Get your physicals done people

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Jan 8, 2007
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I get a physical roughly every 18 to 24 months. Always been in decent health a little overweight but nothing serious.

I went end of February for my physical and the doctor heard something in my heart so he sent me for an echo. 5 days later I was having open heart surgery to correct a valve that failed and was having 70 ml of backflow. That's almost 2.5 ounces going backwards per beat. My heart was enlarging because of this but it was caught before it got to bad.

I was not putting my symptoms together. I was more fatigued but I blamed it on other factors. I was having occasional blurred vision and actually saw the eye doctor about it. She said to much coffee, made sense to me.

Point is take care to get that stupid physical that you keep pushing off because you are to busy. The doctor may just find something that will save you from a much bigger issue. These things can sneak up on you quickly sometimes.
 
Get well - stay well Beercan
Most doctor offices are swamped now and the last thing they want / need to do, are non-essential physicals.
Mine is due, but my doctor office asked me to wait, unless I show signs of being ill.
Office said it will dispense another 90 days prescription of blood pressure medicine to my CVS Pharmacy.

When things calm down at doctor offices by June, then get my annual physical. No, they won't calm down here in early-mid May. We are currently one of those hot pockets and will remain so for another 2-3 weeks, before a slow downturn is expected

If you live in / near a big city that's having issues, unless it's necessary, leave your doctor alone - until things quiet down in your area..
 
Hope you recover well from that surgery, BeerCan.

Was it tough? Any good nurses?

Heart likely isn't great, I have to take aspirin too often to get breathing well. I have been neglectful getting a physical, I think I don't care, and I don't have any kids. But maybe when it gets down to the wire

I might change my mind!
 
Originally Posted by Mr Nice
Luckily you caught it early.

How old are you ?

54. Not very old for this issue I think.

Strangely I was in the pediatric ICU and recovery wing. My next door neighbor was an infant that had heart surgery. I was the one crying in pain and that kid was just trucking along.
 
Originally Posted by Triple_Se7en
Most doctor offices are swamped now and the last thing they want / need to do, are non-essential physicals.
Mine is due, but my doctor office asked me to wait, unless I show signs of being ill.
Office said it will dispense another 90 days prescription of blood pressure medicine to my CVS Pharmacy.

When things calm down at doctor offices by June, then get my annual physical. No, they won't calm down here in early-mid May. We are currently one of those hot pockets and will remain so for another 2-3 weeks, before a slow downturn is expected

If you live in / near a big city that's having issues, unless it's necessary, leave your doctor alone - until things quiet down in your area..

🙄🥴...
It wasn't meant for people to rush out now and burden the system. I'm confident most of bitog got my meaning to not ignore themselves and make sure they scheduled physicals. I'm also confident most of them understand that unless they have an emergency they will do it when things calm down.

But actually this is good advice just in case someone thinks to do it now because they are not working. So I agree with Triple_Se7en to not burden the system unless necessary.
 
Originally Posted by BeerCan
Originally Posted by Mr Nice
Luckily you caught it early.

How old are you ?

54. Not very old for this issue I think.

Strangely I was in the pediatric ICU and recovery wing. My next door neighbor was an infant that had heart surgery. I was the one crying in pain and that kid was just trucking along.

I hope you have a quick recovery.

Funny thing, about a month ago I was admitted for an overnight stay for IV-antibiotics after I'd had a reaction to the oral antibiotics I'd received a week earlier, and I was also put on a pediatric floor of the hospital. When the person wheeling me up to the room told me that I said that if they can make me feel like a kid again, even better.
grin2.gif
 
Thanks for the message. At age 64, during my recent annual physical I learned that I have a cataract just starting to form that might need attention in the next few years. Maybe the result of working outdoors so much in the sun, who knows. A bit young for this, but otherwise healthy.

A very healty, fit and trim friend of mine ended up getting quadruple bypass heart surgery this past summer. He went in for flu-like symptoms and they discovered the problem by chance.

Don't ignore the signals (don't be a man, my wife says). I very much enjoy telling the young guys what they get to look forward to......prostate exams!!!!!
 
Originally Posted by ARCOgraphite
Hope you recover well from that surgery, BeerCan.

Was it tough? Any good nurses?

Heart likely isn't great, I have to take aspirin too often to get breathing well. I have been neglectful getting a physical, I think I don't care, and I don't have any kids. But maybe when it gets down to the wire

I might change my mind!

It was tough the first few days. Breathing was difficult, I was in a decent amount of pain and I had all kinds of tubes and wires connected to me. It was a success just to stand and walk 15 to 20 yards the first day after ICU.

My first real milestone was when the pulled the drain tubes out. They are like 3/8 or 1/2 inch tubing under your skin for draining fluids. What a strange feeling having them pulled out, but within 30 minutes I was breathing and feeling better. Pulling the temporary pacemaker out was the next milestone and that is when I knew I was ok.

