Men’s MOT check up

NorthumberlandBoro said:
If you have high blood pressure based on the reading at your Doctor's try a blood machine at home. Like me you may have 'white coat syndrome '.
Mine appeared elevated, but once I took readings at home it was clearly normal.
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What happened with me was, I was waking up with headaches all the time, so my wife badgered me to go to the doctors (only been once in 6 years and that was to get a PSA blood test due to my father developing prostate cancer) so he takes my blood pressure and its really high, takes it again, really high, now I'm starting to think this doesn't look good..so within 5 minutes they had me do a EKG? And he checked my heart rate and function, all OK, sends me away with prescription for tablets...I had to take a blood pressure monitor and a diary...still very high for the first 3 weeks, but now dropping and withing tolerance of ok.
 
Go to your GP and get the full MOT.

It's not sensible leaving it till later on in life if you experience high blood-pressure, abnormal kidney or liver problems, border-line diabetes, men's issues like prostate cancer, etc. A little time and a few appointments with the local practice nurse can prevent issues arising later and identify any existing conditions. Look after your body now and it pays dividends today and tomorrow. The NHS provide the service.

I had an MOT after seven years and found out there were problems with my physical health which have since been rectified and taken under control.

At one point, two years ago, my GP ordered an ambulance from the surgery during what I thought was a routine appointment, fearing I had had a heart attack. Turned out it was a lower respiratory tract infection, and I was on Majors Unit with oxygen for 48 hours and spent four days in the hospital! After that, I've realised there’s a need to keep healthy and use the NHS to make sure I'm OK. Don't leave it until something happens.

Take care.
 
I just went to GP- mentioned my huge drinking and also a few other bits and bobs. Got all bloods done, gave up alcohol. I wouldn't go private to get it done.
 
r00fie1 said:
Don't leave it until something happens.
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On the other hand. GPs and hospitals are full of people that don't need to be there and it makes the service worse and reduces the time available for people that do need to be there.

There is a balance between using the service to catch things before they get worse, not using it until it's too late and using it too much. It is admittedly very difficult to know which time is which but our bodies are very good at detecting changes and you have to listen to that and react. Men are much more likely to leave things until it's too late though. Women are much more proactive with their health. The well man checks are a good thing to do because then you are only using GP time if there is an indication that you need to.

The well man checks check overall health but if there's anything abnormal with your heart, blood pressure, cholesterol etc it will indicate that there is something that can/should be looked into further. They don't do in-depth testing though so it doesn't catch everything. Really they are just going to let you know that you are overweight and at risk of x, y and z which if you are overweight you probably already know. I'm not old enough to have one but we have had them through work and the advice to everyone was pretty much the same (do more exercise, eat less, stop smoking, stop drinking etc). If there is anything abnormal, especially where there is a family history, they'll refer you to your GP for more in-depth investigations.

The most important thing to realise is that a "Full MOT" is not a full MOT. There are a million things that could still be missed. You don't get a full body MRI, CT or X-Ray unless they find something elsewhere so you aren't getting much more than you'd get with the free NHS check. You aren't getting full blood work, just a specific panel for common issues. This sort of thing for £1k is really just something those companies offer so they have something to show for being something you pay for. It's just unnecessary upselling. I think if you are the sort of person who has health anxiety and is willing to pay £1k for peace of mind then it is not going to give you that peace of mind for very long and you'll be paying £1k every year. The same as your car, how many cars break down because of something not caught on the MOT? Most MOT issues can be avoided if people maintained their vehicle properly and health is the same.
 
Nano said:
On the other hand. GPs and hospitals are full of people that don't need to be there and it makes the service worse and reduces the time available for people that do need to be there.

There is a balance between using the service to catch things before they get worse, not using it until it's too late and using it too much. It is admittedly very difficult to know which time is which but our bodies are very good at detecting changes and you have to listen to that and react. Men are much more likely to leave things until it's too late though. Women are much more proactive with their health. The well man checks are a good thing to do because then you are only using GP time if there is an indication that you need to.

The well man checks check overall health but if there's anything abnormal with your heart, blood pressure, cholesterol etc it will indicate that there is something that can/should be looked into further. They don't do in-depth testing though so it doesn't catch everything. Really they are just going to let you know that you are overweight and at risk of x, y and z which if you are overweight you probably already know. I'm not old enough to have one but we have had them through work and the advice to everyone was pretty much the same (do more exercise, eat less, stop smoking, stop drinking etc). If there is anything abnormal, especially where there is a family history, they'll refer you to your GP for more in-depth investigations.

The most important thing to realise is that a "Full MOT" is not a full MOT. There are a million things that could still be missed. You don't get a full body MRI, CT or X-Ray unless they find something elsewhere so you aren't getting much more than you'd get with the free NHS check. You aren't getting full blood work, just a specific panel for common issues. This sort of thing for £1k is really just something those companies offer so they have something to show for being something you pay for. It's just unnecessary upselling. I think if you are the sort of person who has health anxiety and is willing to pay £1k for peace of mind then it is not going to give you that peace of mind for very long and you'll be paying £1k every year. The same as your car, how many cars break down because of something not caught on the MOT? Most MOT issues can be avoided if people maintained their vehicle properly and health is the same.
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I'm not arguing the toss.
I speak as a qualified nurse.
If anyone is worried or concerned, once you're over 50, it's better to be safe than sorry, and it doesn't take very long.
It's up to the individual at the end of the day.
Take care.
 
There's been something beyond the cost which hasn't been talked about so far, and that's the peace of mind you may feel in getting a full MOT. But only if that's what you want.

If it's on your mind and you can afford it, then you're never going to regret paying that money when it comes to your health. Perhaps a compromise is paying for an extensive one this time around and then just going to the GP annually for a check up? Only you know how much it's playing on your mind or not.
 
I had a medical for work 5 years ago aged 56. Felt fine so not worried. Blood pressure was sky high so straight on meds. Blood test every year since has found high chlorestoral, borderline diabetes and fatty liver disease. I've lost weight, do more exercise and drink less. Hopefully, meds keep me alive...
 
Craggyjohn said:
I had a medical for work 5 years ago aged 56. Felt fine so not worried. Blood pressure was sky high so straight on meds. Blood test every year since has found high chlorestoral, borderline diabetes and fatty liver disease. I've lost weight, do more exercise and drink less. Hopefully, meds keep me alive...
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I like the quote by James Galdofini in Sopranos

"There are old guys, and there are fat guys, but there are no fat old guys"

Obviously there are, but a lot less of them
 
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