What's Normal? - Do you get a physical/checkup every year with a doctor? (1 Viewer)

[kupcho1]

I'm actually surprised how high the "yes" percentage is.
That's a good thing.

 

[Don Quixote]

I’m a bit unsure on how to answer. Not necessarily, but I do see my doctor every six months. On cholesterol medication and he runs blood panel, takes blood pressure, occasional EKG, etc.

 

[MAC_32]

I can't remember the last time I went to a doctor. Must be at least fifteen years ago

22 here

 

[Ilov80s]

No but now that I’m 40, I probably should start.

 

[Terminalxylem]

Yep.

My doctor doesn't do digital prostate exams and just goes on the PSA result. Kind of curious about whether that's normal. It definitely makes the visit less socially awkward. (My bloodwork has always been fine, so aside from my dad having had prostate cancer, there's no special reason why I should be considered at-risk.)

Prostate cancer screening is controversial.

The US Preventative Services Task Force (who set most screening guidance using the best available evidence) don’t recommend either rectal exam or PSA routinely for men ages 55-69. They say you should discuss the risk:benefit with your doctor, and individualize decisions whether to screen, or not. Official statement here

Urology and oncology societies have different recommendations, which tend to be much more aggressive (though not necessarily evidence-based).

 

[Terminalxylem]

As an aside, tmk yearly physicals have never shown to improve health outcomes. Same goes for routine lab work, in the absence of a chronic medical problem or surveillance for medication toxicity.

I’m not saying don’t go to your doctor, but realize a bunch of our system is based on voodoo and/or potentially wasteful.

 

[Orange&Blue]

I go actually every 6 months, but that is because I'm type 2 diabetic at aged 43. went last month and A1C was 6.2, bp was 110/70, cholesterol 160, and had lost 5 lbs. but my hemoglobin was high... again. guess I'll start taking a baby aspirin every day.

 

[Judge Smails]

Yes. I’m was getting them even before my heart attack in 2019. Full physical, blood work ups, PSA plus digital exam. Have had a close friend die of colon cancer and several of my friends have had prostate cancer. Worth staying on top of it and catching stuff early if possible.

Just don’t understand people with insurance and means who don’t do preventative work with doctors and dentists. They always pay for it later

 

[Brunell4MVP]

I haven't read responses, but it's age dependent. I'm 51 now. I now go to the doc twice a year, dermatologist once a year, and dentist twice a year. I don't think I ever went to the doctor before age 30 ... ever. Then when I got married and my wife told me to go.

Age 40-55 you got all kinds of things to do ... colonoscopy, updated shots like TD booster, and super important get two shingles shots. Plus you got heart and cholesterol to worry about. Teeth enamel starts decaying.

And you have the money to go to the doctor when older. At a younger age you wanna spend that extra co-pay $ chasing girls and drinking beer.

 

[IvanKaramazov]

Yep.

My doctor doesn't do digital prostate exams and just goes on the PSA result. Kind of curious about whether that's normal. It definitely makes the visit less socially awkward. (My bloodwork has always been fine, so aside from my dad having had prostate cancer, there's no special reason why I should be considered at-risk.)

Prostate cancer screening is controversial.

The US Preventative Services Task Force (who set most screening guidance using the best available evidence) don’t recommend either rectal exam or PSA routinely for men ages 55-69. They say you should discuss the risk:benefit with your doctor, and individualize decisions whether to screen, or not. Official statement here

Urology and oncology societies have different recommendations, which tend to be much more aggressive (though not necessarily evidence-based).

The PSA is just something that they can do anytime they draw blood though, right? I'm on a medication for hypothyroidism (asymptomatic) that requires regular testing anyway, so it's not any extra bother.

 

[Todem]

53 years young.....yes. Always get an annual physical and full blood panel/urine. Been doing this basically since my early 30’s.

Dentist for quarterly cleanings (yes I am crazy about keeping my gums and teeth healthy) Lack of Oral care to me is a huge cause of future health issues.

Dermatologist once a year.

Probiotic and fish oil daily.

I do take 20MG of Lipotor now (started two years ago)

That’s it. Healthy as a horse.

 

[Todem]

Yep.

