How often do you go to the doctor?
By laridbz
@laridbz (1280)
China
June 4, 2007 1:03pm CST
Some doctors, like gynecologists, advise us to schedule appointments every 6 months. Same goes for dentists for example. I never follow these "rules", and if I see my doctors once a year, it's already too much.
Do you follow their advices on when to return, or you just look for doctors when you have an specific problem? Do you think it's really important to visit them regularly? How often do you see them?
15 people like this
45 responses
@buenavida (9984)
• Sweden
7 Jun 07
I hardly ever visit a doctor, they did not help me much in the past and then I found the gnld food supplements that keep me in a better shape than I was under the doctors´ care.
I know there are good doctors too, but in my country most people suffer from bad health due to bad nutrition, so that is where we need the food supplements. - More info in my profile.
If we all got optimal nutrition, together with other healthy ways to live, many hospitals would have to close and the doctors and nurses could work with growing vegetables instead!! ..:o)
3 people like this
@buenavida (9984)
• Sweden
12 Jun 07
Yup, it is most times the habits and not knowing how to choose the right fats - If we eat wrong fats, our cell membranes become too hard to let the nutrients come into the cells and get rid of the waist.
The fruits we get in winter are picked raw in some distant country and they have not the same nutrition as ripe fruits.
Lots of people eat medicines but their most common problem is that they lack important nutrients and many of us would not need the medicines if we got them..
2 people like this
@trinidadvelasco (11401)
• Philippines
13 Jun 07
if you are not getting the right nutrition, definitely it is not due to financial difficulties. you are living in a very stable country. in this case, you need to take natural based food supplements. i wonder if you can grow some fruits and vegetables in your counry. nonetheless, it will be better to eat those imported fruits and vegetables rather than having none. besides, they can somehow provide some of the needed nutritive items our body needs.
1 person likes this
@filmbuff (2909)
• United States
5 Jun 07
I don't see doctors as much as I probably should, but I'm also uninsured at the moment. Being uninsured it is really expensive to see them and pay for treatment and medications because the healthcare costs are just astronomical in this country.
Usually I only go to the Doctor when there is something really wrong, or I need refills on prescriptions. I saw the doctor a little over a week ago due to a bad asthma attack. When all was said and done it cost me about $600 for the doctors visit and medications. Now I also have another medication to buy every month at $160 a pop.
If I were insured I would probably see doctors much more often considering there are medical issues I need to take care of that I can't afford to deal with right now. I have a very hard time believing the state of healthcare in this country, that we are so backwards compared to the rest of the world. The healthcare industry in the United States is not about helping the sick, it is about making a profit.
@ESKARENA1 (18261)
•
5 Jun 07
as an outsider looking in, ive always found this strange about american society. I know medicine is a money-making industry as just about everything else these days, but i find it repulsive that someones life is put in danger by them not having the money to buy insurence
blessed be
2 people like this
@filmbuff (2909)
• United States
6 Jun 07
It's more than strange, it should be criminal. Everything is about profit and healthcare is huge industy that included all the pharmasutical companies that charge outrageous prices in the states so they can export the same medication to other countries far, far cheaper. They also have huge lobbyist groups, so they tend to get laws that favor them, and insure their profits.
There is a movie coming out soon called "Sicko" by Micahel Moore. It is a documentary that talks about insurance companies and the state of healthcare in the United States. Everyone, including Oprah Winfrey of all people are saying it's a must see movie.
What's so bad about healthcare here is that if you don't have insurance no one wants to see you. Even if you have insurance, the insurance companies will often do their best to not cover you if something is really expensive. It's crazy.
1 person likes this
@maryannemax (12156)
• Sweden
5 Jun 07
i am a hard headed person. i suffer from ischemia and i have schedules to revisit them after sometime. and yet, i don't. i just go to them when i feel bad or when i needed them for advice. i know it's not right. it's just that i am not used to living with their schedules.
@maryannemax (12156)
• Sweden
12 Jun 07
thank you laridbz for the concern. i know it's a serious case and i took it forgranted. and i already have plans in visiting my doctors again to find out how my heart is doing... anne
@4ftfingers (1310)
•
4 Jun 07
I don't think we have any rules like that for general health. But is your healthcare free? I have a feeling some private healthcare companies might make these rules up to get you spending. Ours is free but if you want to see a specialist it can take a very long time so if it's important I use private healthcare. I havn't been for a few years now
2 people like this
@laridbz (1280)
• China
4 Jun 07
It's not free, but we don't pay that much. And no, it doesn't take too long for us. Well, I'm talking about about the health plan my family has. People who have to trust the public health system really have hard times in here, unlike people from some European countries, for example.
