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The Other Half

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Re: The Other Half

#201

Post by djrogers »

ryandrake wrote: post #62
smacktoward wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or even if you're not experiencing any pain -- if you haven't been to the doctor in a long time... go to the doctor. Get a routine checkup! It can save your life. I almost learned this the hard way a few years ago. I was in my late 30s, and handled going to the doctor the way I always had since reaching adulthood -- which is to say, I didn't bother with it unless I was feeling out of sorts. Routine doctor visits seem…

I probably haven't been to a doctor for years and years. Like most Americans I have pretty shitty health insurance, and it's mostly about avoiding unnecessary expenses. I don't have any burning desire to pay a doctor, a blood test lab, and all the other various administrative leeches, just for them to all tell me everything's good. If something happens and I get seriously ill, I accept that I'll be paying through the…

Every insurance plan in the US will cover an annual checkup with $0 out of pocket expense to you.

Re: The Other Half

#202

Post by dzhiurgis »

matt4077 wrote: post #137
Dangeranger wrote: post #48

This story and the comments make me curious as to how many hard charging project leaders have, or would, work through a heart attack. These words stuck out to me: > I was fucking annoyed – I felt like I was just super tired and needed some energy, and energy drinks and caffeine weren’t doing the trick. He then went on to keynote a conference and live for what seems like at least two more days without seeking medical…

I'm not completely sold on the relationship of stress and heart disease. I spend some time working in politics, and almost all principals worked 18h-days with less than 5h of sleep during the week. Yet life expectancy is higher than average. There are obviously ots of competing factors at work: they have plenty of opportunities to eat healthy, and the discipline that makes them get up at 5am also makes them go for a…

> bosses had to retire after run-ins with the crystal meth law they themselves passed...

Wait, what?

Re: The Other Half

#203

Post by cableshaft »

mwpmaybe wrote: post #165
cableshaft wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I used to get these skipped heart beats all the time (I even went to the emergency room thinking I had a heart attack over it several years ago), along with tightness in the chest. I also went to a cardiologist about it, and he pretty much just said "your EKG is normal and you're fat, work out 7 days a week, have a low fat diet, and lose weight". It stopped being anywhere near as frequent, along with a drop in restin…

I am not a doctor. Here are some thoughts (addressed to both you and the GP): I have a hietal hernia[0] that causes reflux and dyspepsia (trouble swallowing) and mimics these heart symptoms: shortness of breath, arrhythmia, chest pain, and tachycardia. A ketogenic diet helps, as does an OTC PPI[1] (e.g. Prilosec, Nexium). You might consider getting scoped to see if you have one as well (or just take a PPI for two wee…

Thanks for that, I'll look into it. I wouldn't be surprised if I had something similar to that hernia. I thought I had pancreatitis for awhile, but that looks like it fits better.

I also just got an MRI and an ultrasound for a hard lump on my leg to make sure it wasn't a clot (they thought it was cellulitis but antibiotics didn't make it go away, now they think it was cellulitis and the remnants just might just stick around for awhile).

Honestly I'm just tired of getting all this checked out all the time. I max out my rather high deductible pretty quick these past couple of years, mostly to get tests taken that (so far) have been negative, so I don't really know what's actually wrong (although apparently the doctors don't ever think it's too serious, but I'm worried they make some assumptions because of my weight and something more serious might be hiding).

I agree, getting old sucks. And I'm still considered too 'young' for half the things they're testing on me, from what they keep telling me.

Re: The Other Half

#204

Post by fencepost »

DanBC wrote: post #162
ganley wrote: post #140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

About a decade ago, I got a physical after having not set foot in a doctor's office in about 12 years. The doctor asked what made me come to get a physical after so long, and when I said nothing in particular, he pretended to write on his clipboard "Wife made me come here." He said middle-aged guys with no obvious health problems pretty much only come to the doctor for one (or both) of two reasons: Their wife made th…

> He said middle-aged guys with no obvious health problems Why would anyone see a doctor unless they had a health problem? (Or wanted health advice?)

> Why would anyone see a doctor unless they had a health problem? (Or wanted health advice?)

Because "sedentary middle-aged American eating a typical American diet" (possibly including "fat" as well) might as well be considered a preexisting condition all by itself, and a simple checkup may catch something that can be addressed before it becomes a hospital visit. Most notable as things to watch out for are high blood pressure, high/poorly balanced cholesterol and diabetes or early signs of it. Two of those you can do some checking for at home fairly inexpensively, but cholesterol not so much.

Despite having health insurance (Thanks Obama! while it lasts) I haven't actually had a checkup in probably 5+ years, but after this I'm going to see about getting in and at the least getting bloodwork, etc. which I've been thinking about anyway. Clearly Jason Scott can't be called all that sedentary given all the walking he did during his heart attack, which is why this is a bit of a wakeup call.

Edit:

I'll throw in a surgeon's commentary from when my wife had her gallbladder out: "Men are stupid."