My doctor doesn't do digital prostate exams and just goes on the PSA result. Kind of curious about whether that's normal. It definitely makes the visit less socially awkward. (My bloodwork has always been fine, so aside from my dad having had prostate cancer, there's no special reason why I should be considered at-risk.)

Prostate cancer screening is controversial.

The US Preventative Services Task Force (who set most screening guidance using the best available evidence) don’t recommend either rectal exam or PSA routinely for men ages 55-69. They say you should discuss the risk:benefit with your doctor, and individualize decisions whether to screen, or not. Official statement here

Urology and oncology societies have different recommendations, which tend to be much more aggressive (though not necessarily evidence-based).

The PSA is just something that they can do anytime they draw blood though, right? I'm on a medication for hypothyroidism (asymptomatic) that requires regular testing anyway, so it's not any extra bother.

Yes...they check our PSA from a blood sample. Non evasive.

 

[-OZ-]

yes - VA does annual but not overly in depth. Primary physician also but I think I missed last year.

At the suggestion of a friend, after two other friends had minor skin cancer, I just called a dermatologist.

 

[Wildcat]

As an aside, tmk yearly physicals have never shown to improve health outcomes. Same goes for routine lab work, in the absence of a chronic medical problem or surveillance for medication toxicity.

I’m not saying don’t go to your doctor, but realize a bunch of our system is based on voodoo and/or potentially wasteful.

I'm going to completely disagree with you on this. I know several people who have caught major issues through an annual physical and blood work and the resulting treatment has improved their health outcome. A guy I know caught prostate cancer through his annual physical PSA and "felt fine". I feel your statement is more voodoo than what are you saying is voodoo. I could be misreading what you wrote, and if so, I apologize.

 

[dkp993]

Voted yes but its more like every other year not every year. It’s also something I’ve done now that I’m in my 40’s. In my 20’s and 30’s I went only when something was wrong.

 

[Terminalxylem]

Yep.

My doctor doesn't do digital prostate exams and just goes on the PSA result. Kind of curious about whether that's normal. It definitely makes the visit less socially awkward. (My bloodwork has always been fine, so aside from my dad having had prostate cancer, there's no special reason why I should be considered at-risk.)

Prostate cancer screening is controversial.

The US Preventative Services Task Force (who set most screening guidance using the best available evidence) don’t recommend either rectal exam or PSA routinely for men ages 55-69. They say you should discuss the risk:benefit with your doctor, and individualize decisions whether to screen, or not. Official statement here

Urology and oncology societies have different recommendations, which tend to be much more aggressive (though not necessarily evidence-based).

The PSA is just something that they can do anytime they draw blood though, right? I'm on a medication for hypothyroidism (asymptomatic) that requires regular testing anyway, so it's not any extra bother.

It’s not about the convenience of testing. It’s about the sensitivity of the test, and the potential to lead to downstream testing, which has its own set of risks:benefits.

Prostate cancer is, in general, a slow growing tumor. It’s extremely common, such that any male living to old age has a good chance to develop it.

The thing is, most people diagnosed with prostate cancer don’t die of prostate cancer, even if they receive no treatment whatsoever. They die of other diseases commensurate with their age.

Meanwhile, the work up of an elevated PSA may lead to invasive testing, including surgery to remove some or all of the prostate. Those procedures come with significant risks, including things like infection, urinary incontinence and impotence.

For these reasons, screening is controversial and should be individualized. But as a general rule, it shouldn’t be done on older (>70) men, as cancer diagnosed at that age is likely to be of little consequence.

I know there is an idea that “VIP care” with frequent testing (cardiac stress tests and whole body CTs, for example) leads to better health outcomes, but that simply isn’t the case. On the contrary, VIPs tend to have more healthcare-related adverse events.

Oh yeah, our healthcare system also wastes a lot of money. All those unnecessary lab/scans/etc. tests contribute to the total.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

I started getting annual physicals a few years ago, starting around age 50 - which brings me to my pet peeve for the day. Most all insurance companies cover an annual well visit or physical, which is supposed to mean no charge, including my insurance. Yet my doctor's office has a policy that basically anything that you discuss including chronic conditions or any new conditions does not apply to said well visit so every single year I get charged and have to pay out-of-pocket from my HSA funds. It pisses me off every single year when I get that insurance claim and bill.

