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Older people have been socialized their entire lives to do whatever the doctor says. That is a hard worldview to change in your latter years. The doctors know this, and take advantage of it.
My friend who will be 91 and at that age, gets lonely. Her grown children are all back East and no relatives here. She no longer drives, but deals with glaucoma and IBS issues and OA and she'll go to a conventional MD now and then and they end up giving her an rx for this and that and after reading the "list" of possible side effects, she does not fill the rx...Then she starts to work more on finding functional medicine remedies..I've helped her a lot in the last 10 yrs I've known her and she's kept a big open mind. She's a trooper and has no help to speak of. I used to take her shopping but I gave up my car so now others shop for me or I get delivery.
Of course it's all about money and doctors don't want to be sued because they may have missed something.
On my knee issue the 5 docs MISSED a staph infection for 2.5 months and I feared I'd never walk again..talk about fear. After I finally got home after 4.5 months in hospital/rehabs and things settled in my brain about the negligence, I lodged a grievence with hospital team of docs and after 6 weeks they would not back down on their negligence. I then talked to attornies and believe me, one has to be almost dead or missing limbs to sue today. Not even did the docs ever say "we should have done that MRI first or sooner"....never and I'm left with what I live with. It's not a breeze to sue.
I wanted to see if this is something others have noticed or seen before. My uncle who is 85 years old had planned on a trip to come out see my mother his sister my mother told him he should have his heart checked because last time he was here she noticed he got winded walking up a hill.
Now he went in they want to do a nuclear stress test, CT scans, and other test he had to cancel his trip here because all of this takes bunch of time waiting for records, and appointments. I told my mother why bother he is 85 years old of course they are going to find something, and he smoked for 50 years so walking up a hill he is going to get winded he has no chest pain.
These doctors want to do all this in the end even if they find he needs a stent or something is it worth the risk doing that on someone who is 85 years old I know it's done on people that old what if something goes wrong he ends up dead over something that he might have lived with till he was 92-93 without a problem.
Doctors have huge expenses from years of schooling etc. so that means that instead of being just a "doctor" they first have to become "businessmen" just to have a practice. That ,in turn, means they must maximize every patient into dollars, dollars, dollars. From that point on it test, test,test and more test.
I've learned to question every test and refuse some that don't get explained well enough to justify the test. I never walkout of an doctors office blindly doing everything the doctor tells me to do. Justify it or forget it...........
Yes, they have expenses but they chose their fields. Often to me it appears to be profits before people. In today's medical world anyway, wasn't like this back in the "old days"... All the technology today costs big bucks.
On my knee issue the 5 docs MISSED a staph infection for 2.5 months and I feared I'd never walk again..talk about fear. After I finally got home after 4.5 months in hospital/rehabs and things settled in my brain about the negligence, I lodged a grievence with hospital team of docs and after 6 weeks they would not back down on their negligence. I then talked to attornies and believe me, one has to be almost dead or missing limbs to sue today. Not even did the docs ever say "we should have done that MRI first or sooner"....never and I'm left with what I live with. It's not a breeze to sue.
This is one reason the doctors run so many tests. It is called cover your butt. A lot of people are like the ones on this thread, that just will not take tests they are not in favor of. But if the doctor does not find the problem, they are like jaminhealth, they want to sue the doctor for not finding a problem. This leaves the doctors in a position of they are dammed if they order tests, but are sued if they don't order one that could find a cause to the problem. So to be on the safe side, they order tests to try to find something that is wrong.
When I was in my 30s, I had a problem where I was sick all the time. The doctors looked at every thing but did not find the problem. I finally turned myself in at the V.A. hospital, and they checked everything they could find. I was all over the hospital for tests including the dentists. They finally told me I had a small ulcer and this had to be the cause. I was still sick. A short time after that, I had an infected tooth and went to a dentist. He took one look at it and said it had to come out, but he would not be the one that pulled it. I went to another dentist, and was told the same thing and said it was because it was so bad. I asked him where to go, and he sent me to an oral surgeon.
The oral surgeon was at lunch, but had instructed his staff to take full mouth x-rays, and wait for him to return. After half an hour, in walked my minister in his suit. He told me the reason the other dentists would not pull the tooth, was a lot more had to come out, and if they were not taken out, I would not live much longer, and was the reason I had been sick so long. Imagine you are so bad off, they have to call your minister who was listed on my records, to break the bad news to you. I told him how this scared me.
He started to laugh, and told me he was the Oral Surgeon, and he thought I had put the name together. He pulled 22 teeth at that setting, and I had to call for someone to drive me home. I quickly recovered and he sent me to had another dentist make teeth for me. The V.A. dentist had done thorough tests on me, and all the other tests could not find the problem. Doctors had been looking for the problem for a year, and I was in serious trouble enough they thought I may die.
What some people would think are unneeded tests, but the doctors see the patient has a problem and they know tests hopefully will find it. Of course the doctor's are keeping records that a patient refused certain tests, and if the patient gets in serious problems or dies, and it is assumed the tests had been done it would have solved the problem and may even have saved their life if sued by the heirs.
OldTrader: If I could I would NOT go to doctors period. But for the BP meds and thyroid I keep a doctor in my life. Plus I guess it's good anyway to have one just in case an emergency.
If they do enough tests, they will find something to get you on drugs, or attempt to. Not my MD as she is integrative MD who goes for pharma drugs last resort.
Last edited by jaminhealth; 01-29-2018 at 02:17 PM..
There are many like your cousin, fills their days with doc appts.
