Health checks

[biddles911]

I am not so sure about this, as soon as I reached 50 if ever I went to the doctors (rarely), out came the scales, bloods appointment, urine tests it was similar to Slimming World but for depressives.

I know the argument, if you can catch it early etc etc, but if you are in your 50's and you have no discernible symptoms of anything, then it seems an unlikely worry and an unnecessary take up of the doctors time.

Its the 'worried well' syndrome and then you give yourself a pat on the back when you make it through the test virtually unscathed and of course with a false sense of security, disease has a starting point that is undetermined, you must keep going for the test annually at least otherwise its a pointless exercise, I would love to know the average number of appointments whilst well until something that is serious enough to need immediate attention is ever flagged up and if when it is symptoms had presented themselves anyway.

So education on our health seems great, I am guessing the NHS have these policies of wellbeing tests perhaps for those patients, usually men that have symptoms presenting but still do not go to doctors, so I get that, but it is being dominated by those of us that seem relatively fit and healthy but just want a gold star sticker and bore their friends on a Friday night whilst your twenty stone mate rocks up and tells you he only found out at one of those tests that he has high blood pressure, no sh1t sherlock.

I note that quite logically if you are determined to get basic wellbeing tests and associated results that you must now consider going for the full monty set of tests, bit like going to the car wash and end up buying the gold star car wash for a tenner a pop, otherwise its not a true picture is it.

To enter a cycle of ongoing investigative medical testing even when no symptoms are presenting themselves must be quite stressful and invasive, not for me.

Several good points made and I'm sure I read some while ago that some longstanding screening programmes are under scrutiny as so few issues are found (don't ask for a reference though!).

More pertinently, I used to work for the British Heart Foundation and we were considering offering regular check ups to senior staff.

We were put off by our then medical director, however, whose view was that most of the standard checks are of little value and as long as you take care of the basics i.e. weight, diet, no smoking and exercise then regular checkups add little to the equation.

The only one he did advocate was a regular blood pressure check since symptoms rarely appear till too late, which you can do at home yourself on a BP monitor, of course.

Don't want to dissuade people from getting themselves checked out of course but it's no substitute for basic self-help by looking after yourself..........


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[Gabbafella]

Last November I had a really swollen ankle, could barely walk on it but was still making it work and on my feet all day. The pain and swelling wasn't going so after a couple of weeks I went to get it x-rayed, nothing showed up so my GP referred me to the medical centre up at the AMEX, she then referred me for an MRI which also came back normal. After a couple of months with my ankle still really swollen I was referred to the Horder centre in crowborough where I had numerous x-rays and MRIs and they found a huge split up the inside of my tibia which had gone all the way through to my marrow and a number of small fractures throughout my foot and ankle. After a blood test it turned out that I had a severe vitamin D deficiency which meant my calcium levels were also extremely low.
I've since had a dexascan and it shows I have a condition called osteopenia, it's basically borderline osteoporosis. I am waiting to see a metabolic bone disease specialist to determine whether it's treatable.
I've since broken my hand too which was really odd as my bone just kind of folded up like a marshmallow, no snap, no pain, quite worrying that it broke so easily and I've been told I may not even realise if I've broken bones. As a result I'm having to look for a different job as I do manual work currently.
I've been told that for a fit, healthy and active 39 year old, this is an extremely rare thing to come across and it may seem like a bit of a cliché but catching it early could make all the difference with treating it.
I can't praise the staff at the Horder centre highly enough, they've been absolutely magnificent. For the consultant to spot what everyone else had missed was excellent, he's very thorough and genuinely cares.
It's certainly made me think about getting regular checks, even it's just a quick physical and some blood work.

 

[BigGully]

Last November I had a really swollen ankle, could barely walk on it but was still making it work and on my feet all day. The pain and swelling wasn't going so after a couple of weeks I went to get it x-rayed, nothing showed up so my GP referred me to the medical centre up at the AMEX, she then referred me for an MRI which also came back normal. After a couple of months with my ankle still really swollen I was referred to the Horder centre in crowborough where I had numerous x-rays and MRIs and they found a huge split up the inside of my tibia which had gone all the way through to my marrow and a number of small fractures throughout my foot and ankle. After a blood test it turned out that I had a severe vitamin D deficiency which meant my calcium levels were also extremely low.
I've since had a dexascan and it shows I have a condition called osteopenia, it's basically borderline osteoporosis. I am waiting to see a metabolic bone disease specialist to determine whether it's treatable.
I've since broken my hand too which was really odd as my bone just kind of folded up like a marshmallow, no snap, no pain, quite worrying that it broke so easily and I've been told I may not even realise if I've broken bones. As a result I'm having to look for a different job as I do manual work currently.
I've been told that for a fit, healthy and active 39 year old, this is an extremely rare thing to come across and it may seem like a bit of a cliché but catching it early could make all the difference with treating it.
I can't praise the staff at the Horder centre highly enough, they've been absolutely magnificent. For the consultant to spot what everyone else had missed was excellent, he's very thorough and genuinely cares.
It's certainly made me think about getting regular checks, even it's just a quick physical and some blood work.

