From the time I permanently moved out of my parent’s house at 19 until 39, not a single preventative checkup.
Since 40, which was only two years ago, I go once a year. My doctor is a very nice man who very much believes in blood testing. He’s got an Indian name but speaks with what sounds to me like a heavy Russian accent which is kind of bizarre, but whatever. Anyways, blood testing appears to be his primary tool; he spends about 15 minutes talking to me about my health and lifestyle, takes my blood pressure, takes some blood for testing, and I’m done. Has never broke out the stethoscope or tongue depressor or anything. I’m not sure whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing, but he always tells me I’m healthy as a horse, keep doing whatever I’m doing, and see you same time next year. I assume that means either I’m perfectly fine, or I have some sort of horrible equine mutation. Either way, he seems unconcerned.
I enjoy generally good health. I had a thorough physical when I turned 40 and again a few years later, but other than that, I only go to the doc for specific afflictions that arise from time to time. I’ll turn 50 soon, so I suppose I’ll go for a full physical again and inquire about a colonoscopy.
I do try to get to the dentist about twice a year, as that’s not just about inspection (like a doctor’s visit); they do critical cleaning, scraping off the inevitable accumulation of barnacles and such.
Not really. I see an eye doctor when I need new contacts. I haven’t seen a dentist in years (mortally terrified). I have a family doctor and my gyno I see when problems come up, but not usually otherwise. There was a period of maybe 4 years I didn’t see any doctors at all that I recall (I know I didn’t see my GP, as she remarked on it when I did visit). I had my first physical this last year, lol (I’m 31). I only did it to get money off my insurance at the time.
I’ve been really lucky I’m naturally pretty healthy, and I lost a bunch of weight in an effort to stay that way as I get older.
I’m 47, and I’ve got annual checkups since about 2005-ish. Basically I didn’t bother through my 20s and the first half of my 30s- I went to the dentist twice a year when I visited my parents in Houston, but I never had got a real PCP after I’d got out of high school and wasn’t going to the kid doctor anymore.
In about 2005, I was out of graduate school and had a real job, but was still catching up with debt/building up some financial cushion. So I decided to go to the local dental school for a checkup and any work that needed doing. Somewhere in that, they checked my BP, which turned out to be higher than expected. So I found a PCP and have been going annually ever since. Something about that spurred me to find a real dentist and an optometrist that are local and that I like- now I go to the dentist every six months and the optometrist annually as well.
I have to see my doctor twice a year for a blood test for kidney function because of a blood thinner I take and he always does a mini-exam. I see my ophthalmologist every year on account of the oil drop in my right eye to keep the retina stable and I probably see the dentist about every 9 months. Both my diabetes and blood pressure are well controlled by the meds I take. Eight pills every day.
Most people I interact with are by far medical professionals. I think I’ve averaged a procedure a month for the last 2.5 years and at least twice as many tests, including yesterday. I look forward to only six checkups a year.
But I don’t complain about my butt - so I’m not old yet.
Primary physician - Yearly
Dentist - Every 6 months
Glaucoma specialist - Every 6 months
Opthomologist - Every 2 years
I’m pretty good about keeping up, but I *am *overdue for a colonoscopy.
mmm
Until I was in my 50s, the only check-ups were dental and optical. But once an employer had arranged a free on-site once-over that got the nurse in question to say “Go to your GP a.s.a.p. about your blood pressure”, I’ve been on the list for regular reminders.
Some of those would have happened anyway as they’re age-related (a bowel cancer screening kit through the post every two years, reminders about annual flu vaccination), others as the years have added medication to the BP pills, and they check for side-effects and general health, and occasionally to see that other vaccinations are up-to-date.
At the moment, it’s checking BP every 6 months and a full blood screen every 12. But they’ll text me when it’s time (the medications have to be renewed every two months, and if necessary, the request will generate a reminder for a review.
Likewise, every now and again, the pharmacist will call me in for a check that I know what I’m taking and why, and whether there are any side-effects - it’s a bit of a formality in most cases, perhaps, but a useful double-check for the system as a whole.
Medical costs are not a consideration here in Canada, but I’ve been fortunate to be in reasonably good health and generally never bothered with a regular annual checkup (though have done the occasional one). Am overdue for a regular colonoscopy and should probably get that scheduled. The problem is, as you get older, more and more immediate things crop up that override the general checkup in importance (“doctor, I’m here for my scheduled annual checkup, but as you can see, I have a large portobello mushroom growing out of my forehead that maybe should be dealt with as a priority” … that sort of thing! :D).