@whiteheather39 (24403)
• United States
4 Jun 07
I visit them every 6 months and of course anytime something is wrong. Preventative medicine is the best way to go. Even insurance companies know it is a lot cheaper to pay for regulat checkup visits rather that wait until you a really ill and it will cost a mint to pay for your recovery...if it is not too late.
1 person likes this
@whiteheather39 (24403)
• United States
5 Jun 07
How can you agree? I responded exactly the opposite to your topics and susequent comments??? OK! Did you read my response?
1 person likes this
@lecanis (16647)
• Murfreesboro, Tennessee
4 Jun 07
I see at least one doctor every couple of weeks, because I'm going to more than one doctor for different things. I suppose if I were healthy I wouldn't go as often though.
I do believe in getting check-ups regularly even if you're healthy, because I've had friends who had serious health problems caught early and treated thanks to routine checks.
I wish I didn't have to go to the doctor quite as often as I do, but I don't have much of a choice personally. You're blessed to be so healthy you don't have to go often!
1 person likes this
@trinidadvelasco (11401)
• Philippines
13 Jun 07
i do not go see the doctor unless i feel the need for one. i believe that the last time that i had a check up was more than five years ago already. as for the dentist, the last time that i get to see one was when i had a tooth extracted. i am to have another one extracted once again. it is different with my kids. i wnat them to have the prophylaxis for them at least once a year if they are not keen on having it every six months. i do not wnat to see my children suffering from cavities and toothaches.
@maildumpster (3815)
• United States
5 Jun 07
Not as often as I should. I know I have issues and should be going because of them but going is such a royal pain. (especially with a toddler)
1 person likes this
@maildumpster (3815)
• United States
5 Jun 07
Well I have fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, hypothyroidism and anxiety disorder. I have also had cervical surgery because I was a step away from having cervical cancer. That is off the top of my head.
Oh and my kidneys give me problems once in a while.
1 person likes this
@laridbz (1280)
• China
5 Jun 07
Wow, sweetie! I really think you should take care of yourself! I know fibromyalgia hurts as hell, I have some people in my family with this problem, and also a friend. But you're very young to suffer from all this stuff! Well, anyway, wish you all the best, ok?
@celestemichelle (429)
• United States
5 Jun 07
I go to the gynecologist once a year to get a perscription for birth control. I used to go to the dentist every 6 months but I don't have a dental plan now, and I need to go and see what I need to do about my wisdom teeth. They came in pretty well on their own, but I'd like to get them checked out.
1 person likes this
@celestemichelle (429)
• United States
5 Jun 07
In the US you have to have a prescription to get the pill. The only birth control you can get over the counter in the US is the morning after pill (plan B), and I'm not sure how widely available that is. I have seen some places on the internet to get pills without a doctor visit, but I wouldn't trust them.
@Lydia1901 (16351)
• United States
7 Jun 07
I only go to a doctor if I really need to, but I do my annual exam with the gynecologist inorder to get more of my birth control supplies.
@deadraven999 (1386)
• Saudi Arabia
5 Jun 07
I am so lazy when it comes 2 this. I left my teeth for a very long time until a time came where i had 2 go the dentist and it was so annoying coz she had do a lot work in my mouth.
Well usually i follow medication unless it gives me a problem and this is what happened to me recently when i experienced pain in my tummy he gave me pills but i felt as if pain got worse. I visit doctors but not regularly.
1 person likes this
@andyvish (901)
• India
5 Jun 07
Doctor, is an integral part of any persons life and we should not feel bad to visit our doctor because of the prevailing unhealthy conditions of the world.
Diseases come and go because of the said unhealthy nature and the lifestyle and people take asylum in the hands of doctor because he has the ability to find the disease and cure it.
I personally go to my family doctor every two months with my family to make sure that we are alright in all the sense.
1 person likes this
@tolyme (305)
• Argentina
5 Jun 07
In my childhood(I don't know wheather it was health concern or very afraid of diseases)i used to visit doctor for every simple things and i also got very many common cold etc.but now i dont go to doctor unless it requires any special attention is required.Now i don't get common cold often and if gets also i don't visit him for that
@asarda (53)
• India
5 Jun 07
i dont visit doctors very oftenly i visit them only if i am not well or met with some kind of accident, recently only i had an accident i fell down form my vehicle and was injured very badly and took 15 days rest, and by god's grace i dont have any diseases
Remember an apple a day keeps doctor away