The nursing team was fantastic. I've had 2 major surgeries in my life and I am astounded by the level of professionalism and caring I received from the nursing teams. I have a great respect for the, often thankless, job they do.

Had the surgery March 9th, of course cardiac rehab is closed so I have just been walking every day until I can be seen. Proud to say I am up to six miles a day walking my neighborhood. I walk 3 times a day and feel the improvements every time.
 
BeerCan: glad you are OK and doing better.

Always glad to hear from you and I would say GO BOLTS! , sadly I cant though
smile.gif
 
Luckily surgery went well and you're doing much better. Its not uncommon for folks in their 50's to have warning signs but the person dismiss it as being tired, stress, lack of sleep, poor diet, etc....


Off Topic:
All the necessary medical equipment needed for this surgery (not at your hospital) I've worked on, repaired, and tested. This is the other side of 'healthcare' that very few think about. You don't want any problems with heart / lung (perfusion) equipment during open heart surgery, same goes for anesthesia machine.
 
I hope you're going to be ok, scary stuff.

I'll also add...don't ignore pain that lingers for more than five days.

Did that with my calf once, thought I just pulled something...two weeks later I couldn't breath. Pulmonary embolism...had a blood clot in my calf and broke off and went to my lungs. Lucky that one didn't kill me. Number three killer in the US.
 
Everyone here would be OK with the idea of gaining data (via exams) and establishing a base line for good health.
However:
1) When you're young and healthy you don't even think about going to a doctor
2) The data is likely fragmented unless you use some kind of data storage they'll approve. I believe this is among the biggest ironies.

NOTE: To all the young "manly men" out there. The prostate exam joke -the tired, perversely titillating references to digital/rectal exams- is really stupid. It's of childish Archie Bunker caliber.

It's really destructive to continue it. Don't think of getting on me for condemning this dopey, shallow joke. Tell all the other jokes you want.
I'm with you through jokeland's entire spectrum. Don't propagate silly fears.
That the prostate is so near a handy examination port is something to be happy for.

Prostate cancer is among the most successfully treatable if caught early.
 
A random ekg discovered a heart imbalance a couple years ago. No symptoms. Taking a couple inexpensive meds and the heart output is getting back to 50% from 40. See a cardiologist regularly. My old General doc retired in his 80's he is the one who discovered it. The new doc is older too but it's in and out thank you, next. My daughter lost her job and at 45. What isn't mentioned is having insurance. She is going to go on the ACA in a few months. Without that she wouldn't be seeing a doctor unless someone pays directly. What did that surgery and all the tests cost? 200k? No one can pay these bills unless they are very rich. That's the other side of it and very real. All well and good to get to the doctor, but need insurance.
 
Yearly physicals are ideal, however I think right at this moment the best advice is for most to stay home and away from the doctor's office unless absolutely necessary.
 
Originally Posted by jeepman3071
Yearly physicals are ideal, however I think right at this moment the best advice is for most to stay home and away from the doctor's office unless absolutely necessary.


Yeah. Also, as the original post also implies, for the younger set, seek out a primary care physician who is say, 10-15 years younger than you.

You want someone very familiar with your health who isn't himself getting ready to retire just as you need him most.
 
I been w/ the same clinic since 1998 and currently on my 3 doctor. I always have a 2 by 4 card to make notes and items that need to be discuss during my visits.
I suffer from asthma and other minor things. I am working on actually having a paper file w/ me just in case I need medical attention some where else.
 
I will share my experience too. I'm 63, a bit overweight (but not obese) but regularly walk 5 km every other day. On medications for 9 years now that have my hypertension and cholesterol under control. At 56, I had a stress ECG (electrocardiogram) test done as there was a new stress test machine at the clinic I go to, and the techs were very excited to try it so I volunteered. Reached stage 5, very normal for my age. 3 years later (at age 59) I noted some exertional chest pain (like as if a finger were inside my chest pressing on something) and that would go away after 5 minutes of rest on a bench. I thought, is this age related? Almost 2 months later I went to a cardiologist, who had me do some tests. All results came out normal except for the stress ECG test, where I reached only stage 2, and they had to stop the test.

2 weeks later, I underwent cardiac angiography. They found that my biggest and most important cardiac artery was 90-95% obstructed. Very ripe for a heart attack. All other arteries were in acceptable condition. Right there and then, they dilated the artery and put in 3 stents that would keep the artery from clogging again. The exertional pain has since gone away.

Folks, get a regular checkup if you are above 50. Don't ignore even seemingly mild symptoms. They might be heralding signs of something more serious.
 
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I go in every 6 months for doctor to listen to my heart & lungs then take vitals. My only issue is high blood pressure that is well controlled. I am happy to make time for the quick visit.

This doctor is retiring in August.
 
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