Get a new doctors office. My doc always asks if I have any questions or other concerns and I'm never billed extra for those conversations.

Yeah, I've never heard of this either. Your office is shady and you should find a new one.

 

[Capella]

Twice a year like clockwork. Blood panels and everything. Trying not to leave my wife with the kids.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

As an aside, tmk yearly physicals have never shown to improve health outcomes. Same goes for routine lab work, in the absence of a chronic medical problem or surveillance for medication toxicity.

I’m not saying don’t go to your doctor, but realize a bunch of our system is based on voodoo and/or potentially wasteful.

A cardiologist I interview frequently is coming out with a book on the future of health care, and he thinks that eventually instead of a "transactional" system where each patient comes in after X number of months, via information from smartphones and wearable devices and analysis by AI, people will be called into the office (or for a virtual appointment) when their data says there's a reason to.

 

[Terminalxylem]

As an aside, tmk yearly physicals have never shown to improve health outcomes. Same goes for routine lab work, in the absence of a chronic medical problem or surveillance for medication toxicity.

I’m not saying don’t go to your doctor, but realize a bunch of our system is based on voodoo and/or potentially wasteful.

I'm going to completely disagree with you on this. I know several people who have caught major issues through an annual physical and blood work and the resulting treatment has improved their health outcome. A guy I know caught prostate cancer through his annual physical PSA and "felt fine". I feel your statement is more voodoo than what are you saying is voodoo. I could be misreading what you wrote, and if so, I apologize.

My statement is based on Research on the topic. The problem with your anecdotes is, you have no idea what would have occurred if your acquaintances hadn’t been diagnosed through routine exam/tests. Most importantly, would they have developed symptoms which eventually prompted diagnostic work up, with no change in their ultimate clinical outcomes?

Moreover, I’ve many examples of harm caused by unnecessary testing in otherwise healthy people. As with much of medicine, it’s ultimately a risk:benefit decision. There are clear guidelines for the (limited) testing which improves outcomes, and a full physical exam and yearly bloodwork aren‘t part of it.

The routine annual comprehensive physical examination (PE) became a fixture in American medical practice in the 1940's. By the 1980's many influential professional groups, including the American Medical Association, the American College of Physicians, the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) and the Canadian Task Force on Periodic Health, recommended that this approach be replaced by periodic screening, counseling and PE tailored to a patient's age, sex, risk factors, and symptoms as elicited by the medical history and review of systems (Oboler 2002). Furthermore, these recommendations tacitly or explicitly endorse the concept that, for screening purposes, only those components of the PE that accurately and effectively detect conditions for which early diagnosis is known to lead to improved patient outcomes should be routinely offered.

Consistent with this tailored and evidence-based approach, Medicare currently offers a free initial “Welcome to Medicare” visit which includes a medical history, recommended immunizations and screenings and “further tests depending on your health and medical history”. The only components of the PE recommended for everyone are measurement of blood pressure, vision, weight and height (www.medicare.gov/welcometomedicare/visit.html).

Nevertheless, most adults in the US believe that annual comprehensive physical exams are important; a 2002 study showed that more than 90% endorse the value of routine examination of the heart, lungs, abdomen, reflexes and prostate (Oboler 2002). Moreover, as recently as 2005, many physicians also endorse the complete annual physical examination for a variety of reasons including perceived benefits to the physician-patient relationship, patient expectations for a yearly “physical,” fear of malpractice litigation, and compensation (Frame 1995, Prochazka 2005).

CONCLUSIONS​

• Comprehensive routine physical examinations are not recommended for the asymptomatic adult, although many patients and physicians continue to endorse the practice.
• Components of the physical examination recommended for the asymptomatic adult include:
  blood pressure screening every 1-2 years
  periodic measurement of body mass index
  PAP smears beginning at age 21 for sexually active women with a cervix every 3 years up to the age of 65.
• There is some evidence that designating a specific visit for the provision of preventive services may increase the likelihood that patients will receive PAP smears, cholesterol screening and fecal occult blood testing.

To be clear, I’m not saying routine physicals and bloodwork can’t be helpful. But there isn’t data to back up that approach.

 

[Mitchie]

Like many things I think whether an annual physical is necessary is dependent on several factors, most notably general health and age. I am fortunate not to have many health issues so go every 5 or 6 years. As I get older I'm envisioning going more often.