But again your symptom of a swollen ankle was the key indicator firstly for seeking advice and then any further investigative work which then delivered an accurate diagnosis, I am not enitirely sure how this might qualify having a random set of tests when there is no symptoms presenting themselves.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

But your lifestyle would suggest that your heart is healthier than most of the population, unless you have some symptoms, be honest you are just after that gold star arent you.

(That was a joke too)

Being serious my heart rate is actually very very low (sys and dia are/were fine). Not outside of the normal range but it's down there. I have to visit the Brexit thread every day to quicken my pulse a bit....otherwise I worry it might just stop.

 

[The Large One]

But you had symptoms and that was the prompt for the checks, which seems a reasonable pathway of care it isnt even as if you went for being out of breath and they randomly found another serious health issue not associated to those symptoms.

The health check they gave me was to look for any possible reasons as to why I got a blood clot in the first place - e.g. was one of my organs mis-firing? If so, was it cancerous? In the end, they couldn't discern an obvious reason, and I got a clean bill of health in that regard.

But my point still stands - irrespective of how I got there - a check-up is advisable.

 

[Since1982]

Blood tests every month, ECG every couple of months, see consultant every 8 weeks, blood pressure and weight tested twice a day... Oh, plus kidney dialysis 5 times a week. Probably other stuff that escapes me at the mo

How are you keeping? You've had a tough time as I recall?

 

[BigGully]

The health check they gave me was to look for any possible reasons as to why I got a blood clot in the first place - e.g. was one of my organs mis-firing? If so, was it cancerous? In the end, they couldn't discern an obvious reason, and I got a clean bill of health in that regard.

But my point still stands - irrespective of how I got there - a check-up is advisable.

Your investigative process was appropriate, but why would a check up be adviseable if a person doesnt have any discernable symptoms or any family history of anything in particular, what are the thresholds of those that qualify for them, with an otherwise fit and healthy person what exactly do they check for, the cholesteral, liver function, blood pressure etc. ? generally those markers can be accurately estimated anyway and improvements made with some lifestyle modifications if needed.

I suspect that the majority of the 'worried well' are generally educated professionals anyway (I guess) and should be able to self assess what they might need to improve on anyway, before opting for a test that isnt particularly targeted and is likely not to tag up anything anyway on a seemingly healthy individual.

 

[Gabbafella]

But again your symptom of a swollen ankle was the key indicator firstly for seeking advice and then any further investigative work which then delivered an accurate diagnosis, I am not enitirely sure how this might qualify having a random set of tests when there is no symptoms presenting themselves.

If it hadn't been for the ankle then no, there wouldn't have been any symptoms, but if the ankle hadn't prompted a hospital visit then my situation in a few years time would have been almost certainly life changing so therefore I 100% agree with getting regular checks to potentially prevent any future ill health.

 

[BigGully]

If it hadn't been for the ankle then no, there wouldn't have been any symptoms, but if the ankle hadn't prompted a hospital visit then my situation in a few years time would have been almost certainly life changing so therefore I 100% agree with getting regular checks to potentially prevent any future ill health.

But if you didnt have symptoms then it would be unlikely that you would have been tested for your condition, you said yourself 'this is an extremely rare thing to come across' which suggests that only a particular set of test could ever deliver a diagnosis, randon GP wellbeing health test to an otherwise healthy 30+ year old would perhaps offer nothing.

 

[pearl]

your blood cholesterol is not related to dietary cholesterol is the latest thinking. In fact the good cholesterol found in natural animal products like butter and steaks etc can lower your bad blood cholesterol . Even some doctors are not up with this . ive been eating low carb high fat for a couple years now. I Told the doc who said I need to be careful as my cholesterol has prob gone through the roof with all the red meat , butter cheese I eat but it had actually come down . As for Edwina Currie I eat about 5 eggs a day! Its not fat that's the bad thing now its the sugar . For sugar also see carbs like bread , pasta etc.

