O.T. ~ Get medical checkups.

[BoxcarPete]

Before my last colonoscopy I was talking with a guy whose 84 and he says "I don't have to do those anymore, I'm too old!" I asked my colonoscopy doctor about that and he said "Yeah, people are being told that but it's wrong. I had a guy whose over 90 in here 2 weeks ago in perfect health who has a huge cancer in his colon that will kill him and if he had been tested regularly we would have found it and prevented his death from colon cancer."

Sure, but the dude's 90 already, something is coming for him sooner than later. My wife's grandpa got a serious infection from a gall stent that came loose. They got another one in there, and a few weeks later the replacement one came out, once they got that sorted out, he told them no more stents. No more procedures. Requested a hospice bed to be delivered to his daughter's house so he could wrap up his affairs and pass on, 86 years were enough for him. He didn't care to spend his last months in a hospital to try and stretch for 86-1/2.

Might be your 84 year old buddy is satisfied with his life and doesn't feel the need to cling so tightly.

 

[medsar]

I didn't get to ask, but I'm supposing that the guys seated at the control stations were going to be running the probe, and my doctor was going to stand there looking at the progress on the big TV screen (periscope) and instruct them on what to do... snip here, irrigate there, forward, back...? Kinda like the captain of a submarine doesn't actually do the labor, he just directs others how to navigate in a dark world.

As cool as it would be to have it work that way, it isn’t. The GI doc ‘drives the bus’ so to speak. They run the endoscope and do the labor.

 

[GregSY]

"Sure, but the dude's 90 already, something is coming for him sooner than later."


This flies in the face of our current state of woke-ness. Pain and suffering is no longer acceptable, and dying is very unacceptable. If we all follow the science, Oprah, and Cardi B none of us will ever need to do anything but dance and party FOREVER. Anything that saves lives is worth any amount of money, any amount of sacrifice of personal freedoms, and should of course be paid for by the government.


That said....we've all been bombarded with countless commercials showing people in the late 90's living life to its fullest. Skydiving, dancing, riding motorcycles. It goes on and on. In reality...I've known any number or people over the age of 85 and their lives pretty much consist of doctor visits, bathroom visits, sickness, and loneliness. You might live past 90, but the odds that you'll be kicking ass and taking names are about 1 in 1000. Me? I've always been a 999 type of guy.

 

[jim rozen]

Too bad the word 'woke' triggers you so badly. You should probably schedule your monthly doctors' visits to get that looked at, 'ol timer.

=)

 

[EmGo]

Too bad the word 'woke' triggers you so badly. You should probably schedule your monthly doctors' visits to get that looked at, 'ol timer.

GregSY needs a safe space, free from microaggressions

 

[Servicar rider]

Sure, but the dude's 90 already, something is coming for him sooner than later. My wife's grandpa got a serious infection from a gall stent that came loose. They got another one in there, and a few weeks later the replacement one came out, once they got that sorted out, he told them no more stents. No more procedures. Requested a hospice bed to be delivered to his daughter's house so he could wrap up his affairs and pass on, 86 years were enough for him. He didn't care to spend his last months in a hospital to try and stretch for 86-1/2.

Might be your 84 year old buddy is satisfied with his life and doesn't feel the need to cling so tightly.

My 84 year old friend is 87 now and just bought a new car and is planning on attending several old tractor shows out of state and driving a pulling tractor at the truck pulls. He wants to build another motorcycle too? So I don't think he is slowing down too much?

 

[Limy Sami]

"Sure, but the dude's 90 already, something is coming for him sooner than later."


This flies in the face of our current state of woke-ness. Pain and suffering is no longer acceptable, and dying is very unacceptable. If we all follow the science, Oprah, and Cardi B none of us will ever need to do anything but dance and party FOREVER. Anything that saves lives is worth any amount of money, any amount of sacrifice of personal freedoms, and should of course be paid for by the government.


That said....we've all been bombarded with countless commercials showing people in the late 90's living life to its fullest. Skydiving, dancing, riding motorcycles. It goes on and on. In reality...I've known any number or people over the age of 85 and their lives pretty much consist of doctor visits, bathroom visits, sickness, and loneliness. You might live past 90, but the odds that you'll be kicking ass and taking names are about 1 in 1000. Me? I've always been a 999 type of guy.

Although GregSY and I don't see eye to eye on politics etc, I'm with him 100% of the way on thst.

FWIW I've told both my oncologist and colorectal surgeon I want life QUALITY and most definitely NOT quantity.

 

[jim rozen]

Although GregSY and I don't see eye to eye on politics etc, I'm with him 100% of the way on thst.

FWIW I've told both my oncologist and colorectal surgeon I want life QUALITY and most definitely NOT quantity.

Hmm. I actually signed up for *both*. We'll see how that pans out.

 

[EmGo]

Hmm. I actually signed up for *both*. We'll see how that pans out.

 

[Newman109]

Intra-ocular optical pressure - IOP

I didn't read the entire thread, but I'd like to mention the importance of having periodic eye tests with an opthalmologist for intra-ocular optical pressure (IOP) which is generally measured in millimeters of Mercury (mmHg). I was told by my doctor that any IOP at 20 is OK, but is borderline. The ideal would be something lower, say 15 or so.

