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It is all about the money. We watched this play out with my in-laws. They had one doctor appt. after another that usually didn't amount to anything more than "How are you doing Mrs. L", "Good", "That's great to hear, see you again in 3 months, in-between time I think you need such and such test". My father-in-law was in his 90's and a dementia patient in a nursing home and his doctor was still ordering bone density tests several times a year until my wife finally put her foot down and said no more. My MIL and FIL were both getting tests and screenings that only served to continually confirm that which was already known and couldn't be cured.
This is what I also have seen with my parents and inlaws. My mother in law had at least two doctor appointments each week. She saw a rheumatologist, cardiologist, pulmonologist, orthopedist, and a few other doctors regularly. She was chronically ill with all sorts of problems and diseases none which were curable yet she constantly had tests done and took literally 40+ pills a day. I used to wonder what would happen if she would have quit all her medications and doctor appointments.
This is how they make money on Medicare patients. Lots and lots of tests, over and over again. I have a cousin who is retired and has nothing better to do so he spends all his time going to doctors and having more tests done. He pays nothing so he just goes from test to test to doctor to doctor.
He sees a cardiologist twice a year but he has no heart problems but of course he has to have an ekg/dopplers/whatever else they can think of. He sees a podiatrist twice a year but he has no foot problems either. He has extensive blood work done 4 times a year but he is healthy. The only meds he takes is a small dose of antihypertensive meds. And with the new BP guidelines almost everyone over 30 will be on those soon!
The desire to live longer is largely nothing but false narrative. Sure, if you're pain free and don't stumble, occasionally feel dizzy, or just out of sorts. Trust me...it doesn't happen that way.
I've stopped seeing all specialists for the very reason the OP cites, I'm sick of this test and that test, most of which wore me out and were, in my opinion, more dangerous than doing nothing. Especially the nuclear stress test I did about 3 or 4 years ago. Nearly killed me.
The PMAs or whatever they're called, all use the same language and verbal terms. I stopped listening when I realized they were nothing but robots, mouthing the same fear tactics over and over and over.
And what's with C-PAP, D-PAP, Z-PAP, and all the crazy PAP crap? What better way to die than in your sleep!
At age 75, my brother was giving a talk at a church meeting. Nothing big. Just a meeting to discuss building plans for a new auditorium. One minute, he was mid-sentence. The next minute, he was face-planted on the table and dead as a doornail. What a GREAT! way to Go!
If you aren't even 65, give your opinion when you are at least that. I will give you this much in that it is all an individual's own choice. Medical professionals are very prejudiced when it comes to aging and keeping people alive as long as THEY possibly can.
My husband and I are both 69. Both of us have said we DON'T want to live to be 85 let alone 95. There are other factors involved than just being in "extreme pain", and living as long as possible. Quality of life versus Quantity of life. Try to imagine the friends of your youth, majority of your relatives, and even possibly your own children being dead, and you are still alive? Ever consider that? My husband and I have.
If I can keep the quality of life that I have now, I wouldn't mind living to 100 and beyond. I don't have any kids and I have no relatives now that I can't live without and as for friends, I have friends of all ages, from 20 on up. Life to me isn't picking a number and hanging around to die when that number comes up. As far as I can tell, the best part of my life is just coming up in the next couple of years.
Each situation is different in his situation he feels fine and he doesn't even want the test only doing it because my mother is concerned. He is the type of person that just doesn't worry about medical problems he is thinking of others who worry about him. The problem with being worried about dying is no one knows when or how that will happen. I'm just not concerned with dying I think it's a part of life we all have to face one day no doctor can predict it.
If you look at this thread some talk about people on their death bed doctors are giving them bone density test.
Hyperbole. You don’t know it’s not about “dying” but about not ending up “living” like a vegetable for a decade.
Apparently you’re not familiar with bone density or you think it’s perfectly OK for someone to break a hip have to go through several months of rehab after they get eight rods inserted into their bones or worse be bedridden in pain forever. This is been known to happen to people much younger even 60 years old .
You can’t make people die just because YOU think it’s time .
Try getting some real world experience. Like when my mother had to have all the oxygen masks drop on the plane when her heart rebelled in flight, jet setting around - resulting in a 5 graph bypass at age 73, I guess it was “her time” to die since she was over 55, too?
As it turned out that episode resulted in a very long slow painful death at 50 pounds, wasting away in a substandard nursing home for over a year . And she had all the money in the world .
I wanted to see if this is something others have noticed or seen before. My uncle who is 85 years old had planned on a trip to come out see my mother his sister my mother told him he should have his heart checked because last time he was here she noticed he got winded walking up a hill.
Now he went in they want to do a nuclear stress test, CT scans, and other test he had to cancel his trip here because all of this takes bunch of time waiting for records, and appointments. I told my mother why bother he is 85 years old of course they are going to find something, and he smoked for 50 years so walking up a hill he is going to get winded he has no chest pain.
These doctors want to do all this in the end even if they find he needs a stent or something is it worth the risk doing that on someone who is 85 years old I know it's done on people that old what if something goes wrong he ends up dead over something that he might have lived with till he was 92-93 without a problem.
Your uncle is a grown man. He doesn't have to take any test he doesn't want to take. Don't blame the doctors.
Your uncle is a grown man. He doesn't have to take any test he doesn't want to take. Don't blame the doctors.
Older people have been socialized their entire lives to do whatever the doctor says. That is a hard worldview to change in your latter years. The doctors know this, and take advantage of it.
I'm not 85 yet but when I am, I would guess I'd be as eager to keep living at that age as I'd be at 65, unless I was already in a lot of pain. People at 85 and even 95 aren't always as keen on dying as you think they are. So why shouldn't they be allowed tests and stents, as long as it's something they want? Just because some people are ready to hang it up when they're 85 doesn't mean everyone is.
It all comes down to personal choice - you CAN refuse medical procedures, or you can seek them out, or anything in between.
Now he went in they want to do a nuclear stress test, CT scans, and other test he had to cancel his trip here because all of this takes bunch of time waiting for records, and appointments.
Hey - doctors have to pay the mortgages on their vacation homes, too.
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