 

[Moe.]

I get a discount on health insurance (around $1200/year) if my wife and I have a “wellness visit” every year, so yes. That started 5ish years ago when I was 33, prior to that I hadn’t been to the doctor since high school.

 

[AAABatteries]

As an aside, tmk yearly physicals have never shown to improve health outcomes. Same goes for routine lab work, in the absence of a chronic medical problem or surveillance for medication toxicity.

I’m not saying don’t go to your doctor, but realize a bunch of our system is based on voodoo and/or potentially wasteful.

I'm going to completely disagree with you on this. I know several people who have caught major issues through an annual physical and blood work and the resulting treatment has improved their health outcome. A guy I know caught prostate cancer through his annual physical PSA and "felt fine". I feel your statement is more voodoo than what are you saying is voodoo. I could be misreading what you wrote, and if so, I apologize.

My statement is based on Research on the topic. The problem with your anecdotes is, you have no idea what would have occurred if your acquaintances hadn’t been diagnosed through routine exam/tests. Most importantly, would they have developed symptoms which eventually prompted diagnostic work up, with no change in their ultimate clinical outcomes?

Moreover, I’ve many examples of harm caused by unnecessary testing in otherwise healthy people. As with much of medicine, it’s ultimately a risk:benefit decision. There are clear guidelines for the (limited) testing which improves outcomes, and a full physical exam and yearly bloodwork aren‘t part of it.

The routine annual comprehensive physical examination (PE) became a fixture in American medical practice in the 1940's. By the 1980's many influential professional groups, including the American Medical Association, the American College of Physicians, the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) and the Canadian Task Force on Periodic Health, recommended that this approach be replaced by periodic screening, counseling and PE tailored to a patient's age, sex, risk factors, and symptoms as elicited by the medical history and review of systems (Oboler 2002). Furthermore, these recommendations tacitly or explicitly endorse the concept that, for screening purposes, only those components of the PE that accurately and effectively detect conditions for which early diagnosis is known to lead to improved patient outcomes should be routinely offered.

Consistent with this tailored and evidence-based approach, Medicare currently offers a free initial “Welcome to Medicare” visit which includes a medical history, recommended immunizations and screenings and “further tests depending on your health and medical history”. The only components of the PE recommended for everyone are measurement of blood pressure, vision, weight and height (www.medicare.gov/welcometomedicare/visit.html).

Nevertheless, most adults in the US believe that annual comprehensive physical exams are important; a 2002 study showed that more than 90% endorse the value of routine examination of the heart, lungs, abdomen, reflexes and prostate (Oboler 2002). Moreover, as recently as 2005, many physicians also endorse the complete annual physical examination for a variety of reasons including perceived benefits to the physician-patient relationship, patient expectations for a yearly “physical,” fear of malpractice litigation, and compensation (Frame 1995, Prochazka 2005).

CONCLUSIONS​

• Comprehensive routine physical examinations are not recommended for the asymptomatic adult, although many patients and physicians continue to endorse the practice.
• Components of the physical examination recommended for the asymptomatic adult include:
  blood pressure screening every 1-2 years
  periodic measurement of body mass index
  PAP smears beginning at age 21 for sexually active women with a cervix every 3 years up to the age of 65.
• There is some evidence that designating a specific visit for the provision of preventive services may increase the likelihood that patients will receive PAP smears, cholesterol screening and fecal occult blood testing.

To be clear, I’m not saying routine physicals and bloodwork can’t be helpful. But there isn’t data to back up that approach.

I think (and obviously don’t know but suspect) that yearly physicals work similar to people weighing daily - it’s a mental reminder to do healthy things and its importance to long-term health. There are studies showing that weighing daily can be beneficial - obviously the act of weighing does nothing for you but it’s the mindset that is valuable, IMO. Your point about unnecessary procedures is an interesting one I hadn’t considered.

 

[Terminalxylem]

As an aside, tmk yearly physicals have never shown to improve health outcomes. Same goes for routine lab work, in the absence of a chronic medical problem or surveillance for medication toxicity.

I’m not saying don’t go to your doctor, but realize a bunch of our system is based on voodoo and/or potentially wasteful.