My doctor, is, however, extremely excited about my heart condition because there are such an enormous number of tests that can be run at regular intervals, and there’s nothing that doctors and engineers love more than data, in the form of tables of figures and colorful graphs!
When I turned 40, I told my gyn that I wanted to do a baseline mammogram as my maternal grandmother had had breast cancer (she survived). She was not convinced of the necessity, as screening here starts at 50. But she agreed, and I’ve been going every 2 years, which is the normal rate here. Not every year, as in the U.S.
I had a medical issue and, during discussion with my doctor, we decided I should get a baseline colonoscopy at age 46, as my father always has polyps and his father had had bowel cancer (he survived). They found one 0.6 mm polyp, which was not cancerous (most under 1 mm are not) and said I could wait 5 years for my next one.
In comparison my husband is supposed to go every 10 years. He had his first one after his first case of diverticulitis.
I did do a general checkup at 48, and made sure to get my Vitamin D and thyroid levels checked, as these are not always tested. Part of this was at the urging of my parents, who, in addition to low Vitamin D and thyroid issues, have high chloresteral and other ailments. The doctor also looked at my skin as I have many moles and very pale skin…
Oh, and my Vitamin D is low. It’s basically my only non-obvious medical issue.
Dental appointments are normally once a year here. Not covered by insurance. I go once a year.
Get my eyes examined when I need to change prescriptions. My near-sightedness is stable, but the age-related vision changes have yet to stabilize.
Once I got out of school, I only went to the doctor when I was sick with something that wouldn’t go away. I would then get lectured that I let it go too long and should have come in sooner, and also how I should be coming in for a check up, yada yada.
When I was 32, I had a belly ache. I passed it off as eating something that didn’t agree with me. 2 days later, I was in a small town hospital near where I was vacationing. A day after ending up there, I was airlifted to a larger and more advanced hospital. I spent six weeks in a medically induced coma and a total of three months in the hospital. Turned out that the belly ache was actually pancreatitis, AND, I had been having symptoms for several months, but was ignoring.
So now I go every three months, (doctors orders) and follow their instructions!
No, I’m way overdue. I went to the doctor about 8 years ago for a checkup, before that it had been probably 15 years. Dentist about once in 15 years. I have never been to an eye doctor, but I do need reading glasses now.
That said, I take reasonable care of myself, am not overweight, and feel good other than the frequent tiredness that everyone seems to have.
Famous last words. Almost every problem I’ve had has been symptom-free. I discovered I had AFib when I was rejected when trying to donate blood for a racy pulse. Could easily have killed me without any warning. I had no idea anything was wrong with my heart. I also was not over-weight, had very low LDL, good blood pressure, and even exercised some.
You never can tell.
When I was a resident (doctor in training) I went for 4 years without officially seeing a doctor. Now I go try to go for an annual exam but it ends up being every 1-2 years since I don’t have any conditions that require chronic management. When I went a couple of months ago I was mildly scolded for being a year overdue for my Pap smear. In my defense, I did have an appointment with my PCP for early 2019 when I would have only been a few months overdue but it was cancelled day of when my doc had a personal emergency. I’m trying to be better about going to the dentist every 6 months. The last formal eye exam I had was 10 years ago but my vision was 20/20 at that time and I haven’t noticed any problems. So I’m not planning on doing that unless something changes.
I gave up. Every single medical problem that I have been unable to solve on my own has stumped every physician I’ve seen, costing me hundreds of dolllars in copays for fuckall nothing. Eventually it becomes serious enough that I can figure it out myself and I get angry all over again when I realize that any doctor that had been listening should’ve known better.
I remember when my fiancé, a guy that hadn’t been to the doctor in 10 years, starting losing weight and having serious digestive problems. He was treated like a hypochondriac and given diagnoses of “stress”. He told the doctor he thought it was cancer and the doctor laughed at him, said his blood tests ruled that out, and doubled down on the hypochondria diagnosis.
It was only 8 months later, when he developed jaundice, that his doctors took his complaints seriously. He died of advanced pancreatic cancer 3 months later.
I go once per year to renew my prescription for the one blood pressure pill that I take, Losartan Potassium. Because I can’t get a two year prescription.
It is nice to know that my blood work numbers are good, oxygen levels are great (the little finger thingy), let him do his other basic tests, and it is nice to know that my weight does not vary from year to year more than a pound or so. He says that is a good indication of general health. I am an outdoor guy most of the year but winters are hard on me and I go for my annual check up in March when I am probably in the worst shape of the year.
His advice is always something like “keep walking.”