I found out the hard way that after some years of excess IOP without proper checkups, I had damaged the optical nerve on my left eye. That is to say, a portion of the nerves in the eye quit working. Thus, the image in that eye is somewhat blurred.

After a recent operation for cataracts which resulted in replacement of both lenses, I now take eye drops daily which has kept the pressure in both eyes to around 11 mmHg.

Thankfully, the doctor caught it in time and the combination of both eyes is excellent without glasses for normal vision. I do carry some reading glasses of 2.5 diopter which is good for fine print.

Some years ago when I was working, I had a client who had unchecked diabetes. According to him, he once proudly told me that he had never been to doctor for anything since birth! Sadly, one morning a few years ago, he woke up blind.

So, see an eye doctor now and then and avoid problems!

 

[JoeE.]

Through my insurance at work, I get eye exams. What you're talking about... I set in a chair, lean forward and rest my forehead on the brow of a machine, stare at a balloon off in the distance in the viewer... a quick "puff" of air is aimed at each eye, one then another.

I asked about that procedure. Told me it measures the pressure in the eye.

Another machine, has a bright light that aims into your pupil while the doctor looks in the other side and takes pictures.

I asked about that one, too. He says "I can see the back wall of your eyeball, where the optic nerve attaches."

I said "you can see through the eyeball.... I thought it was basically a solid ball of meat", for lack of a better word.

He says "no, it's basically an orb filled with clear fluid." I asked what he's looking for.. he said he can tell by looking at the conditions of the veins in the back wall of the eyeball and tell by what he's seeing if diabetes is in your future. (I think that's what he said)

So, your eye lens is like the lens on a movie projector, and it's focused on the back wall of your eyeball, which is like a miniature movie screen that the picture shows on, and the optic nerve is behind that and receives the incoming light and translates it into whatever it is the brain sees!

 

[jim rozen]

Glaucoma manifests itself as increased IOP.

1) it can be hereditary.

2) the IOP varies cyclicly during the day.

 

[dcsipo]

Not to jack the OP's thread but I think both systems have their strengths and weaknesses.

The care here under our socialized medicine is excellent, but the system is stretched to the max with the boomers all reaching the age where they need attention. Our "universal health care" is paid by taxation (2/3rds of our taxes go to health care) but no matter what your socioeconomic status you'll be taken care of, you may die waiting, but you'll get good care. Being government run it's full of bloat and waste, in Quebec they're starting to allow some privatization as their system is basically broken, I think we'll need that here in Ontario at some point as well.

From what I see in the US you also have great health care but it depends on how much insurance you can afford (or not). Instead of government waste you can have corporate greed. You sure don't wait for treatment tho.

Which system is best? Neither in my opinion, a mix between the two would be better for all.

The overhead on private insurance in the US is 18%, and MEDICARE is 3%. Medicare cannot negotiate drug prices and we have no clue how pharma and insurance screw us on drugs, other than that it is all peachy.

 

[dcsipo]

Through my insurance at work, I get eye exams. What you're talking about... I set in a chair, lean forward and rest my forehead on the brow of a machine, stare at a balloon off in the distance in the viewer... a quick "puff" of air is aimed at each eye, one then another.

I asked about that procedure. Told me it measures the pressure in the eye.

Another machine, has a bright light that aims into your pupil while the doctor looks in the other side and takes pictures.

I asked about that one, too. He says "I can see the back wall of your eyeball, where the optic nerve attaches."

I said "you can see through the eyeball.... I thought it was basically a solid ball of meat", for lack of a better word.

He says "no, it's basically an orb filled with clear fluid." I asked what he's looking for.. he said he can tell by looking at the conditions of the veins in the back wall of the eyeball and tell by what he's seeing if diabetes is in your future. (I think that's what he said)

So, your eye lens is like the lens on a movie projector, and it's focused on the back wall of your eyeball, which is like a miniature movie screen that the picture shows on, and the optic nerve is behind that and receives the incoming light and translates it into whatever it is the brain sees!

We set up the digital program for the VA diabetic tele-retinopathy, fundus cameras are a fun piece of optics. it is pretty amazing how much you can tell by the retinal walls. But it is not a predictor of diabetes, but rather a measure of progression of the disease.

 

[Newman109]

Glaucoma manifests itself as increased IOP.

1) it can be hereditary.

2) the IOP varies cyclicly during the day.

Correct on both accounts, but IOP is correctible and controllable with a good doctor and constant vigilance. My Ophthalmologist sees me on a regular basis and checks IOP.

Eyesight is a true miracle and we need to take care of it. When I was a safety consultant for an insurance company, I saw many eye injuries from failure to wear eye protection.

The problem with IOP is that it's a silent thief and can steal your good vision without your being aware of it.

 

[jim rozen]

....
The problem with IOP is that it's a silent thief and can steal your good vision without your being aware of it.

My dad has glaucoma, so I'm tested regularly, and the dr. knows about my dad's disease.