I'm going to completely disagree with you on this. I know several people who have caught major issues through an annual physical and blood work and the resulting treatment has improved their health outcome. A guy I know caught prostate cancer through his annual physical PSA and "felt fine". I feel your statement is more voodoo than what are you saying is voodoo. I could be misreading what you wrote, and if so, I apologize.

My statement is based on Research on the topic. The problem with your anecdotes is, you have no idea what would have occurred if your acquaintances hadn’t been diagnosed through routine exam/tests. Most importantly, would they have developed symptoms which eventually prompted diagnostic work up, with no change in their ultimate clinical outcomes?

Moreover, I’ve many examples of harm caused by unnecessary testing in otherwise healthy people. As with much of medicine, it’s ultimately a risk:benefit decision. There are clear guidelines for the (limited) testing which improves outcomes, and a full physical exam and yearly bloodwork aren‘t part of it.

The routine annual comprehensive physical examination (PE) became a fixture in American medical practice in the 1940's. By the 1980's many influential professional groups, including the American Medical Association, the American College of Physicians, the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) and the Canadian Task Force on Periodic Health, recommended that this approach be replaced by periodic screening, counseling and PE tailored to a patient's age, sex, risk factors, and symptoms as elicited by the medical history and review of systems (Oboler 2002). Furthermore, these recommendations tacitly or explicitly endorse the concept that, for screening purposes, only those components of the PE that accurately and effectively detect conditions for which early diagnosis is known to lead to improved patient outcomes should be routinely offered.

Consistent with this tailored and evidence-based approach, Medicare currently offers a free initial “Welcome to Medicare” visit which includes a medical history, recommended immunizations and screenings and “further tests depending on your health and medical history”. The only components of the PE recommended for everyone are measurement of blood pressure, vision, weight and height (www.medicare.gov/welcometomedicare/visit.html).

Nevertheless, most adults in the US believe that annual comprehensive physical exams are important; a 2002 study showed that more than 90% endorse the value of routine examination of the heart, lungs, abdomen, reflexes and prostate (Oboler 2002). Moreover, as recently as 2005, many physicians also endorse the complete annual physical examination for a variety of reasons including perceived benefits to the physician-patient relationship, patient expectations for a yearly “physical,” fear of malpractice litigation, and compensation (Frame 1995, Prochazka 2005).

CONCLUSIONS​

• Comprehensive routine physical examinations are not recommended for the asymptomatic adult, although many patients and physicians continue to endorse the practice.
• Components of the physical examination recommended for the asymptomatic adult include:
  blood pressure screening every 1-2 years
  periodic measurement of body mass index
  PAP smears beginning at age 21 for sexually active women with a cervix every 3 years up to the age of 65.
• There is some evidence that designating a specific visit for the provision of preventive services may increase the likelihood that patients will receive PAP smears, cholesterol screening and fecal occult blood testing.

To be clear, I’m not saying routine physicals and bloodwork can’t be helpful. But there isn’t data to back up that approach.

I think (and obviously don’t know but suspect) that yearly physicals work similar to people weighing daily - it’s a mental reminder to do healthy things and its importance to long-term health. There are studies showing that weighing daily can be beneficial - obviously the act of weighing does nothing for you but it’s the mindset that is valuable, IMO. Your point about unnecessary procedures is an interesting one I hadn’t considered.

You’re right about daily weights. A small study on the subject:

Results: Fifty-one percent of participants weighed every day (n=24) over 6 months. The average self-weighing frequency among those weighing less than daily (n=23) was 5.4±1.2 days per week. Daily weighers lost significantly more weight compared with those weighing less than daily (mean difference=-6.1 kg; 95% CI -10.2 to -2.1; P=0.004). The total number of weight control behaviors adopted was greater among daily weighers (17.6±7.6 vs 11.2±6.4; P=0.004). There were no differences by self-weighing frequency in dietary strategies, calorie intake, or calorie expenditure.

Conclusions: Weighing every day led to greater adoption of weight control behaviors and produced greater weight loss compared with weighing most days of the week. This further implicates daily weighing as an effective weight loss tool.

My point isn’t that seeing a doctor regularly is useless. I suspect those who do are more likely to adopt healthy lifestyles, and have meaningful interventions based on targeted exams and testing.

