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Currently
Oncologist every 6 month
Dentist twice a year
Eye doctor every 3 years
Gp once a year
Mammogram yearly
Gynecologist every few years
A few years ago I felt I needed to get a 3D mammogram after having skipped them for at least 7 years. It’s good I did because they caught a cancerous growth early enough it hadn’t spread to my lymph nodes. After treatment , well here I am enjoying life, my husband, my family and friends.
I don't want to turn this into any kind of a "lecture" thread about what people should or shouldn't do, but my husband and I have almost completely different opinions and views about calling or going to the doctor. He will call his doctor for anything more serious than a bad cold, while I won't go to the doctor unless I am in serious pain o have a symptom that I know should be investigated. (The last time I went to the doctor, other than for my Medicare wellness exam when I turned 65, was for when I had the Shingles when I was about 56; and I have never had a mammogram.)
Can we assume then that you haven't had a colonoscopy either?
Quote:
Originally Posted by katharsis
I think my reluctance is because I know that I am healthy and I feel good (knock wood to both!), and I don't want to spend the time or money for no good reason, although we both have excellent medical insurance. I admit that I am "cheap", but this attitude has saved us thousands of dollars over the past 40 years -- and at this stage of my life, I really don't care if I live another 20 years -- or even ten!
You're healthy until you're not. And unfortunately, without screenings, some times you find out too late. (I hope that doesn't constitute too much of a lecture. )
Now that I'm coming up on the five-year anniversary of my double cancer diagnoses, some of those appointments should be reduced. My CT Scans have already been reduced from 4x/year to 2x/year, with the one last week being completely clear; so if that happens again in November, I should be good to go. Which isn't bad considering in 2017 I was diagnosed with stage 4 NHL, with tumors in two chambers of my heart as well as a large one in my mediastinum, and neither my oncologist nor my cardiologist thought I was going to survive.
I knew two people who had prostate cancer. One hated doctors and never got an annual checks of any kind. When the pain was bad enough, his wife finally convinced him to go. It was stage 3 or 4 and he was dead in less than 6 months at age 55. The other guy believed in preventative care. His cancer was caught early and he survived.
I go to the dentist twice a year for cleanings by the hygienist.
Once a year for a vision check.
Urologist annually.
Primary doctor for a physical yearly and my Advantage Plan rewards me with $15 for getting it.
I'm already scheduled for my 5-year colonoscopy next month.
I've been blessed with good health. So I hardly ever go.
While I've had a couple of conditions crop up that were quickly diagnosed, treated, cured and resolved, mostly I don't go for years other than staying on top of some routine screenings. One annual. One very 10 years.
What kind of "doctor"? If you mean medical allopaths who rely and profit on useless, dangerous but profitable drugs, surgeries and vaccines as a solution for everything? Then the answer is NO!
I think the majority of former healthcare professionals share your mother's approach, myself among them :-). I do have an advantage of knowing what is going on, or knowing what possibilities could be, so I seek medical care only when I think I need it, which has happened exactly once in the past 30 years (interestingly, also for an ophthalmologic issue 6.5 years ago - I am 62 now). I do monitor my blood pressure by myself, because it is borderline, and avoid coffee, sodium and sugar in hope it will not take off above the limit of 120/80 (where it has been sitting firmly for the past couple of years). Nothing else to do right now. Oh, and I have been to a dentist more recently than the 1970s, but not every year, or even every 5 years. But I just had a big dental drama in Feb/March, a horrendous abscess, and had the first permanent tooth ever pulled out (but it is a far back molar, and I do not miss it at all; what a relief it was to have it removed! - so yes, medical services are certainly great for some purposes, but are way overused in situations where they have no real purpose). Your 95 yo mother is very prudent in weighing risks vs. benefits of medicine .
I guess my friends and I are in the minority, then! I appreciate my doctor's advice and like to hear another point of view. I am heading into my later sixties; things have been changing in the past four years or so.
Hurray for the woman in her mid-nineties, though! Glad to hear that she is doing well.
The last time I looked it up, the average lifespan of doctors was really low (like mid-fifties). I don't know if that's still the case, or not.
I am of the opinion that doctors and hospitals should be avoided "like the plague" (ironic). I think going to doctors or hospitals opens cans of worms that are not only unpleasant, but unnecessary.
I sometimes think of all the people who died of whatever not even knowing they were sick. I don't necessarily think that's a bad thing (unless you have small children).
I usually only go if I’m sick, and that doesn’t happen often. I go to the dentist twice yearly for cleaning.
Recently went to my gp (a new thing for me) and had a complete wellness check with bloodwork, mammogram, bone density screen, colon screen. Everything looked fine, bones a little less dense than they could be, but that was expected as I’m 67. My mother had osteoporosis, so I guess I’m doing ok in that regard. I take a bunch of vitamins now to combat that and a slightly low Vitamin D level.
I now also have an audiologist, got me some hearing aids! Very exciting, not sure how often visits to her will be.
I have a regular eye doc too, but my vision is ok, rely on readers a lot.
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