Shortly after my aneurysm, I also had a growth that needed to be removed. Seems like between the tests after the aneurysm and surgery to remove the growth, I had a doctor's appointment ever week for almost a year. I even asked my mom how older people could get lonely. Once you had one medical problem, it seemed you got to get out and talk to your doctor every week forever.
But I will say, I went in for every test. Believe me, I know how lucky I was with that aneurysm and if I hadn't gone in for the tests afterwards, I wouldn't have found out the aneurysm was leaking blood again after the coiling.
For the most part, I know why doctors do tests and I also know if I ask, they'll often explain why. Years of taking my dog into the vet and having her stop and say something like, "We ought to get this checked out" and keeping a small problem from becoming a large one, has conditioned me to sitting up and paying attention when the doctor says the same thing about me. To me, the frustrating thing is that they don't do enough tests if something is bothering me and they don't know why. I had to beg for x-rays of my back when I hurt so bad I couldn't even stand up straight. I changed doctors after that.
The solution? Don't have your very own personal doctor. You won't have to deal with them saying you MUST have this and that test. You get very, very sick and need medical help? Go to an Urgent Care Center or the ER.
Shortly after my aneurysm, I also had a growth that needed to be removed. Seems like between the tests after the aneurysm and surgery to remove the growth, I had a doctor's appointment ever week for almost a year. I even asked my mom how older people could get lonely. Once you had one medical problem, it seemed you got to get out and talk to your doctor every week forever.
But I will say, I went in for every test. Believe me, I know how lucky I was with that aneurysm and if I hadn't gone in for the tests afterwards, I wouldn't have found out the aneurysm was leaking blood again after the coiling.
For the most part, I know why doctors do tests and I also know if I ask, they'll often explain why. Years of taking my dog into the vet and having her stop and say something like, "We ought to get this checked out" and keeping a small problem from becoming a large one, has conditioned me to sitting up and paying attention when the doctor says the same thing about me. To me, the frustrating thing is that they don't do enough tests if something is bothering me and they don't know why. I had to beg for x-rays of my back when I hurt so bad I couldn't even stand up straight. I changed doctors after that.
We all do our health issues the way we do...Maybe a lot of it is genetics too. My folks lived into 90's and had strong hearts. Mom had nasty arthritis so I feel I was hit from her side of family. I was taking an anti inflammatory drug back in the 80's and ended up in the ER with stomach ulcer. That time in my life was my turningpoint to supplements and holistic healing. I love to find pieces to puzzles to issues and help friends too. Right now I'm helping a friend with her CFS/ME issues and thru another group heard from a member who had a "cure" of CFS with a homeopathic medicine, he was in the UK...I've given her this info and she's seeing a homeopathic consultant on Saturday about this remedy for herself. She's struggled for years with no solution to this nasty nasty Malaise. I have the time now in retirement and the boob tube doesn't educate me. Or interest me anymore.
Docs don't have time FOR STARTERS to find the pieces of many medical puzzles so ship you off to another specialist or write an rx to Maybe add a bandaid for a while.
Last edited by jaminhealth; 01-29-2018 at 04:12 PM..
This is one reason the doctors run so many tests. It is called cover your butt. A lot of people are like the ones on this thread, that just will not take tests they are not in favor of. But if the doctor does not find the problem, they are like jaminhealth, they want to sue the doctor for not finding a problem. This leaves the doctors in a position of they are dammed if they order tests, but are sued if they don't order one that could find a cause to the problem. So to be on the safe side, they order tests to try to find something that is wrong.
When I was in my 30s, I had a problem where I was sick all the time. The doctors looked at every thing but did not find the problem. I finally turned myself in at the V.A. hospital, and they checked everything they could find. I was all over the hospital for tests including the dentists. They finally told me I had a small ulcer and this had to be the cause. I was still sick. A short time after that, I had an infected tooth and went to a dentist. He took one look at it and said it had to come out, but he would not be the one that pulled it. I went to another dentist, and was told the same thing and said it was because it was so bad. I asked him where to go, and he sent me to an oral surgeon.
The oral surgeon was at lunch, but had instructed his staff to take full mouth x-rays, and wait for him to return. After half an hour, in walked my minister in his suit. He told me the reason the other dentists would not pull the tooth, was a lot more had to come out, and if they were not taken out, I would not live much longer, and was the reason I had been sick so long. Imagine you are so bad off, they have to call your minister who was listed on my records, to break the bad news to you. I told him how this scared me.
He started to laugh, and told me he was the Oral Surgeon, and he thought I had put the name together. He pulled 22 teeth at that setting, and I had to call for someone to drive me home. I quickly recovered and he sent me to had another dentist make teeth for me. The V.A. dentist had done thorough tests on me, and all the other tests could not find the problem. Doctors had been looking for the problem for a year, and I was in serious trouble enough they thought I may die.
What some people would think are unneeded tests, but the doctors see the patient has a problem and they know tests hopefully will find it. Of course the doctor's are keeping records that a patient refused certain tests, and if the patient gets in serious problems or dies, and it is assumed the tests had been done it would have solved the problem and may even have saved their life if sued by the heirs.
You were a young person with a health issue that needed to be diagnosed. What I and others have been talking about is people like my father-in-law who was 94 years old, in a nursing home, mostly bedridden, who had alzheimers and who had prostate cancer that had spread to his bones. What possible purpose other than generating revenue could be served by transporting him by ambulance every couple months for more bone density tests? The results didn't much matter as nothing could be done regardless. His primary care physician would also pop his head in the room every now and then, say "how are you doing Mr. L?", not get a response being Mr. L. had no idea who the doctor was, nor any inkling as to how he was. The doctor would bill for that visit and move to the next room for the same. He could easily do a couple dozen "office visits" in an hour with the alzheimers patients.
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