Doctors!!!

I get to tell my doctor No! I will not do ANOTHER one of your " Tests". I had a CT scan late last month and that "fruit punch" stuff was awful!! My guts have hurt ever since, and then last week I get notice in the mail that they want to do another CT scan the first week in Jan. I think she WANTS to find something wrong, I have already told her I will not drink that stuff anymore. I have already changed doctors once, This one is the second doctor I'm on, the last one turned his back on me and walked off on me when I was explaining something to him. I am 5'0 feet tall and about 118lbs. I get mad when I get treated like a "thing". There are a couple of doctors out there that better be glad I'm not as big as my younger brother, he is 6'2 an about 260 lbs. That's my rant for this evening.

I wish I was 118 pounds,,,,,:beer2:

Talk to her, ask her why the second test.
Unless the test is a real financial burden,,, then drink the red crap again & take the test.

Many in the world don't have access to a real doctor,, you & I do,,, take the test again.

The first week of January,,, I have to get probed at BOTH ends,, same morning,,, looking for anything unusual at my age 54 yrs,,,,

Life is just one PITA after another,,,:shrug:

My primary care, good guy, told me a colonoscopy was recommended ........ I was 65 then, 67 now. No thanks I told him. We all have to die of something eventually. I go to church with a lot of people in their 80s and 90s.

Alex Micah the 99 year old barber from Madison, NJ told me in the 1980s, he was still cutting hair, by feel, he couldn't see. He told me, "It is no good to live too long." From my observations I can see what he was saying. YMMV.

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Originally Posted by Hirlau

Talk to her, ask her why the second test.
Unless the test is a real financial burden,,, then drink the red crap again & take the test.

Many in the world don't have access to a real doctor,, you & I do,,, take the test again.

The first week of January,,, I have to get probed at BOTH ends,, same morning,,, looking for anything unusual at my age 54 yrs,,,,

Life is just one PITA after another,,,:shrug:

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Make sure they scope the top first!

A number of years ago, as part of a physical, I was told I needed a prostate exam (first one). It was digital and I was thinking, sounds quite modern, digital. The doctor was female and she made some friendly small talk before the exam. Everything was jake. Then it was time for the exam and off came the pants. Noooooooooooooooo, digital meant finger! But the worst part happened when she completed the exam...practically threw a clean up tissue at me and left the room. This was the first and last time I felt "cheap."

I have those scans on a fairly regular basis but the last one I didn't have to drink the crap. Apparently they have a new way of doing it now. They still hook me up to the IV and pump Iodine (I think its iodine) into me for the scans but I'm getting fairly used to being stabbed now.

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Originally Posted by AlanQ

I have those scans on a fairly regular basis but the last one I didn't have to drink the crap. Apparently they have a new way of doing it now. They still hook me up to the IV and pump Iodine (I think its iodine) into me for the scans but I'm getting fairly used to being stabbed now.

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I told them I would do the iodine, it was the only thing to find something" a couple of infected lymphnodes that I have already took medicine for. I was there from 8.30am till about 4:00pm making me wait a hour or more to see on doctor only to be litterly dragged down the to the hall to another doctor who what do to a colonoscopy on me! I said h### no the last you did back in (April) caused me to have bad nights sweats for 6 months and insomnia. I mean I was going thru 7 or 8 T-shirts a night!, and still have the insomnia. BTW, that Red Crap turns to concrete and gives me all kind of problems., Pain, the "sit downs" "bad gas" etc.

Night sweats can be an indication of something very wrong.

I would do whatever that doc said.

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Originally Posted by THORandODIN

I told them I would do the iodine, it was the only thing to find something" a couple of infected lymphnodes that I have already took medicine for. I was there from 8.30am till about 4:00pm making me wait a hour or more to see on doctor only to be litterly dragged down the to the hall to another doctor who what do to a colonoscopy on me! I said h### no the last you did back in (April) caused me to have bad nights sweats for 6 months and insomnia. I mean I was going thru 7 or 8 T-shirts a night!, and still have the insomnia. BTW, that Red Crap turns to concrete and gives me all kind of problems., Pain, the "sit downs" "bad gas" etc.

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I fully understand but trust me some things are far worse!

See the doctor. They have saved my life twice so far in my life. Better to go through the dislike of the procedures and either find the problem or be declared OK than waiting and regretting later. My doctor might have a thought that I am a hypochondriac about somethings but I do believe that they prefer to err on the side of caution and run those tests to make sure that if there is a cause it is caught as early as possible.