Sorry for the lesson

Excellent post!

 

[Gabbafella]

But if you didnt have symptoms then it would be unlikely that you would have been tested for your condition, you said yourself 'this is an extremely rare thing to come across' which suggests that only a particular set of test could ever deliver a diagnosis, randon GP wellbeing health test to an otherwise healthy 30+ year old would perhaps offer nothing.

The condition itself in someone of my age is extremely rare, the tests to identify it were simple vitamin level blood tests so it would've been picked up easily by a basic GP examination.

 

[The Large One]

Your investigative process was appropriate, but why would a check up be adviseable if a person doesnt have any discernable symptoms or any family history of anything in particular, what are the thresholds of those that qualify for them, with an otherwise fit and healthy person what exactly do they check for, the cholesteral, liver function, blood pressure etc. ? generally those markers can be accurately estimated anyway and improvements made with some lifestyle modifications if needed.

Just because I didn't have any discernible symptoms, it doesn't mean there wouldn't necessarily be a problem which could be identified and caught early.

The thresholds are that I was diagnosed with a PE, and they didn't know why I got it, so they ran some tests - just in case.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Your investigative process was appropriate, but why would a check up be adviseable if a person doesnt have any discernable symptoms or any family history of anything in particular, what are the thresholds of those that qualify for them, with an otherwise fit and healthy person what exactly do they check for, the cholesteral, liver function, blood pressure etc. ? generally those markers can be accurately estimated anyway and improvements made with some lifestyle modifications if needed.

I suspect that the majority of the 'worried well' are generally educated professionals anyway (I guess) and should be able to self assess what they might need to improve on anyway, before opting for a test that isnt particularly targeted and is likely not to tag up anything anyway on a seemingly healthy individual.

I think I can probably guess, but just for clarity who and/or what are the "worried well"?

 

[Tricky Dicky]

How are you keeping? You've had a tough time as I recall?

Yeah, the last 3 years could have been better. Bowel cancer then kidney failure was inconvenient. Dialysis is not too bad, though, can't really work due to the time it takes, but I dialyse at home which is good. I did almost lose a hand in March, due to infection. My next op is Sep 1st, if it goes ahead.

All in all, I'm doing ok, thank you very much, it might not sound like it

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Yeah, the last 3 years could have been better. Bowel cancer then kidney failure was inconvenient. Dialysis is not too bad, though, can't really work due to the time it takes, but I dialyse at home which is good. I did almost lose a hand in March, due to infection. My next op is Sep 1st, if it goes ahead.

All in all, I'm doing ok, thank you very much, it might not sound like it

Blimey. I'm amazed you always seem to have an upbeat nature about yourself...I'm not sure I'd be the same. Best wishes.

 

[dazzer6666]

I think I can probably guess, but just for clarity who and/or what are the "worried well"?

Marathon runners worried about their tickers [emoji106][emoji6]

 

[BigGully]

I think I can probably guess, but just for clarity who and/or what are the "worried well"?

You have probably guessed right, it is a term that I heard a few years used by someone on the radio when discussing something similar to what we are now, along the lines of people that do not need medical treatment but who visits their doctor to be reassured, the term fitted a good mate of mine whom at the time was the fittest of the group but the keenest to find some testing to confirm that he was the fittest of the group, all he had to do is ask me and I would have patted him on the back and said 'your the fittest mate, well done'.

 

[BigGully]

Just because I didn't have any discernible symptoms, it doesn't mean there wouldn't necessarily be a problem which could be identified and caught early.

The thresholds are that I was diagnosed with a PE, and they didn't know why I got it, so they ran some tests - just in case.

No no, I am not saying that YOU shouldnt have gone to the doctor, you're an example of someone that was right to seek medical advice, I guess your 'out of breath' was a little bit more that you letting on and you either instinctively or not felt that your health was in jeopardy, tests proved that to be correct.

The OP was more about those seeking tests without any reason to think they might be ill.

 

[BigGully]

The condition itself in someone of my age is extremely rare, the tests to identify it were simple vitamin level blood tests so it would've been picked up easily by a basic GP examination.

Yes, perhaps, but without your sympton of your swollen ankle your GP wouldnt have implemented a set of tests that might identify such a rare condition randomly to his patients.

 

[BlockDpete]

Worth pointing out that a trip to the Opticians is not only good for checking your eyesight, but also checking for other medical conditions such as diabetes.