Context: He was noting that most gallbladder problems are in women, that 90% of gallbladders are removed laparoscopically as outpatient procedures, and that of the other 10% where people end up hospitalized most are men because "Men are stupid." Men will try to tough it out and won't go see a doctor until they're in so much pain that they end up in the ER, and the ER isn't going to dink around with a laparoscope for investigation - if things are that bad, they may well slice you open so they can see what's going on and yank it right then and there leaving a nice scar, at least one overnight in the hospital, and some significant movement restrictions while you're healing.

Re: The Other Half

#205

Post by tomjen3 »

lisper wrote: post #65
smacktoward wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or even if you're not experiencing any pain -- if you haven't been to the doctor in a long time... go to the doctor. Get a routine checkup! It can save your life. I almost learned this the hard way a few years ago. I was in my late 30s, and handled going to the doctor the way I always had since reaching adulthood -- which is to say, I didn't bother with it unless I was feeling out of sorts. Routine doctor visits seem…

> Get a routine checkup! It can save your life. There is no evidence that routine checkups lead to better outcomes. http://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/a-checkup-for-the-checkup... "But what are the true benefits of this practice? Careful reviews of several large studies have shown that these annual visits don’t make any difference in health outcomes. In other words, being seen by your doctor once a year won’t necessa…

That seems unbelievable. Do the doctors _never_ find a heart attack, or get a patient treated for high blood preassure or skin cancer?

Re: The Other Half

#206

Post by QuantumGravy »

pmarreck wrote: post #4

I sat on a "weird pain" in my chest for a few days. Basically it was uncomfortable to sleep on my left side, and I felt a bit short of breath. Turns out I was suffering from a double pulmonary embolism , and that the only reason I wasn't doubled over in pain is because by an odd fluke of nature, the interior of the lungs do not have nerve endings (only the exterior) and had I waited any longer I could have died. At t…

I've had chest pain, shortness of breath, and odd pain in my left arm on and off for most of my life. I've complained about it and have had tests at various stages. Nothing. I'm a little scared, because I don't know what to call unusual any more.

Re: The Other Half

#207

Post by lisper »

tomjen3 wrote: post #205
lisper wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Get a routine checkup! It can save your life. There is no evidence that routine checkups lead to better outcomes. http://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/a-checkup-for-the-checkup... "But what are the true benefits of this practice? Careful reviews of several large studies have shown that these annual visits don’t make any difference in health outcomes. In other words, being seen by your doctor once a year won’t necessa…

That seems unbelievable. Do the doctors _never_ find a heart attack, or get a patient treated for high blood preassure or skin cancer?

Of course not, it's just rare to find problems without symptoms. And going for a check up is not without risks. Sometimes doctors produce false positives. Sometimes you catch a bug in the doctor's office that you would not otherwise have gotten. Going to the doctor can be stressful. All of these things are small effects, and they all generally cancel each other out so that the net effect of going for a routine physical is a no-op.

Re: The Other Half

#208

Post by bleair »

This part fascinated me :

"" I waited 5 anxious minutes, and then was bought into a room with two doctors, one of whom turned out to be Dr. Sonny Palmer.

Sonny said Georg thought I needed some help, and I’d be checked within a day. I asked if he’d seen the letter with his name on it. He hadn’t. He went and got it.

He came back and said I was going to be operated on in an hour. "" You obviously don't want to be rude when talking with doctors, but you absolutely should be your own advocate. Any time you're dealing with medical choise ask questions, such as "did you notice X" or "did you see the information from other person Y" or "do I have other options here than the plan you outlines?" or "your advice sounds good, but what are complications / side effects in doing this?" In the United States it feels like our attitude is "I go to doctor to get fix for aliment. He prescribes X. Done", and it's never that simple.

Re: The Other Half

#209

Post by r00fus »

joebeetee wrote: post #9

A (35ish y/o) family friend died 2 months ago from a heart attack, suspected high cholesterol. He was seemingly healthy, active and not overweight. Anyone else have experience with cholesterol in early 30's?

I don't know specifically about cholesterol but I make a point (as a 40+yo) to get an annual physical and associated tests.

I think based on Obamacare, this is actually copay free for most/all insurance plans. Cholesterol screening is included [1].

I strongly recommend everyone to take advantage of the free preventative care (until Trump/GOP kills it)

[1] http://obamacarefacts.com/questions/exactly-covered-preventa...

Re: The Other Half

#210

Post by shanusmagnus »

bleair wrote: post #208

This part fascinated me : "" I waited 5 anxious minutes, and then was bought into a room with two doctors, one of whom turned out to be Dr. Sonny Palmer. Sonny said Georg thought I needed some help, and I’d be checked within a day. I asked if he’d seen the letter with his name on it. He hadn’t. He went and got it. He came back and said I was going to be operated on in an hour. "" You obviously don't want to be rude w…

Couldn't agree with this more. I'm from MN, we tend to be pretty polite and understated, assume that doctors (and other authorities) know what they're talking about. Had a friend who progressed to a heart attack in a waiting room because he didn't want to make a fuss.

Make a fuss.

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