Sounds like you're leaving out part of the story, where the doc explained why she wants you to have those tests. Docs don't perform CT scans for no reason, or just hoping to find something. You must have some kind of symptoms for which she is trying to find a cause.

It's amazing to me how many people second guess their doctors in a way that they don't second guess any other professional. You don't hear people saying, "My plumber said I needed to replace a section of broken pipe! That's the second time this year! I'm just going to wrap some duct tape around it, he just wants to make some extra money."

That's not to say that docs don't make mistakes, but if you don't mention the side effects you experience from certain treatments, how will the doc know to alter the process or possibly prescribe something that will alleviate those effects? Just saying no to further tests isn't the answer. Asking what can be done to alleviate these side effects is.

I was told I needed a prostate exam (first one). It was digital and I was thinking, sounds quite modern, digital.

Now, that’s funny, spit up my coffee…

Everybody wants to go to heaven but nobody wants to die ...... :shrug:

When I told my primary care I didn't want to get the colonoscopy and that 'we all have to die of something,' that I didn't want to live past my ability to care for myself, he said something like .............. "I know what you mean, who wants to end up in an assisted living facility crapping themselves three times a day."

Have a nice day. :angel:

The reason for the test is because of the night sweats, she thinks it could be a sign of Lymphoma. She is the second doctor I'm on because the first one turned his back on me and walked off on me while I was trying explained it to him, he said " That's between you and your primary care doctor". So I fired him and asked for a different doctor, this one will at least listen to me. I'm seeing her because back in May my iron level was a "3" its supposed to be between 15 and 35. I had to go thru 5 iron transfusions before they found one that would "take" I am now at "11". They found 2 slightly infected Lymph nodes the last time, and the iodine found them not the "fruit punch". The thing is I don't have tonight sweats if I'm taking a sleep aid like Ambien, or Halcion. Jimmyhad you just said my favorite words,

I think the expression I hear all the time in regards to men's health care is " Check up or check out " My father died young from the very most curable cancer there is. My mother on the other hand see her doctor often and has been living fairly well with lymphoma for over ten years. It is all about choices.

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Originally Posted by RezDog

I think the expression I hear all the time in regards to men's health care is " Check up or check out " My father died young from the very most curable cancer there is. My mother on the other hand see her doctor often and has been living fairly well with lymphoma for over ten years. It is all about choices.

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So did mine,,, age 47 years,,, died of cancer.

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Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

When I told my primary care I didn't want to get the colonoscopy and that 'we all have to die of something,' that I didn't want to live past my ability to care for myself, he said something like .............. "I know what you mean, who wants to end up in an assisted living facility crapping themselves three times a day."

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Well if you skip the 'scope and wind up with colon cancer that won't be you, since you will likely be crapping in a bag for the rest of your life...

I have been having colonoscopies done at regular intervals for the last approximately 20 years. They are no so big a deal to have done to catch a highly treatable cancer early. Cost is also not an issue as they are covered under our government health plan. It is a topic of conversation when us old guys get together for coffee at Timmys. My buddy jokingly refers to it as going to get the Azz Blaster done.

Bob

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Originally Posted by Razorfeld

See the doctor. They have saved my life twice so far in my life. Better to go through the dislike of the procedures and either find the problem or be declared OK than waiting and regretting later. My doctor might have a thought that I am a hypochondriac about somethings but I do believe that they prefer to err on the side of caution and run those tests to make sure that if there is a cause it is caught as early as possible.

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One of my oldest and closest friends damn near died twice in the last year thanks to not getting a test he really should have had quite some time ago. The first episode happened back in the spring. Now, some eight months or so later, although improving, he is still weak, tired, frustrated, sick, and very, very angry at himself for not having a test done earlier.

+1 to the advice not to walk away from this. The end result could be far worse than what you are trying to avoid. Also, BIG +1 to the advice to talk to your MD, explain your concerns, and see if another kind of test could be used. There are options, so please do explore them.

Good luck!

Awhile back my oldest and best friend and I were talking about medical procedures and I agreed with him when he said:

"The older you get, the more invasive the tests get".

This Might be :OT However, I hope this brings a little joy to the thread:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2gABYTmXos

It is important to trust and get along with your doctor. Having faith in what the doctors are doing is half the cure. Find one that works for you and reduce this added stress. You might even have to travel a ways.

Stay Shiny. ;)

I did call mine up today and asked them about the "Fruit Punch", after I explained to them of the troubles I've had with it they said I didn't really need it, its just something to make things easier to see. So I didn't really need it after all. Jan. 8th here I come.

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Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

My primary care, good guy, told me a colonoscopy was recommended ........ I was 65 then, 67 now. No thanks I told him. We all have to die of something eventually. I go to church with a lot of people in their 80s and 90s.