I’m questioning the value of perfunctory comprehensive physical examination and labs, like the yearly “executive physical”. In the absence of sign/symptoms, or well-defined risk factors/indications, things like listening to the heart and lungs, digital rectal exam, and frequent bloodwork haven’t shown to be beneficial on a population level. On the contrary, they take time, cost money, and may uncover “incidentalomas”, which lead to downstream testing. As there are many things that can go wrong during the healthcare process, we need to think critically about the utility of such practice.

If you’re really interested, read the article I linked upthread as a starting point on the subject. This isn’t just my opinion, I‘m trying to make evidence-based statements in my posts.

 

[Mitchie]

As an aside, tmk yearly physicals have never shown to improve health outcomes. Same goes for routine lab work, in the absence of a chronic medical problem or surveillance for medication toxicity.

I’m not saying don’t go to your doctor, but realize a bunch of our system is based on voodoo and/or potentially wasteful.

I'm going to completely disagree with you on this. I know several people who have caught major issues through an annual physical and blood work and the resulting treatment has improved their health outcome. A guy I know caught prostate cancer through his annual physical PSA and "felt fine". I feel your statement is more voodoo than what are you saying is voodoo. I could be misreading what you wrote, and if so, I apologize.

My statement is based on Research on the topic. The problem with your anecdotes is, you have no idea what would have occurred if your acquaintances hadn’t been diagnosed through routine exam/tests. Most importantly, would they have developed symptoms which eventually prompted diagnostic work up, with no change in their ultimate clinical outcomes?

Moreover, I’ve many examples of harm caused by unnecessary testing in otherwise healthy people. As with much of medicine, it’s ultimately a risk:benefit decision. There are clear guidelines for the (limited) testing which improves outcomes, and a full physical exam and yearly bloodwork aren‘t part of it.

The routine annual comprehensive physical examination (PE) became a fixture in American medical practice in the 1940's. By the 1980's many influential professional groups, including the American Medical Association, the American College of Physicians, the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) and the Canadian Task Force on Periodic Health, recommended that this approach be replaced by periodic screening, counseling and PE tailored to a patient's age, sex, risk factors, and symptoms as elicited by the medical history and review of systems (Oboler 2002). Furthermore, these recommendations tacitly or explicitly endorse the concept that, for screening purposes, only those components of the PE that accurately and effectively detect conditions for which early diagnosis is known to lead to improved patient outcomes should be routinely offered.

Consistent with this tailored and evidence-based approach, Medicare currently offers a free initial “Welcome to Medicare” visit which includes a medical history, recommended immunizations and screenings and “further tests depending on your health and medical history”. The only components of the PE recommended for everyone are measurement of blood pressure, vision, weight and height (www.medicare.gov/welcometomedicare/visit.html).

Nevertheless, most adults in the US believe that annual comprehensive physical exams are important; a 2002 study showed that more than 90% endorse the value of routine examination of the heart, lungs, abdomen, reflexes and prostate (Oboler 2002). Moreover, as recently as 2005, many physicians also endorse the complete annual physical examination for a variety of reasons including perceived benefits to the physician-patient relationship, patient expectations for a yearly “physical,” fear of malpractice litigation, and compensation (Frame 1995, Prochazka 2005).

CONCLUSIONS​

• Comprehensive routine physical examinations are not recommended for the asymptomatic adult, although many patients and physicians continue to endorse the practice.
• Components of the physical examination recommended for the asymptomatic adult include:
  blood pressure screening every 1-2 years
  periodic measurement of body mass index
  PAP smears beginning at age 21 for sexually active women with a cervix every 3 years up to the age of 65.
• There is some evidence that designating a specific visit for the provision of preventive services may increase the likelihood that patients will receive PAP smears, cholesterol screening and fecal occult blood testing.

To be clear, I’m not saying routine physicals and bloodwork can’t be helpful. But there isn’t data to back up that approach.

I think (and obviously don’t know but suspect) that yearly physicals work similar to people weighing daily - it’s a mental reminder to do healthy things and its importance to long-term health. There are studies showing that weighing daily can be beneficial - obviously the act of weighing does nothing for you but it’s the mindset that is valuable, IMO. Your point about unnecessary procedures is an interesting one I hadn’t considered.

