on "Paris in the" illusion brings up an example of this.)

Anyway, thanks for your posts!