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So, I've been getting an annual checkup every year for the last several. I'm 37 and don't have any physical issues other than occasional insomnia that is nothing new. Every time I've been to the doctor they take my weight and height, order a blood test with the lab, ask me if anything's wrong (to which I say no and they kind of give me a look like "then what are you doing here") and then they order a blood panel and tell me they'll call me if they see anything unusual. I go to the lab, do the blood test, and never hear anything back. No news is good news I guess. Of course as far as I know they never took a glance at my results. I talked to a friend and he said he experienced the same thing, and that I should just go directly to the lab, and look at the results myself, which will display what a normal range is for all the stuff on there. Then my dad said his doctor goes over every single test with him in person and I should look for a doctor that does that. I moved to another city so this came up because I'm looking for a new doctor. What's the best practice here? Do I need a regular doctor? How do I find a good one? All I really want to do stay healthy and if there are any underlying issues, make sure they're not ignored.
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Apr 20, 2023 19:44
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Of course you should review the results. There is no way you are perfectly average in every single blood test. And the deviation may or may not be that meaningful. That is the point of a followup
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Apr 20, 2023 22:05
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Ramrod Hotshot posted:So, I've been getting an annual checkup every year for the last several.
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Apr 23, 2023 05:59
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Tiggum posted:Why? Because preventative medicine is better than reactive. Why not? Yes, find a doctor that will go over your results with you, either in-person or through some kind of medical portal app. Even if things read "normal" on your blood tests that might not show trends in your bloodwork that are not going in a positive direction.
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Apr 24, 2023 22:53
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Tiggum posted:Why? It's essentially free under almost any insurance worth the name. ~~~ Finding doctors you can trust is sometimes a chore. You basically throw darts until something sticks. It's not worth getting a second checkup, but it might be worth going elsewhere next time, or if an actual issue develops. You want a doctor that will seriously listen to you, even if you are being crazy, which an annual checkup is anything but. I would consider a doctor that's confused by an annual checkup to be a pretty bad doctor. A problem is assuming that a doctor is competent because they have a doctorate. Doctors are just as stupid as everyone else. Frequently more so, because they don't get called out enough. The most important thing a doctor needs is a willingness to listen to you. There's a difference between a doctor that listens, probes a little for more info, and tells you you're overreacting and a doctor that hears an observation and tells you you're overreacting. I find it weird as all hell that at 37 a doctor is confused by preventative medicine. I'd find it weird at 25, but I find it really weird at 37. Chances are your lab work really is fine. And it's probably ok to hold off another year or half a year to discuss it, but it'd be really weird if your doctor didn't mention it at all, and, ideally, you would like them to notify you if there were a serious issue. I go twice a year, or I did, before the pandemic hosed everything, and typically, my doctor would schedule a lab test about two weeks before the second appointment. We never really had to go into much detail, since my lab work has always been fine, but it's clear she reads the drat paperwork, and she'll still ask me general questions. A doctor you can trust is a game changer. When my insurance forced me on a shittier non-solution for my Narcolepsy, it was my GP that got me back onto a working medication, not my neurologist. And that happened on a general checkup.
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Apr 28, 2023 18:58
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