You’re right about daily weights. A small study on the subject:

Results: Fifty-one percent of participants weighed every day (n=24) over 6 months. The average self-weighing frequency among those weighing less than daily (n=23) was 5.4±1.2 days per week. Daily weighers lost significantly more weight compared with those weighing less than daily (mean difference=-6.1 kg; 95% CI -10.2 to -2.1; P=0.004). The total number of weight control behaviors adopted was greater among daily weighers (17.6±7.6 vs 11.2±6.4; P=0.004). There were no differences by self-weighing frequency in dietary strategies, calorie intake, or calorie expenditure.

Conclusions: Weighing every day led to greater adoption of weight control behaviors and produced greater weight loss compared with weighing most days of the week. This further implicates daily weighing as an effective weight loss tool.

My point isn’t that seeing a doctor regularly is useless. I suspect those who do are more likely to adopt healthy lifestyles, and have meaningful interventions based on targeted exams and testing.

I’m questioning the value of perfunctory comprehensive physical examination and labs, like the yearly “executive physical”. In the absence of sign/symptoms, or well-defined risk factors/indications, things like listening to the heart and lungs, digital rectal exam, and frequent bloodwork haven’t shown to be beneficial on a population level. On the contrary, they take time, cost money, and may uncover “incidentalomas”, which lead to downstream testing. As there are many things that can go wrong during the healthcare process, we need to think critically about the utility of such practice.

If you’re really interested, read the article I linked upthread as a starting point on the subject. This isn’t just my opinion, I‘m trying to make evidence-based statements in my posts.

Digital rectal exam? Are you sure you're seeing a doctor?

 

[SFBayDuck]

I used to, as well as being checked/treated every six months for pre-cancerous areas on my skin. Covid interrupted that, and I moved away from my doc. I’ve since gotten back on the dermatology checks, but it’s a one year wait to get a physical appointment as a new patient here (I called several places, all the same story). I hit 50 recently so would like to get back to annual checkups.

 

[Drunken Cowboy]

I haven't been in years. Maybe 2010. I don't have it PCP and the barriers to finding a good one are enough to stop me even though I would like to.

 

[Drunken Cowboy]

Due to my age and bad habits (smoking,diet) I should but only go when I need to. Last checkup was pre COVID

Me too... 2017 was may last one. Scheduling one now...

How did you pick a doctor

 

[simey]

Digital rectal exam? Are you sure you're seeing a doctor?

Haven't you heard about the new disposable skinny mini cameras that will do the same thing the glove can do? Insert, take photo, upload to doc, and it's done.

 

[Keerock]

Due to my age and bad habits (smoking,diet) I should but only go when I need to. Last checkup was pre COVID

Me too... 2017 was may last one. Scheduling one now...

How did you pick a doctor

He’s a doc in the same practice as my wife’s GP. I’ve seen him many times, just not since 2017 (except for a virtual visit when I got COVID)

 

[Ministry of Pain]

Do you get a physical/checkup every year with a doctor?

General physician and/or gynecologist

I get a yearly physical that is administered by a person that is a 1-off from a true doctor and if there is anything out of the ordinary I get referred for a better look.
I've never had to be referred FYI...
When the pandemic erupted, it might have taken me a little while to go in for my normal physical.
When I went in, the doctor had gained 50-75 lbs and I was in fairly good physical shape so I was not very nice to him

"Wow Doc! What are they feeding you in the cafeteria? Why don't you jump up on this table and let me have your stethoscope for a minute, breathe in please"
-It didn't go very well. Hard to take instruction from someone that obviously is not concerned about their own health

I used to have a lady who was the MD and I was OK until she started checking me routinely for a hernia and I even questioned if this procedure was really necessary, full pants drop and quite a thorough examination of the all things in that general area.

The male doctor that I started to see...so we get to the end of the physical and I start to drop my pants and the doctor says "Why would I check you for a hernia?!"
I said I thought it was standard procedure, that's what Nurse Ratched tells me every time.

PS-Big fan of these Keerock threads about normality. Jokes are great but it allows for some real feedback about things most of us have to experience.

 

[Terminalxylem]

-It didn't go very well. Hard to take instruction from someone that obviously is not concerned about their own health

I agree with this sentiment, though I’ve known a lot of excellent, but portly doctors.