Alex Micah the 99 year old barber from Madison, NJ told me in the 1980s, he was still cutting hair, by feel, he couldn't see. He told me, "It is no good to live too long." From my observations I can see what he was saying. YMMV.

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Jimmy, yer my new hero. My first Stepfather RIP was an MD DO and was old school (still did house calls and volunteered as Physician for the High school Football team) and saw well ahead the state that our Medical care in this country was going and while it is good to go to the doctor, there is so much litigation involved these days. It dumbfounds me how many times I have heard "the doctors can't figure out what's wrong and have to do more tests" being said. And as far as doctors turning their backs on a patient and walking away.....Bedside manner is everything ! And one thing we should never ever do is judge someone on whether they go see a doctor or not. Life is hard enough and everybody has different financial issues going on and this whole being chastised by the hive mentality needs to go. Remember , don't judge unless you've walked a mile in the other guys shoes so to speak. We go when we go and there are two things that are certain in this life Death and taxes.

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Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

Everybody wants to go to heaven but nobody wants to die ...... :shrug:

When I told my primary care I didn't want to get the colonoscopy and that 'we all have to die of something,' that I didn't want to live past my ability to care for myself, he said something like .............. "I know what you mean, who wants to end up in an assisted living facility crapping themselves three times a day."

Have a nice day. :angel:

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P.S. Sorry , that was not meant as a rant against anyone.....all good ??

I almost lost my leg several years ago due to a serious burn gone gangrene .Well the Doctor who saw me was this young gal who was an ER intern actually and her bedside manner was so awesome that I would have let her cut or stitch anything. It really pays to have a good bedside manner. I have also experienced the complete opposite and have had some real Dr. Jeckyll encounters in my time. I would have loved to strap those doctors to a slab and performed a little ER of my own. I still got a herniated scar from a gall bladder removal that the quack in charge did on me , thank god it does not give me any issues but, it reminds me every time I look at it about how cheesy the system can be.

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Originally Posted by Nightblade

And one thing we should never ever do is judge someone on whether they go see a doctor or not. Life is hard enough and everybody has different financial issues going on and this whole being chastised by the hive mentality needs to go. Remember , don't judge unless you've walked a mile in the other guys shoes so to speak.

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Very good point - especially re the associated costs. It's easy for us Canucks to forget that can be a significant factor for an awful lot of folks.

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Originally Posted by THORandODIN

I did call mine up today and asked them about the "Fruit Punch", after I explained to them of the troubles I've had with it they said I didn't really need it, its just something to make things easier to see. So I didn't really need it after all. Jan. 8th here I come.

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There ya go. One stressor eliminated. Glad you're going.

Get the colonoscopy. Colon cancer is preventable, and is a horrible, painful way to die.

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Originally Posted by Nightblade

It really pays to have a good bedside manner. I have also experienced the complete opposite and have had some real Dr. Jeckyll encounters in my time.

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Just a bit of a literary whoopsie here...

Dr. Jeckyll actually was the nice guy. It was the Mr. Hyde persona that was evil.

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Originally Posted by THORandODIN

I did call mine up today and asked them about the "Fruit Punch", after I explained to them of the troubles I've had with it they said I didn't really need it, its just something to make things easier to see. So I didn't really need it after all. Jan. 8th here I come.

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if you want the test to really count for something you better reconsider the fruit punch. if they can't see, well....what will they miss. I know when I had mine done 4 years ago there was no choice. There was a guy there who didn't do it and they gave him the drastic cleanout right there and then and he wasn't happy about it.

Doctors are divided into two categories. Some went to study at the doctors for the money, while others went to study for the sake of helping people. Better certainly get to the doctors of the second category. I made this conclusion for themselves.

This is so true, my father in law just passed a couple weeks ago at 90. He had several doctors I would take him to regularly, that really could not do a lot for him except make him comfortable. He had many issues and his body was just breaking down.

But there were two doctors in particular, his primary and an orthopedist that just took the extra time to thoroughly examine him, pull up a chair, talk to him and more importantly, listen. While, he saw them as Doctors, he thought of them as friends.

There is a special place, for Doctors like that.

I wouldn't be a very good money Doctor as I would probably do a lot of Freebies for people. Just seems wrong to not treat a person just because they are down on their luck.

Huh...who'd a thought we'd see the day where Thor and Odin were crapped off about going to the Dr's....didn't think Norse Gods needed that type of care...crazy, learn something new everyday. Makes me wonder if Valhalla has room service or not now??